July 2004

What Children Need to Do

Are you looking for child care for your child? You want to find a warm, loving caregiver and a clean, safe facility. In order to grow and learn new skills, your child also needs a program with a variety of activities on the daily schedule. Materials and equipment should be right for the ages of the children.

There should be quiet times for playing with blocks, playdough, reading books, and doing puzzles. Water and sand play are fun for kids. Are dramatic play, art activities, and music times scheduled? See if toys and books are where children can reach them.

Children need active play every day, both indoors and outdoors. They need room to run, jump, and climb. Children behave better when they are kept busy and have chances to be active. Movement activities can be done indoors and out. These include circle games, throwing beanbags, jumping, and moving to music.

The Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Better Kid Care Program has information on children's issues for early childhood educators, child care providers, and parents on the Better Kid Care Web site at: www.betterkidcare.psu.edu

What Will They Think of Next?

Children have wonderful creative ideas. Good child care providers promote this by scheduling activities and providing materials to help children use their creative skills. Here are some things for parents to look for in a good child care program:

There are lots of art materials, including various types and sizes of paper, crayons, markers, safety scissors, glue, paints, and different kinds of brushes.
The children can explore with the art materials and come up with their own ideas. They are not expected to have required finished products.
There are chances for imaginative play. Props and dress-up clothes are provided.
The group takes nature walks in the yard or neighborhood to allow the children to explore and talk about what they see.
The children are encouraged to pretend to be characters from a favorite story.
Puppets are available for stories and plays.
There are blocks, small people, animal figures, and vehicles for imaginary play.
Toy musical instruments are available for pretend bands and parades.

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Nancy Wilson, Better Kid Care Program Assistant
Penn State Better Kid Care Program
253 Easterly Parkway
State College, PA 16801
e-mail: naw6@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-5880
Fax: 814-865-7893