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15 Ideas for a Fun Family Picnic

Shopping HealthierPlanning a family picnic is the perfect activity for fun summer learning. With all the outside games and food, it’s easy to see why your kids will never know you have a secret curriculum up your sleeve! Here are 15 great tips to make your summer picnics full of learning – AND lots of fun:

  1. Races: Running races, the egg and spoon race, hopping-on-one-leg races – anything goes! Lots of exercise is linked to more learning – and better behavior. Have the kids run for at least an hour during your picnic to maximize this fun learning booster.
  2. Ball Games: Playing catch and kicking the ball helps with a kind of coordination called Motor Planning, which helps your children get from one place to another. The more confident  your children are with their bodies , the more likely  they are to take on other challenges in life.
  3. Daisy Chains: Dandelions or other common summer weeds are perfect for making daisy chains. Help your little one create the chain to help fine motor skills develop – and don’t forget to count the flowers.
  4. Leaf Adventures: When your children are  busy with something else, collect leaves from a few trees. Then ask them to find which trees they belong to. When they do, tell them about the trees they’ve discovered.
  5. Bubbles: Blowing bubbles helps little ones build the oral muscles needed to improve their speech. Count the bubbles for more fun and learning.
  6. Scavenger hunt: Create your hints ahead of time, and have one adult hide the items while another facilitates  games with the kids. Aim for 5 -6 items for younger children; older kiddos can stay focused for a longer list.
  7. Chalk it up: Bring chalk to draw pictures, letters, numbers, and shapes. Show your child how to play hopscotch and four square, too.
  8. Duck, Duck, Squirt (Gun): This variation on Duck, Duck, Goose goes like this:  Whoever is “it” goes around the circle, counting “duck, duck, duck” until he picks a player to squirt with the water gun. Race around the circle to see who can get back to the open position first, and try not to get too wet!
  9. Geocaching: This fun activity takes some preparation, but everyone in the family will enjoy it. Look up the location of treasures stashed nearby, and find them with the GPS on your phone.
  10. Cloud Watching: Lie on the grass together and watch the clouds go by. Have everyone say what shapes they see to encourage creativity. See what stories your little ones can make up about their cloud friends. Let the imagination flow!
  11. Freeze Tag: This classic game is a great way to challenge little ones to control themselves, be patient, and have fun. Make sure everyone has a chance to be “it!”
  12. Visit the Fire Department: Many parks are adjacent to a fire station. Teach the kids about fire safety by arranging a tour before your picnic. Most fire departments enjoy showing off their equipment to families.
  13. Healthy Food: Plan to pack simple, healthy snacks for your picnic. Choose foods with brain-building Omega 3 fatty acids such as chia seeds (fun and yummy to dip fruit in), edamame, salmon, and trail mix with walnuts. Your child’s brain – and behavior – will benefit.
  14. Fresh Fruit Ice Pops:  Before the picnic, have the kids help select and prep their favorite fresh fruits. Freeze fruit chunks and coconut water in popsicle molds to enjoy at the park. Yum!
  15. Don’t Forget the Sunscreen! Any outside adventure needs sun protection. This is the chance to teach little ones about the dangers of too much sun – and how to avoid it. Bring along the bug repellent, too.

Need more fun ideas? Contact Premier Academy Today!

 

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Walking – The Perfect Exercise

No time to exercise? Think again! As our kids head back to school, we’re squeezing more than ever into our hectic schedules. But you can work in plenty of physical activity for the whole family — simply by walking more. No other form of exercise is as easy, convenient and inexpensive. All you need is a pair of shoes and the will to get up and move.

The Many Benefits of Walking

Walking has the lowest dropout rate and the lowest injury rate of any exercise. It can help control weight, build healthy muscles, bones, joints and improve your mood. And just walking 30-60 minutes a day will improve anyone’s overall health.

A healthy exercise regimen and a well-balanced diet are fundamental for a long healthy life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the U.S. Children who are overweight or obese are at risk for developing hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels and other illnesses.

How to Make Walking Fun

Children today are not as active as we were growing up. We were allowed more freedom and ran around for much of the day. Today we need to get our children away from the computer and TV screens and do something with them if we want to help keep them fit. A fun and easy way is to take them walking.

