Creative Beginnings Children's Center

Statement of Philosophy

We strive to fulfill the needs of our children and their families by:
. providing a clean safe comfortable environment where each child is respected as an individual.
. offering each child the opportunity to experience a variety of developmentally appropriate activities designed to promote his or her intellectual growth.
. fostering the physical emotional and social abilities of each child.
. protecting the health and safety of each child.
. communicating with parents and encouraging them to observe and participate in our programs.
. giving each child a Creative Beginning.

Educational Philosophy

We at Creative Beginnings feel that children between the ages of two and five learn by doing. The use of rational logical thought is not fully developed in children under the age of five; so lecturing memorization and drilling are inappropriate. Young children need to touch move experiment create ask questions discover practice integrate pretend compare interact imitate and observe.

A teacher facilitates a child’s learning and involvement by asking questions making suggestions and introducing more complex materials or information to challenge the child. She acts as a guide. She prepares the learning environment and plans activities with the knowledge of typical child development for that age range as well as a responsiveness to individual differences. Each child is unique and has an individual pattern and timing of growth and development.

Each day we follow a predictable schedule including periods of active indoor and outdoor play “circle time” art projects story time quiet rest time lunch and snacks.

Our schedule offers security and familiarity while remaining flexible. We respect the needs of children by alternating periods of active movement and quiet listening. Care is taken to smooth transitions between activities.

At times the focus of activities in a classroom is pre-planned according to the seasons of the year holidays interests of the class and other special events. Children want to learn! We believe that children learn best when they can connect information to their own experience.

Some activities are not planned ahead of time. They are spontaneous occurrences or “teachable moments”. The schedule is flexible to take advantage of impromptu experiences.

A safe warm inviting classroom environment draws the child in to learn. Much of the children’s artwork photographs and pictures are displayed at eye-level and materials are arranged neatly and accessibly. Classrooms are set up with dramatic play block building fine-motor manipulatives arts and crafts water play and quiet reading. A science table is a place to observe things such as a classroom pet sprouting seeds chicks hatching or what happens to snow when it’s brought inside.

We value the importance of play in the lives of children. Time for uninterrupted free play wherever the child chooses is part of each day. What may look like a rather chaotic time at first glance is actually a lot of very busy children engaged in many different activities.

During free play materials for an art project are set out for children to explore and create with. The process of exploring the material is more important than the finished product. Art is viewed as creative expression. Some children will do very little artwork or none at all. But they are learning other things in other areas of the room. Children’s preferences are viewed as a healthy indicator of developing self-concept.

At circle time all children in the class gather to greet each other observe the weather sing a song or two. Children are exposed to concepts appropriate to the developmental level of the class. Circle time is meant to be a fun interactive time.

Outdoor play each day is a time for children to explore; express themselves loudly and freely; and exercise large muscle skills like running jumping balancing climbing swinging or digging.

Children acquire communication skills through hearing and using language. In an environment in which there are many and varied experiences with books print language and conversation children learn about spoken and written language.

Teachers facilitate the development of self control in children by setting clear consistent limits and guiding children to resolve conflicts. We value mistakes as learning opportunities. Children are always treated with dignity; we help them develop the ability to make better decisions in the future.

We facilitate the development of self-esteem by respecting accepting and comforting children regardless of the child’s behavior. A healthy self-esteem is by far more important than the acquisition of specific skills. A child who feels respected and has a positive self-image is off to a good start as a lifelong learner.