Are you shopping around for daycares or preschools in the Taylorsville, KY area? 

Start out your research by creating a list of important things to look for in a daycare center. One of the most important things to add to this list is checking out parent reviews from the websites and social media platforms of the different childcare centers you are comparing.

If you are looking for a daycare or preschool in the Taylorsville, KY area, make sure to read the parent reviews for Training Wheels Childcare! Our families are amazing and we are so thankful for them!

Parent Reviews for Training Wheels Childcare in Taylorsville, KY!

“I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS DAYCARE !! Morgan I went to high school with she is such an AMAZING PERSON … & To Miss Lisa she has such a BEAUTIFUL SOUL.. They do everything with the children they do Art & Crafts to Potty Training ! You guys are just the BEST EVER … & Thank you guys for anything & everything yall for my child ! My Daughter loves the stuff & they love like she is their own .. She adjusted very well & is getting along great with the other children . She most definitely needed this .❤️” –Heaven Terry

“Family-like setting, with the most loving and trustworthy staff. Great enrichment activities.” –Jennifer Thornhill

“The staff at this daycare are second to none. Simply put, they are amazing and are my daughter’s second home away from home. They care for my crazy toddler nearly as much as I do! I can’t say enough good things about these ladies. If you are looking for a daycare home for your little one, you can stop your search now and know that your child will be in the best possible care at Training Wheels Child Care.” –Danielle Haselhoff

“We have absolutely loved the staff at Training Wheels. We came from another child care center, where my child was falling behind. As soon as they started at Training Wheels they began to excel. Switching to Training Wheels was the best decision for my child.” –Adriane Anderson

There are a lot of fun games that you can play with your toddlers at home! It’s too easy in our world today to plop our kids in front of the tv or tablet, but there are some great ways you can engage with your young kids in a meaningful and fun way!

Here are some of our favorite games to play with toddlers!

Fun Games To Play With Your Toddler

 

Simon Says

Simon Says is a great game to play with your toddlers! It teaches young kids how to follow instructions and can help them learn the different parts of their body, too!

The game goes like this: You are Simon and you call out commands to your kids like, “Simon says touch your toes!” and your child should follow the instructions. The kids have to follow the instruction ONLY if you say “Simon Says” at the beginning. If you give a command without those words and they follow, then they are out.

You can add some funny commands, too, like doing silly dances, jumping up and down, or hopping like a frog.

Puzzles

Puzzles are another great game to play with toddlers while teaching them a lot of key skills: it teaches motor skills, cognitive abilities, and emotional skills like how to be patient. Working puzzles can also help boost your child’s memory.

You can also add to the fun by letting them pick out which puzzles they want to work with you! Take them to the store and find some inexpensive puzzles and let them choose their favorite designs.

One for You, One for Me

This game is perfect for younger toddlers because it teaches sharing. You can set out a small pile of toys like crayons, blocks, or stuffed animals. You can distribute the toys between the two of you while saying “One for you, one for me.” Then let them have a turn and see how they learn to share!

Parachute

This is a great game if you have more than two people! You can spread out a large sheet (or parachute if you have one) and have everyone tightly hold onto a side. You can work together to slowly raise the sheet over everyone’s heads while saying, “Up, up, up!” and lower it while saying, “Down, down, down!” 

When you raise it up and say, “Up, up, up!”, you can all rush under the sheet together! This game can help kids develop their fine motor skills as well as patience and listening.

Hide-and-Seek

Hide-and-seek is a great, classic game that is always a hit with little humans! Whether they are hiding or seeking, they are learning problem-solving skills. 

You can also play hide-and-seek with toys or other objects. You could hide a stuffed animal somewhere in the room and have them search for it as well.

There are so many great games that you can play with your toddlers at home, these are just a handful of great ideas! Which one will you try today?

 

Looking for some fun, healthy snacks that your little kids will love to try? We’ve got some great suggestions!

Sometimes getting kids to WANT to eat healthy snacks over the more sugary or salty snacks takes a little creativity. This could mean dressing the food up in a fun way, finding “fun” foods that can incorporate activities while eating it, or healthier sweet and salty options. 

