I am a past volunteer at the Children’s Cottage in Calgary, which is a type of respite care centre for children whose parents either need a break, or have come into care through the social services system. I have also worked with a special needs child in my care-giving career. These environments taught me how to teach children the necessary skills to cope with a variety of everyday, and not so everyday, problems. The style of discipline used in the dayhome is one of redirection and brief time-outs, which I have found to be very effective for most of the children in my care.

In my quest to nurture my love of music, I incorporate music into daily activities in the dayhome. Music has been an important part of my life since I was 6 years old. I started out by learning to play the piano, and progressed into singing by high school. I have sung for a variety of events, namely weddings, art shows, and in a church choir. I have a repertoire that includes jazz, classical, contemporary, and Broadway tunes. I am familiar with the benefits music has with children in regard to brain development, problem-solving skills, self-confidence, and memory. There will be no “formal” music training, but the incorporating of music into daily tasks. For example: clean-up songs, washing-hands songs, transition songs, etc. Most of the songs that I like to sing with children are songs we make up together using musical tunes that everyone is familiar with, and can sing and/or hum easily. Every person has the ability to sing, and there is nothing as pleasing as seeing the smile on a child’s face while they are engaged in song. Please ask me for a demonstration!

The main philosophy of the dayhome is that every child is unique and special in their own way. I want the children to discover the fun that can be found in everyday activities, and the natural learning that goes along with it. I believe in child-directed play and discovery, and will facilitate this by providing a rich and interesting play environment for them. I will model good manners, and behaviors that are necessary for getting along in our everyday lives. For example: please, thank you, excuse me, and the knack for learning good conversation skills and etiquette. All children will have age appropriate “chores” to do throughout the day, whether it be helping to put food on the table, or for the very young, learning to carry their bottle to the nap area. All children want to feel like they are contributing to their environment, and I will support their efforts, and encourage their endeavours.

As I mentioned in one of my above paragraphs, my style of discipline is one of redirection, and brief time-outs. When I begin to take care of a child, one of the first things I talk about with them (providing they are verbal), are the rules. I do not have many rules, but the ones I do have, I am adamant at following. The main rule of the house is: No hurting another person, or yourself, i.e. pinching, hitting, banging one’s head on purpose, or calling names. I teach the children that hurting can mean on your body (hitting), or in your body (name-calling). I have had great success with this rule, and have found that this eliminates 80% of disciplinary situations. As for the other 20%, they are mainly when children act out as a result of being tired, sick, hungry, or have a problem they have internalized. These are often simply rectified by addressing the need, or sometimes by having a brief time-out. For example: a child is repeatedly taking a toy away from another child. Despite re-direction with other toys, or facilitating a negotiation between the children, one is grabbing. I would simply state, “Johnny, we are going to go and look at the books for the next 5 minutes, and then try playing with Sally again.” Children do not need a lengthy explanation at this point. They understand that their behavior is unacceptable at that moment because they are removed from the activity, but their self-esteem is still high because they know they will be given another chance. When the children are “reunited”, encouragement is given in the form of “That was nice of you to give the truck to Sally, John”, or other such comments that tell the child what they are doing well, and not what I think they are doing well. Please don’t hesitate to ask me about any particular discipline issues you may have, or be concerned about. If there were ever anything I was concerned about, I would ask the parent(s) to have a meeting with me about it. This would be for such issues as repeated behaviors that are dangerous, like biting or hitting, that do not stop with the above stated discipline measures.

I have an open-door policy on parental involvement in the dayhome. Please feel free to “drop in” unexpectedly, or stay for a while to play! Any interest or idea in going on a field trip to a particular place, and/or wanting to come along would be eagerly greeted! Some of the places I have visited with children in and around Calgary include: Elbow Falls, Big Springs Provincial Park, Bragg Creek Provincial Park; “SpacePort” at the Calgary International Airport, The Tyrell Museum (dinosaurs) in Drumheller, berry picking at a local Alberta farm, an overnight camping trip in Kananaskis and a model airplane flying field, just outside Calgary. I hope that I have answered most of the questions you may have had and if I have not, please do email me with anything you may be concerned about.

Please take the time to take a look through this site to get to know me and thank you for your interest in “Wee” Care Dayhome.