Curriculum
The philosophy behind our curriculum is that children learn best by doing. Learning isn’t rote learning or memorizing; it requires active thinking, making decisions and experimenting to find out how things work.
Children explore the world around them by using all their senses (touching, tasting, listening, smelling, and looking). We capitalize on this fact both indoors and outdoors.
Play provides the foundation for academic or "school" learning. It is the preparation children need before they learn highly abstract symbols such as letters (which are symbols for sounds) and numbers (which are symbols for number concepts). Play is the work of children.
The Goals of Our Curriculum
The most important goal of our curriculum is to help children become enthusiastic learners. This means encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts. Our goal is to help children become independent, self-confident and inquisitive learners. We’re teaching them how to learn, not just in our center, but all throughout their lives. We’re allowing them to learn at their own pace and in the ways that are best for them. We’re giving them good habits and attitudes, particularly a positive sense of themselves, which will make a difference throughout their lives. Our curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development including social, emotional, cognitive, and physical and will extend to learning about health, the environment, and nature. The activities we plan for children, the way we organize the environment, select props and materials, plan the daily schedule, and talk with children, are all designed to accomplish the goals of our curriculum and give your child success and a positive experience.
Our curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development:
| . | Social: To help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends, and feel they are a part of the group. |
| · | Emotional: To help children experience pride and self- confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life. |
| . | Cognitive: To help children become confident learners by letting them try out their own ideas and experience success, and by helping them acquire learning skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and use words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings. |
| · | Physical: To help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do. |
The staff at Growing Green value family relationships and want to act as a support system for each family. All staff will do their best to maintain strong home to center communication.
The activities we plan for children, the way we organize the environment, select props and materials, plan the daily schedule, and talk with children, are all designed to accomplish the goals of our curriculum and give your child success and a positive experience.
Supplemental Curriculums
Growing Green uses supplemental curriculums to help children better understand and develop a relationship with nature and to provide developmentally appropriate environmentally themed activities.
We also have a curriculum that teaches children gardening skills, how to care for plants, and how to make healthy food choices. This is a twenty four week curriculum that helps to establish lifelong healthy eating habits in children while at the same time teaches both science and literacy skills.
Before and After School Club
Growing Green has a Before and After School Club that reflects the unique and differing needs of school-age children. Our separate school age room has furniture and materials that reflect the growing independence of older children while at the same time providing opportunities for small group work.
Our daily school-age activities and camps are created by our staff to reflect the needs of school age children and their families. Our activities include individual and group projects both indoor and outdoors. School age children have complete access to the play garden and participate in gardening activities as well.
"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer."
— Author Unknown
- Come meet our Director, Annette Richter. She is eager to talk to you about the benefits of enrolling at Growing Green Child Development Center. |