Children will look forward to walking if you make it fun. Playing games as you walk will encourage children to walk greater distances. Play “I Spy.” Have a walking scavenger hunt. Bring along a small bucket to collect “treasures” that children find along the way. Spice up a walk by playing “Follow the Leader” or with “interval training,” depending on your kids’ ages. Try different moves like giant steps, hopping, skipping, walking backwards – mix it up!

Keep Walking Safe

As with any form of exercise, it is important to keep a few safety factors in mind:

  1. Always stretch before you start walking.
  2. Walk on sidewalks or on a track.
  3. Walk with friends or family.
  4. Drink water before and after you walk. If you will be walking long distances, bring a water bottle along on your walk.
  5. Don’t overdo it. Start slowly and gradually increase your distance and speed over time.

Make a regular routine of healthy family dinners, followed by family walks to keep everyone healthy. (And don’t forget the dog!) This combination can help children develop healthy lifestyle habits early that will last a lifetime.

Contact Premier Academy Today!

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A Back-to-School List for Parents: Five Tips to Prep

Back-to-school is around the corner, but don’t be daunted by the transition from summer fun to school schedule. Children take their cues from their parents, so it’s key for US to get into the back-to-school mind-set first. Here are my pain-free prep tips for parents – our stressless adjustment will filter down to the kids, making it smoother for everyone.

Adjust your schedule. Ease back into the more strict school schedule by making the week before school starts a test-run week. Plan for the whole family to adopt more regular mealtimes, bedtimes and tidying-up routines.

Document your summer. Organize photos and mementos of summer adventures. Have everyone help, and display your project. Seeing summer fun all in one place is a concrete way of knowing that it’s time for the next phase.

Organize your home. Organizing the house helps to organize your mind! Get your surroundings into school mode to help you prepare. Reclaim school space by putting away sidewalk chalk and pool floaties, making room for lunch boxes, jackets and school papers. Have the kids help you set aside things they’ve outgrown, label bins and organize. Activities like this cue the whole family that it’s time to move into a new season.

Go shopping. Doctor’s orders! I love being able to use shopping as an excuse to boost psychological adjustment. Back-to-school shopping is a way to psychologically prepare. There’s nothing like buying school supplies or seeing your child fit into the next, larger clothing size to tell you that it’s transition time. Have the kids help you donate their outgrown clothes to those who need them, too.

Get haircuts. Shaggy summer hair is adorable, but fresh, official new haircuts (for Mom and Dad, too) signal it’s time for a fresh, official new schedule.

Is your child ready to go Back to School? Contact Premier Academy Today!

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Getting Ready for Pre-K

Importance of School ReadinessThis new journey of preparing your child for Pre-K is a very important time in your child’s life.  If you have placed your child in pre-school, this may be a very easy transition.  At Premier Academy in Omaha and Elkhorn, our goal is to not only help your children but to help our parents!

Pre-K is such a fun time.  Your child is growing up and this new stage in life is so exciting.  Your child is now gaining their independence right before your eyes.  Encouraging this behavior will help prepare your child for grade school and beyond!

Allow your child to “Do-It-Yourself”:

As we all know, doing things yourself is quick and easy but it won’t make your child self-sufficient.   Asking your child for your assistance is a great idea.  Kids want to be adults and will usually not take you up on your offer.

Praise your child for good behavior:

Praise is key; especially if your child is not in a cooperative phase. Try to catch your child being cooperative and helpful.  Kids repeat behaviors that get attention.

Give structured choices:

Preschool is full of choices and options.  From sharing to listening, your child will encounter this all throughout life.  At home, offering your child a choice allows them to make decisions on their own.  Although they will not always make the right decision, they will soon understand the consequence. A great tip for assisting is making an option less attractive.

Don’t redo what they’ve done:

If your child helps around the home, maybe setting the table, making their bed, helping bring in the groceries, keep these positive behaviors going.  Having responsibilities around the home will only help in the classroom.

Problem Solving:

As easy as it is to help our child make an easier decision for assembling a toy or reaching a high object, children need to learn to problem solve.  This can be a major benefit in math and science classes in the future.

Helping Around the Home:

Preschool is all about helping our peers and teachers.  Learning to share and cooperate are a huge part of life.  Giving our children easy chores around the house is a great way to encourage this behavior.  Making a bed or watering the plants is easy ways to start this behavior.

