The Learning Environment
Children at CELC are not reciting the alphabet or repeating their numbers from 1-10 because research has proven that “talking without doing” is largely meaningless for children. Rather, CELC facilitates learning by providing opportunities for children to personally interact with materials, experiencing and participating in various activities throughout the day. The learning environment is set up based on the developmental level of each child, providing activities and social situations to better equip them for real life situations they are bound to encounter. Children are encouraged to use language to verbalize their feelings and they are guided by their teachers’ examples. Teachers ask open-ended questions to encourage divergent thinking and positive creative expression while fostering individuality and respecting various levels of development.
Infants and Toddlers
Based on our developmental philosophy, we believe that children develop naturally at their own pace. However, in order for them to grow to their fullest potential, we feel that adults can aid children through providing an environment that will enhance this development. This can be accomplished by identifying a child’s needs and matching these needs to materials and experiences that will stimulate his/her growth. Furthermore, high quality caregivers are essential to a program that wishes to maintain high standards of care and education. Caregivers must be professionals who are willing to assume responsibility for establishing an educational program that meets the developmental and personal needs of each child. CELC prides itself in offering caregivers who are best equipped to meet the unique needs of each infant and toddler and who understand and promote partnerships with families.
The Preschool Program
Our activities and room structure reflect our program philosophy. Healthy partnerships with families provide staff with crucial information about each child from their parents, their first and best teachers. In addition, anecdotal records and personal interactions with each child allow the classroom teachers to further identify the child’s developmental levels and plan accordingly. Optimal learning occurs when adults have established trusting relationships with children. The curriculum is most appropriate when it is generated by the interests and abilities of the children and reflects their life experiences. Pre-packaged curriculum kits do not take into consideration the uniqueness of each child.
Just as the social, emotional, cognitive, language, and gross motor development of a child overlaps and intertwines, so do the activities and arrangement of the room. Lesson plans and areas of the room are created to reflect the individual developmental levels of the children. Activities are constructed of concrete (hands-on) materials rather than presented in an abstract manner such as dittos and pictures. The room encourages independence and creativity. The children move freely throughout the room and may use the materials to meet their needs. Respect for each other and the environment is always stressed.
School Age Children
We believe that every child has a very personal pace and a unique way of developing physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. It is the role of the teacher to support each child’s strengths in of these areas of development by creating a safe, rich environment and encouraging the child to play and interact with the environment. The classroom and curriculum are designed to allow for the child’s exploration and experimentation. Children are encouraged to develop skills in self-direction and decision making with the support of educated adults who carefully guide them in ways which preserve their self-esteem. A key concept of our program is flexibility with emphasis on free choice under the guidance of nurturing and authoritative caregivers.