General Information
One Heart Academy exists to provide a safe, developmentally appropriate environment for infant and preschool age children. Our focus is to provide a stimulating early care and education experience which promotes each child's social/emotional, physical and cognitive development. Our goal is to support children's desire to be life-long learners.
Open Door Policy for Parent Involvement
One Heart Academy exists to provide a safe, developmentally appropriate environment for infant and preschool age children. Our focus is to provide a stimulating early care and education experience which promotes each child's social/emotional, physical and cognitive development. Our goal is to support children's desire to be life-long learners.
Here at One Heart Academy, we promote the development of the total child. Every child is developmentally different and deserves the opportunity to develop and learn at his or her own rate. Since we experience the world with our five senses, we encourage children to "learn by doing" and provide a wide variety of "hands-on" experiences designed to meet the needs of children at different developmental stages.
The experiences and encounters that occur during the early childhood years have a profound effect on later attitudes about self and school. One Heart Academy is committed to providing each child with the highest quality, developmentally appropriate curriculum possible. A developmentally appropriate curriculum provides a stimulating and challenging play-based environment where every child can experience life at his or her own pace. When given the chance to explore a rich environment, children develop self-confidence and an enthusiasm for learning.
Our well-qualified staff creates a nurturing environment that stimulates learning through direct and vicarious experiences. These experiences include sign language, math and language exploration, creative art, music and drama activities, science, social studies and movement exploration. We also provide extra-curricular experiences such as community celebrations, parties and field trips. Above all, we provide ample time for play, both indoors and out. One Heart Academy is proud of its history of supporting parents. Parents are partners in education. We are here to support the family unit in whatever form it exists.
At One Heart Academy we understand the importance of appropriate educational experiences and their role in the success of children as they develop and grow. We offer a variety of developmentally-appropriate educational programs to help prepare your child for the challenges of kindergarten, first grade and beyond.
Infants
Care that is warm and responsive is essential for your infant's healthy development. We enrich your baby's environment with soft toys, colorful books and music. We add to this caring and stimulating environment by teaching Baby Sign Language to engage infants in self-expression before they are able to speak. We create a language-rich environment through the use of the Baby Signs curriculum, Baby Einstein, object identification, and one-on-one time throughout the day.
Infant Key Experiences
Social Relations
• Forming an attachment to a primary caregiver
• Building relationships with other adults
• Building relationships with peers
• Expressing emotions
Creative Representation
• Imitating and pretending
• Exploring building and art materials
• Responding to and identifying pictures and photographs
Movement
• Moving parts of the body (turning head, grasping, kicking)
• Moving the whole body (rolling, crawling, cruising, walking, running, balancing)
• Moving with objects
Music
• Listening to music
• Responding to music
• Exploring and imitating sounds
• Exploring vocal pitch sounds
Communication and Language
• Listening and responding
• Communicating non-verbally
• Exploring picture books and magazines
• Enjoying stories, rhymes, and songs
Exploring Objects
• Exploring objects with one's hands, feet, mouth, eyes, ears, and nose
• Discovering object permanence
Early Quantity and Number
• Experiencing "more" and “no more”
Toddlers
The One Heart Academy Toddler curriculum emphasizes language experiences and social interactions. Toddlers engage in active learning experiences throughout the daily routine. These experiences are designed to foster development in all areas of development. (See Toddler Key Experiences)
The One Heart Academy Toddler Program is based on the philosophy that children grow and develop to their fullest potential if given the opportunity to explore, create and problem solve with materials appropriate to their developmental age. The class provides young children with many experiences: puzzles, books, climbers, puppets, riding toys, and housekeeping props.
We also offer children the opportunity to become involved in the preparation of their snacks, introduce art experiences, sing songs and finger plays, and play group games. The program fosters social and emotional development by providing opportunities for adult/child and child/child interactions. Children this age may not “play with” each other until they are close to three years of age, but will benefit from playing “along side” their peers.
Your child’s age and unique personality determine how they will react to the program. Often the younger children and those who are more cautious will observe a while before joining in an activity. An observing child is still learning from the experience.
