A large part of a family childcare environment is the family feel of the children enrolled in care. At Fremont Kid's Academy all the children feel very close to each other and treat each other like family.

Hands can be the best paintbrush a child has. At Fremont Kid's Academy we use paint as a learning medium a lot of the time. We brush with it, we pour it, we stamp with it and we play in it with our hands. Being able to place their hand on a paper and see their hand print is a joy that every child should experience many times in their preschool years.

All week long the children at Fremont Kid's Academy have been working on a cardboard house city. Today they are making art to hang on the walls of their cardboard houses.

Part of the delight in engineering a project comes from the ability to plan, execute, and revise the plan based on what outcome was observed. The children at Fremont Kid's Academy began an engineering project on Monday, designing and of course playing in their cardboard houses. On Tuesday they added larger doors, roof windows and decorations. On Wednesday they will again be free to express themselves in creative, logical, and thoughtful ways on their project.

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math are the subjects that make up Fremont Kid's Academy's STEAM curriculum. Each day we incorporate most of those subjects into the fun activities that the children enjoy. Today we worked on Engineering our own cardboard house city. The children created individual houses and connected them together to create an entire city that they could enjoy all day!

Fremont Kid's Academy is taking steps to help preserve the habitat of monarch butterflies.

Each year monarchs make a multi-generational migration from Mexico through the United States, up to Canada and back. Along the way they stop to rest, feed, and reproduce on patches of Milkweed. As urbanization and the expansion of agriculture has increased, the amount of Milkweed has decreased in alarming rates.

We have a responsibility to provide the butterflies with the plants they need to survive. LiveMonarch.org is an organization committed to this goal and they provide Milkweed seeds to groups and individuals like us that want to plant Milkweed in our gardens.

The children at Fremont Kid's Academy are planting Milkweed in the hopes that we will be visited by some weary traveling monarchs.

Reading is one of the most important activities that we do as child care providers. Every day we read to the children in our care. We choose books based on the interests of the children and often connect activities to those books.

Fremont Kid's Academy has been reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. We have completed the book and made butterflies of our own with the same style of art found in the book.

The children at Fremont Kid's Academy have been inspired by a recycled art show at the Sun Gallery in Hayward, and they have created some of their own pieces using objects around the house...This octopus was made with tissue paper from a birthday party.

This recycled art piece that was on display at the Sun Gallery in Hayward is inspiring the children at Fremont Kid's Academy to use find objects in their art. Stay tuned to see what they come up with.

We continue to use chalk as a teaching medium at Fremont Kid's Academy. In addition to being easy to manipulate it's a great impromptu art activity fit for children of all ages. The children in our care know that they can memorialize their art by taking a picture of it, so they always ask to take a picture next to their creations.

Learning shapes can take many forms. Today at Fremont Kid's Academy the lesson was played out in chalk on black boards and the children had a wonderful time making their own shapes in chalk.

Growing a garden is one of the most rewarding summer activities. Everyday at Fremont Kid's Academy the children in our care check on they progress of their plants. They water and measure the growth. The children love working in the garden and look forward to showing off the work to their parents.

Growing a garden is one of the most rewarding summer activities. Everyday at Fremont Kid's Academy the children in our care check on they progress of their plants. They water and measure the growth. The children love working in the garden and look forward to showing off the work to their parents.

Technology can seem intimidating and can often be used for the wrong purposes but in childcare children can learn to imitate the use of technology from adults who are focused on the child's point of view. Fremont Kid's Academy embraces technology when it's used appropriately and in a learning environment.

Completing milestones is something that all children do, both in childcare, and at home. At Fremont Kid's Academy we document as many of them as possible to provide continuity of care for each child in our care.

With the 4th of July almost here, the children in our care at Fremont Kid's Academy are creating fireworks of their own. Staying cool and using creativity has been on the agenda this week.