Sheri Johnson

Program Site Visit Assessment

On Saturday November 19, 2013 I visited Beautiful Minds group child care center in Eau Claire Wisconsin. They employ a total of thirty five staff members, ranging from child care providers that have taken online courses up to staff members who hold Bachelors Degrees in Early Childhood. The staffs average Registry training level is eight. When parents first enter the daycare center, there is a lobby with a Keurig coffee maker available for parents and employees to utilize. In the lobby there is a bulletin board with information posted for parents. The office is also just inside the entrance. The center keeps their doors locked at all times for security purposes. Each parent has an access card which allows them entrance in the center. Its overall philosophy is that they instill manners, social skills, humility, having a positive attitude, and exploring their environment with the children in care. They emphasize fun and play as they incorporate this learning into their activities. They encourage open discussion with the children to help develop their thought processes and children are encouraged to try new things to expand their view of the world. On the day of my visit I observed the Monkey Room which accommodates children ages 2-3 year olds, the room was being supervised by one Assistant teacher and one Lead teacher. There were nine children in attendance this was average attendance for this age group on a Saturday. The teachers were involved with the childrens playing activities. They used positive redirection when guiding the childrens behavior. The room was separated in sections with colored tape on the floor to define each area of play. The different areas were dramatic play, music/ movement, math & science, manipulative play, art, reading, block area and sensory table area. The teachers encouraged the children to stay in the taped area of play in which they were using; if they had dress up clothes on they wanted them to stay in the taped area of dramatic play etc.

The arrangement of the classroom I observed had areas defined in an organized way. There were stickers on all the shelves to help the children know where the toys belonged. All the toys were easily accessible to the children except for the sensory tables; they were brought down only at certain times for the children to play with. There was plenty of space for the children to move easily from area to area. There was specified area for children to go if they wanted individual play in the room over by the reading area. Soft furnishing in a quiet space set aside for children that wanted to go there. The children had a large selection of different experiences available for them to do. The favorite spot in this room seemed to be the science area. There were a variety of different empty cleaned out Gatorade bottles filled with various materials. Some had different colored gel-like water with glitter in them; some had colored rice, different colored rocks as well as black eyed peas. Several of the bottles had pin holes in them so that the children could smell what was inside; these containers had things such as sticks of cinnamon, chopped up soap and orange peels in them. There were two children that really seemed to stay in the music and movement area for quite some time, an exercise cd was playing and one of the teachers were over there doing all kinds of different exercises with them. The teacher had to remind the children often to respect each others space in this area. Pictures of the childrens faces were taped to the back of the chairs in the preschool/ art area. Each child is assigned a certain seat; the pictures help them know where to sit each day. There were plenty of storage areas for supplies for the classroom. They used drawers and clearly marked shelves for supplies as well as storage cabinets. The areas for the children to put their belongings (coats, hats, shoes etc.) were individual cubbies with coat hooks which gave the children plenty of space. The outdoor area was separated into different areas for different age groups and the equipment was compatible with each age group as well. There were soft ground cover areas as well as some blacktop for riding toys and bikes.

The Monkey Room

Manipulative

Dramatic Play

Math & Science

Play

Music / Movement

Rocking horses

Reading Area

Sensory table

Block Area
E n t e r

Supplies & Storage

Childrens Coats etc.

Outdoor Space

Swing Set

Black top Area School Age Play area

3-4 years old play area Infant / Toddler play area

There was a large assortment of outdoor play equipment in each of the areas of play. Each area had size appropriate climbers, bikes, sand tables and toys.