Learning is an interactive process for young children. Research shows they learn best through active exploration and interaction with adults, other children and materials. We share the view of many prominent child development thinkers that children learn and develop in the early years. Consequently, we encourage our student's active involvement by providing opportunities to choose from a variety of activities, materials and equipment, as well as time to explore.

The Role of the Teacher

Teachers in this interactive model of early learning are unlike some teachers we remember from our own childhood, standing before a group of students dispensing information from a seemingly infinite fountain of knowledge. For young children in particular, curriculum is more than a checklist of facts to be fed and digested. Curriculum is everything that happens in the early childhood classroom - all the experiences. Our teachers join the children in the wonder and excitement of their own explorations and discoveries, lending support to their investigations without imposing an adult view of the 'correct' answers or standard by which the worth of their learning is measured. Teachers promote spontaneous learning with the understanding that children make many important discoveries and develop new concepts on their own. Because children are naturally motivated by their own desire to make sense of their world, they are always learning through experiences. Our teachers share in the process of discovery.

The teacher's role in the Little Children Schoolhouse is to plan and prepare a stimulating environment that challenges children through active exploration and interaction with materials and each other. Our teachers provide a variety of activity choices and facilitate the children's engagement in their selections. Although children take the lead in choosing activities, teachers also play an active role in the process. They expand the experience by asking questions, making suggestions or adding more complex materials or ideas to the situation. Timely, thoughtful input from an adult can advance a child's competence and challenge their thinking. By involving and valuing children in the process, we empower them to value themselves as learners.

Matching the Learning Process with Curriculum

Achieving a particular outcome is not our goal. Instead, the process of learning is recognized for its own inherent value. The content of any early learning experience is less important than the process itself. Finished products or 'correct' solutions conforming to adult standards are inaccurate measures of children as independent learners, thinkers and doers. The quality of their play, instead, provides a glimpse of emerging skills and developmental competence.

Our intent is to provide a curriculum model that reflects a more developmentally-appropriate view of early learning. We recognize that children become actively involved in learning when offered a selection of materials to represent a particular concept. Even young children can be empowered to actively participate in learning when provided with the necessary intellectual, physical and emotional tools. This goal is best accomplished when we engage children in the process of 'learning how to learn'. To realize curriculum goals, our teachers remain open to new ideas, many of which may come from their own colleagues. Teachers at the Little Children Schoolhouse are members of a teaching team, confident in their own ability and respectful of the abilities and contributions of other team members.