Educational Philosophy
That children learn through child-initiated and active play, through direct contact with concrete objects, repeated positive experiences, and interactions with people who are important and loved in their lives.
Mission Statement
Little Builders curriculum is a developmental-based program concerned with the development of the “whole child,” emphasizing social, intellectual, emotional and physical growth.
Curriculum --
Little Builders curriculum is a developmental-based program concerned with the development of the “whole child,” emphasizing social, intellectual, emotional and physical growth. As your child’s teacher, my lessons are carefully planned open-ended and child-directed activities. The emphasis is placed on the value of play, learning environments and developmentally appropriate materials and activities.
The Curriculum is briefly described below:
ART --The development of self-concept, small motor skills and spatial concepts necessary for academic success are a by-product of a successful art program. Children get emotional satisfaction from being able to express themselves and are more concerned with the process they are going through than the finished product. It is helpful to have art materials organized to enhance maximum development of artistic and creative abilities, but producing a model for the child to copy is discouraged.
COOKING – “Cooking provides a wide variety of experiences which give a child a sense of accomplishment, a chance to experiment, a developing awareness of his own senses of taste, touch and smell.”* Our parents provide daily food experiences for our children at the snack area, and children get an opportunity to use different tools and equipment to improve small motor muscle coordination.
DRAMATIC PLAY – The philosophy of our school encourages self-discovery in the child. Creative play allows a child to construct the world as he sees it and act out feelings and emotions in a comfortable setting. Make-believe, dress-up, domestic play, block building, and playing games encourage a child’s development of language and thought processes.
MOVEMENT AND MUSIC – Music offers the child a chance to improve balance, coordination and rhythm through dancing and other activities. Large muscle skills are taught through obstacle courses, the balance beam, running, and active play. When group games are organized, music provides the perfect medium to teach young children. Singing and musical instruments, besides offering pure enjoyment, help the young child develop many pre-academic skills.
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT – The book area is a relaxing center that allows children to browse through books for pleasure and to develop personal reading interests. The child not only learns to listen but has an opportunity to increase his vocabulary by hearing new words read to him. He learns about different concepts, people and places and visualizes the things that he is hearing about. At the literacy center children also learn about shapes, sizes, colors and textures, and learn how to use materials like scissors and glue.
MANIPULATIVES – Blocks, puzzles and many other supplied manipulative toys provide an opportunity for the child to learn about classifying, sorting, predicting, problem solving, and analyzing results. The child develops his knowledge of the world around him using real objects and concrete examples. Manipulative activities also improve small and large motor coordination.
OUTDOORS – By playing on the outdoor equipment children learn how to use their body effectively and experience joy in achieving a skill. Bikes, sand, water and exposure to the natural environment expand the child’s knowledge of his world and also allow him to experience sensory pleasure by working with different media. Although outdoor play is most frequently associated with large muscle movement, opportunities for developing social skills are numerous.
SCIENCE – First-hand exploration is the keynote of the child’s science experience. The child’s cumulative knowledge of his world grows as he/she is exposed to natural and man-made objects. He/she learns to compare, contrast, classify and to use these objects in play as well as in arts and crafts. Our 4day afternoon class is very unique! 10 weeks of environmental education are divided between fall and spring. Choices include water exploration, cooking, nature study, hiking, writing experiences, science books and materials.
*The CEMREL Institute, School Before Six, A Diagnostic Approach. Vol. 11, page 653.
