ABOUT US ~ CURRICULUM
ABOUT US:
Nessa’s Young’uns is a place for love, growth and discovery. Providing plenty of hugs, love, and personal attention is something we include throughout our Infant-Toddler Program as well as our Preschool Program. Love, along with a deep understanding of the individual educational and emotional needs of each child. Our program is designed to assist your child in achieving individual developmental milestones through play.
Here at Nessa’s Young’uns Natural Play Center we believe in one important thing; that children have a chance to be children, to be themselves. Here they will get that chance and experience the natural world by getting dirty, digging for earth worms, racing frogs, making mud pies, feeling the mud between their toes and soft plants on their feet, picking and tasting berries, digging veggies from the garden, watching daffodils unfold in early spring, hearing rain on the leaves, catching snow on their tongues in winter, rejoicing in the sweet scent of flowers and herbs, and exploring everything as we go AT THEIR PACE. We are hoping that such experiences fill your child’s world with song and sweep them away in a joyful childhood dance.
Giggles & Worm Video
INFANT & TODDLER CURRICULUM
Infants and toddlers have their own learning agenda. A fundamental developmental task of infants and toddlers is to begin to organize input and make sense of the world. Their focus and attention are primarily internally regulated. Developmentally, they are unable to maintain focused attention on an externally prescribed object or event. Therefore, the role of the educator in high quality infant/toddler care is adjusted from that of teacher to observer/ facilitator of experiences and learning. A primary responsibility of the educator is to discover the child’s learning agenda, or curriculum, through a continuous process of intentional observation, supported through documentation, reflection, and communication with parents. This planning cycle is completed by implementing interactions and activities designed to meet each child’s unique needs.
We design our program for the wide variance in emotional, physical, cognitive, and social development that characterize the first few years of life. Rather than adhering strictly to a curriculum that dictates specific skill development at specific chronological ages, we follow each child's developmental path. Inherent in this philosophy is the infinite value of our familiarity with each child, creating the ability to anticipate and respond to individual stages of readiness as they occur.
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PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM
We do not put a heavy emphasis on early academics but please don’t let this confuse you. We do guide the children to be ready for Kindergarten. We opt for a balanced curriculum that seeks to develop the “whole child” -- i.e., cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and creative development.
To do this most effectively, the children's activities draw from their own interests, discoveries, and observations -- with the preschools' natural out door learning area and indoor provisions providing a treasure trove of opportunities and adventure.
This child-centered approach is a very good fit with current understandings of how young children best grow and develop, despite American society’s apparent obsession with moving formal academic instruction into earlier and earlier ages. The whole child approach is also excellent preparation for school readiness.
Our teachers use the Bank Street Approach to Learning as a guide to plan activities that encourage each child to reach their goals because it is based on the whole child approach. By combining our natural play philosophy and Bank Street curriculum these components provide exceptional support for the overall healthy growth and development of children.
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