Our Program

Highly Trained Educators

Homewood ELC is staffed by a center director, assistant director, mentor teachers and classroom teachers who are professionally trained and experienced in early childhood education and child development. Led by a bachelors-level head teacher in each room, teachers work as a team sharing responsibilities for planning experiences consistent with Homewood ELC’s developmentally appropriate curriculum for each child and his or her group.

The teaching team is comprised of a highly qualified, dedicated, caring group of full- and part-time staff, diversified in their education and training with a range of degrees in early childhood or related fields through the master’s level. They receive regular professional development to further enhance their knowledge and skills.

High Quality Care and Teaching

Quality child care is labor intensive. The younger the children, the smaller the group, and the more adults needed per child. Licensing ratios are met at all times. During the core hours of the day, Homewood ELC’s teacher/child ratios exceed Maryland State Licensing Requirements.

What is a typical day like at Homewood Early Learning Center?

For the younger ages, schedules are determined through close communication with parents. Caregivers take their lead from you and share their experiences and observations as they get to know your child to provide as much continuity as possible between home and the center. 

Toddlers are well on their way to a three-meal-a-day schedule with morning and afternoon snacks. At this time, children are transitioning to one longer afternoon nap. Care schedules continue to be determined in conjunction with parents and updated quarterly until the child’s second birthday. Classroom activities are planned around individual and group needs in close communication with parents.

Two-year-old children gain increased independence each day. Language begins to explode and children are learning healthy bathroom habits. They develop and strengthen many skills including: gross motor and fine motor, self-help, respect for others and the environment, conflict resolution, and independence. Through the center environment, play experiences and activities, your child feels safe and comfortable to explore his or her world.

The preschool classrooms maintain their own schedules with a balance of active and quiet activities. Young children feel more secure when their lives have stable but flexible routines. They know what is going to happen next, but there is enough flexibility for spontaneity. The daily routine provides that security but is flexible and adjusted to meet the needs of individual children and the interests of the group.

Each classroom will have its daily schedule posted in the room.

Importance of Child and Caregiver Relationship

Research shows the importance of a strong relationship between a child and caregiver to his or her development. A child needs to bond with the caregiver in order to feel safe to explore and discover. We make every effort to keep a child with his or her primary caregiver for a year. Instead of changing staff, we makes changes to the room to respond to the child’s growing interests, expertise, and needs.

We Go Outside Daily

We believe that children need outdoor time every morning and afternoon except in the nastiest weather. Outdoor and indoor activities are essential to the health, education, and development of children. We follow the outdoor play guidelines published in the National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs.

The center has an expansive outdoor play yard which is nearly twice as large as the building. Areas of the playground are specifically designed for younger children and preschoolers with a wide variety of play experiences that focus on child-directed exploration and nature-based play.

We understand how difficult it is to leave your infant in child care, but we want to assure you that your child is in good hands. We are eager to learn as much as we can from you about your child and are open to your suggestions. The teacher will work with you to update your child’s schedule every 2-3 months.

Infants eat, sleep and play on an individual schedule. During a typical day a baby will:

• Be fed, according to his or her needs and parents’ instructions
• Sleep as needed
• Be diapered as needed
• Play with teachers, other children and with toys and various sensory experiences

We read to your child daily, starting from the first day of enrollment.

Toddlers achieve many developmental milestones, including: language (verbal expression of needs), gross motor (climbing, walking, etc.), self-help skills (feeding, dressing, etc.), social and emotional skills (interactions with peers and teachers, identifying feelings) and problem solving. We provide children with a variety of experiences that foster their growth and development.

We work on developing and strengthening many skills including: gross motor and fine motor, self-help, respect for others and the environment, conflict resolution, and independence. Through our environment, play experiences and activities we help your child feel safe and comfortable to explore his or her world.

We read to your child daily, starting from the first day of enrollment.

Sample Two-Year-Old Daily Schedule

Morning

• Children engage in open-ended play activities such as blocks, table toys and puzzles, books, sensory table, dramatic play, art, music and movement.
• Individual and small group activities when children move about freely, engaging in open-ended play activities. Teachers interact with children, engaging them in conversation to promote language development and to support smooth social interactions. Teachers regularly document and assess children as they play.
• Children engage in gross motor and nature play outside such as riding on/pushing/pulling wheeled toys, balancing and climbing, sliding, walking/running/jumping, sand play, observing and exploring nature.

