Our Philosophy:
We believe children are the world’s most valuable asset. We provide a place that respects all children and their right to create, discover, explore, and learn. In a world of many differences we encourage children to explore their similarities and differences in respectful and safe ways. At Our Neighborhood each child has a right to question, discuss, and disagree. We believe children learn best in the context of secure respectful relationships. We make it a priority to create relationships with and between children, teachers, families, and helpers. Through our relationships with children and families we hope to create a close neighborhood of support and learning, Our Neighborhood. Our environments are designed in a way that maximizes learning and reflects our values. An environment must challenge children to learn in safe and healthy ways. The environment design and material choices emphasize the importance of relationships and connection the world in which we live. Our teachers are child experts that have both child development education and experience working with children. Teachers create learning with children using a project approach inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia. Teaching strategies are often reflected upon and adjusted based on the individual child or group as well as current child development research. Our children develop critical thinking and problem solving skills from infancy. We believe it is important to encourage children to plan, prepare, and think about their learning and their ideas. We use a project approach to learning that allows full exploration and discovery based on children’s interest. Teachers then used the children’s project and interest to incorporate concrete math, science, and literacy skills. We believe that children if given the opportunity, encouragement, and guidance we not only meet but surpass our expectations and achieve great things. We can do this TOGETHER.
