Daily Routine
Each day includes:
- Child Initiated outdoor play using materials designed for learning
- Child initiated indoor play including special activities that change regularly
- Snack is served buffet style, which the children often assisting in preparing snack.
- At snack time, children serve themselves and clean up after themselves.
- Teachers provide planned activates for small groups. Each child participates in small group activates with the same children over a period of time. This helps to build collaboration and communication skills with a variety of peers, including children that the child might not self-select as playmates. In addition, small groups include children at a variety of developmental and skill levels, to give children opportunities to learn from and help each other.
- Adult let large group activities that support curriculum themes and concepts and help children explore and extend group participation skills.
- Teachers meet before and after each session for planning and reflection
Curriculum
Our curriculum invites children to explore their interests, learn new skills and understand themselves, each other and the world around them.
Each day children:
- Ask questions, share ideas and solve problems
- Speak, write and listen
- Move and handle materials and tools
- Care for themselves, each other and their environment
Through their activities children:
- Learn about who they are and what they can do
- Challenge themselves to try new things
- Take responsibility for themselves and their work
- Plan, do and share their activities
- Express their ideas and feelings
- Solve real problems
- Learn to make choices and meet their own needs
- Learn to be members of a group
- Learn to be both leaders and helpers
- Practice taking pride in their work
Our Perspective
We believe that young children learn best when they use their full range of senses and abilities to explore real objects and situations. Through these activities children develop knowledge, skills, and a foundation for continued learning. As children use their skills, they build trusting relationships with peers and adults outside the home. We also believe that children have their own backgrounds, experiences, personalities and abilities that make each of them unique. We believe that children are eager learners when they are provided with opportunities appropriate for their ages, abilities, interests and cultures. We believe that appreciative yet objective observation of children, respectful relationship building and effective supportive communication are the foundations of successful learning communities.
We provide provide a rich variety of experiences and supports for children while involving them in activities with classmates. We help children chose activities, plan what they will do, engage in the activity they planned, and later talk about what happened. We also provide them with activities that we plan based on our observations of their developmental patterns, skills, needs and interests. We base our approach on well established theories of child development, current research and currently recognized standards of best practices.
The classroom includes both indoor and outdoor areas designed to help children learn about themselves, their physical world and the people around them. The areas are organized so children can play alone, in pairs, in small groups and/or with adults. Children explore their environment, have conversations, and make decision son their own.
The CDL environment integrates children experiencing special needs. There are adapted wheeled toys, a sitting rim for the sandbox, wheel chair access to the climbing structure and restroom, broad walkways and easily accessible shelf-space for toys and equipment. Teachers work with families and other professionals to ensure that all children receive the supports they need to be successfully independent.