Step 3: Getting the Vision Right From the Heart Daycare

The vision that is we have at the daycare is to have the proper care for a child and to provide them with a learning environment that is adaptable to their needs. Step three in The Heart of Change talks about creating a plan that makes the vision of the organization become a reality. Two changes that have recently been made throughout the daycare are the curriculum and food menus. The curriculum is based off of the child’s learning ability. The children are separated into different groups according to age. There are infant, toddlers, preschool, and after school. Each week has a theme that includes a letter, number, shape, and subject. Each child has a packet of worksheets and activities that are done throughout the day for the whole week. The change that we have implanted is sign language for the toddlers and Spanish as a second language for the both toddlers and preschool children who will be transitioning into kindergarten. The reasoning for this change is simple, schools are now expanding with children who come from all different backgrounds and we felt that it was necessary for them to be able to adapt to other cultures. The sign language is taught to the toddlers for easier communication. When there are 5 screaming toddlers it can be a bit stressful in trying to figure out what they all want. Since they are barely learning how to talk we keep the sign language very basic. A few examples of words that they learn are Please, thank you, eat, juice, milk, yes, and no. aside from learning sign language we do encourage their motor skills by introducing flash cards with numbers, letters, shapes, and other images.
The second change was the food menu. Our food menu is set by state regulations and the California state licensing for in home daycares. They have