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Choosing Childcare

Reading to Children: Tips for Making Storytime MemorableMore and more, research tells us that our children’s healthy development depends on safe and positive experiences during the first few years of life. If you are a parent who works during these early years, choosing good childcare is one of the most important decisions you will ever make for your child.

To help you make the right choice for childcare, Premier Academy has identified 13 research-based guidelines to think about when choosing a childcare program.

You might want to visit several different childcare, either centers or family childcare homes, before you decide which one is best for your family. Call each childcare program and schedule an appointment for your visit. Once you are there, stay for at least an hour to watch activities, check the surroundings, and ask questions. The checklist below provides a place for you to note which guidelines are met. Research shows that if a program follows guidelines, it is more likely to be a safe and healthy place for your child. Your state or county may have other guidelines to help ensure health and safety in child care programs.

Considering these guidelines can help you find a place where you feel comfortable leaving your child.

Supervision

  • Are children supervised at all times, even when they are sleeping?
  • How do the caregivers discipline children? (Hint: Discipline should be positive, clear, consistent, and fair.)

Handwashing and Diapering

  • Do all caregivers and children wash their hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom or changing diapers?
  • Is the place where diapers are changed clean?
  • Do caregivers always keep a hand on the child while diapering?
  • Do caregivers remove the soiled diaper without dirtying any surface not already in contact with stool or urine?
  • Do caregivers clean and sanitize the surface after finishing the changing process? (Hands should be scrubbed with soap and warm running water for at least 20 seconds and then rinsed and dried. The water faucet should be turned off with a paper towel.)

 Director Qualifications

  • Does the director of a childcare center have a bachelor’s degree in a child-related field?
  • Has the director worked in childcare for at least two years?
  • Does the director understand what children need to grow and learn?

Lead Teacher Qualifications

  • Does the lead teacher in a childcare center have a bachelor’s degree in a child-related field?
  • Has the teacher worked in childcare for at least one year?
  • Does the teacher give children lessons and toys that are right for their ages?

 Child:Staff Ratio and Group Size

  • How many children are being cared for in the childcare program?
  • How many caregivers are there? (Your child will get more attention if each caregiver has fewer children to care for. The younger the children are, the more caregivers there should be. For example, one family home caregiver should only take care of two infants.)

 Immunizations

  • Is your child up-to-date on all of the required immunizations?
  • Does the childcare program have records proving that the other children in care are up-to-date on all their required immunizations?

 Toxic Substances

  • Are toxic substances like cleaning supplies and pest killers kept away from children?
  • Has the building been checked for dangerous substances like radon, lead and asbestos?
  • Is poison control information posted?

 Emergency Plan

  • Does the childcare program have an emergency plan if a child is injured, sick, or lost?
  • Does the childcare program have first-aid kits?
  • Does the childcare program have information about who to contact in an emergency?

 Fire/Emergency Drills

  • Does the childcare program have a plan in case of a disaster like a fire, tornado, flood, blizzard, or earthquake?
  • Does the childcare program do practice drills once every month?

 Child Abuse

  • Can caregivers be seen by others at all times, so a child is never alone with one caregiver?
  • Have all caregivers undergone background check?
  • Have the caregivers been trained on how to prevent child abuse, how to recognize signs of child abuse, and how to report suspected child abuse?

 Medications

  • Does the childcare program keep medication out of reach from children?
  • Are the caregivers trained and the medications labeled to make sure the right child gets the right amount of the right medication at the right time?

 Staff Training/First Aid

  • Have caregivers been trained how to keep children healthy and safe from injury and illness?
  • Do they know how to do first aid and rescue breathing?
  • Have they been trained to understand and meet the needs of children of different ages?
  • Are all childcare staff, volunteers, and substitutes trained on and implementing infant back sleeping and safe sleep policies to reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, crib death)? (When infants are sleeping, are they on their backs with no pillows, quilts, stuffed toys, or other soft bedding in the crib with them?)

 Playgrounds

  • Is the playground regularly inspected for safety?
  • Is the playground surrounded by a fence?
  • If there is a sandbox, is it clean?
  • Are the soil and playground surfaces checked often for dangerous substances and hazards?
  • Is equipment the right size and type for the age of children who use it?

Premier Academy offers affordable childcare in Omaha and Elkhorn, Nebraska.  We invite you to tour our facilities and see what we can offer your child.  Contact us today!

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Preschool Care in Omaha Nebraska

Teaching Your Children About FriendshipFinding Preschool Daycare that suits a parent’s or grandparent’s schedule can often be difficult. Often, working parents can’t leave their jobs early to pick up their kids after school is over. There are also times when parents or grandparents may just need a few hours a month for daycare, so they can attend to needed errands, meetings or just need some time off from the kids.

