Brown Deer Family Daycare is a Christian family daycare, owned and directed by Bill & Beth Robbins.
We provide care for no more than eight children whose parents are at work, school or otherwise engaged throughout the day.

Our Mission:

Our daycare works under the philosophy that children's natural curiosity and desire to make sense of their world should be used to motivate them to become involved in learning activities and socialization.

Services:

Brown Deer Daycare is state licensed to provide care for children ages 6 weeks - 12 yrs. from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm, Mon. through Fri.

Location:

Brown Deer Daycare is located at 2547 Brown Deer Rd, on a one-acre country neighborhood in Pleasant Springs, WI. 10 minutes from Stoughton and Cottage Grove and 3 minutes from the I-90. We  provide climbing equipment, sledding hill, swing set and sandbox. There is also a  park across the street from our home for additional play opportunities.

Music Program:

We also place a strong emphasis on music education. In addition to singing songs with piano accompaniment, children are encouraged to explore and create with percussion instruments, baby grand piano and electronic keyboards.We also use microphones, melodica and recording equipment. Singing, dancing, playing music and rhythms have always been an important aspect of our daycare program, as it enhances language skills, helps children express their emotions and helps to develop creativity and self confidence.

4C - CACFP Meals:

AM Breakfast, Lunch and PM Snack is served in accordance with 4C's childcare food program and provided at no extra charge.

Our Family Childcare:

Since it is finally now being more widely acknowledged that the first five years of a child's life are the most important of their formative years, parents of young children are discovering that a family home daycare can provide the kind of individualized attention that children of this age need and centers cannot accomplish, as easily.

Our Family child care is an attractive option for many families, in part because our care setting is a home away from home. Beth and I typically treat our kids as extended members of our own family.

Children are healthier, happier, and more secure in a smaller group setting.

Also, a  smaller and more manageable number of children means that we can often take "family" outings to our park, have a more interactive "story time" play ball and go into the kitchen to follow a recipe and make cookies.

There are two separate rooms in our house for distinct learning, playing and music.

At our home daycare, we can play instruments, sing and dance, or walk to see the sheep that live on a farm around our block, or to the park across the street.

Arts & crafts projects, songs, stories, and learning games, are all part of Brown Deer Family Daycare's program.

Family vs Center Childcare:

In our home daycare, children get nurtured, and a greater learning curve is achieved through trust, comfort and familiarity.

Compare our family daycare to a center setting where child-provider ratios are larger, there is less individualized care, and more provider and child turnover.

It should be  easy to understand why a smaller group like ours, has been and still is, a preferred option for many families. 

Care While Your Away:

Beth and I feel that daycare can and should be a positive experience for each and every child that we care for.

We understand that having to leave your child in someone else's care on a daily basis may not be your ideal situation, so, we constantly try put ourselves in your shoes and treat your child as if they were a part of our family.

Having raised three children of our own, and helping to raise thirty years of daycare children of all ages, we fully understand the trust that you place in us and we take this earned trust extremely seriously.

A Partnership:

Our primary job and concern is to care for and educate the children entrusted to us. But, the relationship between us and our parents, is of equal importance. Brown Deer Daycare is a place you can trust to meet you and your child's needs.

Reasons to choose a Family Childcare Home:

(From the article, "Advantages of a Quality Family Home Daycare")

A smaller group means your child is more likely to get the one-on-one interaction he or she needs and deserves. Small groups are less stressful to children.

In them, children can foster closer social bonds and get closer attention. This kind of nurturing, individualized attention contributes significantly to a child's social and emotional growth.

Furthermore, any parent of a young child knows that the fewer people their child is exposed to, the less likely they are to become ill.

Another potential advantage of a family home daycare is the mixed-age group of children that the provider cares for. Because of this, siblings can be cared for together, and children have the opportunity to interact and socialize with children in the same and other age groups. These mixed-age groups more closely mirror most

families and other real life situations, and can help your child learn to feel more comfortable around older and younger age children.

Another inherent advantage that a home daycare can offer children and parents alike, is continuity. No other childcare arrangement can match the consistency of care that a quality family home daycare can provide. The same person cares for the children all day and can share complete information with the parent. The parent–provider relationship is often individualized and close.

