Here on the blog, we’ve talked about the Emergent Curriculum a few times. If you missed it, the Emergent Curriculum is exactly what it sounds like; it emerges based on the ever-changing interests of children. It is also the philosophy that makes up the foundation of everything we do at Today’s Family.
Kids are constantly developing new questions and curiosities as they make their way through their day-to-day activities. Experiences build knowledge, no matter how old you are, and in a child’s world everything is waiting to be discovered and experienced.
In an environment surrounded by children who are all unique, with their own interests to develop, strengths to master and discoveries to make, how do we plan our programs?
We value children as individuals,
with their own interests and points of view.
Each child has their own personality, interests, strengths, and contributions to make to your family – and to our program.
The first step that we take in planning our programs is getting to know your child. Our Early Childhood Educators love engaging with children in responsive and positive ways. The more we observe and talk to children, the more we can ensure that our programs are specifically tailored to your child, and to the unique characteristics of every child in our care. We value the diversit, and we support the distinct abilities and needs of every child that walks through our doors.
As we engage with your child,
we observe and make meaning.
As the Early Childhood Educators interact with your child, the proverbial gears inside their heads are in constant motion. They ask question upon question and seek answers from the responses your child offers. These responses can be verbal, but they aren’t always. Educators are consistently drawing conclusions from things like peer-to-peer interaction, body language, and emotional responses. These conclusions help us to gain insight into the learning and thinking of each child, and to figure out how a child is making sense of the world around them. We gather information to build on children’s natural curiosity, ideas, abilities and unique life experiences.
We provide environments and experiences
that are always engaging, exciting and new.
Learning happens all the time, everywhere. As we observe your child, we ensure they are consistently engaged and curious about what’s going on around them. Every moment has the potential to be a learning moment; from snack time to play time to transition times between activities – and we try to make the most of all of them.
We constantly evaluate the effectiveness of the materials in our programs. We’re always trying to find new and interesting ways to use every day items. As Early Childhood Educators, it’s our job to make sure that your child has experiences that support and shape their development.
We document progress
and we share our findings with you!
Early Childhood Educators spend our days engaging with, observing, and making meaning from your child and their experiences. We are constantly taking stock in our minds. This mental stock of day’s events and goings on becomes documentation. We take photos of and make notes about things that are said in the classroom and the way children react to their environment. Then, we document and share this information with families.
Think about your phone – how many photos of your child do you have? How often do you peruse through your memories and think about how much your child has grown and changed? It would be much more difficult for you to recall just how tiny your little one was without reference. It’s the same for us! By marking the memories and milestones, we can have a better understanding of just how far your child has come, and where they’re going as they learn, play and grow in an early learning environment.
Documentation is how we show children just how meaningful their accomplishments are. It’s also how we communicate those accomplishments with you. We work with you as a team to ensure that your child is getting everything they possibly can from their early learning experience – both in their time at home, and their time in care with us.
Once the documentation is done, the cycle starts again. Your child is growing up right before our eyes, and every day we have more things to get to know about them as individuals.
Until next time,
-Today’s Family
