"Caring for Kids Since 1972"
CHILD CARE SITES:
Avalon Gardens
Childkeepers
Florence
Greater Bethany
King/San Pedro
McAlister
Rita D. Walters
St. Paul's
St. Phillip's
Willowbrook
CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
The Child Development Programs of The Children's Collective, Inc. serve children from infancy through age 13 at 10 different facilities in South Central Los Angeles. The range of child care programs includes full day preschool, part day preschool, infant/toddler care, campus child care, and general child care. All programs utilize age appropriate activities to encourage the cognitive, social, emotional, physical, creative, and language development of each child.
Programs for all children reflect the belief that successful learning is based on the child's sense of physical and emotional security, positive sense of individual worth, and a sense of self in relation to the larger community. Feelings of security and well-being are realized through bonding and attachment with nurturing, caring teachers, and through continuity of care for infants and toddlers. A structured daily schedule provides children the security of "knowing what comes next," but allows ample opportunity for free choice of activities and materials.
Activities are child-centered, emotionally supportive and intellectually stimulating. Culturally familiar language and activities are included to enhance the child's comfort level, while standard English is reinforced. To expand the children's horizons, classroom experiences are supplemented by field excursion. Child-initiated activities, along with diverse materials and hands-on activities, arouse curiousity, enhance problem solving, and promote critical thinking.
The Children's Collective, Inc. also seeks to assist children who perform below the developmental norm. For these children, special needs children, and developmentally delayed children, The Children's Collective, Inc.'s First Five program provides classroom resource specialists to assist children in achieving their highest potental capability. Specialists include, but are not limited to, speech and language specialists and infant development specialists. For all children, the First Five program provides needed physical, mental, and dental health services to reduce health-related issues as impediments to early learning.
Open, continuous communiation with parents is essential to improving developmental outcomes for children. Parents support their children by sharing information about the child's likes, dislikes, needs, and accomplishments; by helping establish/evaluate goals and objectives; by offering program input at Parent Advisory Meetings; and by participating in center and field-based activities.
The Family Support Component is designed to help parents provide a more supportive, nurturing environment for their children. Focusing on the development of positive parenting skills, this component presents workshops on topics such as discipline, goal-setting for the child and family, communication, etc. Working with parents/families of children enrolled in child care, the Family Development Network offers case-managed services to assist parents in securing/upgrading employment, managing household finances, improving English/Spanish literacy, improving parenting skills, improving physical and mental health, and reducing substance abuse and family violence.