Curriculum

Our center utilizes Creative Curriculum, a curriculum that emphasizes developmentally appropriate practices. Weekly lesson plans incorporate the monthly goals of each child in a classroom. Monthly goals are individual to each child and focus on skill development in areas such as language, cognitive, literacy, and social emotional. Classroom teachers take daily observations and this data is entered into the child’s individual assessment. The teacher also compiles a portfolio of artwork, work samples, and photos. All this information will be shared with parents at twice a year conferences.

We highly encourage parents to attend conferences and collaborate with setting six month goals for their child. Our program is designed to be very purposeful and intentional for the needs of each child at the center.

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.