At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we offer a variety of programs for young children. In these programs, your child will learn a ton of different skills, including independent play. With many parents working at home right now, teaching your child how to play independently can be extremely beneficial. But even when the world goes back to normal, this is a great skill for your child to have. It allows you to make dinner, clean, or do any other task without needing to play with them.

In this blog, we wanted to give you some tips for teaching your child to play independently.

Play With Them

In order to teach your child to play by themselves, you need to start by playing with them. While kiddos love to play, they are not born knowing how to play. When you stick your toddler in front of a box of blocks, they are not going to know what to do with it. Teach your child how to play. Sit on the floor with them, play with blocks, dolls, action figures, or whatever other toys they may have. Teach them how to use the toys, manipulate the play dough, and build with blocks. When you teach them how to play and play with them, they can learn how to play when you aren’t around.

Toys With No Purpose

If you want your children to play independently, you will want to give them the right toys. Giving them toys with a purpose can make it difficult for them to play for a long time by themselves. Choosing toys that your child can play with alone, with you or another child, or even next to another child is a good place to start. Stuff like blocks, play dough, art supplies, and LEGOs are all great options. These types of toys will allow your child to play for a while and develop their motor skills at the same time.

Create a Play Area

Creating a designated play area can help as you teach your child to play independently. Your child will begin to learn that in this area, they are allowed to play and use all their different toys. This area could be their bedroom, in the basement, or in an area of the house that you don’t mind toys being. If you have younger kids who may still need your supervision, having their play area near where you are working can work as well. Set up a play mat or a table that they can play at while you cook, work, or do whatever you need to get done. Make sure they have a variety of toys and activities to keep them entertained and busy.

Slowly Pull Away

As we already mentioned, to teach your child to play independently you need to start by playing with them. As they begin to enjoy playing and understand how they can use their different toys, you can start to slowly pull away from playtime and allow them to play alone for short periods of time. You can start by telling them to keep playing while you go make a call, or start working on dinner. If your child is having a hard time with you leaving, you can try using a timer so that they know you will be back in a certain amount of time. Have them play for five minutes on their own, if the timer goes off and they are playing alone just fine, you can stay away a bit longer. Eventually, go back and start playing with them again. If they think that you will never come back, they will not want to play alone again. Over time, you can stay away for longer periods and allow them to continue to play as long as possible.

Encourage Them to Play Alone

As your child begins to play alone, you can help them continue to improve this skill by encouraging them to go play alone. If you are about to start dinner and they want you to play with them, tell them to go start to play on their own and that you will join them in a bit. This is different than slowly pulling away from their playtime because in this case, they are initiating the independent play and you are joining them later, rather than simply pulling yourself from the situation. By encouraging them to go play alone before you join them, they will likely begin to do it on their own without you

Celebrate It

If you catch your child playing alone without you encouraging them or having to play with them to get them started, be sure to celebrate it and tell them that they are doing a good job. When you celebrate your child’s good behaviors and habits, they will be more likely to continue that behavior.

These are some tips that you can use to help teach your child to play independently. For some children, teaching them this skill may be easier than it is for others, but eventually, you should be able to help them get there. This is a great skill for your child to learn and be able to do whether you are working at home or not. Be sure to learn more about our programs and contact Growing Kids Learning Centers today!

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At Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana, we offer day camps that your kids will love! Our winter, spring, and fall camps are a week-long and scheduled at the same time with school breaks, allowing your kids to have something to do during their time off that gets them away from the TV.

There are many reasons why you should enroll your child in day camps during their times off of school. With spring rapidly approaching, you should start thinking about enrolling your children in our spring camp! Read on to learn more about the reasons to send your child to camp and contact us today!

Keep Them Busy

During your kids’ breaks from their regular school schedule, you have a few options. You can allow them to sit inside, watch TV, and waste this break, or you can sign them up for day camp where they will enjoy a variety of different activities and have fun throughout the entire break. During our spring camps, your child will do activities including hiking, bowling, art projects, and go on a few field trips. Your kiddo will spend their break staying active and busy.

