Curriculum

The Child Development Center follows seven guiding principles and six teaching standards as a framework for planning curricular opportunities. In addition to that framework, we address the Pennsylvania Learning Standards for Early Childhood.

Guiding Principles:

1. Social Learning: Social learning is the foundation for growth in all developmental and academic learning.
2. Process: How children learn is as important as what they learn.
3. Social Interaction: The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction with peers, teachers, and other adults.
4. Emotional Development: Children engage in daily opportunities to learn about cooperation, responsibility, empathy, self control and what it means to be an individual and part of a group.
5. Teacher-Child Relationships: Teachers’ knowledge of the children they teach-individually, culturally, and developmentally, is the basis for curricular development.
6. Teacher-Family Relationships: Teachers and Center administration partner with parents/guardians to ensure that communication supports the growth and education of children.
7. Staff Relationships: A sense of community, support, and modeling is embraced as an approach to staying current and connected with each other.

Teaching Standards:

1. Consistent yet flexible classroom schedules and activity periods, including one on one strategy, small and large group activities, child directed activities, and extension of play.
2. Rules and Logical Consequences: A clear and consistent approach to guidance that fosters responsibility, self control, and proactive approaches.
3. Discovery: Activities and materials that encourage hands-on learning, and open ended exploration and inquiry, supports interest and heightens curiosity.
4. Activity Choice: Offering choices gives children the opportunity to be invested in their learning, and provides a foundation for making connections to prior learning, while supporting extension of children’s learning. Experiences become valuable, meaningful, and lasting.
5. Environment: Materials, arrangement, displays, and a home-like atmosphere encourage independence, maximize learning opportunities, and support the connections between home and school.
6. Partnering with Families: Encouraging family involvement at many levels, learning about families, and providing developmentally appropriate interactions and activities encourages true partnerships.

Pennsylvania Learning Standards For Early Childhood:

1. Approaches to Learning
2. Creative Arts
3. Language and Literacy
4. Logical –Mathematical
5. Personal Social
6. Physical/Health
7. Program Partnerships
8. Science
9. Social Studies