Kinderberry Hill Child Development Center

Kinderberry Hills curriculum integrates learning across all the developmental areas and is responsive to both the individual and group needs of the children in our classrooms. We use a comprehensive early childhood education system that has been shown to promote the cognitive, language, social-emotional, and physical development of young children. The belief that children learn best in the real world, with real things, and real people is consistent with our philosophy at Kinderberry Hill. By utilizing the Kinderberry Hill curriculum approach, educational experiences and imagination, our Kinderberry Hill teachers are able to create a unique lesson plan, classroom environment, and learning experience geared toward the development of the whole child.
A wide variety of resources were used in the development of the unique Kinderberry Hill curriculum approach including:
The Creative Curriculum* Nationally recognized and renowned curriculum program.
The Creative Curriculum philosophy is that young children learn best by doing. Learning isnt restricted to repeating what someone else says; instead, true learning requires active participation, thinking, and experimentation to find out how things work in our world. The Creative Curriculum also supports the philosophy that play is the foundation upon which academic learning is built. Through play, children are prepared to learn abstract concepts, such as letters and symbols for sounds, and numbers as symbols for numerical concepts.
The High Reach Curriculum* Nationally recognized and renowned curriculum program.
The High Reach curriculum program is also based on the philosophy that children learn best through hands-on activities with a focus on the development of the whole child. The High Reach curriculum incorporates a balance of child-directed and teacher-initiated activities to ensure a well-rounded learning experience.
Handwriting Without Tears
The award-winning Handwriting Without Tears curriculum uses hands-on materials and developmentally appropriate fine motor work that leads to successful handwriting and school readiness skills. Handwriting Without Tears is a proven success in making legible and fluent handwriting an easy and automatic skill for all students. The use of music and multi-sensory learning materials make learning to write successful and fun. Additionally, the child-friendly activities support language proficiency, social skills, fine and gross motor control, color and shape awareness, letter and number awareness, and counting.
Leader in Me
The principles of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and The Leader in Me, by author Stephen Covey are incorporated in all classroom learning, both academically and social-emotionally. The Seven Habits has become the hands-on tool students can rely on during their journey to becoming leaders of themselves and of others. Through the use of the Seven Habits, kindergarten children begin to realize that they have control over much of what happens in their lives, and that they can be true leaders. Their choices can affect their day, their relationships, and their future.
The Seven Habits foster:
Initiative and Motivation
Self-Confidence
Planning, Time Management, and Goal Setting
Communication Skills
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Emotional and Physical Stability
Honesty, Fairness, and Teamwork
Minnesotas Early Childhood Indicators of Progress
The Kinderberry Hill curriculum approach is fully aligned with Minnesotas Early Childhood Indicators of Progress, as identified by the Minnesota Department of Education. Our curriculum is based on the latest research on how children learn best and has been shown to promote school-readiness in children.
The SEEDS of School Readiness Emergent Literacy Program
Research shows that children who acquire literacy knowledge and skill development before entering kindergarten are most likely those who have had a rich background of skillfully-mediated literacy experiences. The SEEDS of Early Literacy program, developed by the University of Minnesota, has been adapted by Kinderberry Hill to facilitate these experiences for the children in our programs.

Child-Centered Environments
Because we know that children learn best when they have strong relationships of trust with those who care for them, we focus on creating environments where children feel emotionally and physically secure. Through positive interactions with their teachers, children develop a trusting, caring relationship allowing them to feel safe while exploring their surroundings, and to become capable and confident learners.
Assessment
The Kinderberry Hill curriculum and assessment process have been proven to promote social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development, as well as learning in literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, and the arts. We remain committed to bringing the highest quality education and school readiness to our children and families. Research tells us that child assessment is a vital and necessary component of all high-quality early childhood programs. Assessment is important to understand and support young childrens development. Kinderberry Hills comprehensive assessment process helps our teachers be intentional in their teaching, by accurately pinpointing where children are at in their development and learning. We use the nationally recognized and award-winning Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum Assessment System in conjunction with the internationally recognized, and most widely used, Denver Developmental Screening Test, for assessing each child. Our assessment tools assess key elements that research indicates are most predictive of school success. Assessment measures progress in the areas of social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development, as well as learning in literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, and the arts. Our assessment methods include formal (standardized testing) assessment, informal (naturalistic observation) assessment, and individual portfolios (method to document and share childrens progress). Our teachers use the results of the assessment to design an individual development plan for each child, and to promote the school readiness of the child. Kinderberry Hill offers formal parent-teacher conferences twice per year, during which
this valuable documentation is shared and discussed.