Educational Enrichment
As the only nursing-supervised Pediatric Respite Center for infants and children up to age six in New York State, Daystar Kids makes every effort to consider the needs of the whole child. We strongly believe that educational intervention programs provide the best start in the lives of children with developmental delays and health care challenges.
In 2008, Daystar Kids received a generous grant from the Cornell/Weinstein Family Foundation to develop an adaptive early intervention curriculum to address the social and intellectual needs of children with complex health and medical needs. Daystar Kids Special Early Education Developmental Strategies, or SEEDS, this program is an essential complement to both the individualized medical care and educational plans of the infants, toddlers, and preschoolers enrolled at Daystar Kids.
Daystar Kids educational enrichment programs include the evaluation and development of individualized, developmentally appropriate lesson plans and activities for each child in service. This early intervention program emphasizes each child's abilities and creates a customized framework to help them meet their individual goals. Daystar Kids program “plants the seeds” for children to grow and thrive in more inclusive settings throughout their educational experiences, and helps families grow in their understanding of the different learning strategies and therapeutic interventions needed to foster positive communication, consistency, and to empower families with the skills they need to build healthy relationships with their child.
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Develops specific growth objectives for each child. Children participate in planned daily activities that help to stimulate and enhance their growth in the targeted skills. Each child’s progress is routinely monitored, reassessed, and documented in the following developmental areas: fine motor, gross motor, adaptive, cognitive, and social-emotional domains.
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Helps parents, other care providers, and provider partners to understand optimal ways of supporting the daily progress of children with special health care needs.
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Provides educational enrichment opportunities, stimulation and socialization in a group setting.
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Fosters a positive learning environment in a non-clinical, child-friendly setting. Introduces and supports a broad variety of assistive technology options for communication, movement, and recreation.
Daystar Kids SEEDS program supplements each child’s Individual Family Services Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) to provide an educational foundation to encourage children of all abilities to fully engage in life - physically, socially, and intellectually, regardless of their health care limitations. SEEDS accomplishes the following goals: