How Before and After School Care Influences Child Development

When it comes to child development, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each child will most likely have different developmental milestones. A child's learning is heavily connected to their environment. Research has shown that play-based learning can have a positive impact on child development. Before and after school care creates an excellent environment where children learn, problem solve, explore and engage actively with their peers and leaders. Before and after school care provides opportunities for play-based learning through a variety of activities such as free play, group games, sports, and arts and crafts. These activities can help young people develop important life skills such as cooperation, communication, and problem-solving.

CABOOSH is a Christian childcare service, focused on providing high-quality, Christ-centered, genuine care, for our children and families. Partnering with Camden Baptist Church, a range of additional wrap-around services and programs are available to better serve your needs as a family and progress your child's development and education. Our goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment for children to socialize and make friends. This is especially beneficial for introverted or shy children who may not have many opportunities to socialize outside of school.

Nurturing the Stages of a Child’s Development

Play is one of the main methods of learning and child development. Playing teaches a child new ideas and skills in several areas. There are four types of child development: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. The before and after school care services at CABOOSH are designed with these four stages in mind:

Physical development is about the growth and maturation of the child's body. This includes gross motor skills (large movements) and fine motor skills (smaller movements).
Cognitive development is about how the child learns and acquires knowledge. This includes language development, memory, attention, and thinking.
Social development is about how the child interacts with others. This includes communication, cooperation, and empathy.
Emotional development is about the child's ability to regulate emotions. This includes self-awareness, self-regulation, and emotional expressiveness.

Physical Development in Out of School Hours Care

At CABOOSH, we understand how important physical development is in a child’s growth. We offer a range of play-based activities that help children develop essential physical skills such as coordination, strength, and agility. Our dedicated, outdoor play space is one of the greatest assets of our program. Fenced for safety, there is space for running around or ball games and places to sit in the natural shade of some large trees. We make use of our outdoor play space during every session, with both guided and free play, this allows for the exploration of children's interests while they build their own social worlds on the playground.

Our activities are designed to allow the child to be physically active in a fun and safe environment while learning to solve problems and developing their fine and gross motor skills. Before and after-school care programs also influence the physical development of children by providing healthy food during meals such as afternoon tea and breakfast depending on the time of day.

Cognitive Development

Puzzles, games, and activities are an important part of our program. We provide a variety of strategies to stimulate child development through critical thinking, the use of a child's imagination and solving problems through play.

Before and after school care programming encourages independent learning and thinking. Children are given the space to think creatively while they explore the environment around them and learn where they fit in relation to other children. Another of CABOOSH's benefits for your child includes tutoring outside of the classroom to support students in understanding the ideas they are learning about in class and developing a positive attitude towards their homework and education.

Social Development

Child care spaces allow children to engage with their peers from other schools and outside their age group, increasing the size of their friendship groups and letting children engage with others and develop more positive relationships. Planned activities and child-led play can help children become more confident in social situations, giving them the chance to practice their social skills with different age groups and people from different backgrounds.

Outside school hours care activities and play-based learning also give your child the opportunity to practice communication skills, cooperation and empathy. The time a child spends in before and after school care can improve their confidence, and sense of belonging and can help support them in making new friendships and talking to new people. This lessen's a child's anxiety and helps them reach social developmental milestones.

Emotional Development

Outside school hours care provides an environment where your child can safely investigate their emotions and develop self-awareness. Our supportive educators are experienced in guiding kids through a variety of emotions, helping them to recognize how they feel and react to different situations.

Our team also helps kids practice regulation skills, such as calming down after feeling frustrated or excited. Teaching your child how to identify their emotions and respond to them appropriately makes them more likely to do well while learning and obtaining an education. Strong emotional child development also contributes to a healthy social life and helps children play better with their peers and cultivate the ability to resolve conflicts skillfully.

Play-Based Learning in an Out-of-School Setting

CABOOSH has an out-of-school setting that allows for healthy social interaction between children from multiple schools, both in the early years and at an older age. We find that children in our care love making friends with children that they wouldn’t usually get to see at school, and are more likely to branch out of their comfort zones, making friends and playing with both older and younger children.

Our fun and exciting space is set up to cater to kids during out-of-school hours (OOSH) care. The transition between separate locations for OOSH and School enables children to segregate and break up their days between school and play, leading to a healthier, happier child. Our educators encourage children to participate in this environment in a healthy way that encourages play-based learning.

How CABOOSH can help

OUTDOOR PLAY AREA

One of our significant assets is our outdoor play area. Fenced for safety, there is plenty of room to let children play, whether it be running around or ball games, with places to sit in the natural shade of some large trees.

FREE TUTORING

Volunteers from Camden Baptist Church attend our service weekly to help our children with their schoolwork and better their education. Free, and available for all children who attend that session of care. Let us know if this is something you’d specifically like your children to attend.

PARTNER PROGRAMS

Camden Baptist Church runs a range of additional programs that support both children and families, including their primary school-age youth group programs: Girlztime & Neutrons. Children in our care can transition to these programs on a Friday afternoon for extra fun and extended care times.

If you are interested in finding out more about how CABOOSH’s before and after school care programs can influence your child’s development, get in touch with our friendly team today!

If you’re ready to enrol your child in any of our out of hours care programs, you can fill out our short enrolment form now.