Group music and story times are held, but participation is optional for the toddlers. Some children are more ready for this experience than others. It is not developmentally appropriate to expect toddlers to sit in a group for story or follow directions in a group music time. Therefore, we provide attractive, stimulating, and developmentally appropriate activities geared to the individual child. Many times snack preparations or a rousing marching band record will spontaneously involve all the children because they are truly interested.
Letter and numbers are used in a casual manner. Children will not be taught rote skills but concepts will be reinforced through daily use and exposure. A good sense of language is fostered through poetry, stories and songs; fine motor skills through puzzles, blocks, water play, art, cooking; and gross motor skills through climbing, marching, dancing, riding and pulling toys.
Toddler Key Experiences
Sense of Self
· Expressing initiative
· Distinguishing “me” from others
· Solving problems encountered in exploration and play
· Doing things for themselves
Social Relations
· Forming attachment to a primary caregiver
· Building relationships with other adults
· Building relationships with peers
· Expressing emotions
· Showing empathy toward the feelings and needs of others
· Developing social play
Creative Representation
· Imitating and pretending
· Exploring building and art materials
· Responding to and identifying pictures and photographs
Movement
· Moving parts of the body (head – turning, grasping, kicking, etc.)
· Moving the whole body (rolling, crawling, cruising, walking, running, balancing, etc.)
· Moving with objects
· Feeling and expressing steady beat
Music
· Listening to music
· Responding to music
· Exploring and imitating sounds
· Exploring vocal pitch sounds
Communication and Language
· Listening and responding
· Communicating non-verbally
· Participating in communication give-and-take
· Communicating verbally
· Exploring picture books and magazines
· Enjoying stories, rhymes, and songs
Exploring Objects
· Exploring objects with the hands, feet, mouth, eyes, ears, and nose
· Discovering object permanence
· Exploring and noticing how things are the same or different
Early Quantity and Number
· Experiencing “more”
· Experiencing one-to-one correspondence
· Exploring the number of things
Space
· Exploring and noticing location of objects
· Observing people and things from various perspectives
· Filling and emptying, putting in and taking out
· Taking things apart and fitting them together
Time
· Anticipating familiar events
· Noticing the beginning and ending of a time interval
· Experiencing “fast” and “slow”
· Repeating an action to make something happen again, experiencing cause and effect
Preschool
Adults and Children- Partners in Learning
Active learning. whether planned by adults or initiated by children — is the central element of the One Heart Academy’s focus. Children learn through direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas. Trained adults who understand child development and how to scaffold the important areas of learning in the preschool years offer guidance and support.
Adult-child interaction. In the One Heart Academy approach teachers and children are active partners in the learning process. This balanced approach to adult-child interaction — also called "intentional teaching" — is critical to the effectiveness of the program. It includes techniques for encouraging learning in specific content areas as well as strategies for helping children resolve conflict.
Classroom arrangement, materials, and equipment. The space and materials in a One Heart Academy setting are carefully arranged to promote active learning. The center is divided into interest areas organized around specific kinds of play; for example, block area, house area, small toy area, book area, sand-and-water area, and art area.
Daily routine. One Heart Academy teachers give preschoolers a sense of control over the events of the day by planning a consistent daily routine that enables the children to anticipate what happens next. Central elements of the preschool daily routine include the plan-do-review sequence, small- and large-group times, greeting time, and outside time.
