Childhood is a time of infinite wonder and possibility that is also significant to the development of the brain and therefore the child and how they view the world.
We aim to create a space that young children can explore their interests, follow their curiosities, and learn about their world in an environment that empowers them to safely explore risk and be active participants.
Teaching and learning is viewed as a collaborative process where teachers can gently guide and support children by carefully observing their play, listening to their inquiries, and using these observations to facilitate their learning. This encourages the development of autonomy and cultivates a deeper understanding of their world.
We encourage children to put their theories into practice and continuously observe them in the process. This enables teachers to gain an extensive understanding of how each individual child learns and develops. It also also constantly evolves the teacher’s knowledge of early childhood.
The teacher acts as a coach and a researcher who will document their findings to share with colleagues, families, children and the wider community to elevate the image of the child as capable and competent learners who can be active contributors to society.
For several weeks Judah had been adamant that he wanted to design a rope bridge for the playground. He showed us where it should go and discussed materials that should be used. We spoke about how we could promote the idea to everyone else and then decided to build a
These conversations set us off on a school-wide, child-led project to improve our outdoor areas and work out how to make the best use of the space we have. Our students made many requests for items like real life fire trucks, swimming pool, more water play, pirate ship, bridge and
The garden contains several raised garden beds and lattice trellises within a safely enclosed space. Children of all ages use the garden to explore, experiment with plants, water, and bugs, and learn about life cycles and nature.
The coffee bar is a project that came about from a former student who would take orders from teachers and then make a morning coffee delivery around the classrooms. The name, “Passero” translates from Italian to “Baby Sparrow.”
My name is Lauren Huyck and I am the afternoon lead for the Scoperta classroom. I started as a teaching assistant when the center was still part of Aquinas in 2010. When we became the GREDC in 2012, I stayed on. In 2014, I was excited to accept the role of lead teacher.
I have a Bachelors in psychology and writing, and an associates in early childhood education. I am currently working on getting a Masters in psychology with a concentration in child development.
I love seeing the children grow and learn. There are so many developmental milestones that I get to see and experience. I fell in love with the Reggio approach and work to incorporate it in all my experiences with children. It has definitely taught me to treat children as citizens of the world.
I honestly could go on about how much I love the work I do and how passionate I feel about every child having quality care but that would take eons. So I will end with these two quotes:
“To take children seriously is to value them for who they are right now rather than adults-in-the-making.”
Alfie Kohn
If you trust play, you will not have to control your child’s development as much. Play will raise the child in ways you can never imagine.
Vince Gowmon