At Premier Academy in Omaha, Nebraska, we offer guardians convenient solutions with our many daycare options. With Premier Academy, parents and grandparents can sign up with membership for just five hours of daycare a month. Drop your child off for a short time whenever you need.

Another great option at Premier Academy is our after-school pick-up service. Our staff will arrive promptly at your child’s school and drive them back to our facility. Healthy snacks are provided along with help for homework assignments. Special tutoring is also provided for those children who need it. Once the academics are all taken care of, there are plenty of fun activities that your child can engage in, such as crafts, games,dance, song, and playground fun. At Premier Academy, we think of everything to make life easier.

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Four Significant Reasons for a Preschool Education

  1. Kindergarten ReadinessBrain development is highest during the first four years of life. The brain is forming important neural paths to help develop the child’s ability to perform and function and learn well. Their brain absorbs information and stores it, often feeling saturated with new input.  Your child can benefit when interacting in a quality preschool which is content rich with appropriate information and materials.  We have a first-rate staff of professional, certified teachers who are dedicated to providing Omaha and Elkhorn preschool children with the very best care and education available anywhere.
  2. Structure is vital for the young preschooler and the child thrives in a loving, structured environment with stimulating colors, sounds, textures, classroom layout, varying activities and books. The child learns routine and expectations and begins to look forward to the next activity.    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.
  3. Social skills are important to learn at this age rather than waiting until Kindergarten age or later. One of the reasons older children may have difficulty in school is that they never really learned the social skills in preschool. Social skills such as learning how to listen, manners, taking turns, apologies, how to speak in a group, helping each other, learning compassion and empathy are the most important skills to learn when preparing for Kindergarten. Our activities will help your Omaha and Elkhorn preschool children to flourish with a healthy dose of self-esteem, curiosity and love of learning.
  4. Academics are now being emphasized more than in past years because there is more research substantiating that a child is able to learn and perform more than what we used to expect. Most Kindergartens are expected to enter school knowing how to print the alphabet, numbers 1-10 (some 1-20), write their first and last name, display basic social skills and have an ability to comprehend and follow directions.  We are not just providing preschool care in Omaha and Elkhorn; our teachers are dedicated to helping to enrich the lives of your children during the crucial formative years.
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5 Steps to Selecting a Daycare

7 Play Based Learning Activities to Do With Your ChildA child is one of the most important members of society. There is no comparison when valuing life. For parents, one of the most difficult situations they are faced with is to entrust their child, whether an infant, toddler, or school aged child, into a stranger’s care. Unfortunately, both parents need to work, or the child comes from a split family, and sacrifices must be made, and daycare becomes essential. Premier Academy understands the sacrifices that parents make for their children and provides premium childcare that is not just babysitting, but, an environment to stimulate the child to learn and explore the world through their own eyes.

Today, the childcare industry is growing and being promoted in many different communities as per demand. It is not all providers, however, that provide the best environment for children. It is essential that the daycare have the experience and education, as well as, credentials to ensure the child’s health, happiness, safety and growth. The foundation of childhood is one of the most important foundations in life. It is essential that the child is properly cared for.Premier Academy makes sure that the fun element, which makes the wonderful world of a child so special, stays, and is reinforced, daily.

Premier Academy offers different packages:

  • Infants’ Growth Package
  • Toddlers’ Care Package
  • Pre-school children care
  • Pre-K children care
  • School age children learning program

It is difficult for parents to accept being away from their child, and put their child in a stranger’s hands. There are many things that must be taken into consideration. Affordable childcare centers in Omaha Nebraska is something that many parents search for. This is not enough. Parent also must seek childcare centers  that are accredited and approved by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Public Health, State of Nebraska. Centers listed in the DHHS Childcare Roster are the best options for your infant. The DHHS keeps a close eye on the childcare centers on a regular basis with cancelling registration and closing of centers not complying with the DHHS guidelines.

For children, it is essential to have a care giver that is well-trained and loving. The child should be in an environment with children their own age, where the parents can stop in, just to tell the child they love them, at any time throughout the day, and one that is stimulating and educational.

Daycare has to provide a service that supports and cares for the child and offers the parents security that their child is being nurtured, educated and loved. The center should bring out the child’s creativity and self-esteem. The child should receive a quality of life that nurtures his foundation for his academic years ahead. When parents seek daycare for their children, it is essential that they seek a daycare that specializes in services for infant, toddler, preschool, pre-K and school aged children. The daycare is often a place where a child starts young, and grows throughout the years, and you want a daycare that will be there for you throughout the years.

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