Philosophy and Curriculum

"It is important that we learn, because we learn things and it makes us know a lot. It is good to know things because people are counting on us.”

~ child, 4 years

Philosophy

The overarching philosophy of Siemens Child Development Center is to provide a developmentally appropriate program for young children that fosters the development of emotionally healthy children and stimulates children’s natural interest in, and enjoyment of, learning. Our program philosophy and practice has roots in a social constructivist theory of learning.

Our broad, long-term program goals include helping children:

• To become creative, independent thinkers

• To feel competent and productive, with good self-esteem and a sense of self worth

• To develop a sense of responsibility for their own mental and physical health

• To understand that they are a part of a diverse, multicultural global community and that their actions influence the quality of that community

• To recognize the riches human differences bring to our world

• To understand the various kinds of intelligences – linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, physical, spatial and personal -- that are valuable and important to our communities

• To develop higher moral reasoning and to develop into adults with an internalized code of ethics and principles

Our program’s educational philosophy is supported not only through the curriculum, but also by teachers, families and parents involved in the program that provide positive role models for children.

Curriculum

“All children have preparedness, potential, curiosity and interest in constructing their learning; negotiating with everything their environment brings to them.”

~Lella Gandini

The curriculum in each classroom is negotiated as a conversation between children, teachers, and parents and is further supported by the design of the environment. There have been many theoretical influences on our curriculum work that have helped us to continue to learn and develop best practice.

Some of the best known contributors to our work are Piaget, Vygotsky, Magda Gerber’s RIE philosophy and the municipal preschools and infant-toddler centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Piaget’s work reminds us that open ended activities and questions support the cognitive development of children because they ask the child to do their own thinking. Through this type of learning teachers support inquiry and finding out what the possibilities are in any given experience rather than strictly teaching correct or incorrect fact based information. Vygotsky’s theories support teachers being keen observers so that they can provide supportive information to help children to get to the next step in their learning process. Vygotsky referred to this support as “scaffolding”. His work contributed to an increased understanding in field about how social and cognitive growth influence one another.

Our work is strongly influenced by our developing understandings of the municipal preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The infant/toddler and preschool programs of Reggio have been hailed as exemplary models of early childhood education (Newsweek, 1991). The Reggio Emilia approach to education is committed to the creation of conditions for learning that will enhance and facilitate children's construction of "his or her own powers of thinking through the synthesis of all the expressive, communicative and cognitive languages" (Edwards and Forman, 1993). As a Center staff, we continuously research the ideas about excellence in education for young children that the schools in Reggio offer to improve our practices within the classroom.

In the CDC infant and toddler rooms, our methods of care giving are strongly impacted by the RIE philosophy. RIE stands for Resources for Infant Educarers. As taught by RIE founder Magda Gerber, this approach models and promotes mutually respectful relationships between infants and their caregivers. Infants and Toddlers are seen as unique individuals with a surprising capacity to participate in relationships and in their own learning.

To offer an overview of the RIE Philosophy the cornerstones of the practice are:

• Respecting the child

• Fostering his/her independence

• Allowing for natural gross motor development

• Developing a reciprocal trusting relationship

You can stay current with the plans for your child’s classroom through the Curriculum Projections. Curriculum Projections provide insights into observations made by classroom teachers, questions regarding next steps/development and invitations that will be offered in a curriculum cycle. Curriculum Projections follow the process and planning for long term projects as well as new invitations and environmental changes. Curriculum Projections are posted outside each classroom and e-mailed to the classroom distribution list in two week to one month planning cycles.

In summary our curriculum is a plan for learning that is:

• Developmentally and individually based

• Concerned with process, and having the child be an active participant in learning- a constructivist approach supported by Jean Piaget’s theories

• Sensitive to the child, each child's ability to set his/her own learning pace

• Based on the child’s interests and abilities

• Designed to help the child solve problems, question, experiment and hypothesize- based on Vygotsky’s work that demonstrates the importance of a social community

• Culturally relevant to children and their families