Curriculum and Education Program

Community Child Care Center maintains a holistic view towards child development with an emphasis on the development of social-emotional and school readiness skills in children. Teachers consider each child’s individual needs when planning curriculum and classroom experiences to meet that child’s needs. Parents are considered the first and foremost teachers in their young child’s life and parent involvement in the development of their child’s experience is emphasized as parents are encouraged to become involved and stay involved in their child’s educational process.

The educational philosophy and approach at CCCC is based on the best practices for preschool children as determined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) incorporates the following four basic areas

• Developmental stages and steps of children.
• Individual learning styles and flexibility in teaching approaches.
• Child-oriented and child-directed curriculum.
• Environments, materials, and activities that are stimulating and consistent with the developmental level of each child.

CCCC focuses on developing school readiness skills in pre-kindergarten children through the use of a developmentally appropriate curriculum. We use Creative Curriculum as a foundation to create our lessons. The curriculum is individualized and emerges from the developmental needs and interests of each child. Taking the needs into account, activities are planned throughout the learning centers that will provide the child with many opportunities to acquire and practice the new learning skill. This curriculum promotes individualization in the areas of cognitive development, literacy and language skills, social, emotional, and physical development. We ensure that:

• Quality early childhood programming is achieved by providing qualified teachers to work with children, who are given on-going support, training, and other professional development opportunities.
• Child to staff ratio is kept low (6:1) so children can receive individualized attention.
• Each child receives on-going assessments to track individual progress in the following eight areas of our Child Outcome Framework:
1. Language Development
2. Literacy
3. Mathematics
4. Science
5. Creative Arts
6. Social and Emotional Development
7. Approaches to learning
8. Physical Health and Development

• An Individual Learning Plan is developed from these assessments and reviewed throughout the year, in partnership with parents, which addresses the child’s strengths and challenges, both in the classroom and at home, which supports each child’s individual pattern of development and learning.
• Classrooms are inclusive towards children with disabilities, and learning goals align with the IEP goals.
• Environments are supportive and respectful of individual children’s backgrounds and cultures. Teachers are nurturing and know the importance of social and emotional development and build trusting relationships with children.
• Classrooms are well equipped and children are offered a balanced schedule of child initiated, adult-directed, individual, small, and large group activities, indoor and outdoor play, with plenty of opportunity to explore and develop independence.
• Teachers are given training on appropriate and positive child guidance techniques to develop self-control in children by setting clear, consistent limits and having realistic expectations of behavior.
• Teachers track progress towards learning objectives and individualize curriculum through on-going observation and assessment to meet the child’s needs.
• Parents are given a variety of opportunities to become integrally involved with their child’s education. They meet with the teachers to discuss their child’s progress 4 times throughout the program year. Two meetings occur through home visits and two through parent - teacher conferences at the center site.
• Transitions for children entering into and leaving the program are planned.

Inclusion of Children with Disabilities – CCCC will provide strategies that meet the individual needs of all children, including those with disabilities. We will provide support to families in all aspects of the program, provide a program that is integrated and developmentally appropriate, and will ensure that all children with disabilities are provided a free and appropriate public education as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.