Is your child ready for Pre-K? Contact Premier Academy Today and schedule your tour!

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Evaluating Providers

Helping Children Make FriendsWhen it comes to child care, as a parent, there are a few things you should be looking out for when visiting daycare centers.  We all want to send our child to a high standard, and good working preschool. As parents, we should always want to give our kids the best head start in life, and by far the most effective way to start with this is to send your kids to a high quality child care center. Kids need to socialize with other children from a very young age, it allows them to become familiar to social interaction, sharing and good manners, this is what your child will gain from attending a preschool. Not only will they learn how to act and behave around others, they will learn valuable reading and writing skills.  Statistics show that kids who don’t attend preschools and head straight into schools have a much harder time learning than the children who did attend preschools. These statistics come in very handy when trying to give your kids the best head start in life, and it’s obvious which choice you should make.

When choosing a preschool for your child, you need to note everything you see when you are taken around the preschools:

  • How the teachers and teachers look after children
  • How do they react to children
  • How do they treat children

Another important thing to watch out for; the way teachers greet children, if they do, and see if teachers come down to kids’ eye levels to address them and talk with them. You can usually tell if a carer has a genuine love and passion for young toddlers when you first meet them, you’ll see their body language and the way they act around your kids, and then you will be able to tell if they are committed to their job or not. You want to find a preschool that shows a love for kids, their development, and one that has teachers who address kids in a grown up manner, but they take time to individually acknowledge each child, and help them with their needs, no matter how busy they are.

You’ll need to see how teachers answer your questions, if they do, this will tell you how interested they are in pleasing your needs, and how they pay attention to individual kids behaviors. You’ll also want to note the setting, is the area bright and pleasant? Or is it depressing and dull?  All these things will make a huge difference when it comes to your child actually enjoying the daycare center.

Another must is checking if the center is a licensed daycare or regulated, this will let you know what sort of center you are dealing with.

Overall, you need to get a general logistic feel of the daycare center. Does it make you happy, do you hear the sounds of laughter and fun, or the sound of silence? If the setting is good, the caregivers are exceptional and everything is legitimate, you will have found yourself the perfect childcare  center for your child.

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The First Day of Preschool

7 Play Based Learning Activities to Do With Your ChildThe first day can be hard on both parents and children. For many, it’s the first time that they will have been away from each other for such an extended period of time. Even though many kids will be excited for their first day of preschool, it is important to know that new experiences can bring some apprehensions.

Approaching them the right way will allow both children and parents to feel comfortable with the transition into preschool. Here are a few tips to prepare for the first day of preschool.

  1.  Provide Expectations
    Before the first day, explain social concepts such as waiting in line, teach body parts and count objects in your environment. This knowledge will give your child more confidence for the first day
  2.  Set on Schedule
    Practice wake-up time the week before. Setting the alarm for when your child will need to wake for preschool before will help them get used to the new schedule. If the time is much earlier than normal, your preschooler may need bedtime adjusted earlier as well.
  3.  Visualize the Day
    Thinking about what might come next for school will help your child to feel more empowered and less likely to be upset by surprises on the first day.
  4.  Be Early
    Drop off your preschooler a few minutes early, to allow for one-on-one time with the teacher and time to get acquainted with the room when it’s still calm and quiet, says Adair.
  5.  Communicate
    After the first day has gone by, prepare kids for the next one by asking your child to report back to you after the first day.
  6.  Plan the Night Before
    Rather than rushing in the morning to pack lunches and pick out clothes, have your preschooler help you with these tasks the night before.
  7.  Take a Field Trip
    Get them as familiar with their new school as possible by scheduling a tour or any other options the school may offer. Maybe attend special events that the preschool is holding or schedule a play date with a fellow student who lives nearby.

We want to hear from you. Set up an appointment today and see how much your children will love Premier Academy!

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Is your child ready for preschool?

Children and Technology: Parenting Tips for the Digital AgeMost preschools will start accepting children at around age of 2, but that doesn’t mean your child is ready for preschool when they reach this age. Readiness for preschool has more to do with where your child is developmentally.

A few questions to ask yourself:

Is your child social, emotional, ready to participate in structured programs and do they work well with other children?  At Premier Academy, we understand this is a tough decision.  We have put together a list of questions to ask yourself.  We also recommend speaking with others outside of the home such at your pediatrician, caregivers and family members.

