Daycare is provided on campus by the Hands on Early Learning Centre Ltd. and is managed by Tobi Horon, who has worked on campus at the daycare for more than 30 years. Our highly-qualified staff of early childhood educators have a combined experience of nearly 100 years. All staff have either an Early Childhood Education diploma or certificate and hold a St. John’s Emergency Child Care Certificate.

Our vision

The Hands on Early Learning Centre fosters a nurturing environment for children to grow and learn, allowing their parents (you) the freedom and security to achieve your educational and career goals for the betterment of your family. We are strong individuals helping to build strong families.

Our mission

We provide high-quality care to the children and families we serve by building strong partnerships with each other. We offer families the resources and support they need to achieve success. We provide children learning and experiences through play, helping them to gain self-confidence, knowledge, imagination and determination. The foundation of lifelong learning starts in the Hands on Early Learning Centre.

Our philosophy: Learning through play

A typical day at Hands on Early Learning Centre balances self-directed and teacher-guided learning through both quiet and energetic activities. Children are given the opportunity to choose the type of activity they prefer, allowing their needs and interests to determine the choice of learning experience. When the delivery of a concept lacks appeal, others replace it.

We consider how children learn and experience their worlds, providing the freedom of movement children need to experiment, question and deal with their own intellectual curiosity while following the Child Care Curriculum Framework for Alberta. Our play areas and activities are designed to maximize all the developmental domains:

  • Social
    • Children encounter experiences every day that allow them to share, take turns and interact with groups and individuals.
    • Providing a safe, healthy and nurturing space, we help your child transition from the protected environment of your home to a large group setting.
  • Emotional
    • Children are given many opportunities to grow in self-direction and independence by learning to make choices.
    • We encourage each child to express him/herself verbally – giving all children a chance to have their voices heard and their needs acknowledged.
  • Physical
    • Your child’s day always includes a period of outdoor activity in a safe, stimulating and developmentally appropriate environment. During cold days, we ensure each child is warmly dressed.
    • Children are encouraged to learn about and care for their bodies through healthy bathroom routines.
  • Cognitive
    • The daycare is frequently noisy and busy as we give children many opportunities to socialize and experiment, helping them learn new words, grammar and sentence structure.
    • Through various activities, children learn to problem-solve, think logically and acquire sensory-perceptual processing.
       

Child guidance policy

We work to prevent undesirable behaviour by setting a good example, recognizing each child as an individual, appropriately planning the program to meet all the children’s needs and interests, planning transitions and organizing the play space to prevent running and boredom. We support each child in developing positive relationships with peers and caregivers through the following strategies:

  1. Redirection: Children are redirected to more appropriate behaviour.
  2. Logical and natural consequences: Children experience the natural consequences for their behaviour. For example, a child is encouraged to pick up his/her crayons if the child knocks them over.
  3. Stating expectations clearly and positively: Expectations are stated clearly in language understood by children.
  4. Structuring the environment: Adequate space, materials and arrangement of the environment limits conflict.
  5. Modelling: Educators model appropriate social behaviours and problem-solving skills.
  6. Encouraging problem solving and choice: Educators encourage children to solve their own problems whenever possible. They are given choices that lead to appropriate behaviour.
     

Where possible, discipline is a positive intervention that helps a child learn how to control his/her behaviour rather than a negative approach of physical power. Limits are necessary and are clearly defined and constantly maintained. Fair, firm rules of discipline are administered as children are not allowed to damage property or harm themselves or others.

Accreditation

In 2006, we became an accredited daycare program. Accreditation builds on typical licensing standards, emphasizing staff practices and actual outcomes for children and families. It shifts the focus from meeting minimum standards to continuously striving towards providing higher levels of care. We are committed to providing outstanding child care every day.