Our approach embraces five dimensions of learning and development.
- Physical Well-Being and Motor Development-Emphasizing the importance of optimal motor development in children, from large motor movements that occur on the playground to small motor work required for holding a crayon or putting together puzzles.
- Social and Emotional Development-Interactions that enable children to participate in classroom activities that are positive for themselves, their classmates, and their teachers, as well as emotional support and secure relationships that engender the child’s acquisition of such characteristics as self-confidence and the ability to function as a member of a group.
- Approaches Toward Learning-We understand the various ways that children become engaged in learning and know that curiosity, creativity, independence, cooperativeness, andpersistence are some of the approaches that enhance early learning and development.
- Language Development Language—Providing experience with language, in both written and oral form, provides children with the tools to interact with others and to represent their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Cognition and General Knowledge—Children have opportunities to interact with individuals and materials and, as a result, are encouraged to learn from their surroundings. They are provided with a variety of play-oriented, exploratory activities; from these experiences children construct knowledge of patterns and relations, cause and effect, and methods of solving problems in everyday life.
Our Curricula
We recognize that a curriculum is a living document needing to be honed to meet the needs of the individual children we teach. We also realize that there is no “one shoe fits all” curriculum to meet the needs of all children all the time. We incorporate curricular activities that are equal parts of child-directed and teacher-directed activities as well as peer interactions to foster learning.
We currently use elements of Creative Curriculum in our programs. This curriculum is based on the latest research in the field of early childhood education and aligns with our philosophy. It is aligned with Kentucky’s Early Childhood Standards, and this curriculum is currently used by Head Start nationwide.
We also incorporate elements from Get Set for School for our Curious Creators Preschool and Sophisticated Scholars Pre-K programs. Get Set for School features readiness and writing, language and literacy, and numbers and math programs This curriculum incorporates many opportunities for multisensory activities which has been shown to enhance development.
Finally, we practice the Conscious Discipline program. This program was developed by Dr. Becky A. Bailey, an internationally recognized expert in developmental psychology. The program is a comprehensive emotional intelligence curriculum and classroom management program that is based on current brain research, child development information and effective educational practices that uses everyday life events to teach self-control, conflict resolution, character development and social skills.
Age-Specific Program Information
- Watchful Wonders
- Energetic Explorer
- Distinguished Discoverer
- Curious Creator
- Sophisticated Scholars
- Adventurous Achievers
All of our decisions regarding curriculum and programming are rooted in our mission and philosophical beliefs that can be summarized and includes:
- understanding children’s play and the teacher’s role in guiding and facilitating cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development through developmentally appropriate practices that encourage play.
- encouraging children to interact with others—adults and children—to develop interpersonal and decision-making skills so each child will learn, work, and play cooperatively.
- building relationships with children, families and community through dialogue, understanding, and interactive experiences.