Preschool Key Experiences
Approaches to Learning
Making and expressing choices, plans, and decisions
Solving problems encountered in play
Language, Literacy, and Communication
Talking with others about personally meaningful experiences
Describing objects, events, and relations
Having fun with language: listening to stories and poems, making up stories and rhymes
Writing in various ways: drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, invented spelling, conventional forms
Reading in various ways: reading storybooks,signs and symbols, one's own writing
Dictating stories
Social and Emotional Development
Taking care of one's own needs
Expressing feelings in words
Building relationships with children and adults
Creating and experiencing collaborative play
Dealing with social conflict
Physical Development, Health, and Well-Being
Moving in non-locomotor ways (anchored movement: bending, twisting, rocking, swinging one's arms
Moving in locomotor ways (non-anchored movement: running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, climbing)
Moving with objects
Expressing creativity in movement
Describing movement
Acting upon movement directions
Feeling and expressing steady beat
Moving in sequences to a common beat
Arts and Sciences
Mathematics
Seriation
Comparing attributes (longer/shorter, bigger/smaller)
Arranging several things one after another in a series or pattern and describing the relationships(big/bigger/biggest, red/blue/red/blue)
Fitting one ordered set of objects to another through trial and error (small cup—small saucer/medium cup—medium saucer/big cup—big saucer)
Number
Comparing the numbers of things in two sets to determine "more," "fewer," "same number"
Arranging two sets of objects in one-to-one correspondence
Counting objects
Space
Filling and emptying
Fitting things together and taking them apart
Changing the shape and arrangement of objects (wrapping, twisting, stretching, stacking, enclosing)
Observing people, places, and things from different spatial viewpoints
Experiencing and describing positions,directions, and distances in the play space, building, and neighborhood
Interpreting spatial relations in drawings,pictures, and photographs
Science and Technology
Classification
Recognizing objects by sight, sound,touch, taste, and smell
Exploring and describing similarities,differences, and the attributes of things
Distinguishing and describing shapes
Sorting and matching
Using and describing something in several ways
Holding more than one attribute in mind at a time
Distinguishing between "some" and "all"
Describing characteristics something does not possess or what class it does not belong to
Time
Starting and stopping an action on signal
Experiencing and describing rates of movement
Experiencing and comparing time intervals
Anticipating, remembering, and describing sequences of events
Social Studies
Participating in group routines
Being sensitive to the feelings, interests,and needs of others
Visual Arts
Relating models, pictures, and photographs to real places and things
Making models out of clay, blocks, and other materials
Drawing and painting
Dramatic Art
Imitating actions and sounds
Pretending and role playing
Music
Moving to music
Exploring and identifying sounds
Exploring the singing voice
Developing melody
Singing songs
Playing simple musical instruments
Location
One Heart Academy is located on the campus of the Albuquerque Center for Spiritual Living. Our address is 2801 Louisiana Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87110
Licensing Status
We are licensed by the State of New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) license number 145322, and is a component of the Youth and Family Ministry at the Albuquerque Center for Spiritual Living.
Days and Hours of Operation
One Heart Academy’s hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. We offer full time and part time care. Full time is considered 21-52.5 hours per week. Add-ons or schedule changes may be accepted to our daily schedule only if there is a position open for that day, and they will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Please remember that schedule changes of this nature create some disruption to our normal schedule. We would appreciate as much notice as possible, so that we can plan for meals, sleeping arrangements, and any changes in activities that may occur.
We maintain an open door policy for parents during daycare and preschool hours. This means that parents are always welcome to call or drop in to see their children. We would appreciate your taking into consideration our schedule when dropping in or calling, and remember that visitors usually cause children to react in an excited manner. If you call during the day, please be aware that we may be busy with the children and may not be able to answer the phone. If you would leave a message, we will call you back as soon as possible.
Holidays/Vacations
Hours of care will be contracted from child to child. No childcare will be provided on Weekends or on the following holidays:
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Eve we will close at 3:00 p.m.
Thanksgiving and the Day After
Christmas
Christmas Eve we will close at 3:00 p.m.
The above are paid holidays for One Heart Academy if they fall on a contracted day for your child. If the holiday falls on a weekend it will be observed the Monday after or the Friday before.
Notification of at least 60 days will be given prior to any closed days, with the exception of emergencies or illness. Please have a backup childcare provider for these occasions. The Provider is not responsible for finding alternate care for your child, although we will try to have a back up at all times. In the event that the provider will be away for a period of time less than three hours substitute care will be provided by a back up provider.
Services Offered
We offer full time and part time daycare for infants ages 6 weeks to 2 years, and a preschool program for children 2 to 6 years of age.
Director
Samantha Murtagh is the Director of One Heart Academy. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies,years of experience in teaching Montessori Early Childhood (Ages 2 1/2 to 6) and Lower Elementary (Ages 6-9), and Level I K-8 NM State Licensure. She can be contacted at (505) 620-2217 or by email at mrssama.sm@gmail.com.
Meals
All formula/breast milk is to be pre-mixed and placed into bottles provided by the parent. All bottles, feeding utensils, and dishes will be sent home with the parents, on a daily basis for cleaning and sterilizing. The parents will provide all food and snacks in clearly labeled containers.