Lunch

Afternoon

• Rest time: teachers may put on a story tape and/or soft music and visit cots individually to quiet children and attend to their needs.
• Children engage in open-ended play activities such as blocks, table toys and puzzles, books, sensory table, dramatic play, art, music and movement.
• Children engage in gross motor and nature play outside such as riding on/pushing/pulling wheeled toys, balancing and climbing, sliding, walking/running/jumping, sand play, observing and exploring nature.

Each classroom will have its daily schedule posted in the room.

Our primary purpose in the Preschool Room is to support a creative learning environment where your child can learn about his or her world through play. Engaging and developmentally appropriate curricula are presented with attention given to the needs and interests of individuals.

The preschool year is one of tremendous physical and emotional development. Preschool children shed their “toddler body” and begin to move in a more athletic and determined way. During this time of development children’s statements of “help me” become “I can do it” and “let me help you” declarations.

Sample Preschool Daily Schedule

Morning

• Children engage in open-ended play activities such as blocks, math manipulatives, games, puzzles, books, sensory table, science materials, dramatic play, art and writing materials, music and movement.
• Children engage in gross motor and nature play outside such as riding on/pushing/pulling wheeled toys, balancing and climbing, sliding, walking/running/jumping, sand play, observing and exploring nature.
• Individual and small group activities when children move about freely, engaging in open-ended play activities. Teachers interact with children, engaging them in conversation to promote language development and to support smooth social interactions. Teachers regularly document and assess children as they play. Teachers may plan and implement special, teacher-directed activities.
• Group Meeting: Teachers engage children in stories, songs, finger plays, music and movement activities, and group discussions. Social Studies topics are discussed.

Lunch

Afternoon

• Rest time: teachers may put on a story tape and/or soft music and visit cots individually to quiet children and attend to their needs. Children may engage in quiet activities that are appropriate for rest time: drawing in a journal, reading books, etc.
• Children engage in gross motor and nature play outside such as riding on/pushing/pulling wheeled toys, balancing and climbing, sliding, walking/running/jumping, sand play, observing and exploring nature.
• Children return to the classroom and engage in open-ended play activities such as blocks, math manipulatives, games, puzzles, books, sensory table, science materials, dramatic play, art and writing materials, music and movement and special, teacher-directed activities.

Each classroom will have its daily schedule posted in the room.

Homewood Early Learning Center (ELC) is open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm.

The annual calendar including holiday and August closure dates is posted under Calendar & Hours in the For Our Parents section.

Holidays

The Center is closed in observance of the following holidays:

• New Year’s Eve Day
• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• President’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after
• Christmas Eve Day
• Christmas Day

• If a holiday falls on a Saturday, the Friday immediately before is the legal holiday.
• If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is the legal holiday.

Closures

The center closes for one week in August each year for maintenance and staff professional development.

Inclement Weather Policy

Weather is, by its nature, unpredictable. During inclement weather, families need to be prepared to see if the university makes changes to its operations. Alerts for Johns Hopkins University can be accessed at https://www.jhu.edu/alert/. The center will communicate any specific information with families via our REMIND text alert system.

Please review the following policy carefully and ask the center director if you have questions.

1. When JHU is closed for the day, or delays opening to 12:30 or later, the center will be closed. For example, if JHU opens at 1pm, the center will be closed.

2. When JHU announces a delayed start time of 12:00 noon or earlier, it is our policy to open 30 minutes before the announced JHU opening so that employees may drop children off and still get to work on time. For example, if JHU announces a noon opening, the centers will be open at 11:30 am

3. When JHU announces an early closure, we will close at the same time. For example, if JHU announces a 5 pm closure, Homewood ELC will also close at 5:00 pm.

There may be isolated instances where local weather conditions or other factors call for a deviation from the stated policy. These decisions are always made in close conjunction with DBCC and JHU leadership and will be communicated to parents with as much notice as possible.

Many young children spend a major portion of their waking lives in child care. Children and teachers live and work together for the entire day, so the learning environment is carefully planned and arranged.

The classrooms are inviting, stimulating, comfortable, and safe places for young children. Classrooms are divided into learning centers, including dramatic play, blocks, art, music, science, sensory, workbench, and language and literacy. Each area helps your child construct knowledge through the use of varied materials, some open-ended and some with specific uses. Your child’s classroom has space for large group interactions as well as cozy, but easily supervised areas if your child needs privacy or quiet time after frequent group interaction.

Your child’s classroom is spacious, preventing overcrowding, and the multipurpose room allows your child the needed space to move freely and work large muscles. We strive to keep children with the same caregivers in the same room for the year. As children develop during the year, the classroom changes to meet their needs.

Homewood Early Learning Center (ELC) is a place where, as researchers Cooper and Jones said, “Children play to get smart!” It is an early care and education center where young children are enriched by each other, caring relationships with the teachers, a stimulating environment, and a carefully planned emergent curriculum – meaning the curriculum emerges from the strengths, needs and interests of the children.

