Our Environment

Our Environment 

 Smart Start Academy is dedicated to bringing the best environment for learning and creativity to each student.

Backup Care Program

Backup Care Program

Our Backup Child Care Program helps families ensure their children are cared for when their regular child care arrangements are not available for any reason. Whether your regular child care provider gets sick or you need to attend an unexpected meeting, Smart Start Academy is there to provide a temporary solution to your child care needs.

Please call ahead for fee information and to ensure that we are able to serve your child. You will also be required to fill out our Backup Care Application upon arrival.

 

Our Staff

Our Staff

We make sure that we only hire the most professional and experienced people to work with our students who have all the right qualifications and pass a background check.

Community Awareness

Community Awareness 

 Our mission is to create a nurturing, safe and respectful environment for our students, parents and staff.

Why Preschool is Important and How it Helps Your Child

Every parent knows the importance of what a good education means for their children. How they thrive in a classroom setting can set the tone for how they thrive in a successful career as an adult. You encourage and push your children to get good grades, so that they may be able to further their education by attending, and graduating from, an exceptional college.

Even though the end game is to help your kids become successful adults, often parents overlook the importance of the beginning of an education. Starting your child in a preschool program is the first step to years of happy and intelligent learning.

Here are 5 reasons why having your child attend preschool may help them throughout their entire lives:

1- Opportunity for Growth and Preparing Children for Kindergarten

Most likely this will be the first time your child is in a structured setting with groups of other children and teachers. This is where they will learn to share and follow instructions, which will be the foundation for learning in elementary school.

Exposing your child at a young age to letters, numbers, and shapes helps them feel comfortable and more accustomed to learning before entering the more academic class setting of kindergarten.

Although some parents feel that preschools tend to focus too much on the pre-math and pre-literacy skills, which will take away from play time and push a child to grow up too fast, our curriculum focuses on developing the entire child rather than just the areas that other schools deem necessary. Helping students find areas in which they excel naturally is a great way to boost their self-esteem and knowledge of themselves. Having that confidence when they move into the kindergarten classroom will give them a better personal space for learning.

2- Social and Emotional Development

In order for a child to build trusting relationships with adults outside the family they need to spend time away from parents. Our program encourages the nurturing of warm relationships among children, teachers, and parents.

Young children will develop social skills and emotional self-control in “real time.” A great teacher knows that 3 – 4 year olds will learn from their experiences or “teachable moments” and take the time to help them learn and understand, such as how to manage anger or frustration and how to help them understand the impact their aggressive or hurtful behavior may have on another child.

3- Making Friends and Playing Well With Others

Although the preschool environment may seem chaotic it is actually quite structured. Having an organized classroom space encourages social interaction. “Structured” environment doesn’t mean that adults are constantly directing activities, on the contrary, children are encouraged to find each other and play on their own, which teaches them how to have positive interactions with the other children.

4- Children get to Make Choices

Some children know what they want and when they want it. They have no problem entering a group or activity that interest them, but others may not have the skills to enter other children’s play space. We encourage and teach them ways to feel comfortable knowing what they want and suggestions on the best way to join in on the fun.

5- Children Learn to Take Care of Themselves and Others

Learning to take care of themselves and help others gives young children a sense of competence and self-worth. They are encouraged to view themselves as a resource for their peers. A teacher may ask a “veteran” preschooler to help a newcomer learn where certain toys or coloring books are kept.

These are only a handful of the amazing things your child will learn in a preschool environment. Whether you are looking for the best Hoboken preschool or the best Jersey City preschool, our program focuses on each individual child. Preschoolers are not accustomed to sitting still and listening to lectures, which is why we don’t teach that way. Through the world of hands-on teaching, exploration, and movement we maintain flexibility for the children and encourage them to independently explore their specific areas of interest.

Take a look at our events calendar as summer camp prep week, and end of year parent/teacher conferences are just around the corner. Contact us today for more information on admission dates and prices. Start your preschooler today on a path that leads to successful lives through proper education.

8 Tips for Choosing Child Care

Finding the right childcare can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. When you search for the right caregiver for your child you should look for an environment that is safe, fun, happy, and nurturing, which means approaching the process like you’re the boss and you’re hiring a new employee. Do your research, look at their job history, ask questions, be thorough, and insist on specific things.

Here are eight tips to help you choose the right childcare:

1. Identify your priorities. Decide what you want. Write down all of your must-haves in a childcare provider, so that you may refer to it when interviewing any potential daycares. You can also include a list of would-be-nice to break any ties between child care providers who can offer all the must-haves.

2. Visit and Interview. Find out what your potential future child care providers have to offer. Ask them why they enjoy their jobs and how long they have been in the childcare profession. Taking care of children is a big responsibility, and someone who is in charge of other people’s kids should have a passion for the well-being and nurturing of each child.

3. Ask for a commitment. Whether you are looking for in-home care or are considering a center, ask for your provider to give at least a one year commitment. Babies need consistent and predictable care.

4. Do a policy check. Find out what their policy is on discipline (do they have time-outs, scolding?),
   food and snacks (are they packed with sugar or do they provide healthy snacks?), television (will the television be the babysitter or do they restrict the amount allowed to watch?), and sleeping (when are naps offered and how do they handle fussy babies?).

5. Pay attention to interaction. Visit any potential childcare centers and pay attention to how they interact with the children who are already enrolled. Ideally, a caregiver should be holding them in their lap or on the floor. In order to thrive, babies need close, interactive relationships with adults.

6. Be a spy. The best way to find out the true colors of any caregiver is to drop by unannounced to see how they interact with your child. Check to see that they are keeping the center clean and kid friendly. Watch what happens when older children share the space, and make sure that toys with small pieces (choking hazards) are kept away from younger babies. Swings and bouncers may seem appealing at first glance, but babies need plenty of floor and movement time for their muscles to develop. Stopping in from time to time may confirm you made the right choice, or it could be the warning you need to look elsewhere.

7. Trust your gut. Follow your instincts when interviewing potential centers or babysitters. Sometimes the most raved-about babysitter might not feel right for you and your child. Follow your gut and you will find what is right for you and your baby.

8. Be open to change. Something that might have seemed like the perfect fit at first may turn out to be a littl
   e too tight after all. Do what is best for your child. You are not committed to any particular person or situation, and if things don’t work out, you can always make a switch to something that is right for you.

The most consistent source of love and care will always be you, no matter what your work hours. With your guidance, along with a loving and nurturing caregiver, your baby will flourish, grow, and become a happy healthy child.

Feedback

Feedback 

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