Curriculum
As with all national and state approved early childhood development curriculums, Early Promises focuses on the standard disciplines. However, we have gently taken each subject matter a little further. We believe that each child is truly a unique individual with unique talents and abilities. Therefore, it is our policy to allow each child to develop and achieve according to their own pace and ability within each subject matter of our curriculum, and not expect conformity to any aged-based standards.
We do, however, encourage your child to increase their interest level, by giving them one on one attention…thus, increasing the child's individual potential, ability and self esteem, starting from infancy.
Our curriculum consists of:
- Math
- Science
- Language Arts
- Creative Arts
- Social Skills
- Motor Skills
- Spiritual Development (Non-sectarian, Non-Denominational, Biblical Principles)
All the above disciplines at Early Promises start at the stage of Infancy.
Briefly:
Math - Real objects are used so that the child can count, arrange by grouping, sorting, and sequences, all in a playful manner to make the learning process enjoyable - this is paramount!
Science - To take advantage of the child's natural sense of curiosity and question, we take full advantage of the scientific methods of:
- Observation
- Prediction
- Hypothesis Testing
- Conclusions/synthesis
Language Arts - This is another area where the child's one on one attention is paramount. The teacher gives special attention to each child's listening, speaking, and decoding skills which is a precursor for the development of a powerful vocabulary.
Creative Arts - It has been found time and again, in many scenarios, that the freedom children have to truly express themselves creatively, has a direct correlation with the development of their self-esteem, early in their lives. Some early childhood creative art expressions are made using the following methods:
- Music
- Dramatic Play
- Arts and Crafts
- And More!
Social Skills - At Early Promises, it is our belief that certain social skills learned early in life provide opportunities to gain a high confidence level and build self-esteem. This comes through experiencing both success and failure in a supportive and nurturing environment, but mainly through a series of applauded successes. We teach children emotional regulation, independence, team work and how to take the feelings of others into consideration.
Motor Skills - It cannot be over emphasized that each child is an individual whose actual development rate varies. Therefore, it will always be taken into consideration that your child is uniquely gifted. We will work in the areas of coordination, strength and stamina, utilizing indoor and outdoor play and training activities.
Spiritual Development - We believe that a whole being cannot exist without the spiritual element. Our teachings here will focus on basic moral and ethical principles that are Biblically based. The children will learn songs and Bible stories.
Food for thought regarding our curriculum
At Early Promises, we base our curriculum on the three "R's" "'Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic." 'What infant can you teach 'Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic to?!?" Answer… Your Infant! "HOW?" By understanding their process of learning! They may not be able to convey to you what they have learned in a literal sense, however, the concepts that you're teaching them are being constantly absorbed.
Nursery rhymes, songs and other short sayings… become a crucial factor in the cognitive development of your child, for they are learning HOW to read, write and do arithmetic, ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!
'READING! Take for instance, the nursery rhyme, "This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy, stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef… this little piggy had none! This little piggy cried 'wee' 'wee' all the way home!" Your child is receiving their "first lessons" in 'reading! Absorbing the intonations of your voice, the changing expressions of your face and how you use your hands to convey the nursery rhyme. Thus, beginning their journey of "Learning" how to read.
'RITING! How on earth can you teach an infant to write when they can hardly hold a writing instrument in their hand?!? Easy! By holding their hand and forming "air" letters, while reciting a nursery rhyme such as "pat–a–cake, pat–a–cake, baker's man!" they become engrossed in formulating the concept of, "how to" "pat–a–cake," and write "air" letters. Thus, well on their way to writing.
'RITHMATIC… Arithmetic? Think about it… Are you one of those parents, who starts "counting" to "warn" your little one, about eminent repercussions of defiance of what you have just told them NOT to DO? What is it that you say to them?!? Do I hear a "One… Two… Three…" And on what NUMBER, does the child "RESPOND?" On One? It's usually Three or Two and counting… or just an outright disregard for "your" respect of numbers.
Well, how about that! A baby, who can not speak yet, "KNOWS" how to count!!! It may not be according to your understanding, however, THEY have just taught you… that they perfectly understand… the CONCEPT of HOW you use NUMBERS with them! MOMMY or DADDY does not really mean what they are saying until they get to "THAT" NUMBER!!! And you say, they can't count?!?
At Early Promises, we take the world around them and bring it to them in bite size increments, allowing them to absorb their world in an age-appropriated manner. Our curriculum, which is theme based, provides stimulating, inspiring learning experiences which allows each child to excel at their own pace, both socially, mentally, intellectually, and spiritually.
