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Kids & Company Blog
How does Kids & Company Maintain Routines?
Last post, we discussed why routines are an important tool to help your child have a comfortable, successful transitions throughout the day with one of our experts and Area Directors, Jennifer Comber. She reminded us that routine creates structure, and structure empowers children. To read about what she had to say and get some tips for establishing and maintaining routines in your home, visit here.
Kids & Company recognizes how key routine is for both children and parents. We care about childcare as a whole, both at our centres and in the home. We work with parents to understand their home schedules and try to duplicate the child’s routine from home as closely as possible. To do this, it takes a lot of communication and work between teachers and parents. Ultimately, we want to make life easier for Mom and Dad by supporting routines that work for the child.
Jennifer also noted that a planned transition time into child care (especially when it is the child’s first time) is often beneficial because this is always a big disruption to routine. We take transition very seriously and offer a complimentary transition week where a parent can help the child softly explore new people, environments and activities. Some of our parents use this week to spend time with their child in the program to give them a stable presence, and some parents use the week to have their child experience the centre for an hour or two at a time on their own before spending longer chunks of time there (based on availability).

Our infants have the most variance in routines because every family does things differently and the needs of an infant don’t follow much structure (sleep times, awake and ready for stimulation times, eating times, diaper changes and so on are less predictable with infants). This is why we have a lower ratio of teachers to infants at these ages and allow a lot of flexibility to accommodate the changing needs of babies and different routines of our families. Our infants transition into a toddler classroom between 15 and 18 months of age, depending on development. We always listen to the baby and follow the routine that they are most comfortable with, while comparing it to what is done at home. As the infant transitions into the toddler classroom, more consistent routines start to emerge: play and development, food, sleep, play and development, food, home.
Jennifer explained that the early childhood educators at Kids & Company use routine to create stability and reduce surprise whenever a child needs to stop one activity and move on to the next. For example, programming is set out to follow a schedule each week, with Alpha-Mania, Mini Masters, Munchkinetics, music, French, sign language, and unstructured play times incorporated into the day. In addition, our Kidco Kitchen is based on a four-week routine. With this simple structure, kids can anticipate when certain activities will happen and be mentally prepared.
Find out more information about Kids & Company and the routines we work into our programs at https://kidsandcompany.com/programs/curriculum/.
Ali has a B.A. in Communications and Culture from the University of Calgary and a Diploma in Public Relations from MacEwan University. Her work experience includes the City of Edmonton, The Canadian National Sportsmens’ Shows and The Town of High River (where she oversaw a team of day camp counsellors).
Fun facts about Ali: She’s getting married next September, loves to travel, is obsessed with her new Bernedoodle puppy, and appreciates a good bowl of real Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
She is always happy to chat about anything and you can reach her at amcnaught@kidsandcompany.com.
Posted on: Friday September 29th, 2017
Posted by: Kids & Company
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Pine Village JP South Street, Part of the Kids & Company Family
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Kids World
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Morgan Crossing
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Sylvan Lake
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Consumers
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Front
Wellington
Scotia Plaza
Stock Yards
St. Andrew’s Church
Liberty Village
Rosedale
Queen West
Tyke Town Troy, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Vancouver West
Langford
Victoria
Sunshine South, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Sunshine Country Day, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Waterdown
Tech Town
West Quincy
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ABC Kiddie Kampus East Mountain, Part of the Kids & Company Family
ABC Kiddie Kampus King’s College, Part of the Kids & Company Family
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Queen Street
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Burlington
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Milton
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Oakville
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Richmond Hill - Corporate office (No child care services)
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto
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Waterloo
Kanata
Oakville
Oakville
Toronto
Whitby
Toronto
Mississauga
Ottawa
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto
Brampton
Stoney Creek
Toronto
Nepean
Burlington
Burlington
Oakville
Waterdown
Oakville
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Wilkes-Barre
Exeter
Old Forge
Wilkes-Barre
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Harrisburg
Harrisburg
Harrisburg
Hummelstown
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York
York
Abington
Aurora
Bedford (Dellridge Lane)
Larry Uteck (Southgate Dr)
Pine Village South End, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Braintree 1
Braintree 2
Brampton
Pine Village Brighton, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Pine Village Brookline, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Burlington Children’s Centre
Burloak
Appleby
Beacon Hill
Bow Trail
Eau Claire
Livingston
Midlake
Millrise
Royal Oak
Smart Tech
Britannia Crossing
Marda Loop
Evanston
Beltline
Aviation Crossing
Gulf Canada Square
Pine Village Kendall Square, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Pine Village Porter Square, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Canton
Jackson
Lincoln Park
Harrison
West Loop
South Loop
Fulton
Cochrane
Dartmouth
Dover
Eastern Passage
Ellerslie (103A St. SW)
Edmonton Ice District (104 Ave)
Baturyn
Diamond
Friendly Frog
Meadowlark Park
St. Charles
St. Dominic
Sunshine Factory
Tender Heart
Tamarack
Jagare Ridge
Horse Hill
Fraser
Islington
Etobicoke (Bloor & Islington)
ABC Kiddie Kampus Exeter, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Halifax
Hamilton
Hammonds Plains
Route 39
Schaffner
Swatara
Hummelstown
Pine Village JP Revere, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Pine Village JP South Street, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Kamloops
Eagleson (South Kanata)
Tyke Town Lake St. Louis, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Kids World
Langley (200th St.)
London Richmond
Sackville
Milton
Robert Speck Parkway
Mississauga Gateway Centre
Nanaimo
Pine Village Needham, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Ottawa Barrhaven
New Westminster
Pine Village West Newton, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Pine Village Newton Highlands, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Niagara Queen
North Vancouver
North Van Esplanade
Oakville Ford
Oakville Cornwall
Oakville Dundas
Joshua Creek
Oakville West (3471 Wyecroft Rd)
Okotoks
ABC Kiddie Kampus Old Forge, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Ottawa Albert
Ottawa Westboro
Palmyra
ABC Kiddie Kampus Pittston, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Port Moody
Marina Bay
Red Deer
Richmond
Head Office
Schaumburg
Sherwood Park
St. Albert North
St. Albert Grandin
Tyke Town St. Peters, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Stoney Creek
Morgan Crossing
Surrey Professional Centre
King George
Sylvan Lake
Bloor Christie
Bloor (Bloor St. East)
Consumers
Finch
Front
Wellington
Scotia Plaza
Stock Yards
St. Andrew’s Church
Liberty Village
Rosedale
Queen West
Tyke Town Troy, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Vancouver West
Langford
Victoria
Sunshine South, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Sunshine Country Day, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Waterdown
Tech Town
West Quincy
Whitby
ABC Kiddie Kampus East Mountain, Part of the Kids & Company Family
ABC Kiddie Kampus King’s College, Part of the Kids & Company Family
Winnipeg
West York
Queen Street