Boost Independence

Sending your child to a day camp can also help boost their levels of independence, which can help them develop new skills and feel more comfortable doing things on their own. Camp gives your kiddo an opportunity to thrive and grow on their own. They will develop more confidence in doing things without you. When you are not there to tell them what to do, how to do something, or simply hovering, they will feel more relaxed to do things themselves and develop their independence.

Try New Activities

During day camps, your child will spend the day doing a variety of activities. They will likely try something that they have never done before, whether that is hiking, a unique art project, or even going on a field trip somewhere new, this is a great way to expose your children to new things. Your kiddo may even find a new hobby thanks to our day camps! When your children get to try new things regularly, they can start finding out what they enjoy, what interests them, and teaches them more about themselves.

Unplug

Nowadays, it can be hard to keep your kids away from their phones, video games, or TV. While you can try to keep them busy and doing different activities that are more stimulating, eventually you will either run out of ideas or energy. When you enroll your kiddo in day camp, activities will be planned throughout the entire day, keeping them unplugged and doing things that can actually be beneficial.

Make More Friends

Camps can also help your kiddos make more friends and develop better skills when it comes to making friends. They will meet a ton of new kids during day camps that they can get to know. For some kids, it can be hard to make friends, but camp can help them. Since they will also become more independent in day camp, they will learn how to introduce themselves to someone, start a conversation with another kid, and start a new friendship. Like sports and other extracurricular activities, your child will be surrounded by a ton of kids their age while in camp, however, they will have more time to talk and get to know these kids and develop new friendships!

Gives Everyone A Break

Day camps can also give you and your kiddo a break. While our camps already correspond with school breaks, day camps can help keep your kids entertained and having fun during their time off. For many parents, we know that it can be hard to take a week off work. If you have a job that you can’t take time off to stay home and entertain your kids, camps are a great option. Not only can camps give you a break from stressing about your kids and what to do with them during their breaks, it can also give your babysitter a break from watching them all week long. Camps are a great alternative and allow you to stop worrying about work and what to do with your kiddos during their break.

There are many reasons to enroll your child in a day camp. Our camps are a perfect option for your child during their school breaks. These day camps can keep your kid entertained, active, and stimulated, while allowing them to meet new friends. Be sure to learn more about our spring camp and enroll your kiddo today! Contact Growing Kids Learning Centers in Northern Indiana to get your questions answered.

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It can help get kids ready for school.

Daycare is the perfect place to spark a love of learning. With plenty of activities and learning opportunities, even our youngest daycare attendees have a chance to start exploring the world around them and seeking out opportunities where learning is fun.

There are more socialization opportunities.

Kids who attend daycare have a chance to socialize with children both older and younger than them. This can help them learn more about sharing, working with others, and how to make friends. Those are skills they’ll use their whole lives!

It can be good for a child’s mental health.

Some studies suggest that attending daycare can be good for a child’s mental health. That’s because a daycare provides a stable, safe environment with routine and structure. That can help kids who might not find that environment at home develop much-needed stability for later in life.

They have fewer colds later in life.

Being exposed to germs can be a good thing! It helps your child build up immunity to illnesses later on. Children who attend daycare and pass around those germs at a young age are less likely to battle them later on.

Kids learn structure and routine.

Daycare can be a place where kids learn about routine and structure to their daily lives, something that will be important both in their school lives and their career later on.

Want your child to experience the benefits of daycare for themselves? Sign up with Growing Kids today!

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Activities including art fairs, picnics, drama, team games, kite flying, messy art days, swimming, field trips, bowling, soccer, “Main Street” play, exercise, ooey-gooey day, pizza making, reading, puzzles, baking cookies and hiking are many (but not all) of the activities that your child will get to experience when you enroll them in Growing Kids Spring Camp in South Bend. We will also provide your kiddo with a healthy and filling breakfast and lunch with snacks in between meals.

These activities are great for kids to make new friends and bond with friends they already have. They will be able to discover new things everyday and get out of their shell in a comforting and safe environment. No matter if this is your child’s first, second or third time registering, we highly recommend that you do so sooner than later.

We welcome any school-aged children both currently enrolled in our Growing Kids school program and new-comers. Children who are not enrolled in classes may sign-up for Growing Kids Spring Camp in South Bend starting February 8, 2016. Note: all after school students are required to sign up. To register your kid(s), please call 574-220-6400.