Daily Schedule Procedures
Arrivals and Departures
Children are to arrive clean and fed (unless arriving just before a meal time). We will try our best to send your child home with a clean diaper, and would appreciate the same consideration when you drop off.
It is normal for some children to have difficulty separating from parents, or cry when dropping off. Please make your drop off brief, the longer you prolong the departure, the harder it gets. A smile, cheerful good-bye kiss, and a reassuring word that you will be back is all that is needed. In our experience, children are nearly always quick to get involved in play or activities as soon as parents are gone.
Please be brief at pick-up times, as well. This is a time of testing, when two different authority figures are present (the parent and the provider). All children will test to see if the rules still apply. During arrival and departure, we expect parents to back up our rules. Please be in control of your child during pick up times.
Our normal procedure is to release the child only to his/her parents, or someone else the parents designate on the Authorized Pick Up and Emergency Contact Form. If someone other than the parent is to pick up the child, please notify us ahead of time. A verbal notice is fine on that day, if this person is on the list of people who are authorized to pick up your child. If the person is NOT on that list, we MUST have written permission to release your child. Please inform emergency contacts, or people designated to pick up your child, that if we do not know them then we will need to ask for identification. This is not meant to offend them. This is simply a measure taken for the child's protection. Drop off and pick up are not good times to discuss serious problems. Little ears and minds hear and understand everything. Your Director can set up a time where the issues can be discussed in private.
Signing In/Out
It is required by state law that all parents sign their child in and out each day. For your convenience, a sign in/out sheet, pen, and a clock are located by the door, this gives us a written record of the child's attendance, hours, and the person who brought in/picked up the child each day.
Daily Schedule
Infants and Toddlers
Infants and toddlers will not necessarily follow the same schedule as preschoolers. They are not capable of sitting still for circle time, may need a morning nap, etc. Infants are always fed on demand. Breast feeding infants need to have an adequate supply stocked and properly labeled. Toddlers usually eat meals and snacks on a set meal schedule.
A report will be prepared for each infant/toddler each day. It will include things such as, time of feedings, what was eaten, amount eaten, time of diaper checks and results, times of naps, any medication given, and various comments about the child's day.
Our daily schedule, while very flexible, is as follows:
8:30 a.m. - Center opens - free choice of activities and play materials
8:45 a.m. - Breakfast
9:15 a.m. - Circle time
9:30 a.m. - Structured activities (baby sign language)
10:30 a.m. - Gross motor play (outside weather permitting)
11:45 a.m. - Story time/wash-up for lunch
12:00 p.m. - Lunchtime
12:45 p.m. - Naptime
3:00 p.m. - Afternoon snack
3:30 p.m. - Gross motor play (outside weather permitting) and/or indoor free choice activity or structured activity times.
4:30 p.m. - Quieting time
5:30 p.m. - Center Closes
Preschool
Schedule is used as a basic guide only. Times are subject to change and flexibility is used throughout each day and week. Many "subjects" blend into others, but time is scheduled for them to ensure coverage.
Age appropriate activities are scheduled with flexibility allowed to respond to the needs of the individual child and day. We will offer times for outside play, stories, baby sign language instruction, and naps appropriate to the child's ages, interests, and abilities. We will provide your child with tender loving care, understanding, patience and guidance in a happy, nurturing setting. We provide an infant/toddler curriculum for developing large and small motor skills. Free play is an important part of a child's early years. It is here that they learn social skills that will be needed the rest of their lives.
Circle Time
Time to read a short book then learn or practice skills. This is where new Baby Signs will be introduced as well as socialization. With infants and toddlers, this time will occur several times a day.
Outside Play
We will try to get outside every day if the weather is good so make sure to dress your child appropriately and send outside items in the winter.
Nap/Rest Period
Please try not to schedule pick-ups or visits during this time to lessen disturbance to the resting children. All children will rest in their cribs with individual linens. No child will be woken up from a nap unless the parent has arrived to pick up the child.
Toys
Please do NOT send any toys from home with your child. If your child needs a special toy or item for sleeping, it will be allowed, but it will remain put away until Nap/Rest Time. The Provider assumes NO responsibility for lost, stolen, or broken toys from home.
