ESL Podcast 919 - Visiting Childcare Centers

childcare center - a facility or institution (but not a school) that takes care of young children, usually while their parents are working

It's so hard to find a childcare center that has openings for very young babies!

licensed - with official permission from the government to provide a particular service or do a particular thing

Are you licensed to operate heavy machinery in this factory?

reputation - a measure of whether a person or organization is viewed positively or negatively by most people

Professor Williamson has a reputation for asking really difficult questions on the midterm exams.

lots - many; a lot

We eat lots of ice cream in July and August.

ratio - proportion; the relationship between two amounts showing the number of times one value contains or is contained within the other

If you want to have a good compost pile, you need to pay attention to the ratio of brown materials, like dead leaves, to green materials, like grass clippings.

turnover rate - a measure of how many employees leave an organization and how many new employees are hired over a period of time

Most fast food restaurants have a really high turnover rate.

policy - an official way of doing something, usually written down and shared with all employees

All employees have to sign a confidentiality policy, promising not to share company secrets with people outside of the company.

to discipline - to provide appropriate negative consequences for bad behavior in an effort to teach someone how to act or to improve someone's behavior over time

Would you ever hit your child to discipline her?

snack - a small amount of food eaten between meals

Craig always prepares healthy snacks for his children to eat after school, like apple slices or carrot sticks.

sick - ill; not feeling well; with a cold, flu, or other illness

Our employees have eight paid sick days each year.

late pick-up - permission to pick up a child after the regular time when a program ends and children are expected to be picked up

This preschool charges $1 per minute for late pick-up, so it's really important for parents and other caregivers to pick up their children before 5:30.

to observe - to monitor; to watch something as it is happening, without participating in it; to see how something is occurring or how someone is performing

Scientists are trained to observe what occurs without influencing them.

secure check-in/check-out system - a way to place children in a program and take them out at the end of each day that guarantees their safety, making sure that a responsible adult is aware of their presence and that only authorized individuals can pick up the children

The gym offers childcare with a secure check-in/check-out system. When you drop off your kids, they give you and your children matching bracelets, and the only way you can pick up your children is if you're still wearing that bracelet.

to do (one's) homework - to thoroughly research or investigate something so that one is fully prepared before something happens

Before Wynona and Miguel started looking at homes, they did their homework by researching the neighborhood and schools.

practical - interested in results and able to get things done through a hands-on, logical, effective approach

Sure, it would be fun to travel in a flying car, but it doesn't seem very practical.