Children have a single, consistent caregiver (sometimes two), promoting a sense of safety and security; helping to foster a close and trusting relationship between child and provider.

Parents can rest assured that their child can go from infancy to kindergarten with the same childcare provider.

Bottom line, a quality family home daycare can be a wonderful asset for parents striving to raise healthy, happy, and self confident children.

Sizing Up Class Size: Why Smaller Is Better

Searching for the right daycare for your child can be an emotional and overwhelming task. Does the facility have a good reputation? How safe and how qualified is it? How many children are there, and what are they like?

Is class size really important? Experts say yes, and here's why:

Individualized Attention

In smaller family center’s, children receive individualized attention, directly from one or two providers, which is particularly beneficial for kids with attention deficit or learning disabilities and talented and gifted children. Most experts know that children can "get lost in the shuffle" in a traditional center setting with 20-30 other kids of all backgrounds and abilities. In a small setting, the provider can assess a child’s learning style, abilities behavior, learning, or attention issues early on and can not only implement an appropriate action, but can also ensure that results are achieved.

When older children struggle in public school, parents often seek out one-on-one or small group tutoring, precisely because of the advantages of individualized attention. When a student believes a teacher is invested in the child’s success and well-being, they feel valuable, worthy and confident in their abilities.

Academic Improvement

Research suggests that small class size results in higher academic achievement. A massive, controlled study conducted in the 1980s by the State Department of Education, catalogued the positive effects of small class size on student achievement in all subject areas. With results published in the American School Boards Journal and featured in many periodicals since, the authors noticed drastic improvements in a child's education when class size decreased.

Some studies have found that small classes allow teachers to spend more time on instruction and less on classroom management. In a smaller, quieter environment, there is more accountability for actions. Children learn how to function more effectively and gain a greater sense of confidence with fewer numbers in the facility. They have proved to develop more meaningful interactions with others, improve human relations, and have greater regard for others.

If a child fails to respond to one teaching method, the provider can employ other instructional approaches geared toward the individual child's abilities and interests.

For children that trend toward more creative and divergent thinking processes, small class size is essential.

Child Guidance Protocol:

•  Develop gross & fine motor skills through age appropriate activities.

•  Increase language development.

•  Use and manipulate various arts and crafts materials to increase creativity.

•  Increase music listening and performing skills through note and rhythm development. 

•  Implement intellectual stimulation through music, reading, and individual activities.

•  Enhance literacy development through exposure to a variety of children's books.

•  Procure and enhance creativity through imaginative play.

•  Provide age appropriate activities for each in the current group of children in care.

•  Implement active and quiet play into the daily routine.

•  Increase awareness of the children to treat others, as they would wish to be treated.

•  Teach discipline, respect, honesty and good manners.

•  Teach with Love & Logic   

Daily Schedule:

This schedule is meant to give you an idea of your child's day. Actual times and activities may vary depending on time of the year, weather, age and temperament of the children.

Age appropriate activities are scheduled with the flexibility allowed to respond to the needs of each individual child and their various ages.

Older Toddler/Preschooler (24 months and older)

•    7:30 -   9:00    drop-offs - free and/or structured-play - PBS - drawing

•    9:00 -   9:15    clean-up/wash-up - breakfast - clean-up/wash-up

•    9:15 -   9:30    exercises - finger plays

•    9:30 - 10:00   arts and crafts - various learning games - fine motor skills work

•  10:00 - 10:30   musical instruments - songs and/or dance 

•  10:30 - 12:00   outside play-time

•  12:00 - 12:30   interactive videos - ABC's & 123's

•  12:30 -   1:00   lunch time - clean-up/wash-up

•   1:00  -  1:30    story time

•   1:30  -  3:30    rest-time and/or quiet-time

•   3:30  -  4:00    free-play and/or structured-play - puzzles - books - learning toys

•   4:00  -  4:15    afternoon snack - clean-up/wash-up

•   4:15  -  5:30    pickups - outside play - coloring - play-dough - toys-sensory table

 

 Infant/Young Toddler (younger than 24 months)

Throughout each day we practice on reaching, grasping, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, climbing, throwing, catching, kicking, cooing and talking; which ever developmental stage your child happens to be in at the time. For a younger child still taking three naps a day, a third nap can be incorporated into their late afternoon schedule.