Check out some of our favorite fun and healthy snacks for little kids!

Fun, Healthy Snacks for Little Kids!

 

Edamame

Edamame is fun, tasty little soybeans packed with nutrition that truly are fun to eat if you buy them in the pods. Edamame is a great plant-based source of protein that is abundant in essential amino acids, fiber,  and nutrients like iron, magnesium, and B vitamins including folate, vitamin A, and vitamin K.

When you squeeze the pods a certain way, edamame beans will pop out of the pod like a little acrobat from a cannon at the circus. Kids love this! 

Fruit Salad

Fruit salad is a great way to get healthy fruits into your kids as a sweet treat. Fruit salad can really include anything you like. Maybe you just have apples and bananas on hand–chop them up and mix them together in a bowl!

Or you can buy berries and kiwi for a delightful springtime flavor. You could even buy new fruits for your kids like passionfruit, pomegranates, or dragon fruit, and try it out in a fruit salad mix. Even if they don’t like the new fruit, there are a lot of other options in the bowl for them to eat.

Fruit salad is a great healthy dessert or snack!

Popcorn

Popcorn is a great, low-calorie snack when your kiddos are just craving something salty and fun. 

You can buy popcorn in microwavable bags for a fast option that takes almost no effort, or you can buy Jiffy-Pop popcorn that you make on the stove or buy a popcorn maker to make your own homemade popcorn. Finding a way to make popcorn with your kids takes this from just a tasty snack to a fun activity with mom or dad at the same time!

Bugs on a Log

Everyone knows that making something sound a little gross and funny usually means a home run with little kids, and that’s why Bugs on a Log is another fun, creative way to get veggies into your kiddos!

All you need are a few celery stalks, some peanut butter, and some M&Ms or chocolate chips. Cut the celery into short lengths, spread some peanut butter into the hollow middle, and sprinkle it with your choice of candy. 

Kids will get a kick out of the fun presentation and enjoy the flavors, too!

Smoothies

Smoothies are an amazing way to hide some of those highly nutritious veggies that don’t taste as appealing behind the sweet flavors of fruits and even honey.

You can use water, coconut or almond milk, juice, or even yogurt as a base and add whatever fruits, veggies, or extras like honey, flax seeds, or chia seeds that you like and come out with a delicious smoothie that your kids will be excited to drink!

Check out this article for 15 delicious fruit and veggie smoothie recipes!

What are some of your favorite healthy snacks for your kiddos? Drop them in the comments below!

Children learn so much through the simple activity of play. And while all play can be beneficial to their growth, there are some toys and activities that can enhance their learning and development all while they are having loads of fun!

Let’s check out some of our favorite activities and toys that help kids grow and develop while enjoying themselves!

Great Toys for Early Childhood Development

 

Puzzles

Puzzles are an amazing problem-solving toy for little kids! Puzzles require kids to slow down, analyze a picture and make an educated decision. Puzzles also give very clear yes and no scenarios, which helps kids see a problem to the end. 

Puzzles also come in various levels of skill, which allows room for growth as kids get older. Start toddlers out with basic wooden puzzles that fit into simple molds. Then you can move up to 20 or 30-piece picture puzzles. And as your child continues to grow and each level of puzzles becomes easier and easier, you can continue to challenge them with new, fun puzzles! You can even match the puzzle themes to their interests to make them even more fun.

Playdoh & Kinetic Sand

Playdoh and Kinetic Sand are amazing toys for kids for so many reasons. These kinds of toys inspire creativity and imagination to create whatever they want.

Working with playdoh and kinetic sand helps develop fine motor skills. Creating small balls, arms, legs, or other detailed items can help fine-tune a child’s motor skills. Playdough can also be a tool used for smaller children when teaching them about different colors.

Legos, Blocks, and Magnatiles

Legos, blocks, and magnatiles are other great activities for growing and developing kids. These kinds of toys are great for problem-solving, following directions, and building things freehand; all of these things are skills that kids need to learn.

Toys like magnatiles and other magnetic blocks can also teach kids early lessons in science. 

There are so many great toys out there that are fun for kids to play with and help them grow and learn at age-appropriate levels. What are some of your favorite toys for early childhood development?

