We believe that a high quality children’s program provides a safe and nurturing environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of young children while responding to the needs of their families.  All of our programs will be developmentally appropriate - both age appropriate and appropriate to the individual needs of each child. 

Human development research indicates that there are universal, predictable sequences of growth and development that occur in children in the first nine years of life.  These predictable changes occur in all domains of development – physical, emotional, social and cognitive.  A comprehensive knowledge of typical development of children within the age span served by this program will provide a framework from which our teachers prepare the learning environment and plan appropriate experiences.

At My School! We believe that planning successful programs goes beyond considering what is appropriate for a particular age group.  Since all children are individually unique people; understanding each child’s individual growth pattern, personality, learning style, strengths, interests, experiences and family background is equally important to our teachers in developing a curriculum that is responsive to these individual differences.  Learning is the result of interaction between the child’s thoughts and experiences with materials, ideas, and people.  We are committed to providing experiences that will match a child’s developing abilities, while also challenging that child’s interest and understanding.

Children’s play is the primary vehicle and indicator of their growth in the younger years.  Play enables children to progress along the developmental sequence from the sensory motor intelligence of infancy, to pre-operational thought in the Preschool Years, to the concrete operational thinking exhibited by primary grade children.  Play also serves important functions in the children’s physical, emotional and social development.  Play will be child initiated, child directed and teacher supported. .

Goals for the Program

• To work in partnership with parents, school personnel, and the community to support a child's emotional, social, physical, and intellectual growth.

• To provide parents with the assurance of safe, affordable, and nurturing childcare.

• To create an environment that fosters self expression, social growth and development, and skills for a healthy life style.

• To guide children through positive discipline, reflective listening, logical consequences, and peaceful alternatives to make responsible decisions.

• To provide a variety of developmentally appropriate creative, physical, and intellectual activities, maintaining a balance of quiet, active, and self directed time.

• To meet the needs of each child through careful observation, reflection, and respect of individuality.

Goals for Children

• To feel safe, comfortable, and respected as an individual.

• To learn, grow, and have fun.

• To develop a positive sense of self and a foundation for a healthy life style.

• To acquire the skills of conflict resolution, positive communication, and a respect for individual differences.

• To feel comfortable with one's self, one's accomplishments, and one's abilities.

• To develop self help skills, independence, and a sense of responsibility for ones actions and behavior.

• To feel like a valued and important member of the My School! Community.

We are committed to:

• Ensuring the health and safety of the children

• Being warm, loving and responsive

• Responding to each child’s cues and clues

• Talking, reading, and singing to and with each child

• Maintaining routines and rituals

• Encouraging safe play and exploration

• Using discipline as an opportunity to teach

• Recognizing that each child is unique

• Ensuring that parents have the right and responsibility to share in decisions about their child’s care and education

• Respect and nurture each child’s individuality

• Foster an environment geared to creating opportunities for success, acceptance, and appreciation of diversity

• Extend the learning experience beyond the classroom by encouraging thinking, fostering reflection and cultivating good judgment skills

• Promote positive self-concept by providing an environment in which children feel comfortable enough not to only enjoy their interests, but feel comfortable sharing them and learning through them

• Create an environment in which children learn and build social competencies, and have fun doing so

• Provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum or all areas of a child’s development - Physical, emotional, social, and cognitive - through an integrated approach

• Base curriculum on teacher observations and recordings of each child’s special interests and developmental progress

• Emphasize learning as an interactive process. 

• Teachers will prepare the environment for the children to learn through active exploration and interaction with adults, other children, and materials

• Ensure that learning activities and materials are concrete, real, and relevant to the lives of young children

• Provide a program for a wide range of developmental interests and abilities that are chronological as age range of the group would suggest, while being responsive to individual needs 

• To foster positive self concept in each child

• To help children develop social skills

• To encourage children to think, reason, question, and experiment

• To encourage language development

• To encourage and demonstrate sound health, safety and nutritional practices

• To teach children to respect cultural diversity