Group Day Care
Building the strong foundations children carry into kindergarten — through play, not worksheets.
- Ratio
- 1 educator to every 8 children · Maximum 20 children
- Hours
- 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Monday to Friday, year-round
Our group day care program builds a strong foundation for children and prepares them for kindergarten. Our team of qualified early childhood educators runs an open, play-based learning environment that follows the British Columbia Early Learning Framework and gives children real room to explore.
Three-, four- and five-year-olds are relentless question-askers, and this room is built to reward that rather than manage it. When a child notices that worms come out after rain, that becomes a two-week investigation: digging, drawing, a worm hotel in a jar, and a wall of the children's own theories written in their own words.
This is also the age at which friendship gets genuinely complicated, so a large part of what we teach here is social. Taking turns. Naming a feeling instead of throwing a block. Repairing a friendship after you have wrecked it. These are harder and more consequential than letters and numbers, and we teach them deliberately.
Literacy and numeracy run right through the day without ever becoming worksheets. Children sign their own artwork, count out cups for the snack table, measure and pour, sort and pattern, and find their own name on their cubby. Kindergarten readiness arrives as a by-product of a well-run day.
At least two educators are on the floor at any time this room is open, in line with BC's licensing regulation for children 3 to 5.
A typical day
- 7:00 – 8:30
Arrival & free play
Quiet choices: puzzles, drawing, books, and a soft place to wake up properly.
- 8:30 – 9:00
Breakfast
Family-style. Children pour their own and clear their own place.
- 9:00 – 9:20
Circle
Songs, the plan for the day, the calendar, and who is here and who is away.
- 9:20 – 10:45
Project & centre time
The core of the day. Children choose between the current investigation, art, blocks, dramatic play, sand and water, and the writing table.
- 10:45 – 11:45
Outdoor play
Running, climbing, digging, wheeled toys and the mud kitchen.
- 11:45 – 12:30
Lunch
Together at small tables. No clean-plate rule, ever.
- 12:30 – 2:15
Rest & quiet time
A nap for those who still need one; books and puzzles for those who don't.
- 2:15 – 2:45
Snack
Fruit, vegetables and something substantial.
- 2:45 – 4:15
Outside or open play
A second outdoor block, or open-ended play indoors if the weather is genuinely unsafe.
- 4:15 – 4:35
Story & reflection
A longer read-aloud and a look back at what we discovered today.
- 4:35 – 6:00
Wind-down & pickup
Calm activities, tidy-up, and a real handover with your educator.
What your child will learn
Social & emotional
What we do
- Building friendships and genuine social connections
- Coaching children through conflict rather than separating them and moving on
- Explicit repair: what happened, how did they feel, what will you do now
- A calm-down corner that is a resource, never a punishment
- Group jobs — table setting, watering plants, feeding the fish
What you’ll notice
- Names their own emotions instead of only acting on them
- Shares and takes turns with decreasing support
- Enters a group at play without disrupting it
- Shows empathy and offers comfort to a child who is upset
Cognitive & early literacy
What we do
- Daily read-alouds, plus books at child height available all day
- A writing table with real pencils, envelopes, clipboards and paper
- Children dictate stories that an educator writes down word for word
- Counting with real purpose — cups, snack portions, how many are here today
- Sorting, patterning, measuring and comparing with loose parts
What you’ll notice
- Recognises and then writes their own name
- Hears and produces rhyme
- Counts objects accurately, one number per object
- Recognises and extends a pattern
- Suggests a solution, tests it, and notices whether it worked
Creativity & expression
What we do
- Open-ended art with real materials — no colouring sheets, no templates
- Clay, wire, collage, loose parts and junk modelling
- Dramatic play that follows children's current obsessions
- Music, instruments and a lot of unselfconscious dancing
What you’ll notice
- Makes deliberate choices about materials and colour
- Represents real things in drawing and construction
- Sustains an imaginative story alongside other children
- Talks about what they made and why
Physical & independence
What we do
- Gross motor skills through active play — running, climbing, balance
- Fine motor work for writing readiness: scissors, tweezers, threading, pencils
- Coordination and balance activities, indoors and out
- Healthy habits and self-care — children manage their own coats, shoes and hand-washing
What you’ll notice
- Dresses for outside largely independently
- Uses scissors with control
- Holds a pencil with a functional grip
- Manages toileting and hand-washing without help
In the room
- Defined learning centres: blocks, art, dramatic play, sand and water, books, writing
- A documentation wall showing current projects in the children's own words
- Real tools and real materials rather than plastic substitutes
- A quiet nook with cushions for children who need to withdraw
- Child-height sinks, hooks and cubbies so children manage their own things
- Direct access to the main outdoor playground
What to bring
- A full change of clothes, including socks
- Indoor shoes that stay at the centre
- Full outdoor gear: rain suit, boots, hat, mitts — all labelled
- A nap blanket if your child still rests
- A refillable water bottle
Ready to apply for Group Day Care?
Spaces turn over most often in late summer, ahead of the September intake.