Good Morning preschool makes up for missed experience
By Karen Cameron
When toddlers enter preschool this fall, they have much to learn about the world around them and how to navigate environments away from home. Most have spent the most crucial developmental years in a pandemic when going to the store or anywhere else was never a simple task. As educators, we are reminded of what our little ones have been missing when we ask about once-common early childhood experiences. “Have you gone to the dino-museum?” “Have you been to the library?” “Do you take swimming lessons?” Even simple visits with grandparents may have been limited.
After two years in the pandemic, and with vaccines becoming available for under-five-year-olds, these young children are beginning to enjoy the experiences they have missed. At the same time, this age group has missed crucial years of social and emotional development. These growing minds were often interacting with immediate family but missing out on learning experiences like making shapes with playdough with peers, playing grocery store and listening to story time with a group of friends.
The first five years are commonly recognized as the most important in a child’s development. While these youngsters have missed some crucial experiences, they may actually emerge better equipped and more capable of being adaptable and resilient. This means it is more important for parents to enroll their children in a preschool program with educators who can support new experiences and prepare them for kindergarten and other educational, athletic and arts programs in their future.
At Good Morning, we recognize the various supports our youngest children require and invite you to check out the variety of programs for toddlers, preschoolers, kinders and school-aged children. We currently have room for all ages.
Good Morning is an arts-focused program that introduces different mediums of material for all ages. Our School-Aged program gives your child’s creative side a chance to shine with our annual Vernissage Art Show, always the highlight of the year! This program has room on Tuesdays and Thursdays with free walkover from Glebe schools.
Our Toddler program is a low-ratio class designed to be a gentle and joyful introduction to a new environment away from home. Toddlers are free to explore and discover new, wonderful things. We encourage interacting with a variety of toys, art supplies and materials to help maintain a good balance between the individual child and group activities. This program runs Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Our Preschool & Beyond program offers similar teachings to the Toddler program but expands this development with increased focus on social skills and more individual participation in small group time. This program has expanded and is now offering the option for mornings, half days or full days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well as half days on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
For this and all information about our programs please visit our website www.gmcaps.com and check out our social media posts to get a feel for what we are all about.
www.facebook.com/gmcaps.ottawa
www.instagram.com/goodmorningottawa.
Karen Cameron is the director of Good Morning Creative Arts and Preschool. She can be reached at goodmdorningpreschool@gmail.com or 613-276-7974.