Separation anxiety can be a tough thing for both parents and kids when it comes to daycare drop-off. Many parents aren’t 100% sure what to do, or how to handle it, and many even feel guilty for leaving their child in the midst of a bout of separation anxiety.

As daycare professionals, here are some things that we have found helpful over the years for parents trying to help their children through separation anxiety.

How Parents Can Help Their Kids With Separation Anxiety

Have a Morning Routine

Having a consistent and predictable morning routine will help instill a sense of security and stability in your child. When kids know what is going to come next, whether that’s breakfast time, brushing their teeth, or heading to school.

You can even add fun, creative things to your morning routine like bringing a favorite blanket in the car for comfort, playing a game or telling stories in the car, or a little routine between the two of you that will help build a connection between you and your child that makes it feel safe and easier to say goodbye when the time comes.

Be Consistent

Once you have established a morning routine and drop-off ritual that works for you and your child, stick with it every day. Straying from the new, comfortable routine can break down a child’s trust in their environment and cause their anxiety to spike again.

Stick with Your Promises

Giving your child something to look forward to when you return is a great way to help ease their separation anxiety, like getting ice cream with you after school or going to the playground together. 

Just make sure you follow through with your promise if you go this route. It won’t take your child long to realize that these incentives and promises don’t mean anything if you don’t follow through, and then the attempt to calm and comfort them will just cause more frustration and instability in their little minds.

Keep Your Goodbyes Short

While leaving your child might be hard for both of you, the shorter and sweeter the transition the better it ends up being in the long run.

The longer you hang around, the more your child’s anxiety will build. The caregivers are trained in how to help calm your child, so smile and give them a hug or kiss, and remind them that you will be together soon. Then walk away. Your child will start to learn that they are safe even if you aren’t there, so stay consistent with this as well.

Practice Makes Perfect

Just remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your child’s separation anxiety be alleviated in just one day. These things take time, patience, and love.

Consistency will give you the practice you need to help your child start to feel comfortable and at peace when you leave them at daycare.

 

When parents are searching for a daycare center for their children, of course, they are going to look for the best place for their child and their family. But when it’s your first time daycare shopping, you may have an idea of what the ideal daycare center looks like in your head but you don’t know exactly what to look for to find that picture.

Here are the 3 things you should look for when daycare shopping that make a daycare center an amazing place for your child!

The 3 Things That Make a Daycare Center AMAZING!

• High Teacher-to-Child Ratios

High teacher-to-child ratios mean that you will have smaller class sizes or multiple teachers in a room with the children. These adjusted ratios in a classroom allow teachers the ability to give a lot more time and individual attention to each child.

This allows for more opportunities for nurturing, growth, and personal development for each child in the classroom. Studies show that when children spend time in a nurturing environment with trusted adults that encourage their growth and development—whether at home or at daycare/school—they develop and grow into a more confident and capable little person.

• Skilled and Nurturing Staff

The key element that plays into creating that nurturing and healthy environment for children in smaller classes is the teacher.

Experienced teachers will know how to create a space where kids feel safe and can learn and grow, but that isn’t the only element a good childcare teacher needs to have. They need to be kind, caring, empathetic, and sincere as well. These qualities will play into how they interact with each child in different scenarios, whether it’s through play, a teaching moment, or when tough interactions between little friends happen.

Teachers with these skills and qualities will create an emotionally and physically comfortable space for the kids in their class, and this will help the children thrive.

• Fun Learning Environment

Good teachers will create age-appropriate and fun learning environments for their classes, including a variety of activities like crafts, games, worksheets, and hands-on learning experiences. A good daycare teacher will create opportunities for children in their class to learn and exercise their unending curiosity in a safe and creative way.

Whether they are teaching the basics of colors and shapes to one-year-olds or laying the foundations of reading for preschoolers, a good daycare teacher will find fun and unique ways to teach the children in their class about the world around them and help prepare them for the next stage in their life.

 

As you shop around for the perfect daycare center for you and your family, be sure to keep on the lookout for these three things as you tour different daycare centers. When these three elements are present, you know you have found a special and amazing place for your child!