Daily Schedule: 

Preschools usually follow a predictable routine. Children tend to feel comfortable and in control when the same things happen at the same time each day.   If your child doesn’t keep to a schedule and each day is different from the last, it can help to standardize their day a bit before starting preschool Omaha, Nebraska.  This can include meals at a regular time, learning and reading and play time.  Sticking to a standard bath time, nap time and bedtime is also helpful.

Group Activities:

Many preschool activities, like learning time, require that all the children in a class participate at the same time. Listening to story time, looking at shapes and colors and learning numbers require your child to listen and sit still.  This can be very difficult for kids under 3 who enjoy exploring.  If your child isn’t used to group activities, you can start introducing them yourself.  We suggest structured classes such as tee ball, tumbling or even story time at your local library.

Independence:

Preschool requires children to have certain basic skills; most will want your child to be potty trained, for instance. Your child should also be able to take care of some other basic needs, like washing his hands after painting, eating lunch without assistance, and sleeping alone.

Stamina for preschool:

Most preschools offer half-day or full-day programs.  There are art projects to do, field trips to take, and playgrounds to explore. Considering your child’s nap time is extremely important.  Because preschool is structured and nap time is set at a specific time each day, if your child takes a mid-morning nap, it may not be the best time to start school.  Building stamina can be an easy process.  If your schedule is flexible, starting half-day may be the answer.  Gradually increasing the length of their day sometimes helps build their tolerance of moving from activity to activity without being drowsy or cranky.

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Choosing Childcare

Reading to Children: Tips for Making Storytime MemorableMore and more, research tells us that our children’s healthy development depends on safe and positive experiences during the first few years of life. If you are a parent who works during these early years, choosing good childcare is one of the most important decisions you will ever make for your child.

To help you make the right choice for childcare, Premier Academy has identified 13 research-based guidelines to think about when choosing a childcare program.

You might want to visit several different childcare, either centers or family childcare homes, before you decide which one is best for your family. Call each childcare program and schedule an appointment for your visit. Once you are there, stay for at least an hour to watch activities, check the surroundings, and ask questions. The checklist below provides a place for you to note which guidelines are met. Research shows that if a program follows guidelines, it is more likely to be a safe and healthy place for your child. Your state or county may have other guidelines to help ensure health and safety in child care programs.

Considering these guidelines can help you find a place where you feel comfortable leaving your child.

Supervision

  • Are children supervised at all times, even when they are sleeping?
  • How do the caregivers discipline children? (Hint: Discipline should be positive, clear, consistent, and fair.)

Handwashing and Diapering

  • Do all caregivers and children wash their hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom or changing diapers?
  • Is the place where diapers are changed clean?
  • Do caregivers always keep a hand on the child while diapering?
  • Do caregivers remove the soiled diaper without dirtying any surface not already in contact with stool or urine?
  • Do caregivers clean and sanitize the surface after finishing the changing process? (Hands should be scrubbed with soap and warm running water for at least 20 seconds and then rinsed and dried. The water faucet should be turned off with a paper towel.)

 Director Qualifications

  • Does the director of a childcare center have a bachelor’s degree in a child-related field?
  • Has the director worked in childcare for at least two years?
  • Does the director understand what children need to grow and learn?

Lead Teacher Qualifications

  • Does the lead teacher in a childcare center have a bachelor’s degree in a child-related field?
  • Has the teacher worked in childcare for at least one year?
  • Does the teacher give children lessons and toys that are right for their ages?

 Child:Staff Ratio and Group Size

  • How many children are being cared for in the childcare program?
  • How many caregivers are there? (Your child will get more attention if each caregiver has fewer children to care for. The younger the children are, the more caregivers there should be. For example, one family home caregiver should only take care of two infants.)

 Immunizations

  • Is your child up-to-date on all of the required immunizations?
  • Does the childcare program have records proving that the other children in care are up-to-date on all their required immunizations?

 Toxic Substances

  • Are toxic substances like cleaning supplies and pest killers kept away from children?
  • Has the building been checked for dangerous substances like radon, lead and asbestos?
  • Is poison control information posted?

 Emergency Plan

  • Does the childcare program have an emergency plan if a child is injured, sick, or lost?
  • Does the childcare program have first-aid kits?
  • Does the childcare program have information about who to contact in an emergency?

