Category: daycare

How to Raise an Adventurous Eater

Post author By Shira Leibowitz
Post date April 22, 2021

Do you want to raise an adventurous eater? Do you have any picky eaters in your family?

We are happy to share wisdom from Kelly Gumpel, RD, CDN, CDCES. Kelly is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. She’s also a mom of one of Discovery Village’s preschoolers and a lover of all things food!

Kelly generously volunteered her time, leading a conversation with Discovery Village families about how to raise an adventurous eater. We are happy to share some of what we learned.

On Meal and Snack Times:

When you can, eat together as a family.
Make meal times pleasant.
Avoid distractions while eating.
Schedule meal and snack times rather than eating at different times each day.

On Introducing New Foods:

Expose children to new foods patiently. It can take up to 20 tries for a child to eat a new food.
At meals provide at least one food your child likes. Your child may only eat that one food. In time your child will try other foods.
Introduce new foods on the plate with a food your child already knows and likes.
Get creative with various presentations of new foods. For example, on different days offer carrot sticks, baby carrots, cooked carrots, or carrots with cinnamon.
Get playful with new foods. Arrange food on the plate with a smiley face or in other fun arrangements. Consider it a win if your child explores a new food the first time; sticking fingers into it or moving it around on the plate.

On Learning about Different Foods and About Eating:

Include your child in trips to the grocery store. Or, if because of COVID you prefer not to take your child to the grocery store, have your child help you unpack the food.
Model using utensils and chewing with your mouth closed.
Help your child learn to talk about food. Teach not to say “that’s yucky” or “that’s disgusting”. Instead, let you child know it’s ok to say that you don’t want that now. Tastes change over time.

On Helping Children Understand and Respect Their Own Bodies:

Children have a natural ability to eat. They can assess for themselves how hungry and how full they are. Your responsibility as a parent is to offer balanced, healthy meals. It is your child’s responsibility to decide how much to eat and whether to eat.

Take a look at the links below for some valuable information on ways to raise an adventurous eater.

Have fun with adventurous eating!

Childcare COVID-19 daycare

COVID Made Us Better!

Post author By Shira Leibowitz
Post date April 7, 2021

Early Childhood Education During COVID and Beyond

There are so many stories of early childhood education during COVID to celebrate. Many daycares never closed. Many others found ways to maintain relationships and engagement with preschoolers, toddlers, and even infants remotely. Discovery Village did both. We remained open for our essential workers, while providing remote learning for children whose families were sheltering in place.

Something surprising happened in the process. We not only navigated through COVID. We’ve gotten better!

Early Childhood Education During COVID: Programs That Never Closed

It was almost exactly one year ago that I first sensed we were experiencing the beginning of something new for early childhood education.

There were only six children present, ranging in age from 18 months to five. Children saw new possibilities for a farm they had built out of a cardboard box.

One child took the road they had used to bring supplies to the farm. He turned it into his very own “highway to happiness.” Any person could drive on the road. At the end they would find arrive anyplace they wanted to vacation, real or imagined.

Two children took the farm itself and redesigned it. They built a carwash. Now cars would be super clean before driving down the highway to happiness. They found a way to funnel real water into the carwash to wash the cars.

Three children, younger toddlers, were also interested in animals, cars, and water. They took individual bins filled with soapy water and gave baths to the toy animals that had just earlier that day lived in the farm.

Hand-washing

The focus on washing, both cars and animals, came from our constant hand-washing. Between each and every activity, and at minimum every half hour, children washed their hands. They delighted in splashing in the water, savoring the feel of the running water and soap suds. Hand-washing had become the punctuation mark of our days, offering a moment of respite between each and every activity.

In the following weeks, our children’s curiosity about water brought us in many new directions. We explored the depths of the sea, and designed our very own aquarium. We looked to the rain clouds above, showering our world with water, and built our own cloud observatory. We marveled at the power of water to nourish plants and people, and tended to our very own indoor garden. Losing ourselves in our playful learning, the outside world melted away.

Children showed us the ways to navigate through COVID; playfully and focusing on the positive.

Early Childhood Programs That Went Remote: Putting Relationships at the Center

I will never forget the moment, very early in the pandemic, that I heard about early childhood education programs offering remote learning. At first, I thought teaching toddlers and preschoolers remotely was perhaps the most ridiculous educational idea I had ever heard. Within a week, Discovery Village was offering remote learning for preschoolers, toddlers, and even infants. Many childcare and preschools had gone entirely remote, at least for several months.

The learning included live video sessions via Zoom, videos teachers created, and packets of activities to do at home. The live sessions included Spanish, sign language, and lots of exercise and movement. It changed frequently to keep children interested. At the core of the experience was being together, even while physically distanced. We always knew relationships and care are at the heart of early childhood. We found ways to strengthen those relationships even while physically distant.

