Frog & Toad Essex Junction
Child-Centered Environments
About Us
Your Child Is in Great Hands
Philosophy
At Frog & Toad our philosophy is that each child is an individual, with individual needs, preferences, feelings, and learning styles. Likewise, we believe that each family has its own uniqueness. Our school is designed to provide outstanding care to all children and families. We do this by altering our teaching styles to reach each child, by communicating with families about their child and family each and every day, by fully understanding early childhood development, and by genuinely caring about the success of each individual and family with whom we work.
Health & Safety
We value the health and safety of all our students and staff at Frog & Toad. During this time especially, we have adopted the strict guidelines set forth by the State of Vermont Department of Health in order to ensure that our students and staff are well-protected.
The uniqueness of each child and family is especially evident during times of crisis (such as a pandemic), but our mission remains the same. We will work diligently to ensure the success of each child and family. We recognize that success can take many forms, and during challenging times, our focus will be on the mental and physical health and well-being of each child and family in our care.
Curriculum & Assessment
Every child is on their own unique developmental journey. At Frog&Toad Child Care&Learning Center, LLC we support that individual journey by consistently developing curriculum that is appropriately challenging, based in developmental standards, and of the children's interests.
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The Vermont Early Learning Standards provide the framework for our teachers to develop the most well-rounded educational experience possible for our students. Additionally, teachers develop curriculum utilizing their own unique teaching expertise, the interest of their students, and the Creative Curriculum platform.
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Creative Curriculum is a series of curriculums designed by Teaching Strategies that are specifically meant to meet the educational needs of children at all stages of their development. Teachers can use as much or as little of the platform as they like. They can also alter activities to better suit the students in their classroom.
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Additionally, the teachers of Frog&Toad perform regular assessments on the learning and growth advancements of all of our students. This is done by performing the ASQ (an assessment tool that many families complete at their child's pediatrician visits) twice each year as well as the Checkpoints Assessment through Teaching Strategies Gold (this is an assessment focused on educational milestones, and is in alignment with the Vermont Agency of Education requirements).
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Both the Creative Curriculum platform, and the Teaching Strategies Gold assessments "talk" to one another; which streamlines our curriculum, assessment, and portfolio process. In short, communicating effectively with families about the growth and development of their child is thorough and comprehensive.
Frog&Toad values it's teachers!
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At Frog&Toad we take the time to honor our staff in a multitude of different ways, but one of our favorite methods is to give them some public recognition for their efforts and dedication to the field of Early Care and Education! Here, as well as in our programs, you will see prominent displays of the Teacher of the Month as well as the Honorable Mentions. ​​
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October's Teacher of the Month is Melana. Since August she has taken over the Lead Teacher position in our Pre-k classroom when she is normally an infant teacher. Additionally, she has taken up the Head Teacher responsibilities, and has been instrumental in keeping our administration informed, the school running smoothly, and classrooms operational. As if this weren't enough, Melana has been developing very thoughtful and engaging curriculum for the children in the preschool classroom; which is wildly different from the engaging infant curriculum that she is accustomed to creating! She has established new routines, classroom goals, and methods for executing the daily activities that have proven effective, enjoyable, and rewarding for the children! Frog&Toad is a better place because of her efforts, and we are grateful every day for her presence on our team!
Honorable mentions this month go to the following teachers:
Erin who is the Program Director of our Burlington location, is always professional even in difficult/trying scenarios. She is also relentlessly positive, arriving every single day with a smile on her face, and a kind word for anyone with whom she crosses paths. She is also very diligent in checking on teachers to ensure that their needs are met, and she always puts the needs of children above all else. Erin is truly a shining example of an exceptional care provider and leader is. We are all so proud to serve our community along side her.
Gary who is the Lead Toddler Teacher in Burlington was nominated for being consistent in his presence with and for children. He is also recognized as someone who regularly produces engaging, high quality curriculum. Gary makes sure to not only complete his daily classroom chores, but comes out of his classroom to make sure that school wide chores are completed to keep our school running at top notch levels. Gary was also responsible for the organization of our recent school wide apple picking field trip; which requires a lot of extra attention from him during a time when we are short staffed. Gary is truly a dedicated professional who loves his work with children, and our school community! We are grateful for his continuous efforts toward school success!
Natalie is the Lead Mobile Infant Teacher in Essex. Last month she took it upon herself to complete school pictures for all of the children that the school serves! This was a bit of a scheduling challenge, and required Natalie to spend a great deal of time outside of her classroom working one on one with children across the school. The results were phenomenal! Not only were all of the pictures absolutely adorable, but the children all had positive experiences, Natalie built on her relationships with past students, and forged new connections with children that she has not had in her direct care. It was wonderful to watch her engagement and interactions with children, it was endearing to see her engage each and every child successfully, lovingly, and playfully in a task that most children do not enjoy. We are all very grateful to Natalie for her efforts in making school photos a success, and are thrilled to have her and her creative talents on our team!
Last, but certainly not least, Amanda, who is our Lead Infant Teacher, was nominated for her efforts in training a new teacher who will ultimately be utilized to serve all of our classrooms. She is doing this while being the Lead Teacher for 6-8 infants. As if this weren't enough to warrant her nomination, Amanda is also responsible for continuously developing and delivering age appropriate and engaging curriculum to the children in her care. Amanda is such a warm, patient, and kind person who is clearly dedicated to the success of our youngest children, and who has a keen interest in the overall success of our school! We are all very grateful for the attention, effort, and consistent care that Amanda provides to the children that we serve, to the families that depend on us, to her fellow teachers, and to the field of Early Education!
