Optimal Learning Centers Program Goals
Given our philosophy, the teachers facilitate children’s learning and development by providing all children with a warm, supportive and caring environment in which learning is joyful; encouraging, supporting and challenging children to reach their highest developmental potentials. Children are involved in planning environments that encourage interaction, exploration, and investigation.
Our program goals are derived from five (5) major areas:
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(1) Aesthetic and Artistic.
The fine and performing arts areas are a natural and essential part of children’s development. They provide pleasure, satisfaction, and are a way for children to respond to and interpret their real and imagined worlds. Through the arts, children express their creativity, feelings, and understandings. In addition, the arts provide a context through which children may discover and appreciate aspects of their cultural heritage and the heritage of others.
(2) Emotional and Social Development.
All children need and deserve acceptance, respect, empathy and understanding. Our program seeks to facilitate a positive self-concept among all children by offering opportunities to gain confidence and competence in functioning along and cooperating with others.
(3) Physical Development.
Physical well-being is an integral part of living and learning. Children are provided with experiences to help them learn about their growth and development, and about their own role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
(4) Intellectual Development.
The experiences and knowledge children bring to their learning environment, combined with their natural desire to learn, curiosity, and sense of wonder, form the foundations for their learning. The adults prepare the optimal environment for the children to construct their knowledge and sharpen their thinking skills.
(5) Responsible Living.
The development of responsibility and character requires that people understand the development of the interdependence of social and ecological issues and are willing to commit themselves to making a difference. The program provides children with experiences to help them learn to value and respect individual contributions as well as cultural identity and heritage. It seeks to help children understand their individual and collective rights and responsibilities as members of their homes, community, and the world in general.