A Day at OCP
Children thrive with routine and structure that helps them learn new processes and reinforce positive habits. Our team always follows a consistent schedule, so your child can greet the day prepared for our daily routine.
Arrival and Drop-Off
Our staff makes it important to always greet families when they arrive. We want your child to feel happy and secure when they start their day at OCP, but we understand that separation can be difficult. Continuing the wonderful care that you give at home is important to us. That’s why we do everything possible to make your child feel comfortable—so you both enjoy your day.
Eating a Balanced Breakfast
Nutrition is an important part of the OCP experience, so our kitchen staff cooks a balanced breakfast every morning. We emphasize the important food groups to ensure your child’s energized and ready to take part in the day’s activities.
OCP provides all food, which is prepared right in our kitchens. We are a nut-free organization and do not allow outside food to protect children with allergies. Our kitchen staff also takes dietary restrictions into consideration. If your child has a doctor-confirmed dietary restriction or food allergy, we make sure to always provide safe, healthy meals.
We participate in the The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) which is a federal program that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children and adults who are enrolled for care at our child care centers. CACFP also provides reimbursements for meals served to children and youth participating in our after school care programs. CCDP receives anywhere between $48,000 to $60,000 a year in reimbursed food costs.
We understand the importance of a well balanced meal and helping children eat healthy and play actively. Our menus change with the seasons so that we can capitalize on the tastes of the seasons and offer fresh, in season eats. Fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, and whole grains are served at every meal to ensure a healthy start to your child’s eating habits.
Childhood Learning Activities
Children are naturally curious and interested learners, so our teachers use fun, skill-building activities for every program age group. Children learn new skills in the four core areas, and we consistently reinforce previously learned skills to build memory and recognition.
We realize every child learns at his or her own pace with a personal learning style. Our teachers will always meet your child’s needs, while also guiding the group to learn together.
Exercising Outside
We believe it’s critical for children to get fresh air, sunshine and exercise to promote life-long health and growth. Therefore, each program receives 30 minutes of required playtime outside every day. If the weather absolutely won’t cooperate, we’ll substitute an indoor activity that meets our physical activity and development goals.
Sitting Down for Lunch
Around mid-day, our kitchen staff begins preparing lunch. We use four-week, rotating menus, and the kitchen staff updates them every three months to incorporate seasonal fruit and vegetables. We always serve hearty meals with proper portions while teaching about nutrition and table skills. Lunch groups are encouraged to interact with one another to build strong social skills.
Rest Time
After lunch, we block off approximately 2 hours for rest or nap time each day. Taking a much-needed break from a busy day helps keep children calmer and recharge for the rest of their day. As they rest, their minds get a chance to process the new information they’ve learned throughout the morning.
EXploration Time
Our philosophy at OCP is children learn best with nurturing and supportive teachers who encourage them to explore their environment. During Exploration Time, our teachers and their groups immerse themselves in a range of fun activities that lead to new discoveries.
We use the Second Step Curriculum from toddler through school-age programs to deliver social and emotional curriculum. Second Step helps children learn to share, trade and play fair. They also learn language skills that help them communicate their needs, as well as how to positively handle strong emotions.
What is Class?
Our Children’s Place uses the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS), the leading quality improvement system for teaching, measuring and improving classroom interactions — a key factor proven to drive children’s academic and life-long success.
CLASS not only defines teaching quality through the lens of interactions, it provides the ability to measure and improve the interactions that matter most for student outcomes.
It’s a journey of continuous improvement that is data-driven and focused on what matters most for student outcomes, interactions. Two trained CLASS observers conduct mini training sessions called CLASS CLUSTERS, four times a year to help teachers understand and implement the CLASS technique in their classrooms. Periodically, our trainers drop in and observe our teaching staff. After each observation, teachers are then coached on their strengths and areas for improvement. Teachers then work on this improvement and are reassessed in time. It makes for a wonderful growth circle and teacher to student self reflection.
In addition to CLASS, infants through toddlers are observed for developmental milestones and families receive periodic updates with their children’s skills. Preschool students receive screenings and assessments throughout their formative years and portfolios are started at this age group. Preschool students are screened in the Fall using the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) that looks for social-emotional indicators. This screening is used to create classroom management styles amongst the children in the class. The Brigance, an academic assessment is given in the Fall and the Spring and is used primarily during parent teacher conferences as a way to track a child’s readiness for kindergarten and identify any red flags. Our Universal Pre-K students, in addition to the DECA and Brigance, are given the Ready to Read Assessment in the fall and spring.
Dismissal and Good-Bye
At the end of the day, your child prepares to leave and gets ready for pick up. We ask that you always arrive on time for dismissal. At pick-up we hand out communication sheets to tell your family about your child’s progress that day.
Our teachers also post lesson plans and completed activities on a white board in the window of each room. We invite you to take a look before leaving to see what your child learned. Your child will be excited to share amazing new knowledge, and you can help reinforce what they learned throughout the day.
Parent Involvement
We love when parents get involved with our programs! We encourage parents or family members to participate in a variety of ways:
Reading Stories
Cooking
Going on Field Trips
Sharing Ethnic Heritage/Specialized Knowledge
And More!
To request to volunteer in the classroom, please contact one of our directors.
In an effort to keep tuition costs low while providing program enhancements, our programs will organize several fundraising events each year. We encourage parents to participate in the organization and implementation of these activities, and we value your support.
Once a month, we publish newsletters and share them with families via email. Newsletters include information about group meetings, special events, and how to support our Board of Directors and advisory committees. (Paper versions are available upon request.) We also keep parent bulletin boards in our centers to share up-to-date information.
Schedule a Tour
Our day is jam-packed full of positive skill-building! Since so many activities are hands-on, we think you’d enjoy seeing our teachers and students in action. Choose a time that works well for you and your child, and stop by for a visit.