DayStar Childcare believes that outdoor education provides quality opportunities for young children to grow and thrive. As children play outdoors and are provided with quality tools for discovery, wonder, and curiosity, their learning and joy will continue to grow and will move them forward in future learning. DayStar is blessed with a wonderful outdoor space that covers 2 city lots that our students use on a daily basis. Our Nature Playspace (Outdoor Classroom) is the favorite space of our families. It is full of wonderful ways to interact with nature and art while being active in the outdoors. Every Paths to Quality Learning Area is represented in this outside space.
There are also garden beds and fruit trees that assist teachers in discussing nutrition with their students. This area is a certified Outdoor Classroom with Nature Explore.
Outdoor Classroom and Education
Infants
DayStar Infant Learning Center serves children from 6 weeks of age to 1 year. It is a Licensed, Level 4 Paths to Quality Facility with the State of Indiana.
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Every infant is a gift from God, designed with unique abilities, desires, and emotions. Each child in this program eats, sleeps, and plays according to his or her personal schedule. Our program is designed to assess each need of the individual child, create goals to meet that need, and provide educational experiences that assist in meeting the goals.
Our infant environment provides a stimulating area that encourages visual, language, gross motor and small motor experiences to enhance learning through their own curiosities. Our qualified staff utilize Teaching Strategies Curriculum and Indiana Academic Standards to plan appropriate activities that encourage growth and development for all of the children.
Once a child reaches the age of 1 year, the child moves to DayStar Childcare. It is a Level 4 Paths to Quality, Unlicensed Registered Ministry with the State of Indiana.
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Our toddler program consists of two One’s classes and two Two’s classes. Each of our classrooms are designed to provide a developmentally appropriate environment for each individual child and the group as a whole. This design allows children to safely follow their inquisitiveness. Through exploration and teacher involvement, the toddlers and twos will develop self-confidence, and knowledge.
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Using Teaching Strategies Curriculum and the environment, the teachers plan activities allowing the children to play, explore, and learn. The indoor setting provides opportunities for art, music, language, science, literacy, drama, and sensory experiences. The outdoor setting provides opportunities for gross motor development as well as science, and language opportunities.
Toddlers and Twos
Preschool &
Pre-Kindergarten
Our Preschool and PreK program prepares children socially and academically for success in Kindergarten. These classrooms are organized in ways that encourage independence, responsibility, and confidence. Our educational program focuses on the development of the whole child; intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. These developmental areas are practiced by offering concrete, hands-on activities for the child to explore. They are also supported by the environment, which is organized in areas that focus on all levels of development.
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The preschool curriculum and environment are designed to offer developmentally appropriate opportunities that engage each child in literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts. Using Teaching Strategies, our trained staff develops and prepares activities that challenge and excite the children while integrating different learning styles appropriate for each classroom and each child. Field trips and extracurricular activities are offered as well.
DayStar provides before and after care for children ages 6 years through 6th grade or 12 years old. We also provide full-time activities for school agers during school breaks and summer vacation. During the school year, school aged children will have opportunity to work on homework and engage in both informal and group activities prepared by our staff.
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During school breaks and summer vacation, DayStar has a developed curriculum to meet the needs and interest of our school agers. Planned educational activities, field trips and swimming opportunities are incorporated into the schedule each week during the summer. An end of the summer wilderness camping trip is planned each year to engage the children in nature experiences not available on a regular basis to most of our children.
School Agers
