About:

The Child Care Center is part of the Early Education Department at the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University. It was established in 2007 and began to receive children in February 2008. The Center’s main purpose is to provide student teachers with a distinct quality teaching experience as part of their bachelor's degree program, in line with international standards for training pre-school teachers. The capacity of the Center is thirty-two children. It offers a variety of activities designed to develop the children’s skills in various developmental fields, commensurate with their stage of development and their interests and abilities, and to prepare them for school. The program applied in the Center is bilingual in Arabic and English. Its focus is individualized teaching, according to the child’s capabilities and progress in various fields, in order for each child to achieve their full potential. In this booklet, you will find information about the Center, its program and the admission requirements.

 The Mission of the Center:

The Child Care Center seeks to provide an appropriate educational environment to enable student teachers to observe and interact with children in order to identify the stages of their development in various areas. The Center also seeks to provide an integrated program for children in accordance with educational theories and recent trends in early childhood education research.

Philosophy:

The Center offers an integrated curriculum, which provides a strong foundation for the future intellectual, physical, social and moral development of the children. The learning they do at the Center provides the basis for the acquisition of skills in literacy, mathematics, science, Islamic Education, social studies, art and physical education. It also contributes to building students’ confidence, and encouraging them to see learning as both enjoyable and useful.

Outdoor Play Area:

This large central undercover area consists of a large sand area complete with climbing walls, a paved section for tricycle riding and various other activities and a large synthetic grassed area with an adventure playground.

Classrooms:

The Child Care Center is equipped with two classrooms.  One is utilized for teaching English while the other is used for Arabic.  Each classroom has many learning areas which contain an abundance of manipulative resources.  Each classroom also has an attached wet area with child sized toilets and basins.

Kitchen

Consisting of all the normal kitchen essentials, this area is used to cook and prepare foods as part of the children’s learning program.  Those children who remain at school in the afternoon also take their afternoon snack there.

Observation Rooms

Two observation rooms overlook each classroom.  Parents, university staff and students can observe the teachers and children at work, unseen by the children, through the mirrored glass.

Gym Room

This large empty space is used for exercise.  Various activities are undertaken using materials such as balls, beanbags, hoops and scooter boards.

Multipurpose Room

This room is used for parent-teacher meetings as well as for various lectures conducted by the Early Childhood Education Department.  Occasionally it is also used for children’s activities.

Reception

This area contains the coordinator and director’s offices as well as a waiting area.

Entry

In this area parents sign their children in and out for the day.  Various program information can be found on the walls and a photo display of the previous month’s activities can be viewed as well as other information of interest, as displayed on the notice board.  Electronic doors separate this area from the children’s section of the building. 

In early childhood, children’s receptivity to new influences and capacity to learn are at their peak. During this period, they acquire a variety of important skills, knowledge and attitudes that will affect their ability to learn, their personal development, their relationships with others, and their future participation in society. The Child Care Center is dedicated to providing staff, facilities, and equipment that are the best available. The services provided for the children are of high quality. The Center is like a home away from home where the atmosphere is an inviting, warm, and comfortable extension to the nurturing family environment.

Attendance and Departure

• Children may enter the center between 7:30 and 7:45 am. A parent should accompany the child into the building.
• Regular attendance by children ensures that they receive the full benefit of the program and that the teachers-in-training are able to meet the requirements of their teaching practice. Therefore, it is essential that children arrive on time and attend classes regularly.
• Children are considered late if they arrive after 7:45 am.
• A child who has been late five times in one month or absent three times in one month without a medical certificate receives a warning verbal. After two warning letters, the child will be withdrawn from the program to be replaced by a child who will be punctual and attend regularly.
• In emergency cases when the child needs to be away for three days or more, the Center should be notified in writing.
• A child who does not attend regularly during the month of May (the last month of the academic year), will not be registered for the following September.
• Parents may pick up their children between 12:45 and 1:10 pm. If a child is not picked up, he will have a nap and will then be supervised by the educational assistant until 2:25 pm. Parents may pick up their children between 2:00 pm and 2:25 pm. The coordinator must be informed in advance when a parent intends to send somebody else to pick up his/her child.

Health and Illness

For the health of all children, a sick child should be kept at home. A medical certificate is needed upon return to school. If a teacher suspects that a child is ill, a parent will be notified to pick up the child. If a child is required to take medicine during the day, the parent must come to the Center to administer the medicine.

Nutrition

Each child must be able to eat and drink independently without adult assistance or reminders to eat. S/he will require a snack to be packed in a small lunch bag. There is an opportunity for the child to eat in each of the Arabic and English classrooms. If the child stays after 1:45 p.m. there will be a third opportunity to eat.