The Possibilities that Lie Ahead

While COVID forced us to change, we had the choice to change for the better. So many of us id. The creativity that emerged in early childhood can be a beginning, offering possibilities for improving the quality of learning and care. It is a conversation many are having. I welcome you to join in and reflect on what we have learned through these challenging months, and what we will intentionally bring with us moving forward.

daycare

Daycare Activities To Enjoy at Home

Post author By Shira Leibowitz
Post date January 19, 2021

Daycare Activities to bring home - during quarantine and any other time

Daycare activities at Discovery Village include the arts, sciences, language and literacy, math, physical education, and so much more. When children can’t be in school, there is so much families can offer at home. During a quarantine of our toddler program, our teachers created learning activities for families to bring Discovery Village home.

While these activities are presented within a structure like school, you can play with them. Feel very welcome to embrace the joy of the possibility of less structured days at home. Learning can happen while cooking, doing laundry, as well as while becoming immersed in play. Of the activities, see what resonates for you child. We invite you to make it all as low-stress as possible.

We are so happy for you to be able to enjoy these activities any time

daycare

Discovery Village: World Class Daycare for Families in Sleepy Hollow, New York

Post author By Shira Leibowitz
Post date January 11, 2021

daycare

Like Sleepy Hollow itself, Discovery Village, offers the care of a community-minded village with the culture and creativity of an urban hub. Families looking for daycare near Sleepy Hollow can find all they seek at Discovery Village. Conveniently located on White Plains Road, within Sleepy Hollow’s very own 10591 zip code, families in Sleepy Hollow benefit from a premier daycare center right in their very own neighborhood.

What is it that distinguishes Discovery Village as a world class daycare?

First and foremost, our young Discovery Villagers, between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years, are immersed in the care of a village, the creativity of an art studio, and the discovery of a science lab. In all of our programs; infant, toddler, and preschool, careful attention is given to nurturing the natural curiosity and creativity of our young villagers. Art projects and science investigations abound, all developed responsively based on the ever emerging interests of our children. Without compromising on the development of language, literacy, and math skills vital for Kindergarten readiness, Discovery Village seamlessly infuses learning in academic areas within creative, playful projects and explorations designed to reflect students’ interests.

In the list of vital considerations for busy families seeking daycare near Sleepy Hollow, Discovery Village has it all.

Convenience

Full Day, Year Round Care: Open 12 months a year, from 7 AM to 6 PM, Discovery Village provides full day, year round daycare near Sleepy Hollow.

Great Location: Located on White Plains Road, Discovery Village is very close to home for Sleepy Hollow families, while offering easy access to routes 119, 287, 87, and the Saw Mill River Parkway.

Safety

COVID Health and Safety Protocol:

Discovery Village has carefully interwoven both the mandatory and recommended health and safety guidelines for Child Care programs in New York State in a playful and non-stressful manner. This includes: daily health screenings for children and adults, very frequent hand washing and sanitizing throughout the day, professional cleaning and disinfecting after hours, personal protective equipment, social distancing for adults, small learning pods with the same teachers and small group consistently for children to limit exposure, exclusion from program with symptoms that could indicate COVID until cleared by a doctor to return, individual toy and materials for children disinfected between use, individually plated food for meals, and transparent communication with families.

State of the Art Video Surveillance Cameras and Secure Keyless Entry System:

Classrooms and doors are protected with video surveillance cameras. Monitoring screens are positioned both in the back office and in the entryway to the school. Our Director and CEO also have access through their phones. Parents are welcome to observe children in classrooms at any time on the monitoring screen at the school entryway. Our state of the art Kisi keyless entry system allows access only to people authorized by the school. Parents and staff members gain entry during school hours through an app. When a staff member or family member leaves the school their access is immediately withdrawn. Additionally, the school’s CEO can lockdown the facility from her phone.

CPR, First Aid, Medical Administration Training (MAT) and Safety Drills and Reviews:

All staff receive on-site CPR and First Aid training. Numerous staff members, including the entire leadership team have Medical Administration Training. Staff and students participate in monthly fire drills as well as lock down drills several times a year. There is regular review with staff on safety protocol and procedures, including special medical needs of children that might require special attention. There is also regular review of food and other allergies of children.

Health and Wellness

Nutrition:

Children at Discovery Village receive a healthy breakfast, lunch, and two snacks, prepared fresh, on site every day and included in the cost of tuition. Our talented in house chef designs a menu that is both dietician and kid approved!

Combined with healthy foods, Discovery Village designs playful explorations inviting children’s wonder and curiosity about food and nutrition. They learn about food and nutrition, and even participate in cooking and gardening projects.

Exercise:

Offering a wide range of sports and calisthenics, alongside daily yoga, Discovery Village offers children a wide range of opportunities to move their bodies and exercise. Our villagers get outside twice a day, weather permitting. We also get physically active inside with dancing, obstacle courses, and lots and lots of movement. Central to the Discovery Village experience is a focus on fitness as central in a healthy lifestyle.

Social-Emotional Learning:

Caring for oneself and others, as well as our communities and even our planet, is central to the Discovery Village experience. The center is a haven and hope, a calm and peaceful oasis in a world that can so often be full of chaos and trauma. Our villagers are deeply engaged in developing the skills and mindsets vital to social-emotional well-being.