Curriculum
Inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, our curriculum is both emergent and constructive. Classroom studies and projects often emerge from the children’s interests or from events in the daily life of the classroom community. Children construct their own ideas and theories about their world through play and social interaction, and experimentation. Teachers observe and plan carefully to provoke, enhance, extend and document children’s learning.
Teachers will share classroom activities and emergent themes with you through their curriculum plans and documentation—pictures and words—that will allow you to follow the classroom events as well as the learning process of both individual children and the group as a whole. Through our rich curriculum and stimulating classroom environments, children gain the skills, creativity and joy necessary for future learning.
Classrooms are thoughtfully designed and prepared by teachers in collaboration with others to optimize small and large group interaction, social learning and constructive play. The space is well defined for children to guide their exploration and invite social and cognitive experiences. Classrooms are organized with materials that are carefully chosen, presented and stored at the child’s level to encourage maximum independence. The daily classroom schedules include large blocks of time in which children, with support from teachers, make their own choices about how to use materials and their time.
Anti-Bias Curriculum
The core values in our program are grounded in shared respect for human diversity and commitment to social justice. These values are reflected in our curriculum, environment, programming and interactions with families and the larger community. Our diverse community of families allow all children to experience a range of different cultures, appearances, languages, family forms, and ways of life in a positive, affirming environment. We firmly believe children's early experiences with diverse communities and playmates will ultimately lead to the development of cohesive, non-violent and accepting communities in our future.
We incorporate non-sexist, multi-cultural, and anti-bias learning experiences into our daily classroom life and curriculum. We continually strive to provide materials, activities and an environment that reflect a respect for, and celebration of, diversity in race and ethnicity, physical appearance and ability, and family composition and lifestyle. Our goal is to have every child and family welcomed, reflected and supported in our program.
In developing a framework for anti-bias curriculum at the Center we have relied heavily on the work of Louise Derman-Sparks of Pacific Oaks College. Derman-Sparks defines broad goals of an anti-bias curriculum:
- Fosters each child's sense of self-identity
- Fosters acceptance of diversity among people by allowing children to ask about and explore the differences
- Encourages critical thinking about bias by helping children to identify acts of discrimination and stereotypic images in their world
- Encourages empathy towards others
- Fosters each child's ability to stand up for her/himself and others in the face of bias