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Northfield
Daycare Center Philosophy
Our goal is simple: we hope to
contribute to that lasting and life-long benefit: A HAPPY CHILDHOOD.
Towards this end, we strive to give your child unconditional affection,
maximum freedom, and a host of opportunities to discover the realities
of the world and her or his place in it. We have identified several
tasks to guide us in our curriculum.
First, we want to enhance your child's feeling of self-worth and
competency. Two of the most important lessons in life are learning to
accept oneself and learning how to get along with others. The teachers
help this process by describing and interpreting behavior, as well as
by functioning as ever-present role models. Free play, the heart of our
curriculum, promotes social growth as children freely pursue their own
interests with their own choice of companions. Places like our
life-size dollhouse, the block-room, our great outdoor play ground, and
materials like dress-up clothes and many other toys invite dramatic
play all-day long.
Second, we provide appropriate challenges for physical development.
Small
muscles are developed by art projects and play with a rich variety of
small toys, as well as catching bugs on our playground and helping with
snack and mealtime preparation. Large muscles are developed building
with large blocks and free movement to music indoors and by sledding
down our own hill, riding the trikes, shoveling snow, raking the grass,
pushing a friend on the tire swing and many more activities outdoors.
We try to go outside twice a day whenever the weather allows.
Third, we try to support your child's natural zest for learning. We
believe that young children learn best by being allowed to learn
through experience and at their own pace. All our toys, large and
small, old and new, wet and dry, are valuable materials for learning
and discovery. New books borrowed from the Northfield Public Library
regularly add to our own collection. The teachers read frequently to
the children, but children often create their own quiet time by
browsing through their favorite books in the book corner.
Finally, we offer your child one more option: we respect your child's
occasional and valid desire to do nothing at all - to just sit and
think about things, to just be a child.
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