Toddler & Early Childhood Curriculum
Toddlers
Moving
out into the world, beyond the primary relationships
of their family and caregivers, toddlers are
gently introduced to their first learning experiences. They
begin school with the presence of a parent/caregiver
in the classroom. As they become comfortable
in their surroundings, our nurturing teachers
help the children ask for what they need and
want. In this way, the children’s emerging
self(--the I), is encouraged and supported. Their
daily classroom experience is filled with stimulating
activities and materials, including: pets,
snack, stories, gym, and songs. Parents
and caregivers have the opportunity, firsthand,
to learn about child development and the benefit
of helping their children go through the varied
ages and stages with the expert guidance of our
teachers.
Early Childhood
In
these early years, children meet the world with
imagination, inquisitiveness, conflict, and desire.
Play, a child’s work, offers
them the opportunity to make sense of their internal
and external world. At The Studio School,
children are given ample space and time for experimentation
and investigation during these years of enormous
change, growth, and development. They may work
in solitude, and with others; they will laugh,
sing, and cry; tell and listen to stories; run,
jump, and skip; fight over a toy and talk it
out; build, paint, work with clay; and speak
and know that they are heard and understood.
The cognitive and social skills we teach in these
early years are essential for a child’s
further academic learning.
The Curriculum
Our Toddler and Early Childhood
curriculum is based on the understanding that
a child’s social, emotional,
cognitive, language, and physical development are
interconnected. For instance, a child’s
language development affects his ability to make
social connections with his teachers and peers. A
child’s physical development and sense of
body in space affects how she attends to classroom
discussions and focuses on her work. How
children feel about their classroom experiences
affects what they will integrate and remember. Every
curriculum area, such as Work Period, Block Building,
Music and Movement, Stories, Singing, and Snack,
is designed to enable teachers to facilitate each
child’s maturational process.
In
today’s fast-paced world, we can give
children the precious gift of childhood when
we allow their imagination, drive, playfulness,
and curiosity to emerge naturally. Through
guided activities that are age-appropriate, Studio
teachers give children the time and space to
grow intellectually, socially, physically, and
emotionally, laying the foundations for pathways
in their brains for learning. Knowing that
it takes time for children to internalize all
that they are learning, we give them the time
to grow at their own pace.
