Crena Mallinger

ECE 103 Introduction to Childhood Ed

Sioux Fall tour reflection paper
October 18, 2013

On October 15th and 16th 2013, we went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to visit different childcare
centers, for our Introduction to Early Childhood Education class. We learned about how different child
care centers take care of their children. We thank all of the centers for letting us visit and for sharing
their programs with us.
Excel Center:

The first place we went to was the Excel Center. This center uses the Reggio Emilia approach.
This term means that children learn through art. At Excel, the teachers optimize the learning experience
by playing with them or helping them with their projects. I observed them working on a fire safety
project. Children were working on this before they went to the fire station.
The ratio for Excel is based on the Sioux Falls state guidelines, it is a 1-10 ratio; 1-6 ratio for 3
year olds, 1-7 ratio for 3 - 4 year olds, 1-8 ratio for 4-5 year olds. For a parent to bring their child to
Excel the prices vary based on a half day or a full day. Half day tuition is $100-$110 per week while full
day tuition is $170-$175 per week. Teachers that want to work here should have a bachelors degree
and the assistants can be a college student or Child Development Associate (CDA).
Interlakes Child Care Center:

We also visited Interlakes Child Care Center. This is a center that has in home visits, to help the
family in addition to the child. The children that attend this center are at risk and have different kinds of
crisis. Both the student and their family receives help in nutrition, health, and social needs. The staff is
trained to help with difficult situations. In the interlakes center, there is a 1-4 staff/child ratio. The
interlakes center takes children from age four weeks to age three. In order to work here, the highest

Crena Mallinger
ECE 103 Introduction to Childhood Ed
Sioux Fall tour reflection paper
October 18, 2013
type of education needed is a bachelors degree and the lowest is a CDA. Parents are able to come into
the center at any time because the center has an open door policy. The center uses a nature-type theme
for outside and inside.
Citibank (Family Center):

We also visited Citibank (Family Center). In the Citibank center, there are four different wings.
Each wing has different age children. Employees that work at this center get paid an average of $11.80
per hour. The children here eat family style meals. In this center, they dont let any more than eight
infants into one classroom. The parents are able to come in anytime because the center has an open
door policy. When caring for infants, the center puts names on all items, so they know that they have
that babys bottle, binky or etc. The children have a lot of fun and there is a lot of physical activity. There
is a lot of interactive activities for each age group as well as many large motor skills opportunities.
Childrens Care Hospital and School:

The Childrens Care Hospital and School is one of my favorites. There seemed to be different
experiences with this center than the other ones. The reason for this is because this center was taking
care of children with medical needs. The ratio at this is center is normally a two to one, but it is higher
during the day than it is at night. When the children are in the classroom with the teacher, they switch
every five minutes with each child. Each classroom offers different activities. For example, in one
classroom children were busy sorting items. This is a class that the children take when they are about
ready to go out on their own. They have interesting activities for the children to participate in, like
dances, swimming, and etc. The children get to design their room the way they want it. This is a home
away from home.

Crena Mallinger
ECE 103 Introduction to Childhood Ed
Sioux Fall tour reflection paper
October 18, 2013
The site I would most likely want to work at is the Childrens Care Hospital and School. I want to
be able to work with children that have different types of disabilities. When I was in high school, I always
helped with Special Olympics or just hung out and played games with the students with more severe
disabilities. I am always happy when I am with them or around them. I have a brother with a disability
and really care about him. I would enjoy working with them and being able to help them accomplish
things.
This tour benefited me by helping me decide what I want to do when I am done with school. It
brought all the information that we learned in class together. It showed me on how I can be a better
teacher to the children when I end up getting a job. It also showed different ways that I could teach and
work with a child. I also realized that with different caregivers the children act differently.
If I could change this tour in anyway, I would change it by letting us see more centers with the
same kind of approach and to see how they handle things differently. I think this would be intresting
because then you would know how to handle a problem in many different ways. You could also be
compare and contrast the curriculum and teaching styles. What I would keep the same is how much
time we have at every place. If we had more time, people could become distracted. They also might not
want to leave a center because they got hooked on playing with the children.