Out Of School Care
Before and After School Program
Children at Stepping Stone will have an active calendar of activities, including ‘Workshops’ such as Zumba, Art, and Yoga to name a few. Staff blends their unique talents with child care experience to provide a rich program that highlights their personal strength. We admire the educational sensibilities of the Reggio Amelia philosophy and so at Stepping Stone we encourage children to express their own interests in a topic or area that we will pursue and explore with them. We will provide opportunities for a ‘club within a club’ such as board games and homework.
Our programs invite independence and positive decision making skills among the children. Children are encouraged to participate in peer free-play as well as structured games and activities. At Stepping Stone, we are strong believers in outdoor play and will, weather permitting, get children into the outdoors where possible for fun in the playground, or exploration of a certain theme such as ‘wildlife detective’.
We will encourage children to resolve conflicts with peers on their own or under the supervision of program staff.
Our day will always start with a ‘meeting of minds’ in a circle where we all feel safe, can see each other and talk openly. We will discuss our plans for the day and the children can share any events or ideas with adults and their peers.
Our days are scheduled to allow children to be active, challenged, quiet, interested and happy. We always consult children on the type of activities they would like to have at their program. Evaluation of activities is central to our programme planning both within our staff /adults and though consultation with the children – if an activity was very popular we can repeat it in future; if we learn that an activity was less successful in meeting the needs of most individuals then we will try another activity in future planning.
We commit to liaising with our schools to mirror their themes and initiatives and become active in their community.
