Feels Like Home Early Care & Education (FLH) is licensed to provide care for up to 12 children complying with capacity ratios as outlined in the current Family Child Care Licensing Rule.
Following the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), FLH does not discriminate in the administration of its education or admissions policies, admitting children 6 weeks of age to 5 years old, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin or disability into its program. Being responsive to individual learning needs and interests, as needed, activities are appropriately modified.The Multi Ages program at FLH offers: continuity of care supporting the development of trust and feelings of security for both children and their families; opportunity for siblings to be together; opportunity to make friends across a variety of ages and interact with children at different developmental levels; variety of different contact patterns supporting development of social emotional and language skills and opportunities for older children to experience and learn responsibility.
FLH does curriculum programming September – June. We work from a program-generated method of curriculum development. FLH is a cognitive based program that combines with the idea of approaching learning opportunities for all children meeting them where they are developmentally. With “Intention” we will do the best we can by all the children in care. We have the ability to mix and match the best from a variety of programs, resources and focused philosophies as needs and interests indicate. Learning here is play-based and as child-directed as possible. Projects done during our days are developed around the interests and skill levels of the children participating, using the local school system Kindergarten Readiness, Maine Early Learning Development Standards(MELDS), which includes Infant and Toddler(ITMELDS) and Preschool(PMELDS) and the CDC Developmental Milestones covering infants through school aIt is important and developmentally beneficial for children to be outdoors and actively engaged.
Following the current FCC Licensing Rule regulations regarding extreme weather conditions and air quality the ideal is to spend the majority of each day outside. Outside active play includes: neighborhood walks, running, climbing, exploring the woods, and digging. Gardening is also an indoor/outdoor learning opportunity at FLH for children to participate in. Personally, I also think it is important for children to learn how to be inside while remaining active and engaged in activities, so physical activity whether outdoors or inside is an important part of our play. Active indoor activities include: Trampolines, dancing, movement games, and creative play. Play equipment is checked daily and anything needing repair is removed from usage until fixed.
Parental communications are an important part of providing quality care to the children attending FLH.
Although there is daily discussion between staff and a child’s parents/legal guardians regarding each child’s experiences at home and during our day, we are always willing to set up a time for a more private conversation to discuss any concerns. FLH also schedules an annual conference for each child in care. For families with siblings, we will provide separate focused discussion on each child at the conference. If a child leaves care before the scheduled conference FLH offers an exit conference.
Daily written notices are not provided unless requested by the child’s parents/legal guardians. A child’s parents/legal guardians may provide a template of a form with the information they would like to have completed daily for them. Technology continues to change and FLH will use a variety of what is available to provide timely access to a child’s parents/legal guardians when and where needed to support our work as a team for their child. Current communication includes text messages, online software program (Rayz Kids),social media (Facebook & Instagram) and weekly and monthly newsletters. The annual family survey is emailed out to parents/legal guardians every spring.
Feels Like Home Early Care & Education 