Pets
At times we may have visits from pets. These pets are vaccinated and in good health. They will never be left alone with a child and will be visiting for the purpose of expanding vocabulary, learning about our four-legged friends, and increasing knowledge of the world. Please let us know if your child has an allergy to animals.
Television
We will be using the Baby Signs curriculum which does include DVD with songs and hand signs, as well as Baby Einstein DVD’s. These will be used a few times a week for no more than 5-10 minutes.
Toilet Learning
Children do not need to be "toilet trained" to participate in preschool child care activities. Toilet learning is as individual to a child as learning to walk. It should be a positive experience for a child, and will take only a short time when the child is ready. There is no "right" age by which all children should be using the toilet; problems in toilet learning usually arise because adults don't pay attention to the child's lack of readiness. You should begin your program of toilet learning at home when you feel your child is ready. I am happy to assist you as your child learns to use the toilet; see our toilet learning policy for our complete toilet learning procedure, as well as tips to make toilet learning easier for you and your child. Children will never be punished for lapses in toilet learning.
Toilet Learning Policy
Toilet learning is best begun at home, but when you think your child is ready to start at child care we will jump in to help! If you need ideas to get started, check out our toilet learning tips and tricks.
Toilet Learning vs Potty Training
"Toilet learning" is very different from "potty training." Potty training is something adults do to children while toilet learning is something children take an active part in. Effective toilet learning doesn't begin until the child shows signs that he is ready, and does not punish or use treats a rewards. Children who are ready to begin toilet learning will be happy and proud to use the toilet and won't need any other reward.
Keys to Successful Toilet Learning
Unlike old-fashioned potty training, which may make children feel bad about accidents, toilet learning enables children to feel good about using the toilet. During toilet learning children learn how to:
Listen to their bodies so they know when they need to use the toilet,
Communicate to others their need to use the toilet,
Manage their own clothes so they can use the toilet.
Toilet Learning Begins at Home
Parents should be their child's first helpers with toilet learning, but once your child has been learning to use the toilet at home for several weeks we'll try at child care. If your child doesn't seem ready: shows no interest, is fearful, or has too many accidents, toilet learning will be put on hold until we decide together that your child is ready to try again. We will remind your child to use the toilet throughout the day, however children are often more easily distracted when playing with friends so it is important for your child to have a good start at toilet learning at home before we try here.
Toilet Learning Policies
These toilet learning guidelines will help us work together to minimize frustration and maximize success for your child:
Toilet learning needs to be started, encouraged and continued at home; continuity between home and child care is critical for toilet learning.
Decide before you start toilet learning what terms you will use for the toilet, urine and feces. We use "potty, tinkle, and poop" but what you use is up to you; we will use your choice of words with your child.
Decide how your child will use the toilet: sitting front-wards or backwards, with or without a potty seat. Families of boys also need to decide if boys will start out sitting or standing. Remember to tell us what you decide!
Dress your child in loose clothing that he/she is able to manage easily and independently. Pants or shorts with all-elastic waists are the best choices. Please avoid overalls, jeans with snaps and zippers, shirts with snaps between the legs, belts, tie waistbands, tights, and tight-fitting clothing. Dresses may also be a problem if your child can't see to pull down her underwear or can't pull the back of the dress up enough to avoid sitting on it.
Once you begin toilet learning avoid the use of diapers during the day. Disposable training pants (Pull-ups) may be a good choice during the first few days unless your child considers them no different from diapers.
Use cloth training pants instead of disposable ones after the initial week or so. Toilet learning often happens quickly for children wearing cloth pants because they feel different from diapers and allow the child to become aware of being wet. Thick training pants are available with a plastic outer layer and without the outer layer; these are a better choice than thin underwear for the first stages of learning.
Diapers or pull-ups can be used for naps and at night if necessary but try getting the child up once during the night to use the bathroom for a few nights before using pull-ups.
Please have your child wear some type of cloth training pants - not disposable training pants - at home for a full week before bringing your child to child care in cloth pants.
During toilet learning please keep three complete sets of clothes, including socks, and one extra pair of shoes at child care every day. Remember to label all items of clothing.
Consider telling your child will be told "It's time to go potty now" instead of asking. Asking the child if he/she wants to go to the bathroom only gives him/her to opportunity to say "no".
