PLAY AS YOU LEARN

LET'S PLAY!

The “Play As You Learn” program at Learning Tree Educational Center emphasizes the importance of outdoor, age-appropriate play in fostering children’s physical, social, and cognitive development.

The facility features two separate, fenced playgrounds designed to group children by age and size, ensuring a safe and suitable environment. Through structured yet playful activities, children are encouraged to move, explore, and interact with their peers in a natural setting. This thoughtful, play-based approach supports growth and learning by blending safety with meaningful developmental opportunities.

OUTDOOR PLAY

Physical, Social, and Cognitive Development

Children should be prepared to play outside some part of every day. Please do not request that your child stay indoors. Per the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, children too sick to go outside should not be at school. Children may not wear flip flops (that do not have a back strap) due to the danger these may cause while on the playground.

WATER PLAY

Summer Fun

During the summer, we will participate in Water Play. Our water play days will consist of squirt toys and teacher directed games with water. On these selected days, which parents will be notified ahead of time, it is the parents responsibility (water play will be an early morning activity) to have their children dressed in their swimsuit with swim shoes and to have already applied sunscreen before bringing their child to school. Extra clothes and shoes are required in order to change after our water play.

MEALS AND SNACKS

Our Principles

Infants’ parents supply formula and all baby foods.
All containers and lids must be labeled with the child’s name.
Ages 1 and above will need to bring a nutritious “sack lunch” and drink. The lunch should include a bread / grain, fruit, vegetable and protein / meat product. Lunches can not be heated up or kept in a refrigerator. Please ensure there is an ice pack for refrigerated foods or the use of a thermos to help maintain the safe food temperatures.
Nursing mothers may nurse at the center and / or provide breast milk for their child while they are in care at the center. If you are nursing and prefer a private area to nurse, one will be made available to you.
Breakfast will not be provided; therefore please ensure your child is fed prior to coming to the Center. Food and drinks are not allowed on the playgrounds.
Nutritious morning and afternoon snacks, milk, juice and water are provided by the Center. Posted weekly, snack menus are varied, with fresh fruits and vegetables included whenever possible.
Notify the Director of any special dietary restrictions. The Center must receive the written statement of a physician or a licensed dietician for special therapeutic diets.

Note: Staff will never use food to reward or punish children.

NAPTIME

To avoid disrupting the class, please refrain from bringing your child into the Center during naptime.

We must provide a supervised sleep or rest period after lunch for children 18 months or older (https://www.dfps.texas.gov/). Children under the age of 18 months most often sleep according to their individual schedules. For our Toddlers through Preschool ages, you must provide a washable mat to rest on for naptime. You are welcome to provide a clean small blanket and small pillow for naptime and take them home Fridays for washing. All items must be labeled with your child’s name in a permanent marker.

Infants are not allowed to have blankets in their beds at any time. This is a State requirement.

Operational Policy On Infant Safe Sleep

All staff, substitute staff, and volunteers at Learning Tree Educational Center will follow these safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for infants to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome/Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS/SUIDS):

Always put infants to sleep on their backs unless you provide an Infant Sleep Exception form 2710 signed by the infant's health care professional [§746.2427 and §747.2327].
Place infants on a firm mattress, with a tight fitting sheet, in a crib that meets the CPSC federal requirements for full size cribs and for non-full size cribs [§746.2409 and §747.2309].
For infants who are younger than 12 months of age, cribs should be bare except for a tight fitting sheet and a mattress cover or protector. Items that should not be placed in a crib include: soft or loose bedding, such as blankets, quilts, or comforters; pillows; stuffed toys/animals; soft objects; bumper pads; liners; or sleep positioning devices [§746.2415 and §747.2315]. Also, infants must not have their heads, faces, or cribs covered at any time by items such as blankets, linens, or clothing [§746.2429 and §747.2329].
Do not use sleep positioning devices, such as wedges or infant positioners. The AAP has found no evidence that these devices are safe. Their use may increase the risk of suffocation [§746.2415 and §747.2315].
Insure that sleeping areas are ventilated and at a temperature that is comfortable for a lightly clothed adult [§746.3407(10) and §747.3203(10)]. If an infant needs extra warmth, use sleep clothing -sleep sacks as an alternative to blankets [§746.2415 and §747.2315].
Place only one infant in a crib to sleep [§746.2405 and §747.2305].
Infants may use a pacifier during sleep. But the pacifier must not be attached to a stuffed animal or the infant’s clothing by a string, cord, or other attaching mechanism that might be a suffocation or strangulation risk [§746.2415 and §747.2315].

If the infant falls asleep in a restrictive device other than a crib (such as a bouncy chair or swing, or arrives to care asleep in a car seat), move the infant to a crib immediately, unless you provide an Infant Sleep Exception form 2710 signed by the infant's health care professional [§746.2426 and §747.2326].
Our child care program is smoke-free. Smoking is not allowed inTexas child care operations (or on the grounds) (this includes e-cigarettes and any type of vaporizers) [§746.3703(d) and §747.3503(d)].
Actively observe sleeping infants by sight and sound [§746.2403 and §747.2303].
If an infant is able to roll back and forth from front to back, place the infant on the infant's back for sleep and allow the infant to assume a preferred sleep position [§746.2427 and §747.2327].
Awake infants will have supervised “tummy time” several times daily. This will help them strengthen their muscles and develop normally [§746.2427 and §747.2327].
Do not swaddle an infant for sleep or rest unless you provide an Infant Sleep Exception form 2710 signed by the infant’s health care professional [§746.2428 and §747.2328].