WCSU Early Learning Center

Program Philosophy

We believe young children learn through their experiences. It is the goal of this program to provide an environment where young children are encouraged to explore, investigate and learn. This program will develop and maintain a learning environment and plan appropriate experiences for each child based on the knowledge of typical development in children. Each child is a unique person with an individual pattern of growth, an individual personality and unique learning style. Both the curriculum and adults’ interaction with children will be responsive to their individual learning styles.

 The following are a few of the ways your child will experience learning at the WCSU Early Learning Center:

Active Learning: Having direct and immediate experiences and deriving meaning from them through reflection and repetition of the experience. Children engage in ongoing, interactions with people, materials and ideas that promote their cognitive, social/emotional and physical development, such as experimenting with the objects and materials in the sensory table.

Positive Adult-Child Interactions: Positive and supportive adult-child interactions are critical to the development of young children. Adults play a facilitation role of guiding and engaging in children’s play. Based on their knowledge of child development, adults use positive, proactive interaction strategies that focus on children’s strengths and adopt a problem-solving approach to social conflicts.

Child Friendly Learning Environment: The physical setting will be the place of learning for young children; your child’s teachers have considered the planning of the environment and selecting the appropriate materials. The environment provides children with ongoing opportunities to make choices and decisions. The adults organize the play space into specific interest areas children are free to choose any area to work in. Centers are located throughout the classrooms such as blocks, dramatic play, science/ math, library, etc.

Consistent Daily Routine: A consistent daily routine that supports active learning in planned. This routine enables children to anticipate what will happen next and gives them a degree of control over what they do during each part of the day. This routine includes: free choice, small and large group time, music and movement, outdoor time, rest time, lunch, and story time.

Ongoing Child Assessment: Young children are growing and changing everyday. It is our belief that ongoing informal/anecdotal assessment is vital to maintain a learning environment which is built upon children’s strengths and interests. This ongoing information is utilized when meeting with parents and developing goals for your child.