Educational research supports our philosophy that young children learn best when they’re nurtured by caring adults and comfortable routines yet have the freedom to explore what they care about – be it dragonflies, dinosaurs, backhoes, or Winnie the Pooh. We trust children to select activities that build on their previous knowledge and skills so that they drive their learning. That said, children’s play may be guided if needed to ensure that the child’s needs are met. Our focus on child development and play allows children to meaningfully integrate physical, social, cognitive and academic growth while they pursue their own interests and learn to cooperate in a group.

Homewood Early Learning Center cares about the health of your child and strives to provide the highest level of nutrition in the food we serve. We meet and/or exceed the standards of the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Infants

Homewood ELC provides Enfamil Premium Infant Formula with Iron. Parents are asked to supply other formula or breast milk that your baby drinks, along with all food, until your child is able to eat the menu foods provided by the center.

Toddlers, Two-Year-Olds and Preschoolers

Toddlers, two-year-olds and preschoolers bring their own lunches. The center provides breakfast at 9am, an afternoon snack of fruits, vegetables or whole grains at 3pm and organic milk at lunch time.

Enjoyable Mealtimes

To make mealtimes more enjoyable, your child will eat together with his or her peers and a staff member to create a pleasant dining experience that promotes language development, self-help skills and healthy eating habits.

Downtown Baltimore Child Care, Inc. participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program of the Maryland State Department of Education. The CACFP is a federally funded program administered through the MSDE to subsidize nutritionally sound meal deliveries.

Click here to learn more about the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Click here to review the USDA Nondiscrimination Statement.

Many centers talk about play in their curriculum, but often offer structured lessons based on a purchased, scripted curriculum or traditional primary-grade direct instruction, worksheets and skill drills. We create a learning environment where teachers set the stage to excite children’s learning. Your child can select activities that are created to meet his or her individual needs and strengths.

Literacy Gains Power

Children learn the power of literacy when it is part of their play and daily activities. For example:

The bus needs a sign: a few children build a bus using big blocks and chairs and the teacher asks, “When I see a bus there is usually a sign on the front telling people where the bus is going. Where is your bus going? How can you let people know?” The children respond, “A sign.” The teacher then asks, “Would you like to make a sign that will tell people where your bus is going?” The children say “yes” and find materials to help make a sign for their bus with the teacher. Literacy gains power.

Mutiny in the classroom: a preschool classroom decides they will no longer listen to their teacher Susan because “she is too bossy.” They start chanting, “We hate Susan.” Susan replies that there are rules in the school that are very important, and that the book of rules is in the office.” The children chant, “No more rules!” and “We want to see the book.” After visiting the office to see the book of rules, Susan gathers the children in the reading area and prepares to write on flip chart paper. She says, “When grownups get mad about rules, they try to change them. What rules do you want to change?” We want a TV in the block area!” We want ice cream at lunch!” Quickly, the children list many new rules they want. While making the list, their anger starts to dissipate; then, they are able to resume their play and activities. Literacy gains power.

I can’t find my lovey: often, children have a special blanket or toy called a “lovey” that is part of their sleeping routine. Sometimes when it’s nap time, the lovey is missing. The child is upset and not able to settle down for a nap. The teacher asks, “Would you like to make a sign about your missing lovey?” The teacher and child make a sign; go to the office to make copies; and visit other classrooms where the child explains his missing lovey. After visiting several rooms, the child learns that someone has found the lovey and returned it. Literacy gains power.

In our literacy-rich environment, the curriculum also includes experiences with music, movement, art, language, mathematics and science in an educational program that encourages the acquisition of concepts and skills through experimentation and discovery.

Children are marvelous learning machines—born ready to learn. Through play, they learn to make choices and navigate relationships. Making play dough helps them learn the science of mixing and heating. Blocks teach symmetry, gravity, design, and math concepts such as fractions. While doing all this play, children also learn colors, shapes, letters, and executive function skills such as reasoning, problem solving and planning.

Play allows your child to:

• Proceed at his or her own pace
• Observe others
• Take learning risks
• Develop focus
• Try on different roles
• Develop the ability to make and follow rules
• Work collaboratively
• Learn basic concepts of physics, mathematics, and science
• Enhance verbal and language skills
• Practice social skills
• Learn problem solving and conflict resolution skills
• Take responsibility
• Make choices and decisions
• Become emotionally resilient
• Develop critical thinking and listening skills
• Be actively engaged
• Develop into life-long, self-directed learners