Philosophy_of_Early_Childhood_Education_at_Discover_and_Share_Coppell_North

Discover & Share Private Preschool and Care
1445 Riverchase Drive
NE Corner MacArthur Blvd / Beltline Rd
Coppell Texas 75019
972-304-1818

Our Philosopy is based on Developmentally Appropriate Practice
(Based on work of Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson and others.

Principle

Practice

Children learn best when their physical needs are met and they feel psychologically safe and secure.

Discover & Share respects children's biological needs. For example, children are not developmentally ready to sit and attend to paperwork or listen to adult lectures for long periods of time. Wecall for active play and periods of quiet, restful, activity. The environment is safe and secure where everyone is accepted.

Knowledge is constructed as a result of dynamic interactions between the individual and the physical and social environments. In a sense the child discovers knowledge through active experimentation. Central to experimentation is making constructive errors that are necessary to mental development. Children need to form their own hypotheses and keep trying them out through mental actions and physical manipulations - observing what happens, comparing their findings, asking questions, and discovering answers - and adjust the model or alter the mental structures to account for the new information.

Children construct knowledge.

The best example of adult /child interaction is the teacher-child relationship. The teacher encourages and fosters relationships with peers and other adults by supporting the child in his or her efforts to emulate success in others. Another example is 2 yr olds learning to potty. Watching classmates facilitates learning.The teacher's role is one of supporting, guiding, and facilitating development and learning.

Children learn through social interaction with other adults and other children.

Play provides opportunities for exploration, experimentation, and manipulation that are essential for constructing knowledge and contributes to the development of representational thought. During play, children examine and refine their learning in light of the feedback they receive from the environment and other people. It is through play that children develop their imagination and creativity. With progression to older preschool classes, children's play becomes more rule-oriented and develops autonomy and cooperation which contributes to social, emotional, and intellectual development.

Children learn through play.

Children have a need to make sense of their experiences. In a developmentally appropriate classroom, teachers identify what intrigues their children and then allow the students to solve problems together. Activities that are based on children's interests provide motivation for learning. This fosters a love of learning, curiosity, attention, and self-direction

Children's interests and need to know motivate learning.

A wide range of individual variation is normal and to be expected. Each human being has an individual pattern and timing of growth development as well as individual styles of learning. Personal family experiences and cultural backgrounds also vary. Discover & Share recognizes individual differences and provides for them.

Human development and learning and are characterized by individual variation.