Our Teaching Philosophy

teaching philosophy

Our teaching philosophy is simple, and it works. It has these three parts:

Structure leads to learning
We set goals for ourselves and goals for our children. To achieve our goals, we make a plan; it’s called “curriculum”. Although we encourage child-directed efforts, those efforts must fit into a plan of teacher-directed activities. Teacher-directed activities throughout the day help prepare children for the listening and group activity skills they will need when they enter school.

Responsibilities instead of rules
Rather than rules, we give responsibilities to the children in our care. We call them the Four Jobs:

Behavior isn’t the child

  • To have listening ears and friendly voices
  • To have a safe body and gentle hands
  • To use their words
  • To learn and have fun
When a child is not “doing their job”, we ask a simple question: “Did you forget what your job is?” Or we remind them: “Don’t forget your job”. Our goal is to empower them to choose a different behavior.”

Behavior isn’t the child
Our training and experience enables us to understand the difference between behavior and the child themselves. We talk; we do not yell. When we address behavior leaving the child’s self-esteem intact, they are able to rethink their behavior and choose a better one.

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