Curriculum & Reggio Emilia Pedagogy
At Little Seeds, your child will be involved in developmentally-appropriate activities throughout each day. Each one of our classrooms is separated and offers a slightly different experience that is tailored to the needs of your child. Our provocations vary between age groups & include activities that are carefully articulated to promote emotional, cognitive and physical skills - sometimes all at once! We believe that the foundation for lifelong learning begins with mastering positive social skills and self-regulation; therefore, our provocations also incorporate a lot of activities that promote this type of mental growth (i.e. yoga, breathing techniques/stress management skills). We also spend A LOT of time exploring and playing outside! Learning technical skills related to math and science are equally as important as learning how to be kind, compassionate and creative. Our goal is to help you send your child into Kindergarten/First Grade prepared- emotionally & cognitively.
Infants
We love LOVE our babies! We emphasize the following in our infant classrooms:
Secure attachment: building strong, positive relationships with caregivers
Visual Stimulation: bright colors, interesting shapes to observe
Social Interaction: playing, sharing & being gentle with other children
Motor Skills and Muscle Development: sensory activities, building with blocks, manipulating shapes, catching and throwing
Language Development: interaction with teachers and other children and baby sign language!
Home-like, nurturing environment - we give our babies LOTS of love!
Toddlers
Toddler One: If your child is walking, taking one nap a day, eating solid foods and drinking from a sippy cup, they are ready for our Toddler One room! There is a strong emphasis on language development as vocabulary grows most rapidly in this second year of life. We expose children to language through songs, books, simple sign language and of course, through play! We have several exploration stations where they get the opportunity to discover and grow!
Toddler Two: There is no such thing as “terrible twos” here! Two year olds are just two year olds. Our teachers know about the brain development of toddlers and set realistic expectations for our little friends. We recognize that developing a positive self-concept is critical at this age so we practice positive reinforcement and allow toddlers to make their own decisions in a safe environment & within reason, of course. The emphasis in this room is on teaching skills to gain independence and give children a chance to feel success as they try new things. There are a plethora of sensory experiences woven into each week’s lesson plan. Children at this age experience a lot of big emotions and our teachers help them start to learn the process of emotional self-regulation.
Both of our toddler rooms focus on:
Social Interaction: playing and sharing with other children
Gaining Independence: teaching and allowing children to do things on their own, with help if needed (basic self-help skills)
Exploring & Experimenting: discovering things in their environment and thinking about how they work
Developing Emotional Intelligence & Self-Regulation: acknowleding emotions and using words to solve problems
Cognitive Development: learning colors, matching and sorting
Fine & Gross Motor Skills: puzzles and blocks vs. climbing and running and developing a sense of one’s own body in space
Preschool
At age 2 1/2, our friends head into Transitional Preschool from Toddler 2. This room is primarily focused potty training and further enhancing self-regulation and self-help skills, as well as incorporating technical skills that will be needed in Preschool. The class size is larger than Toddler 2, but smaller than Preschool so children can become acclimated to an environment that encourages more independence and decision making, while having the option for more support when necessary. When a child can stay focused in centers, follow two step instructions and go to the bathroom unassisted, they move into Preschool (typically around age 3-3 1/2).
Preschool is a special time in a child’s life because they start to develop their earliest memories! Every experience is a learning opportunity. We place a strong emphasis on developing emotional intelligence and supporting children and helping them recognize themselves as unique individuals. Some of the highlights of our Preschool program include:
Alphabet: learning and recognizing letters and beginning to use utensils to write & draw
Emotional Intelligence: manners, kindness, recognizing emotions within oneself & others, respecting friends & property, sharing and collaborating with peers
Exploring Senses: tasting, feeling, smelling, and hearing sounds in their environment and using those senses to ask questions and get creative!
Science and math activities (including understanding quantity) are learned through play and incorporated into nearly every activity offered. There are SO MANY WAYS TO TEACH MATH OUTSIDE OF WORKSHEETS!!! Worksheets are cool for practicing memorizing skills but we know now (latest science confirms) that children learn best by practicing these skills in all different ways, mostly through play and using their environment and natural curiosity!
Language Development: understanding simple sentences, learning to speak in three to five word sentences and carrying on simple conversations
Pre-K/K
Our Pre Kindergarten and Kindergarten program is designed to get your child ready for Kindergarten or First Grade - private, or public! All of our younger programs are built to prepare our friends for the opportunities and new skills they’ll meet in their next adventure. Emotional skills are further refined and challenged as children grow and become more inquisitive and interested in their friends and the world around them. We challenge our friends to see other points of view and encourage them to express their opinions in a positive, non-judgmental way. Yoga & mindfulness exercises are stress management techniques that are designed to provide our friends with the emotional tools they’ll need to succeed in school. Our friends are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, thought patterns and more complex ideas to engage their young minds in developing the necessary critical thinking skills that they’ll need as they grow. Some other key highlights of the program include:
Daily provocations that incorporate writing, drawing, matching and introducing new concepts related to and led by the children’s interests. Our teachers document learning progress through pictures and note taking of specific quotes and phrases that children use while engaged in a provocation.
Exercise daily
Science and math lessons (including graphing, polling & voting) build upon those learned in Preschool & more complex concepts are introduced
Reflecting on previous experiences, asking questions and thinking about creative solutions to conflicts are encouraged to promote higher level critical thinking skills
