My name is Aimee Nester and I own Aimee's Kid Ranch, where we wrangle fun, creativity and learning together with a Waldorf inspired curriculum!
We are a home-based infant and preschool facility that offers wonderful advantages over child care centers in the city. Children peacefully enjoy nature in a small setting where they do not have to struggle or compete for attention. The very low ratio means tons of one-on-one time for love and learning!
What makes our child care "Waldorf" inspired is our flowing schedule; children easily transition from one activity to another. Children are able to anticipate what happens next in their day through a schedule made with pictures and words (for our evolving readers).
Learning is based on assessment of each child and I design creative activities to meet the developmental needs of the child. I am nurturing and loving and have experience with small children. I encourage children to work out differences in pro-social ways that allow them to think for themselves and grow into empathetic responsible adults. These include:
Conflict resolution: The discussion between friends which involves children identifying the issue, telling friends how their actions make them feel and both parties coming up with a solution (I help if friends need words).
Redirection: I suggest another activity if a child is having a behavior issue and before doing so I assess what the child needs to be happy (climbing inside, we make plans to go outside or create an obstacle course inside).
"I" sentences: I tell the child what I want rather than what I do not want.
"We use walking feet inside" instead of "Stop running!"
Positive Choices: I offer 2 acceptable choices in respect to what activity is taking place. For example: If a child does not want to wash hands I give the choices: "You can walk to the sink or I can help you, which would you like?"
Modeling Behavior: I act/speak to the children as I want to hear/see them act with myself and their friends.
We encourage creativity, in art, cooking, science and exploring our outside world! We are multi-cultural and celebrate many ethnic and cultural festivals and explore them through stories and songs. There are many opportunities to develop large motor skills as we are on a sprawling acre alive with nature complete with active garden and small farm animals.
Our curriculum reflects the natural flow of the seasons and children are immersed in subjects which are meaningful to them because they are learning what is happening around them (in Autumn we talk about changes in weather and nature, falling leaves, etc.). Children become naturally literate as we have a very print rich environment, read to one another often and use descriptive language as we explore our environment on a continual basis.
We strive to use natural materials. I and the children make many of our own art supplies: Paste, playdough, etc. We additionally use items from nature to make prints and collages. Many of our activities are documented with pictures and shared with the families via our blog, books and posters we make here and through take home pictures/daily reports.
One of the only things that sets us apart from the Waldorf philosophy is that we do integrate computer literacy in our curriculum.
What makes us undeniably different from every school is we only care for 3 children ever. Its a very high quality, low ratio experience for children. They can still get the great social interaction, without the overcrowding. All of this at an unbeatable price that is fixed and will not increase during your child's tenure with us!
Please see our website for all kinds of relevant information including: My Bio and qualifications, daily schedule, newsletter, calendar, menu, location/map info, FAQ, our curriculum and much more (click on link below):
Aimee's Kid Ranch Website
We are a home-based infant and preschool facility that offers wonderful advantages over child care centers in the city. Children peacefully enjoy nature in a small setting where they do not have to struggle or compete for attention. The very low ratio means tons of one-on-one time for love and learning!
What makes our child care "Waldorf" inspired is our flowing schedule; children easily transition from one activity to another. Children are able to anticipate what happens next in their day through a schedule made with pictures and words (for our evolving readers).
Learning is based on assessment of each child and I design creative activities to meet the developmental needs of the child. I am nurturing and loving and have experience with small children. I encourage children to work out differences in pro-social ways that allow them to think for themselves and grow into empathetic responsible adults. These include:
Conflict resolution: The discussion between friends which involves children identifying the issue, telling friends how their actions make them feel and both parties coming up with a solution (I help if friends need words).
Redirection: I suggest another activity if a child is having a behavior issue and before doing so I assess what the child needs to be happy (climbing inside, we make plans to go outside or create an obstacle course inside).
"I" sentences: I tell the child what I want rather than what I do not want.
"We use walking feet inside" instead of "Stop running!"
Positive Choices: I offer 2 acceptable choices in respect to what activity is taking place. For example: If a child does not want to wash hands I give the choices: "You can walk to the sink or I can help you, which would you like?"
Modeling Behavior: I act/speak to the children as I want to hear/see them act with myself and their friends.
We encourage creativity, in art, cooking, science and exploring our outside world! We are multi-cultural and celebrate many ethnic and cultural festivals and explore them through stories and songs. There are many opportunities to develop large motor skills as we are on a sprawling acre alive with nature complete with active garden and small farm animals.
Our curriculum reflects the natural flow of the seasons and children are immersed in subjects which are meaningful to them because they are learning what is happening around them (in Autumn we talk about changes in weather and nature, falling leaves, etc.). Children become naturally literate as we have a very print rich environment, read to one another often and use descriptive language as we explore our environment on a continual basis.
We strive to use natural materials. I and the children make many of our own art supplies: Paste, playdough, etc. We additionally use items from nature to make prints and collages. Many of our activities are documented with pictures and shared with the families via our blog, books and posters we make here and through take home pictures/daily reports.
One of the only things that sets us apart from the Waldorf philosophy is that we do integrate computer literacy in our curriculum.
What makes us undeniably different from every school is we only care for 3 children ever. Its a very high quality, low ratio experience for children. They can still get the great social interaction, without the overcrowding. All of this at an unbeatable price that is fixed and will not increase during your child's tenure with us!
Please see our website for all kinds of relevant information including: My Bio and qualifications, daily schedule, newsletter, calendar, menu, location/map info, FAQ, our curriculum and much more (click on link below):
Aimee's Kid Ranch Website
