Child's Play Day Nursery
OUR PROGRAM

"Children must master the language of things before they master the language of words.”
—Friedrich Froebel, Pedagogics of the Kindergarten, 1895
The natural world is the infant's and young child's first curriculum, and it can only be learned by direct
interaction with things. There is no way a young child can learn the difference between sweet and sour,
rough and smooth, hot and cold without tasting, touching, or feeling something. Learning about the
world of things, and their various properties, is a time-consuming and intense process that cannot be
hurried.  Yet there is a growing call for early-childhood educators to engage in the academic training of
young children.

Concerns over our educational system, fueled by our students' poor performance in international
comparisons of achievement, have reinvigorated the call for early academic instruction as a remedy for
inadequate teaching later on. All too many kindergarten teachers are under pressure to teach their
children numbers and letters and to administer standardized tests. In some kindergartens, children are
even given homework in addition to the work sheets they must fill out during class time. In a
developmentally appropriate classroom, children are busy taking care of plants and animals,
experimenting with sand and water, drawing and painting, listening to songs and stories, and engaging
in dramatic play. It is hard to believe that these young children learn more from work sheets than they
do from engaging in these age-appropriate activities.

David Elkind, Ph.D. is a Professor in Child Development at Tufts University. He is the author of The Hurried Child: Growing Up
Too Fast Too Soon (3rd edition), Reinventing Childhood: Raising and Educating Children in a Changing World, All Grown
Up and No Place to Go:
Multiple Intelligences:  A Theory for Everyone
by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University

How a child learns is as
important as what a child learns!


Preschool children in highly
academic "drill and kill"
programs are found to be more
physically aggressive.
Toddlers and preschoolers focus on the same theme, monthly.
The learning experiences are geared to age level.  All children
learn at their own rate of speed.  The children are also
introduced to "sign language,"  "Spanish," "beginning math"
and "reading readiness."

American Sign Language

PLAY = LEARNING,

LEARNING = PLAY
Time Alone, Time Together
What "circle time" and "free play" mean, and why each is
important to your preschooler's learning.
By Diane Trister Dodge and Toni S. Bickart


If there is schedule posted in your child's preschool/daycare, you may
see terms such as "circle time," "free play," "work time," or "choice
time." These tell you when children will participate in an activity
together as a group, and when they are free to select activities on
their own.


Circle Time
During this period, which shouldn't last more than 10 or 15 minutes,
children learn what it means to be part of a classroom community and
develop the skills to participate effectively in a group. Teachers greet
children, talk about the plans for the day, and encourage children to
share ideas. Sometimes each teacher takes a small group so children
have more opportunities to be active participants.

When you observe circle time in your child's classroom, you should
see maximum participation by the children — and minimum time sitting
and listening to the teacher. Activities might include:


• Storytelling
• Finger plays
• Music and movement activities
• Exercises
• Games
These age-appropriate types of activities take into account children's
attention spans, interests, and abilities and create the most
successful circle times.

Choice Time
This time is also called "work time" or "free play." It's when children
are free to decide which interest areas they want to play in and what
they want to do. They may play alone or with one or two other
children, exploring materials and trying out their ideas.

The best approach to free play allows children real choices — first
about where to go, and then about what to do when they get there.
The dramatic play area may be set up as, for example, a shoe store,
with many shoe boxes, the kind of stool sales clerks use, and foot
measuring devices. The art area has playdough, markers, paper, and
two easels set up with paints and brushes. The table toy area offers a
selection of puzzles and games.

If children have real choices, they can take initiative, and their play
time is more likely to be well spent. They learn how to learn because
teachers have created an environment rich in opportunities and
materials, and encouraged children to make choices and explore.

By selecting and carrying out their own activities, children learn
independence and self-reliance. They also learn to pursue their own
ideas. Your daughter may walk into school one day and know that
she wants to draw a picture of her new puppy. Or she may decide to
build a tower to give her doll a view of the classroom. In her play, your
child poses questions, ponders solutions, and recalls what she has
learned from experience. When she has a variety of materials to
explore, she can practice gross and fine motor skills and develop her
imagination and curiosity.

2008 Curriculum Schedule
Adventures In Learning

Click above to see an overview of the  
curriculum year.

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