Little Scholars Curriculum
Little Scholars is dedicated to providing children with a safe and secure environment where each child feels comfortable to explore and build confidence through a variety of learning experiences. Our programs practice a unique curriculum focused both on play and academics. Little Scholars executes an emergent curriculum that is based on the children’s interests and this approach of planning is utilized in both our play based and our skill based activities.
We value play as it is a vehicle that propels learning and development. We understand that play fosters skill development through offering opportunities to gain new skills as well as refine existing ones. Our intention is to provide the best possible environment to meet the play needs of all children and to do whatever possible to support the natural urge to play so that each child can develop an excitement for learning.
We not only focus on the child’s interests as we facilitate and support them during play, we also put a spotlight on their interests when planning academic activities as children thrive and learn best when their interests are captured. Our intention is to equip them with outstanding school readiness as we make time devoted to learning numbers, letters and sounds, distinguishing shapes and colours and other skills.
Our programming also is based on the Early Learning for Every Child Today (E.L.E.C.T) document which will provide clear developmental goals for parents in regards to all activities from Infants to Preschool.
Please refer to our Infant, Toddler and Preschool Programs below.
Infant Program
Our Infant program is for children from 6 months to 18 months. We offer only full time spaces for this program. The ratio followed for this age group is a teacher/child ratio of 3:10.
Our Infant program provides an environment that encourages hands-on exploration and discovery with age appropriate materials. This room has more frequent and more in-depth educator/child interactions as the ratio is lower than the other rooms allowing more time for one to one learning and small group experiences. These types of interactions build trust, self-esteem and confidence. The Infant room is full of modelling as the educators investigate with the children as they model hands-on exploration using their senses.
The Infant room is focused on providing individualized care as we work diligently towards accommodating each child’s schedule in terms of naps and feeding routines. This sets the environment up to have a sense of familiarity and security for the children.
The Infants experience a healthy balance of free play as there are many toys and educational equipment available to them throughout the day. In addition, the Infant room does incorporate appropriate structured learning opportunities such as arts and crafts, fine motor activities and more. The Infant room has a strong focus on building vocabulary and language development as the educators are always labeling and describing objects to encourage vocabulary.
Extracurricular activities are also available for the Infants. We have a weekly Music Program in which the children are exposed to multicultural music, instruments songs and finger plays. In addition, we occasionally plan for special visitors to come in for educational experiences (i.e. Librarians, community helpers, etc). Finally, on top off our spacious outdoor space for the Infants, we also enjoy community walks to visit local attractions.
Toddler Program
Our Toddler program is for children from 18 months to 30 months. We only offer full time spaces for this program. The ratio followed for this age group is a teacher/child ratio of 1:5.
Our Toddler program provides an environment where children are encouraged to explore and discover through hands-on experiences with developmentally age appropriate materials. The children are given time to learn at their own pace as they are provided with varying learning opportunities that are both stimulating and challenging.
Our Toddlers experience a healthy balance of free play through our dramatic, sensory, construction, gross motor, music and cognitive areas in addition to more structured learning opportunities such as science experiments, arts and crafts, fine motor and circle time activities. The Toddler room has a strong focus on building vocabulary and language development as everything is labeled with pictures and words in addition to the educators always labeling and describing objects to encourage language development.
Extracurricular activities are also available for the Toddlers. We have a French Program they participate in on a weekly basis where they learn simple words like colours, shapes and objects. We also have a weekly Music Program in which the children are exposed to multicultural music and instruments and learn about rhythm, beat and creative movement. The Toddlers also take part in our Zumba Program where they further develop coordination, balance and gross motor control. In addition to those programs, we occasionally plan for special visitors to come in for educational experiences (i.e. Librarians, community helpers, etc). Finally, on top off our spacious outdoor space for the Toddlers, we also enjoy community walks to visit local attractions.
Preschool Program
Our Preschool program is for children from 30 months to six years. We only offer full time spaces for this program. The ratio followed for this age group is a teacher/child ratio of 1:8.
Our Preschool program provides an environment that encourages independence, individuality, confidence, self-esteem and autonomy. The children are provided with a vast array of learning opportunities that will assist in further developing their social, emotional, physical, language and literacy and intellectual development. Our Preschoolers experience a healthy balance of free play through our dramatic, sensory, construction, gross motor, music and cognitive areas in addition to more structured learning opportunities such as science experiments, arts and crafts, circle time, fine motor and academic activities.
The Preschool room has a focus on school readiness in which children have exposure to school like experiences such as being in both small and large groups which allows opportunities to work both independently as well as in a team. We also have devoted times for skill based activities where the children learn through discussions, experiments and/or hands on journal activities. Circle time in this room is more structured and although it still involves songs and finger plays it also incorporates more advanced stories and discussions.
In addition to all of the learning opportunities shared, we also provide extracurricular activities for the Preschoolers. We have a French Program they participate in on a weekly basis where they learn simple phrases. We also have a weekly Music Program in which the children are exposed to multicultural music and instruments and learn about rhythm, beat and creative movement. The Preschoolers also take part in our Zumba Program where they learn to move their bodies to the music as well as further develop coordination, balance and gross motor control. In addition to these programs, we occasionally plan for special visitors to come in for educational experiences (i.e. Librarians, community helpers, etc). Finally, we also plan a variety of educational field trips for our Preschoolers that will provide them with opportunities to expand their knowledge.
Owner/Operator
Jennifer Bielby
B.A., OCT, RECE
Jennifer Bielby has a passion for working with children and has always had a dream of opening her own child care centre. She knew that she wanted to provide parents with a high quality child care centre that offered a safe, caring and educational setting where parents feel comfortable leaving their children.
