Little Learners Daycare

General information

The goals of our program are multi-faceted. Our goals encourage children to be enthusiastic, self-confident, independent learners and we believe that play is the primary mode of learning based on the children's interests. Our program also respects individual learning styles and ever-changing interests. Through our program we promote growth in all areas of development including:

social: to help children learn from adults and one another by observation, imitation, and interaction.

emotional: to provide a safe and secure environment where children can develop pride, self-confidence, independence, self-control, and a positive attitude toward life.

cognitive: to promote curiosity and to help children acquire learning skills, such as the abilities to solve problems, make choices, ask questions, and express their ideas, observations, and feelings.

physical: to help children develop and enhance their small and large muscle skills and feel confident and comfortable with their own bodies.

creative: opportunities exist within the classroom for the child to engage in one-on-one activities with the teacher, small group and large group activities, solitary and independent play allowing for opportunities to experiment and explore.

Our program goals are achieved through hands-on, concrete materials that encourage exploration, discovery, manipulation, and active engagement of children. Teachers pay close attention to children's play and become actively involved as well as responsive observers. Some examples of facilitating children's play are:

Supervised free play for long, uninterrupted periods (45-60 minutes)

providing sufficient variety of materials to stimulate different kinds of play - blocks and construction toys for cognitive development; sand. mud, water, clay, paint and other open-ended materials for sensory play; dress-up clothes and props for pretend play

providing loose parts for play, both indoors and outdoors, and encourage children to manipulate the environment to support their play

Ensuring that all children have access to play opportunities and are included in play

Let children play for their own purposes

Play with children on their terms, getting involved in the play such as riding down the slide, or dressing up for pretend play

Recognizing the value of messy play, rough-and-tumble play, and nonsense play

Understanding that children need to feel a sense of belonging to the play role of childhood

Teachers taking an interest in children's play, asking questions, offering suggestions, and engaging eagerly as co-players when invited