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Games for your Preschooler

7 Play Based Learning Activities to Do With Your ChildHomemade games are fun to make and will be treasured for years to come. We love sharing our favorite DIY game ideas for all preschoolers.

Fall time is the perfect time for family play time. At Premier Academy, we teach kids to make a classic game that is both easy and fun to do. The children will treasure the homemade games for years to come. They make great Christmas presents, too.

The DIY game ideas include building a pinball machine. The kids will love to learn about angels and their positions to aim the ball to various directions. Farkle is another classic dice game that can be easily put together. It teaches essential math skills, too. Buying multiple sets of dice and placing them inside cute tins with instructions make great Christmas presents for relatives and friends.

Making a collection of mazes out of empty CD cases is another ingenious idea. All one needs are a few sticky sticks and tiny balls and ready is the miniature labyrinth perfect for a fun afternoon at home.

Making a tic tac toe board out of rocks, building a giant game board to play various classic childhood games, and creating a felt shape kit for endless imaginary play are only a few of the many tips this week.

Another fun idea is making sensory bins. Sensory bins are perfect for exploring preschoolers that love to experience new things. The various bins are great tools to develop senses and provide motor skill play time.

The sensory bin ideas include board game bins, a pirate themed bin, a valentine bin, a winter themed bin, a firefighter bin, and an ocean bin. The snow bin and the earth bin will be among the kids’ favorite. All bins are super easy to set up and will allow for hours of creative, imaginary play time with a purpose.

Premier is your source for preschool and childcare in Omaha Nebraska. We have a first-rate staff of professional, certified teachers who are dedicated to providing the very best care and education available anywhere. We understand the important role that fun plays in your child’s development and early education. We strive to make Premier Academy a fun place to be! We offer a program that combine fun activities, challenging developmental curriculum and first-rate child care. Encouraging an early love of learning will not only prepare your preschool age children for entry into school, but also to inspire a lifelong curiosity, love of learning, healthy self-esteem and thirst for knowledge.

We want to hear from you. Set up an appointment today and see how much your children will love Premier Academy!

Premier Academy Child Enrichment Center offers childcare in Omaha, Nebraska for infants, toddlers, preschool, and pre-k children.

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Tips for Finding a Child Care Provider

Maintaining a Balance Between Work and FamilyTrusting someone to care for your child can be a frightening experience. Many times, you don’t know the person you choose.

To put some of your fears to rest, it helps to take the necessary precautions to ensure you have chosen the best chidlcare center.

Networking with area mothers can be another good way to find childcare options. Many will be able to tell you what they liked, and didn’t like about the place or person they used.

If you go this route though, it’s always a good idea to research the place or child care Omaha Nebraska provider yourself, to ensure you feel comfortable with the experience, training, certifications and licensure they hold.

Interview the Childcare Option

When you find a couple of places, it’s wise to call to set up an appointment for an interview. When you have the opportunity to sit face-to-face with the childcare center, you can get a feel for the kind of people employed, and be able to ask any questions you have about their knowledge, experience and childcare style.

What to Ask at the Interview

Make a list of interview questions to ask the childcare center or provider. This list should include anything that will help make the decision in either choosing or dismissing the provider as a possibility.

Some of the questions you might want to consider asking are:

  • How many children do you care for each day?
  • What is the staff to children ratio?
  • How do you comfort a crying baby?
  • How often are the children fed?
  • What kinds of activities do you do with the children?
  • Do I need to provide food?
  • What happens if a child becomes ill?
  • How do you discipline children?
  • How is your facility safe for my child?

Take Time to Think

Try not to make a decision on whether or not you will use a particular provider as soon as the interview is over. Give yourself some time to think about the provider, and consider all of your options.

By taking time, you won’t feel as though you’ve rushed your decision, which will make you feel much more confident about your choice.

Asking Your Child

If your child is of age, you can ask him or her about a particular  provider. This will validate your child’s feelings, and help you feel better about leaving him or her in someone else’s care. If your child is happy, you will be happy.

Transferring Providers

Sometimes the childcare center you choose doesn’t work out. It’s nothing you did wrong, and sometimes nothing the provider did wrong. It’s sometimes just not a good fit. When transferring to another child care provider, think about what you didn’t particularly like about the one you use now. Check in with others to ensure they do not do the same, along with considering all of the suggestions mentioned above.

By doing this, you have a greater chance of finding a provider who will be able to care for your child on a long-term basis.

We want to hear from you. Set up an appointment today and see how much your children will love Premier Academy!

Premier Academy Child Enrichment Center, offering childcare in Omaha, Nebraska for infants, toddlers, preschool, pre-k and school age children.

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Keeping your children healthy

Teaching Your Child Healthy Eating HabitsWith the winter months coming upon us, we find that our children are at risk for infections and colds. Taking care of a sick toddler isn’t fun. But taking care of two sick children is worse. It means more misery and sleepless nights — and for you, more missed days of work.

Kids do pass infections to each other easily in a group setting such as daycare, particularly during the winter months. You can’t prevent it entirely, unless you switch to a nanny or decide to stay home yourself. But there are steps you can take to minimize the chances your baby will be ill at daycare.

Step up your disinfecting:

Even if you’re not germ-obsessed usually, now might be a time to focus more on disinfecting surfaces in your home. It can help prevent germs from spreading from child to child in a daycare setting.

Practice good diaper hygiene:

Be especially careful with dirty diapers now — particularly if you have more than one kid wearing them. The changing table could be a spot where your kids exchange germs. So you could decide to use the changing table only for your sick toddler and change your healthy kid somewhere else. Or you could always lay a fresh blanket over the changing pad when putting a diaper on your healthy child.

Don’t allow sharing at meals:

Mealtimes may usually be chaotic, with your kids regularly swapping silverware, cups, and food. For now, do what you can to prevent that.

Keep the bathroom hygienic:

While germs generally don’t live on towels very long, they can live long enough to make a healthy kid sick. So launder them regularly. You may even want to switch to disposable paper towels for a week to prevent germs from infecting other family members. By the same token, consider replacing the bathroom water glass with disposable paper cups for a while. And get your child a new toothbrush after he’s been sick.

Wash Hands:

Teach your child how to wash their hands with good warm water and soap. Keeping on top of them regarding this is important. Sometimes just having set times where they wash their hands will get them into a good habit especially at daycare. Right after they get back home, before dinner, after they use the washroom.

Coughing in the Elbow:

Teach your child to cough NOT in their hands, but in their ELBOW area of their sleeve or shirt. This helps prevent germs from spreading to toys or other hands at daycare.

Dressing Warm:

The reality is that most of what hits our kids is them getting cold while doors, so dressing them warm with a good jacket, toque and scarf helps.

Cleaning Toys and Doors:

Most of the time germs are spread through toys and the doorknobs. So disinfecting these things always helps.

Cleaning your Computer:

Wipe down your computer keyboard and mouse at least once a week during the winter months to prevent spread of germs and sickness. Using something like 99% hydrogen peroxide or isopropyl alcohol will burn off the germs and clean your keyboard and mouse with-out damaging your electronics.

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