Curriculum

Outdoor play is vital to early development and has several benefits. Moving, climbing, and playing outside build gross motor skills, coordination, spatial awareness, and confidence. Children can take safe risks, which builds problem-solving skills. Outdoor activities promote socialization with other children, which supports communication and empathy. Gardening outdoors fosters a connection to nature and encourages children to think about the world.

According to research by the US Department of Education, there are a number of benefits to being bilingual and biliterate, including improved executive function, problem-solving, and multitasking skills, better memory and cognitive flexibility, superior communication, empathy, cultural understanding, and confidence in social settings.

A literacy-based early education, which includes signing songs, access to age-appropriate books, storytelling activities, and a print-rich environment, supports cognitive and language development, memory, problem-solving, and vocabulary. Children who experience a literacy-focused education in their early years are better prepared for kindergarten and more successful academically, socially and emotionally.

In play-based learning, play is the primary way that children learn. Playful games, toys, puzzles, and activities introduce new concepts for children to explore, solve, and build skills. Activities may be structured, open-ended, child-led, or teacher-directed, with a focus on fun and joy. Examples of play-based learning include building structures with blocks, painting, or creating crafts, acting out or making up stories, and engaging with sensory materials like sand and water.

Learning through play has great benefits for children, including improved cognitive skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and logical reasoning; more advanced social skills like cooperation, communication, negotiation, compromise, and self-confidence; stronger fine motor skills (like handwriting) and gross motor skills (like running and jumping). Perhaps the greatest benefit of play-based learning is that the positive and engaging experience instills a lifelong love of discovery.