Quality daycare. The Jungle Learning Center is a high-tech daycare serving New Caney, TX

The program is based on accepted theories of child development. At each stage of life, children take on special developmental tasks and challenges related to their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. The key to meeting the developmental needs of children can be found in the responsive relationships children build with the important adults in their lives including you. This is why it is so important to have small-sized groups and low adult-to-child ratios.

The program is individualized to meet the needs of every child. The general knowledge of child development teaches what is age appropriate. In other words, what children, in general, are like at a given age. Creative Curriculum incorporates what isn't learned from child development theory; but learned through interactions and observations. For example, a particular infant with colic can be soothed by laying him across your knees and gently rocking him from side to side, or a certain toddler, who has limited manual dexterity but loves to paint, can do so with a special headband that holds a paint brush. The information gathered from working with children and talking with their families enables The Jungle Learning Center to make the program individually appropriate for each child. We do this by making changes to the environment, planning activities, and developing strategies that build on an intimate knowledge of each child's temperament, interests, culture, emerging capabilities, and preferred learning styles.

Each family's culture is respected and family members are encouraged to participate in the program. Since the 1960s and the first days of Head Start, there has been a recognition that parents and early childhood professionals are natural partners in promoting children's growth and development. It is almost impossible to serve children without also serving their families.

The physical environment is safe, healthy, and contains a variety of toys and materials that are both stimulating and familiar. Every high-quality early childhood program provides an environment where children can be safe and healthy, yet free to move around, explore, and experiment. Classroom environments also need to be warm and engaging so that children and families feel welcome and comfortable. A soft, stuffed chair where you can curl up with a baby and read a book, or a covered fish tank at eye level are places that stir children's imaginations and are conducive to building trusting relationships.

Children select activities and materials that interest them, and they learn by being actively involved. During their earliest years, children are learning to trust the world, to actively explore their environment, and to do things for themselves. When an infant stares with delight at a colorful scarf and you bring it within her reach, you are following her interests. Likewise, when you place a wedge-shaped pillow on the floor near the open shelf on which dolls are displayed, you enable a child with cerebral palsy, who lacks upper body strength, to reach for the dolls on her own, when she wishes. The more you provide opportunities for children to follow their own interests, the more they learn from experience, and the greater the chances that they will continue to be successful learners throughout their lives.

Adults show respect for children and interact with them in caring ways. We know from research that if any single factor defines quality in an early childhood education program, it is the caring nature of adult / child interactions. Children's healthy development depends on being cared for by adults who will respond immediately and appropriately to their needs and communications. This means not just talking with children in a soothing voice, but responding to a child's needs to be held, rocked, and comforted. It also means being a sensitive and responsive communicator, both verbally and non-verbally. Even children who are not yet able to talk need you to engage in meaningful conversations with them. Children are most likely to thrive when they have a primary caregiver who reflects their emotions, who is there to share the highs and lows of each and every day and who experiences with them the excitement of new discoveries.

Staff and providers have specialized training in child development and appropriate programming. High-quality programs are planned, implemented, and continually revised by trained professionals who have the knowledge and skills to oversee a program that is develop- mentally appropriate. This training comes in many forms: through college courses, by obtaining a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, by attending workshops and seminars, by being part of a network of colleagues such as a family child care providers' association, and from using a developmentally appropriate curriculum. The Jungle Learning Center encourages all of its staff to regularly attend "continuing education" classes in an effort to maintain the highest quality service.

As a parent, you need to be informed of your child's progress while you are away. That's why each child from Giraffes to Tigers will receive a daily report sheet outlining his or her activities, meals, naps and any special notes for the day.