Our Programs
Creating A Classroom Community
Infants & Older Infants
Infants thrive in our nurturing environment! You want the place where your child is cared for to be as trusted and as much like home as possible. We want to make this first transition as seamless as possible, for you AND your infant! We take our cues from your baby, and use playtime and age-appropriate activities to help them learn about their world. Older Infants are children who are becoming more mobile and need lots of space to move around. We have designed a room just right for this to happen. EEC DE treats every child as a unique individual, and offers a great beginning for life-long learning!
Other Programs
Summer Program
Think of summer as "down time"? Not at EEC! All our programs continue throughout Summer, so EEC bustles with activity. Plenty of things to do, age-appropriate projects to participate in, things to experience, fun to be had! We use creativity to expand your child's interest, and encourage them to be part of a fun-filled, creative summer! They will take part in weekly specials if age-appropriate, spend time playing outside on the playground, and inside doing all sorts of creative activities. They can look forward to arts and crafts, playing ball, listening to music, and dancing. Let your little one explore their environment and have lots of fun, too!
Enrichment Programs
Children in Preschool through Kindergarten are involved in enrichment programs throughout the school year.
These include yoga, music, and Spanish. There is no additional cost for these programs.
All Classrooms Include:
Our classroom environments are learning-center based. Learning is child-initiated, or child-guided. We offer children choices about where to play, which materials to use, how to use them, and whether to play alone or with others.
Blocks
This area promotes language, math concepts, socialization and creativity. Infants pile and knock blocks and begin to see how they cause things to happen in their world, toddlers begin simple stacking and unstacking, and pre-school children are constructing objects and add more complex elements.
Manipulatives
Puzzles, pegboards, beads, small building or linking materials are here. These help children develop small motor coordination, sorting and patterning that help them gain skills needed for writing and math.
Dramatic Play
Pretend play encourages the development of social and language skills. Children learn how to cooperate to reach a goal. They also learn how to negotiate and solve problems with their peers.
Creative Art
In the art area, children have free access to a variety of media. Children are encouraged to use their imaginations and to create their own unique masterpieces! This is where they learn to create freely and to express themselves individually. Children practice small muscle control by using scissors, markers and paint brushes. They are learning colors, experimenting with size and shape, and socializing with their peers. While there may be some special projects, the children’s “creations” will reflect their unique perspectives. There will be few teacher directed activities.
Literacy
Both reading and writing are practiced to help children develop basic skills necessary to be successful in school and life. Infants are introduced to the richness of language and recognition of objects. Toddlers are expanding their vocabulary and connecting words to objects in their world. Pre-School children begin to learn thee foundations of reading and comprehension (read left to right, recognize themes, predict outcomes). They also learn letter names and sounds and to love reading! The environment is rich in written language and offers a variety of opportunities for children to practice their language and literacy skills.
Cooking
Cooking is fun! It is also a laboratory for helping children develop and learn. When children participate in cooking activities they learn how food is prepared and how it contributes to their health and well-being. It also promotes pride in their ability to produce a food others can enjoy, strengthens small-muscle control and eye-hand coordination, expands vocabulary (ingredients, recipe, knead, boil, etc.), and it inspires children’s curiosity and thinking. They learn measurement concepts, develop problem-solving skills, and explore cause and effect. Children are following sequences of a recipe and carrying out multiple directions, and it is an outlet for creativity!
STEAM
“What will happen if I push this button?” “Why did my plant die?” This is a place to spark children’s curiosity by offering interesting materials. Children use their senses to touch, feel, taste, smell, and see. They act on objects and observe what happens. Teachers pose questions and help children wonder aloud. Children investigate and explore strengthening skills in all areas of development.
Music & Movement
Music naturally delights and interests children! Music and movement provides an outlet for children’s high spirits and creative energy. Experiences help to develop both sides of the brain and contribute to children’s social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development and learning.
Sensory
In our sensory areas children learn to work together. They experience tactile exposure and often invent elaborate role-playing situations. In addition, children learn science and math through experimenting with volume and measurement. Play dough is used in this area to stimulate small muscle control for future writing and creative art skills.
Small Group Time
In the course of each day teachers conduct a variety of planned small-group activities. These activities are designed with particular learning objectives in mind. The teacher guides learning by choosing materials that invite exploration and enables the teacher to observe the skill levels of the children so that the environment can be further developed to incorporate materials that support learning goals.
Large Group Time
The whole class gathers together once or twice during each day. It may be to listen to a story, to participate in a music or movement activity, or to discuss a topic the children are studying. These meetings enable children to learn to be part of a large group as well as to learn particular information.
Outdoor Area
This is the area where childhood memories are developed. Children have the freedom to discover what their bodies can do. They are developing large muscle control and are provided with the opportunity to participate in elaborate play that involves following directions, rules, and reaching goals. Teachers continually adapt the outdoor environment to challenge children’s motor development and fitness and to spark their imaginations!