•   7:30 - 8:30   drop-offs - free play and/or structured-play, story-time, toys, etc.
•   8:30 - 9:00    breakfast - clean-up/wash-up
•   9:00 - 10:00  naptime - flash cards - arts and crafts - story-time- blocks
• 10:00 - 10:30  music - song and dance - games
• 10:30 - 12:00  outside play-time
• 12:00 - 12:30  free-play and/or structured-play - interactive video
• 12:30 - 1:00    lunch time - clean-up/wash-up nestle into porta-cribs
•   1:00 - 3:00   rest-time and/or quiet-time
•   3:00 - 4:00   free-play and/or structured-play - books, flash cards, drawing
•   4:00 - 4:30   afternoon snack - clean-up/wash-up
•   4:30 - 5:30   pickups - outside play - puzzles - musical & dance - sensory table

 Infant (3 to 6 months)

• 7:30am - 5:30 contact and stimulation, affection, eat, diaper, and sleep.

Discipline:

We provide positive guidance, re-direction and set clear limits in order to help children develop self-control and respect for the rights of others.
Time-outs, where the child is removed from the activity and other children, will be used as a deterrent to negative behavior for children 3 yrs and older, and for no longer than three minutes.

Fees:

$170 per week for full-time care of ages 2 yrs.+
$175 per week ages 6 weeks - 2 yrs.
Payment can be made weekly, bi-monthly or monthly.

Terms:

Brown Deer Daycare requires a two-week notification with payment if parent decides to terminate contract.

Parents will be given a two-week notification if provider decides to terminate contract.

Provider Vacation Dates:

Christmas and Spring Break  
(aligned with the Stoughton Area School district schedule)
We do not require payment for these breaks.

Legal Holidays:  (when childcare will not be available)

New Years Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Thu. & Fri. and Christmas.
We do require payment for these legal holidays.

Reliability:

Other than provider vacation dates, we have closed our daycare only three times in twenty seven years due to a birth in our family, a death in our extended family and moving our daughter into her dorm in Chicago.

Experience/Background:

Brown Deer Daycare, has been owned and operated by Bill & Beth Robbins since 1990.

We are located at 2547 Brown Deer Rd. in Stoughton, Wisconsin. [mapquest location]

We have been State Licensed for 29 yrs., have acquired SIDS, SBS, CPR/AED, Child Abuse & First Aid Certification and take 15 hours of continuing education per year.

Beth has a Masters of Science in Education with a focus in elementary reading and literacy. She taught at Valley Professional/Sherman Schools in Reseda, California from 1982 - 1985, and LA Unified School District, at Hammel St. School in East LA, from 1986 through 1989.
Beth had been taught kindergarten for Stoughton Area Schools from 1990 until retirement in 2018.

From 1982 until 1990, Bill was a K-12 Music Teacher and in 1982, received ‘Teacher Of The Year’ honors from Valley Professional High School in Reseda, CA.

From 1988 - 1990, he was promoted to Asst. Vice-Principal.

He directed the music programs for the pre-school, grade school and high school where the students were predominantly industry kids that worked in film, television and professional music.

Beth & Bill were the complex coordinators in their respective buildings.

Beth & Bill directed Summer Camp programs at Valley Professional /Sherman Schools for many years in the Los Angeles area.

Our Best Reference - Our own children:

Keely - 28 yrs. Graduated UW Madison
Will - 26 yrs. Graduated UW Whitewater
Levi - 21 yrs. Attended UW Milwaukee

Contact Us:

If you choose to place your child in our family daycare, we will be asking you for a variety of forms that will provide us with the information necessary to enroll your child.

We also provide a parent/provider agreement and supplemental policies form that includes more specific information about our daycare. Reference contacts are available upon request. [references page]

 

E-mail or call [contact us page] for an appointment to meet with us and visit our family childcare facility.

Bill & Beth Robbins