Otter's Couch
Home Daycare
Serving Port Hope, Cobourg, Northumberland County
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Programming
​"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart". Winnie the Pooh
Indoor
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Children engage in play-based and child-led activities designed to challenge the whole child: mind, body, and spirit. Throughout the day children embrace opportunities to explore, experiment, discover, play, learn, be a friend, and most importantly, to be a child. Toys are presented in the form of activity centres, which are theme-based and frequently changed. Each centre is designed with a particular learning experience or developmental goal in mind. This allows the children to develop fundamental skills while playing and interacting with other children.
Children also participate in teacher-led activities designed specifically to engage their minds and creative skills as they gather meaning from the world around them through sensory and motor experiences. These experiences will help children to develop their minds through the use of their five senses, listening, observing, and questioning.
A quiet rest period is planned for every day. Younger children are encouraged to sleep during this time, in order to provide both their minds and bodies with the nourishment necessary to actively participate in and enjoy the remainder of the day and their evening at home. Older children are expected to rest or partake in a quiet activity until the rest session has come to a close.
Outdoor
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Children participate in structured and non-structured outdoor play each day, weather permitting. The daycare is equipped with a fully fenced play area, and play structure. In the outdoor environment, children are encouraged to tap into their creativity and imagination, as they explore the world around them through cooperative and dramatic play. During outdoor play time, children will have the opportunity to participate in activities and use toys designed to assist in the development of their gross motor skills.
On occasion, we will also go on walks around the neighbourhood to help familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, use our excess energy, and focus on the development of a variety of gross motor skills. Engaging in physical, outdoor play provides children with the opportunity for muscle development, while fostering the ideal of an active and healthy lifestyle.
Excursions
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On occasion, we participate in planned excursions around our neighbourhood and community. Due to the convenient location of our daycare, we often walk to one of the local parks. These parks are equipped with a variety of equipment and structures that keep the children engaged and allow for further gross motor skill development.
We occasionally make the short trip to both the EarlyON Centre and the Port Hope Public Library to actively participate in their programming. Visiting the EarlyON Centre presents opportunities for the children to make new friends and gain new experiences, while providing a change of scenery. Visiting our local library provides children with an early exposure to reading and a solid literary foundation, preparing our older children for Kindergarten.
Other outings have included a trip to the Burnham Family Farm and the Riverview Park and Zoo in Peterborough.
