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                                                                              TODDLER CARE

Learn how toddler care can help early childhood development.

Gingerbread House Academy Inc., uses hands-on exploration and social interaction in safe, engaging surroundings to help your one to two year old learn about his or her expanding world. Through the guidance of our early childhood development professionals, toddlers enjoy learning experiences that promote their blossoming independence and social skills, and foster self-confidence.

Beyond day care, our curriculum for toddlers is designed to adapt to each individual child’s age and stage. Experienced teachers promote emotional, physical, social, and intellectual development in a fun, engaging environment.

                                           LANGUAGE WORKS

Language is starting to blossom as toddlers expand their vocabulary from single into multiple-word phrases. Our teachers continually model language and engage toddlers in rich conversations. By providing a language-rich environment that encourages your child’s progress towards achievement of two-way communication, your toddler will have the opportunity to:

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  • Participate in conversations with teachers and peers

  • Follow one-step directions

  • Develop an appreciation of books through stories and read alouds

  • Increase short-term memory and recall

  • Use writing tools and make purposeful marks such as scribbles on paper

                                     MATH COUNTS

A toddler classroom is full of math activities from figures for sorting, to shape boxes for matching, to cups to stack by size, to sensory tables to learn comparison of quantity and volume. With our toddler curriculum, GBHA teachers help one and two-year-olds take their first steps towards understanding math by:

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  • Using "number talk" such as more/less, under / over, inside / outside, full / empty

  • Counting to two or three during activities such as snack time

  • Talking about time in daily conversations ("Now…then…last")

  • Playing sorting and matching games

                                   SCIENCE ROCKS

Toddlers have a strong sense of curiosity about how things work and an innate desire to make sense of the world. From stomping in puddles to investigating a sandbox, our curriculum nurtures and builds on these natural instincts, offering toddlers meaningful learning experiences that continually foster and develop their scientific thinking and skills. Our teachers weave scientific learning into all aspects of a toddler’s day by offering opportunities to:

  • Explore multiple solutions during story times

  • Play with puzzles and busy boxes

  • Manipulate playdough with tools such as cookie cutters and rolling pins

  • Experiment with volume through sand, water, and rice play at the sensory table

  • Formulate "why, what, how?" questions in daily interactions

                            PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

GBHA preschool curriculum helps children achieve school readiness in all areas of academic and social learning.

Our preschool program is filled with investigation, exploration, and discovery, where active and enthusiastic children can refine and expand their skills and knowledge. Through intentional teaching practices, purposefully-designed learning environments, and enriched activities, teachers ensure preschoolers have joyful, appropriate, and meaningful learning experiences that lead to success in school and in life.

Our curriculum aligns preschool program goals and practices with families' expectations of educational excellence, helping young learners grow into confident students.

         LANGUAGE WORKS

Vocabulary expands from a few hundred words to a few thousand and word comprehension takes off during the preschool years. Our preschool programs and curriculum provide children with opportunities to integrate listening, speaking, early reading, and writing into daily activities such as:

  • Recognizing letters and discriminating between sounds

  • Answering open-ended questions such as "What do you think?"

  • Participating in projects that have multiple steps

  • Playing language and rhyming games

  • Following along in children’s books read to the class

  • Dictating thoughts and ideas to teachers about artwork

           SCIENCE ROCKS

Preschool children are constantly engaged in research and experimentation, testing hypotheses, exploring properties, making important discoveries and learning how things work. Through our preschool science curriculum, teachers carefully plan experiences that not only develop scientific skills but also nurture children’s natural curiosity, such as:

  • Investigating objects on a light box or light table

  • Predicting daily weather

  • Using microscopes and documenting observations through pictures and charts

  • Problem solving with the guidance of teacher prompts

  • Exploring maps, magazines, and other resources

                 OUR WORLD

Preschoolers are actively developing their sense of self and who they are in the world. Our preschool teachers create respectful and diverse learning environments, helping children understand the world they inhabit. Teachers also present unique experiences for children, enhancing a preschooler's sense of responsibility and compassion for people, such as:

  • Sharing cultural and family traditions with the class

  • Working with peers on community service projects

  • Experiencing the comforting words and gestures of teachers and peers

  • Exploring photos of children and adults who are similar or different from us

  • Playing collaboratively with peers

  • Caring for classroom plants

                 MATH COUNTS

Whether they are counting how many marbles they have, fitting a cylinder into a circular hole, or asking for more milk, preschoolers are constantly using and experimenting with math concepts. Our preschool teachers create learning experiences that build math skills and reasoning so children can solve problems and use mathematics in real and meaningful ways, such as:

  • Sorting items by size, color, or shape during clean-up

  • Stringing beads in a pattern

  • Discussing past, present, and future events

  • Counting out small groups of items and matching to a numeral card

  • Playing estimation games such as "Which jar has more pebbles?"

  • Experimenting with measuring cups in the sand or water table

               ARTSMART

Artistic exploration encourages important skills such as creative thinking, adaptation, problem-solving, innovation, and follow-through. Our preschool teachers nurture children’s own artistic abilities and help them appreciate art in the broader world by engaging in diverse creative experiences, such as:

  • Working on long-term art projects such as paper-mâché sculptures

  • Dictating stories to accompany drawings

  • Singing songs and reading books from around the world

  • Making instruments

  • Painting to the beat of music

  • Creating dramatic play areas such as a greenhouse, grocery store, or office

             WELL AWARE

Because young children are forming attitudes and behaviors that will influence them throughout their lives, it is important to expose them to experiences that foster their ability to make good health decisions, develop a positive self-image, make healthy nutrition choices, and show respect for their bodies. At GBHA, our preschool teachers provide children with varied opportunities and materials geared towards developing healthy lifelong habits, such as:

  • Making their own choices at snacks and meals

  • Identifying nutritious foods and how they help our bodies grow

  • Taking responsibility for his/her own basic hygiene such as proper hand washing and covering his/her coughs

  • Engaging in physical activities - hopping, climbing, yoga

  • Following procedures for a fire drill

                                      PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRA

 Gingerbread House Aademy Inc. Pre-K program advances children’s skills in core academic areas to ensure school readiness.