 Fire/Emergency Drills

  • Does the childcare program have a plan in case of a disaster like a fire, tornado, flood, blizzard, or earthquake?
  • Does the childcare program do practice drills once every month?

 Child Abuse

  • Can caregivers be seen by others at all times, so a child is never alone with one caregiver?
  • Have all caregivers undergone background check?
  • Have the caregivers been trained on how to prevent child abuse, how to recognize signs of child abuse, and how to report suspected child abuse?

 Medications

  • Does the childcare program keep medication out of reach from children?
  • Are the caregivers trained and the medications labeled to make sure the right child gets the right amount of the right medication at the right time?

 Staff Training/First Aid

  • Have caregivers been trained how to keep children healthy and safe from injury and illness?
  • Do they know how to do first aid and rescue breathing?
  • Have they been trained to understand and meet the needs of children of different ages?
  • Are all childcare staff, volunteers, and substitutes trained on and implementing infant back sleeping and safe sleep policies to reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, crib death)? (When infants are sleeping, are they on their backs with no pillows, quilts, stuffed toys, or other soft bedding in the crib with them?)

 Playgrounds

  • Is the playground regularly inspected for safety?
  • Is the playground surrounded by a fence?
  • If there is a sandbox, is it clean?
  • Are the soil and playground surfaces checked often for dangerous substances and hazards?
  • Is equipment the right size and type for the age of children who use it?

Premier Academy offers affordable childcare in Omaha and Elkhorn, Nebraska.  We invite you to tour our facilities and see what we can offer your child.  Contact us today!

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Preschool Care in Omaha Nebraska

Teaching Your Children About FriendshipFinding Preschool Daycare that suits a parent’s or grandparent’s schedule can often be difficult. Often, working parents can’t leave their jobs early to pick up their kids after school is over. There are also times when parents or grandparents may just need a few hours a month for daycare, so they can attend to needed errands, meetings or just need some time off from the kids.

At Premier Academy in Omaha, Nebraska, we offer guardians convenient solutions with our many daycare options. With Premier Academy, parents and grandparents can sign up with membership for just five hours of daycare a month. Drop your child off for a short time whenever you need.

Another great option at Premier Academy is our after-school pick-up service. Our staff will arrive promptly at your child’s school and drive them back to our facility. Healthy snacks are provided along with help for homework assignments. Special tutoring is also provided for those children who need it. Once the academics are all taken care of, there are plenty of fun activities that your child can engage in, such as crafts, games,dance, song, and playground fun. At Premier Academy, we think of everything to make life easier.

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Four Significant Reasons for a Preschool Education

  1. Kindergarten ReadinessBrain development is highest during the first four years of life. The brain is forming important neural paths to help develop the child’s ability to perform and function and learn well. Their brain absorbs information and stores it, often feeling saturated with new input.  Your child can benefit when interacting in a quality preschool which is content rich with appropriate information and materials.  We have a first-rate staff of professional, certified teachers who are dedicated to providing Omaha and Elkhorn preschool children with the very best care and education available anywhere.
  2. Structure is vital for the young preschooler and the child thrives in a loving, structured environment with stimulating colors, sounds, textures, classroom layout, varying activities and books. The child learns routine and expectations and begins to look forward to the next activity.    We strive to make Premier Academy a fun place to be! We offer a program that combine fun activities, challenging developmental curriculum and first-rate child care.
  3. Social skills are important to learn at this age rather than waiting until Kindergarten age or later. One of the reasons older children may have difficulty in school is that they never really learned the social skills in preschool. Social skills such as learning how to listen, manners, taking turns, apologies, how to speak in a group, helping each other, learning compassion and empathy are the most important skills to learn when preparing for Kindergarten. Our activities will help your Omaha and Elkhorn preschool children to flourish with a healthy dose of self-esteem, curiosity and love of learning.
  4. Academics are now being emphasized more than in past years because there is more research substantiating that a child is able to learn and perform more than what we used to expect. Most Kindergartens are expected to enter school knowing how to print the alphabet, numbers 1-10 (some 1-20), write their first and last name, display basic social skills and have an ability to comprehend and follow directions.  We are not just providing preschool care in Omaha and Elkhorn; our teachers are dedicated to helping to enrich the lives of your children during the crucial formative years.
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