Program Information Our philosophy is based on the belief that children learn best when exposed to a challenging environment that offers a variety of meaningful hands-on activities and experiences. We believe that children should be allowed to explore their surroundings in order to develop a good sense of problem solving and decision-making. The curriculum, arrangement of furniture and space reflect the interests and needs of the children in the classroom. It is very important to meet the basic needs of children such as, safety, nourishment and rest for them to be able to achieve proper levels of development. Children will not be expected to sit or to be silent for long periods of time unless resting. We strive to challenge children???s creativity, be aware and respectful of their emotional needs, and to support and facilitate their social development by providing opportunities for children to build positive self-esteem. We welcome and embrace the diversity of cultures and encourage every member of our center to share their culture with us. We are facilitators of children???s development fostering their social, emotional, physical and cognitive development for lifelong learning. We recognize that learning of one kind or another is taking place every waking moment of a child???s day. One learns what can be expected from life as one explores each new experience. Our goal is to fill those experiences with the joy of self-discovery. Self-confidence is gained through mastery of new tasks involving (1) self-sufficiency, (2) physical coordination, (3) thinking and reasoning, (4) interpersonal relationships and communication. Our curriculum is based on constructivist views of Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and John Dewey whose theories identified children as positive and active contributors to society. We strive to involve children in problem solving situations by utilizing science (physical and natural), mathematics, and social activities. The curriculum also incorporates children???s interests, needs and life experiences by involving such experiences in the fields of arts, music and creative movement. The day at Children???s Village is structured to allow for independent exploration as well as for group interaction. Even lunch and rest time present opportunities for learning and growth in the areas of responsibility and effective self-management. School readiness is a goal of our program; however, it is important to highlight that readiness is dependent on many factors: quality of preschool program, child???s developmental disposition, family involvement and appropriateness of school expectations. We believe that as a team we can work together to assist your child in achieving this goal by kindergarten entrance. Our Transitional Kindergarten classroom has specific academic elements to assist children in developing school readiness for years to come.