Day Nursery grads

One of the benefits of working for Day Nursery is we are surrounded by a bunch of adorable children-including many who belong to our co-workers.  Because we are a close knit group, we have watched these children graduate from car seats to college over the years.  This week, we were lucky to have three of them back in the office to help out with some filing and shredding.  Thanks for your help and good luck this fall in school (L to R) Claire (7th grade), Brianna (4th grade) and Jessica (10th grade).

Day Nursery Indianapolis produces pint-sized Opening Ceremony

When our teachers build their weekly curriculum, they make sure it has a balance of topics their students are currently interested in mixed with lessons built around what is happening in their world.  For the past week, the teachers at the Day Nursery Northwest Center in Pike Township have been letting their students explore the Olympics through music, art, literature and videos of past competitions.  This morning all the children gathered out in the hallway to watch a hand-made, pint-size  Olympic torch pass by their classroom and to show the colors of their “country.” Later next week, there will be friendly competition between the classrooms.  Here are some pictures from today’s pageantry. 

Day Nursery Northwest students model Olympic training

Tonight, millions of people around the world will be glued to the television to see the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in London.  A bit closer to home, and a few hours earlier, the Day Nursery Northwest Center staff will be gathering the students together for their own opening ceremonies scheduled for 10am.  Mrs. Renee Dixon, lead teacher in the Toddler 4 class has been heading the charge for the center to have its own international athletic competition. She arranged for each classroom to represent a country. Her class, Toddler 4 will be presenting Morocco. This is a sneak peek of their most recent training session.

Day Nursery Avon Center preschoolers enjoy dramatic play

Students in preschool 4 at Day Nursery in Avon were busy in the Dramatic Play area of their classroom this morning. Dramatic play is central to children’s healthy development and learning during the preschool years.

At Day Nursery our teachers develop their weekly lesson plans based on the interest of their students and guided by the Creative Curriculum®. Every classroom includes an area designed to inspire creative and imaginative play. In the dramatic play area, children break through the restrictions of reality. They pretend to be someone or something different from themselves and make up situations and actions that go along with the role they choose. When children engage in dramatic play they deepen their understanding of the world and develop skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

Day Nursery Board Members Day of Caring

Members of the Day Nursery Association and Day Nursery Auxiliary boards gathered early Saturday morning to help build garden boxes on the preschool playground of our Ruth A. Lilly Center, 3522 N. Central Avenue.  Both the preschool and infant toddler playgrounds are undergoing a major transformation to turn them into a certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom.

Pictured here is one of 4 garden boxes that the volunteers built.  A second group of volunteers will construct the toddler garden boxes soon.  Children will have the opportunity to plant seeds in the winter and nurture them in indoor greenhouse environments, transplanting them to the boxes every spring.  A project approach to learning is used in these science lessons in that the classroom groups research and decide what they want to grow,  how to take care of the plants, and ultimately how to prepare the food when they harvest it.

One focal point of the preschool playground consists of 5 x 5 foot decking platforms that are at different heights and framed by round wooded trunk-like posts. Once this play area is built, children will be able to add fabric and other items to create, build and play using imagination and team building skills with other kids.  The different levels create rooms/spaces that are available simultaneously for constant play.  The toddler playground has another platform deck, built to scale for younger children. The project is being facilitated by Daryn Fair, President of Fall Creek Land Design.

Day Nursery Hendricks County two year olds enjoy splatter paint

The two year olds from Miss Larissa and Miss Luly’s class at the Day Nursery Hendricks County Early Care and Education Center in Avon did splat painting with various textured balls. Center Director Joy McCall shared that this was great fun and evolved into a bit of body painting too.  Activities like this are not only fun but they are educational.  When our teachers put their weekly lesson plans together, they make sure the activities relate to the The Foundations to the Indiana Academic Standards for Young Children from Birth to Age 5.

Here is what the two year olds were learning today:

Math (This exercise asked the children to select the preferred item when given two choices), Science (The children were learning to use words to describe physical attributes of objects  e.g, size, color) and Fine Arts (The goal is to get the children to delight in touch and feel of materials rather than what is being produced).

Day Nursery Indianapolis Friday Faces

Preschool 4 students and teacher Ms Tyler getting silly celebrating Hat Day at the Day Nursery Early Learning Center in Avon.

Day Nursery State Center Teddy Bear Picnic

Moms and Dads (and Teddy Bears, of course) gathered on the playground of the Day Nursery Indiana State Government Center yesterday for a Teddy Bear Picnic over the lunch hour.  Thanks to Center Director Michelle Terry for sharing these pictures from her center.

Too Cute Tuesday: Day Nursery student flag

Happy Independence Day!  The kindergarten class at Day Nursery Northwest enjoyed learning about the colors in the American flag today.  They searched through many magazines to find this beautiful display of red, white and blue.