Our Kindergarten Prep Pre-K program helps children advance skills in core pre-academic areas such as literacy, math, and science, as well as in other essential areas such as art, social and emotional well-being, and health and wellness. Our child-centered approach ensures that children are exposed to a diverse array of learning activities and that they thrive in all areas of child development, creative thinking, complex problem solving, empathetic collaboration, curious investigation, and astute decision making.

Our Kindergarten Prep curriculum prepares children for kindergarten and beyond, with the skills and confidence needed for a lifetime of academic success.

         LANGUAGE WORKS

At GBHA, language, literacy and communication skills are embedded into all of a child's daily experiences. Our pre-kindergarten teachers create meaningful classroom experiences to help children use and build their growing vocabulary while developing the ability to communicate in increasingly complex ways, such as:

  • Identifying alphabet letters and some letter sounds and attempting to spell using his/her expanding knowledge

  • Initiating extended conversations with teachers and peers

  • Retelling simple events in sequence

  • Reading high-quality children's books

  • Exploring print materials such as instructions, recipes, menus, classroom signs, and non-fiction books

  • Writing in journals

           SCIENCE ROCKS

As their cognitive and physical abilities develop, pre-kindergarteners are increasingly able to advance scientific reasoning, to develop and test their own theories, and to engage in long-term experiments. Our pre-kindergarten programs and curriculum build on children's prior knowledge to broaden their understanding of scientific disciplines, from physics to chemistry to earth science, by:

  • Participating in cooking projects

  • Testing the concept of gravity with small objects

  • Using an atlas or globe to study terrain differences

  • Participating in multi-skill experiments

  • Disassembling objects such as old roller skates and toy trucks

  • Working with teachers to research questions and solve problems using resources on the internet

               OUR WORLD

Pre-kindergarteners are increasingly interested in the diversity of people, cultures, and the environment. Our pre-kindergarten teachers foster the development of all areas of children's emotional intelligence including interpersonal skills, compassion, acceptance, and personal responsibility, by:

  • Using favorite things to make "all about me" collages

  • Making get well cards for peers, teachers, or community members

  • Cooking diverse, healthy foods and listening to cultural music

  • Playing cooperatively in dramatic play areas

  • Having class jobs that require care of materials, plants, and pets

  • Setting up a classroom recycling station

           MATH COUNTS

Pre-kindergarten students are enthusiastic mathematicians, engaging in math regularly as they build block towers, make patterns on canvas, complete puzzles, or measure the length of a shadow. Our pre-kindergarten teachers ensure children don't simply learn numbers by routine, but instead build mathematical understanding to solve real, everyday problems by:

  • Comparing and contrasting items by characteristics

  • Using segments of time such as an hour, minute, or second

  • Following complex directions in sequence

  • Estimating the number of seeds in a pumpkin or crayons in a box with increased accuracy

  • Solving simple number problems

               ARTSMART

Pre-kindergarten is an ideal time to introduce children to increasingly intricate artistic experiences that enhance development in areas such as math, vocabulary, and problem-solving. Our pre-kindergarten teachers extend children's skills and knowledge through open-ended, meaningful, and process-oriented art experiences, such as:

  • Sculpting with clay and etching tools

  • Writing and illustrating books

  • Learning about musicians and playing instruments

  • Playing musical games that encouragement movement to different beats

  • Acting out an original story using costumes, props and masks

              WELL AWARE

In pre-kindergarten, children are becoming more independent, increasingly responsible for their own choices and decisions, and are ready to start tending to their personal care and safety. Our pre-kindergarten curriculum encourages children to not only be aware of their physical wellness but to enjoy physical activities, eat healthy, and to take pride in their active bodies, by:

  • Planning and cooking a meal for a class event

  • Following instructional posters for personal care routines like handwashing

  • Playing soccer, running relays, or assuming yoga poses

  • Engaging in conversation with peers at meal times

  • Establishing class rules as a group

                      BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE PROGRAMS

When school is out, GBHA' extended day programs provide before and after school care.

Gingerbread House Academy Inc. recognizes the growing physical, intellectual, and social competence of the increasingly independent school-age child. Eager to achieve socially and academically while expanding their knowledge of the world, 6- to 12-year olds seek new challenges, close friendships, and increasing responsibilities.

Our programs offer enriching learning opportunities in a fun environment for maturing school-age children. This includes before-school and after-school care, back-up or emergency care for school holidays and closings, and exciting summer day camp programs for children up to age 12. Please contact a local center to check availability of before- and after-school programs.

SCHOOLSOUT CHILD CARE PROGRAM

SchoolsOUT is a before- and after-school care program that balances time to learn with time to play with friends, and finishing homework with sports and other physical activities. These programs are available for school-age children to bridge the time between school and a parent's work schedule, as well as to provide full-time child care during school breaks and summer vacation.

At this stage of childhood education, children want to discover who they are and to pursue their own interests. They want opportunities to create things, explore acting and drama, master computers, discover new books, and construct imaginary worlds with recycled materials. Whenever school is out, our SchoolsOUT program is there to encourage a child's desire for new challenges and opportunities that celebrate their expanding world.

        SUMMER CAMP

Bright Horizons summer camp programs for preschool through school-age children offer a wealth of enrichment activities such as sports, field trips, cooking, computer explorations, and theater workshops.

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