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We are excited to share useful ways of learning and tools to give your child the ability to grow to their fullest potential while at Growing Kids Learning Centers. With that in mind, know that we make it a priority to provide a clean and safe environment that is always open to parents’ suggestions. Our focus of keeping your child on track when starting daycare or preschool is our number one priority.

Do you want to learn more about us here at Growing Kids Learning Center? We invite you to visit us online today and even check out some of the Growing Kids Advantages, Programs, and learn where our other locations are in the South Bend area. Have questions? Feel free to contact us online now!

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For younger children, this game is fun, entertaining and is a very easy concept to learn. It doesn’t take much prep work, all you need is a ball! This game can be played with a pair of children or a child and an adult.

• Have your child sit across from you on the ground with their legs apart.

• Roll the ball between the legs back and forth to each other.

• Let your child known that the purpose of the game is to stop the ball before it hits their tummy.

Doing this activity can promote a learning opportunity for your child, and it will only help them grow their hand eye coordination early on. This can help them in the future when it comes time for sports, writing, reading and many other daily life skills.

If you are still looking for a daycare or preschool for your growing child, visit one of our locations in Elkhart, Goshen or South Bend! Contact us online now to learn more ways we will help grow your child’s hand eye coordination.

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When it comes to finding the perfect dacare for your child, there are a lot of things to consider. You need to consider how far away the daycare center is, how much it will cost you, what your child will learn during their hours here and what different programs we offer. Luckily for you, we have a surplus of information that can answer all of these questions, including that there is a location near you in either South Bend, Elkhart or Goshen.

Are you ready to let your children play, grow and learn while you’re off at work during the week? If so, go ahead and learn all about our programs here at Growing Kids Learning Center. Contact us online with any questions about enrollment and take a peek at the 10 Factors To Consider When Choosing A Childcare Center for your child. Feel free to check out the parent resources that can keep both you and your child one step ahead of the game.

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1. If your child is old enough, make sure you get them a flu vaccine. Even though the flu season may be over, it’s always good to get them the flu vaccine when the time rolls around again. It can help about 62% of the population from suffering through the flu.

2. Make sure you teach your children appropriate cough etiquette and social distance, especially when they’re sick. Make sure they cover their mouth when they sneeze and cough, and to wash their hands afterwards.

3. Children will always share their toys, but try and keep their toys clean! Viruses can live on surfaces for up to 8 hours, so if you do what you can to remove these viruses from their toys, the less likelihood they’ll get sick.

4. Keep your child healthy by practicing a healthy lifestyle at home! Show your child that exercise is fun and that eating great food can taste great!

We hope that the above tips can help you to keep your child healthier when they start daycare at Growing Kids Learning Center in Elkhart. Learn more when you visit us online today!

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1. Power Struggles- It is normal for your child to act out in order to feel like they need to get their way. It could be because your child feels as though they have a lack of power compared to you. It could be that the daycare or caregiver that takes care of your child throughout the week will give your child more power than you do, making it difficult to get things to go your way when you are home with your child.

2. Predictability Problems- It is very important for your child to be consistent in their predictability. This includes their daily routines and daily chores that they do. It not only makes them feel safe and secure but it can also make them become more well-behaved for their teachers at school, daycare leaders and even caregivers. These important people in their life usually always have a schedule that they follow, which children love to take part in.

Here at Growing Kids Learning Centers, we want to make your life easier! We hope that the above list can help you connect on a deeper level with your child if you’re having troubles with them after you leave daycare!

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Growing Kids Learning Center is the go-to preschool and daycare center for children of all ages in and around the South Bend area. When you take it upon yourself to give your child learning opportunities like what we have to offer here, not only will you be impressed, but your child will be happier than ever before! In our opinion, daycare and preschool is a must for every child. Being around other children will not only teach your child to play with other children and become social, but they will also learn how to share and learn manners in the process.

Does daycare or our preschool program in South Bend sound like an opportunity that you don’t want to pass up? We invite you to visit us online today to learn more in-depth information about our website and what we have to offer your children. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have! We have more than one location available. Along with South Bend, we have daycare and preschool centers in Elkhart and Goshen. Enroll your child today, and go back to work like you have always wanted to do.

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