Leaping Learners Family Child Care & Educational Center, Laurel

Welcome to Leaping Learners We are delighted you have chosen to look toward Leaping Learners to fulfill your childcare and educational service needs. Caring for and educating your child is a responsibility we take very seriously. It is our goal to provide a loving atmosphere that emphasizes the development of the whole child-mind, body, and spirit. Leaping Learners is a proud educator owned and operated family child care and educational center. Leaping Learners, Family Child care & Educational Center is owned and operated by Keisha Pearson, a former teacher in the Prince George’s County School System. Armed with years of excellent educational service and passion for providing a more personal educational environment; she has realized her dream of opening her own family childcare center. By combining her background in teaching and social services as well as her recognition of the critical importance early education has on life long learning, she is committed to providing an unique educational experience to the learners and families being served by Leaping Learners. By introducing learning in a more private and intimate setting, our hope is that this will allow our learners to meet their age appropriate milestones in a timely manner while fostering a strong beginning educational self-esteem that they can build upon throughout the rest of their life. Learning in an environment where trust and comfort has been built is a vital piece of our approach to providing traditional child care to our little ones and educational assistance to our school age learners. Leaping Learners has been designed with two things in mind: child safety and the utmost use of the principles, standards, and best practices in child development and learning. Our space and equipment not only reflect our philosophy which is centered around the importance of learning in early childhood but they have also meet the approval and licensing requirements set forth by the Maryland Department of Education Office of Child Care. We look forward to working with you and your family. Mission: At Leaping Learners our goal is to offer safe, reliable, and quality child care and educational services that address the individual need of each learner in an educational appropriate environment that mimics in ways their home atmosphere to provide comfort and trust not only for the learner but their family as well. It is our hope that we not only meet but also exceed your personal level of expectation. Philosophy: Leaping Learners believes that early childhood is a significant period of development in a learner’s life. This period is one that should be fostered through creative/dramatic play, exploratory/ adventurous learning, social/emotional skills building and daily structure. We provide a exploratory learning approach based on scientific research in addition to the leaner’s potencies and curiosities while encouraging the maturity of healthy relationships that will support each learner in having a stronger sense of belonging, being, and becoming. It is the desire of Leaping Learners to provide an appealing, openhearted, and nurturing environment that meets and reflects the needs of each learner, their family, and community while providing an opportunity for all of these entities to work together for the greater good of each. Objectives: 1. To provide a early childhood curriculum which enables each learner to develop new skills at their own ability levels, to prepare each learner to succeed in kindergarten and to provide a safe, healthy environment for the learner so their parents can obtain peace of mind about their little one’s care. 2. To assist school age children in achieving their own educational, personal and familial learning goals. 3. To provide a variety of activities in a safe, friendly, supportive environment. 4. To provide opportunities for parental involvement in the operations of the child care center. Communication is key to a successful child care arrangement. The parent and provider need to have a good working relationship so they can communicate and work together. Parent and provider need to exchange pertinent information in the child’s life, such as: changes in routine, special events or activities, and changes such as death, divorce, separation, moving, visitors, etc. All this information can be important in understanding the child’s feelings, behavior, and well-being. You are invited to share with us in writing, by telephone, or schedule an appointment to talk about your concerns in any area that you feel we may have overlooked and we will do our best to improve in that area. Provider Experience: ☺ BS in Speech Communications (2001) ☺ BS in Social Sciences (2001) ☺ Post-Baccalaureate in Elementary Education (2010) ☺ MEd in Education (2002) ☺ Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood Education (2017) ☺ Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Administration, Management, and Leadership (2018) ☺ Graduate Certificate in Teaching Adults in Early Childhood Field (2018) ☺ Licensed with Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Childcare (MSDE OCC) ☺ Licensed with Maryland State Department of Education to teach Elementary Education ☺ Infant/Child CPR and First Aid Certified ☺ SIDS Certified ☺ Medication Administration Certified ☺ Memberships: PGCFCCA, MSFCCA, NAFCC, NAEYC, MDAEYC, PCCPNPGC Curriculums: Teaching Strategies - The Creative Curriculum® for Family Child Care is the only research-based, comprehensive curriculum that addresses the unique strengths and challenges of family child care. Their completely updated and expanded second edition helps family child care providers design high-quality home-based programs that are responsive to the needs of children from birth to age 12. It also helps family child care educators to integrate learning into every moment of the day. Packed with valuable information, The Creative Curriculum® for Family Child Care helps educators: Set up the learning environment Plan developmentally appropriate routines and activities for every day of the week. Promote children’s learning and development in all the core areas. Build partnerships with families that are based on trust and mutual respect. Mother Goose Time: Mother Goose Time is uniquely designed to support you in having more time to observe, know, and be with your children. It gives you concrete materials and ideas on how to inspire your children through art, music, logic games and hands-on investigations.