If you’re considering putting your child in daycare, you may be wondering when is the best time to enroll. While Penguin Crossing Academy takes children as young as six weeks, most pediatricians consider six months to be the youngest beneficial age to enroll an infant in daycare.
Parents of early preschool children (around the age of three to five) who seek to enroll their child in an early educational program consider the beginning of the school year to be the best time for enrollment. However, there are compelling reasons to enroll during the summertime before the school year begins. Let’s examine each below!
Gradual Change
Change is hard for young children, especially if they have stayed home with a parent all their life. Starting school in the fall is an overwhelming change and they may not grasp academic concepts like they should because they’re trying to learn the schedule and new social rules. This can put them behind before they can even get started!
Enrolling a child in a daycare program over the summer will help them better prepare for an academic experience in the fall. Children can become accustomed to a daytime routine without their parent, so going to school won’t feel overwhelming. This will yield better academic results because the child will be comfortable and able to focus on their learning.
Penguin Crossing Academy offers enrollment on a full or part-time basis, which means that your child can attend Penguin Crossing Academy a few days a week. This is the perfect solution for a shy child! They can still have a few days with their parent but gradually ease into a full-time schedule by the fall. This boosts the child’s confidence, which allows them to focus on their education.
Even better, Penguin Crossing Academy has an early preschool program, so your child doesn’t have to learn any new routines, teachers, or friends in August. They can stay in their new comfort zone, which makes the schooling experience less stressful for your child–and you!
Summer Work Solution
Most jobs don’t take a summer vacation, which makes childcare challenging for many parents! Even if you wanted to stay home with your child every day, practically speaking, it’s impossible: you still need to work.
You might be able to juggle a childcare schedule between relatives, friends, educational camps, and VBS events, but it’s a Jenga puzzle that could collapse the moment the adult slated to watch your kid gets sick, has car trouble, or has to work a longer shift. What happens to your child and your job?
The far simpler solution is to enroll your child in Penguin Crossing Academy. We are open 7 AM-6 PM, which gives you tremendous flexibility to get all your work (and a few child-free errands) done so you can be fully present with your child when they are home.
Unlike the constant shuffling of babysitters, Penguin Crossing Academy is open rain or shine to care for your child. You can rest easy knowing that you have a reliable childcare solution.
Our teachers will be consistently familiar faces instead of a shuffling of babysitters. Many parents and children enjoy the relationships they build at Penguin Crossing Academy so much that they continue with after-school care once school begins!
Prepare For School
There’s a lot that goes into being academically successful.
For children entering their first year of formal schooling, there are many things adults forget that are challenging to children. Things such as standing in a line, keeping your hands to yourself, raising your hand to ask a question, being quiet while the teacher is talking, and so much more, are skills that are not naturally taught at home.
Children must have a classroom experience–sometimes learning through trial and error–to fully grasp these concepts.
Many first-day jitters are also due to new people and relationships. Children who have never made a friend without a parent’s help may feel intimidated and awkward around peers, and this can cause a lot of anxiety in children. Enrolling your child in daycare during the summer will help them learn essential friendship skills that will benefit them when school starts.
Children who don’t know these basic skills are at a disadvantage when they begin school. Most of their first few weeks may be predominantly learning new social and scheduling rules instead of academics.
Instead, children who are enrolled in an early preschool program have confidence walking into their first day of kindergarten. Their educational experience will be enriched because they know how to make friends, listen to their teacher, sit quietly, follow a routine, and much more.
These are just a few reasons why enrolling children in Penguin Crossing Academy during the summer is a wise childcare choice.