Since the door or gate to the bathroom may be closed for safety, your child will be encouraged to tell us when he/she needs to use the bathroom until he/she can open the gate. Having your child tell you when he/she needs to use the bathroom at home will reinforce this habit.
Due to health and sanitation concerns, licensing rules prohibit us from rinsing out soiled clothes. Soiled and/or wet garments will be put in a plastic bag for you to take home and launder.
More Help with Toilet Learning
We have lots of experience with toilet learning so if you need help don't be afraid to ask!
Open Door Policy for Parent Involvement
You are invited and welcome to visit One Heart Academy anytime your child(ren) are present. You are asked to avoid visiting during Nap/quiet time (about noon - 2 pm) as much as possible. Parents are also free to call at any time. If we do not answer, please leave a message, and we will call you back as soon as we are finished with the current activity.
Dress Code
Please dress your child appropriately. The activities may be messy. Do not send your child in clothing that you do not want stained. We use washable art supplies, but caution never hurts. Weather permitting, we will spend sometime outdoors. You also need to supply two complete change of clothing in case of an accident. If the child has no spare clothing, the parent will be called to bring some. If there is a special occasion that calls for special clothing, (a visit or party right after child care or a trip to the photographer) please send the special clothing with your child and we will help get them cleaned up and dressed prior to your picking them up at the end of the day. Please provide two (2) changes of clothing (four (4) if we are toilet training) to be left here. This includes shirt, pants, and underwear/onsie and socks. Please replenish if these are sent home dirty, so that at least one set remains in the center at all times.
Holidays/Birthdays
We honor major holidays and all children’s birthdays. If you would like to bring a special treat for the children, please arrange this with the provider. You are more than welcome to participate in ANY activities we have planned. Please inform the provider if you do not wish for a holiday (Christmas, Halloween, etc.) to be focused upon.
Special Needs
One Heart Academy will make all reasonable modifications to our policies and practices to accommodate children with special needs, unless to do so would be a fundamental alteration of our existing program. Each child will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine eligibility.
Supplies
Infants and Toddlers
You will need to provide the following items (To be left here):
Diapers, at least five (5) per day
1 box of baby wipes, at least 80 - 100 count. Please bring a refill box the first time and then refill packs as needed (if applicable)
Two (2) pacifiers, if needed
Formula or breast milk, table food if applicable, and bottles. Please label with your child’s name. Bottles will be sent home for cleaning.
Two (2) changes of clothing (Four (4)if we are toilet training) to be left here. This includes shirt, pants, and underwear/onsie and socks. Please replenish if these are sent home dirty, so that at least one set remains in the Center at all times.
Note:
All of the above items are required for us to care for your child, so they will need to be brought daily or left here.
Preschool
Lunch and Snacks for each day. Please label with your child’s name. Dishes will be sent home for cleaning.
A small light blanket for full time students (we will provide a mat for each student)
A change of clothes, including socks and underwear, clearly marked with your child’s name. (please send these to school in a zip-lock bag)
All of the above items are required for us to care for your child, so they will need to be brought daily or left here.
Center Rules
There are certain Center rules that all children will be taught and expected to follow. This is for the safety and well being of everyone. In addition we realize that we must expect a certain amount of wear and tear where children are concerned, we do not want to have our Center "demolished".
There will be no running permitted in the center. Hitting, pushing, biting, grabbing, kicking, spitting, or pinching other children/infants/adults will NOT be allowed. No standing or climbing on chairs or tables. There will be no use of obscene, derogatory or disrespectful language.
Children may not walk around the Center with food, cups or bottles. Respectful treatment of other people and all property, toys, and furniture is expected. Willful destruction of property will be charged to the parent at the cost to replace the item. Please support us in the enforcement of these rules, in order to create a better environment for all.
No smoking is permitted on the premises as per state law; this included parents and staff.
Communication
Good communication is of the utmost importance. When a new family is accepted into our Center, we like to be sure that we can share openly about any concerns or questions that may arise. It is important that there is a similar child care philosophy between the Center and the parents. We welcome questions, feedback, or discussions of any kind that are oriented towards a positive outcome for the child(ren). Sensitive issues will be discussed in private at a mutually beneficial time.