FCNS Child Development Laboratory at Niu

The CDL philosophy is based on the knowledge that all children go through predictable stages of development at their own pace and learn through play, while recognizing the importance of the family context. Staff facilitates childrens development and learning by providing developmentally appropriate experiences, materials, and activities in a child-centered, safe, healthy, and nurturing environment. The goal of our program is to help families foster the development of the whole child in all areas of development: social, emotional, physical, cognitive, language, and moral.

Ways in which this philosophy is met:

Using play-based curricula. Play is a childs tool for learning. Through play, children enhance fine and gross motor skills, become social beings and creative thinkers, reach conclusions on their own through experimentation, and develop reasoning, language, emotional, and moral skills.
Using multi-age grouping that allows for multiple attachments with feelings of security and trust over several years in the same classroom
Encouraging self-regulation, the main attribute for successful academic performance
Enhancing positive self-esteem in children by providing a balance of challenging and success-oriented activities
Facilitating problem solving through open-ended activities, which allow the child to creatively formulate his/her own ideas and explanations
Acknowledging childrens interests, strengths, and age-appropriate skills and then using them to plan developmentally appropriate activities
Encouraging children to become self-motivated through offering choices of developmentally appropriate activities
Instilling children with a love of learning and focusing on the development of intellectual skills and positive dispositions towards learning that will help towards lifelong learning
Viewing families as the expert on their children and offering various opportunities for families to be involved in the program