Kids Club Curriculum
At Bar-T, we see the time we have with children as an opportunity to enrich lives and further education. Since we first opened our doors in 1985, our goal has been to provide children with choices and to give them interesting activities that will help them grow and discover the person they truly are.
Unique Locations
Each Bar-T location is unique; we empower our teams to create an environment that fits the needs of their own community. Throughout our 30 years in before and after school care, each and every program reflects the school’s individuality and family atmosphere. Additionally, we have the resources to provide clear leadership and support to our staff at every level. The experience Bar-T offers as a whole is much greater together than any one location could muster on its own.
Safe Transitions of Care
When each child arrives at Bar-T, whether being dropped-off by a parent or picked-up in their classroom by a staff member, they are checked into our check-in system. Each parent, and emergency contact, receives a unique pin code that they enter to sign their child in and out. This system allows us to do accountability much faster than using a paper sign-in and also provides parents with peace of mind during their work day. We believe in full transparency and believe that our parents feel safer knowing that they can check in on their child from afar.
Environment for Growth & Learning
For the past thirty years, we have been creating engaging environments for children to learn through play. We take a blank All-Purpose Room and transform it into a colorful and enriching space for the children to learn and have fun. Our staff arrive fifteen minutes before opening time to set up in the mornings and a half hour before we set up in the afternoon. Roll-away carts, rugs, screen flex divider systems and tables help divide the space to make fun areas for children to learn and explore.
As stated in our mission, we treat all children as individuals and that carries over into the setup of our programs as well. If children at one location have a great interest in science, we provide them with an enhanced science interest area to meet their needs. Children at another location may have more of an interest in dramatic play and we will help them create a stage and performance space to put on a show. There is not a “cookie cutter” look to Bar-T locations; each program reflects the community that it belongs to.
We believe in giving children choices, and part of that is allowing children to choose where to spend their time with us. Every location has interest areas for children to explore at designated times. Each of these areas is labeled and themed to provide an engaging environment for children to explore. We love to display our children’s work and will do this on the screen flex system that we will have in place at each location. If the principal at a school is in agreement with us displaying work on the walls or bulletin boards, we will do that as well, but never without permission.
Homework Time
Homework time is very important to families and the teachers in the schools. We know parents are busy with work, sitting in traffic, and the day-to-day stressors of life and we want them to be able to spend quality time with their children once they get home. We have a scheduled homework time (Monday-Thursday) where quiet music is played as children focus on the work their teacher sent home.
We understand that not every child has homework every day, and that homework can be completed before the scheduled time is over, so we have designed a program to supplement homework time with hands-on activities. In short, not only do we use our scheduled homework time to get our work done, we have fun while doing it.
Club Curriculum
Every day is a different adventure at Bar-T. Monthly Clubs will vary from day-to-day and location-to-location. We have created a curriculum that aligns with MCPS Curriculum 2.0 Success Skills, 21st Century Success Skills, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and MSDE-Approved Creative Curriculum. Our staff is guided to offer an array of clubs each day from each of these categories:
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
- Creative Arts
- Fitness and Wellness
- Culture and Community
Every month the team at each location meets to plan the upcoming clubs. The staff also work with the children on what they would like to see offered. We have developed, and use, club planning sheets to help the staff plan. The Director uses them to keep records of what is being planned, the materials/times needed for each activity, and to ensure that staff are offering a wide variety of activities that meets the needs of the children in their care. Staff present the clubs to the children in a creative way and parents are notified of these clubs in the monthly newsletter and can help guide their child in to clubs that best suit their interests.
The Bar-T Be’s
It is our responsibility to help the children who attend Bar-T become positive role models. We’ve identified 7 core values called the “Bar-T Be’s” that we teach our children over the course of the year.
- Be Safe
- Be Nice
- Be Positive
- Be Hardworking
- Be Creative
- Be Brave
- Be Honest
Have you found your Bar-T program?
While we’d love to have a Bar-T program at every elementary school, we’re not quite there yet. Check our School Programs Directory to see if we have a program nearby for your child. If we don’t, click the link to find out how to get Bar-T at your school!