As a part of the health science program, children are taught to sort pretend food into “healthy food” and unhealthy food. Therefore, a snack with small portions of fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, yogurt, sandwiches, meat, cheese, pasta, nuts, milk, and juice is recommended. Please include bottled water in your child’s lunch bag. Please DON’T include the following:

• Candy
• Potato chips or crisps
• Donuts and cakes containing cream or a lot of icing
• Soft drinks such as Pepsi, Cola etc…
• Chewing Gum
• Fruit drink (Fruit juice is appropriate)
• Hotdogs
• Chocolate bars or chocolate chip cookies (Dates squares are more appropriate) 

Clothing

• There is no uniform required for the children. Please dress your child in practical, comfortable clothes that are easy to clean. Children should wear clothes that do not have long trailing ties or laces to avoid accidents, where a child’s clothing is caught on equipment. Please make sure that your child is able to independently take off and put on his clothes when using the washroom.
• Shoes must be light, safe and easy to take off and put on independently.
• Jewellery is not permitted except for simple sleeper earrings.

Parents as Partners

With a play-based program it is sometimes difficult for parents to determine what their child is learning or how their child is developing. Therefore, parents are invited to the observation rooms to observe their child functioning in the program. A parent-teacher conference will be held on the same day to allow the parents to ask questions and to receive an update on their child’s progress. Parents are expected to be fully involved in the program, and to participate in any required activity for the benefit of their child.

Admission:

The Child Care Center accepts applications for interviews with children of any nationality who have the following qualifications:

• a parent who is an employee of Sultan Qaboos University
• a minimum of 3 years, 8 months of age by August 31 (verified by a birth certificate or passport);
• able to participate in an interview;
• uses a toilet independently;
• eats meals independently.

Curriculum:

How is the program applied?

The C.C.C offers a bilingual program, based on individualized teaching where the unique interests, aptitudes and abilities are met. Children are organized in multi-age groupings between two classes which enables them to take on different roles in the classroom. The curriculum is highlighted by learning outcomes for each subject component. Hands-on activities allow children to handle, explore and experiment with concrete materials. Continuous and formative assessment tracks each student’s achievement through rubric levels associated with these subject components.

The library was established in February 2008 and started its services in June of the same year. It has a children’s section which contains age-appropriate stories and non-fiction materials, in English and Arabic and an adult section which contains the most recent books in Early Childhood Education in both Arabic and English.

The library started with a small collection of books. The collection is continuously increasing through online orders and local book exhibition materials and now we have around 3000 books and other materials.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Child Care Center Library is to support Early Childhood Department students and their instructors with relevant materials for their research, teaching and learning.  It also provides an environment where children learn to love and respect books and to develop a passion for reading.

Library system

The Library uses DESTINY software which is the perfect program for serving both children and adults in a small library.  Destiny is used for cataloguing library materials, checking books in and out for searching for materials within the library.  All library materials are classified according to the Dewey decimal classification system.

Library Rules and Regulations

•           Speaking softly is appreciated at all times out of respect for others.

•           Consumption of food and drink is not permitted in the library.

•           Mobile phones should be kept on silent.

Opening hours

The library is open from Sunday to Thursday from 7:30 am to 2:30 p.m. 

Borrowing rules

Borrowing privileges are strictly limited to the Early Childhood Education Department, students and their instructors.  Additionally, the staff of the Child Care Center’s and children enrolled in this program, along with their parents, are allowed to borrow books.  Library users have to present their SQU card to the circulation desk. The loan period varies according to patron type as in the chart below:

• A borrowed item can be renewed once, provided no one else has reserved it.  A renewed item will be recalled before the due date if someone else requests it. Reference resources and current issues of journals are not for loan.

• No books or library materials may be taken out of the library until the loan has been recorded. Unauthorized removal of library materials is regarded as a very serious offence.
• Library materials borrowed must be returned on or before the due date as another user may need to borrow the same item.
• As for children, they are not be allowed to take new books unless the previous ones are returned.

Be careful of the way you are reading the story because it will have a big impact on your child.  A child needs to look at the pictures while you are reading. Try to express the meaning with body language and different sounds to make it clear. Discuss the stories with your child in the last two days before you bring them back.

Please make the story time fun and enjoyable. Together we can help to develop a love of reading in our children.

Loss and Damage

Please make sure that library materials are taken care of.  Books should be kept safe from dirt, writing, scribbling, gluing, bending or cutting of pages!! Damaged or lost books will have to be replaced or paid for. In case you encounter any problem, please bring the book and show it to the librarian and It will be decided accordingly. Please do not try to fix a damaged book. It has to be done professionally. If the book is one of a set or series, you may be called upon to replace the whole set or series. Parents are responsible for books checked out to their children.

Reading stories to children

Reading stories to children is a memorable experience for both parents and children and it creates a strong relationship between them. It develops children’s imaginations and develops listening skills.  In addition, children learn values and behavior while listening to stories.

Every week, your child will bring books home. It is exciting for your child to be allowed to choose stories appropriate to his/her age. The stories are for parents to read to their child. Therefore, we would recommend that you set aside a period of not more than fifteen minutes every night during which you can read the Arabic and English stories to your child.  Parents might get bored of repeating the same stories again and again but please be patient as this will help your child build proper language skills and gain new vocabulary while enjoying the stories. 

Be careful of the way you are reading the story because it will have a big impact on your child.  A child needs to look at the pictures while you are reading. Try to express the meaning with body language and different sounds to make it clear. Discuss the stories with your child in the last two days before you bring them back.

Please make the story time fun and enjoyable. Together we can help to develop a love of reading in our children.