for people ages 2-6
Where community is incouraged, individualism is valued,and children are treated with love dignity and respect.
| Curriculum |
BellaVita uses an emergent, play-based and reflective curriculum which means we have the freedom to take the interests of the children and use them as vehicles for learning and planning. We also take cues from nature and seasonal changes. The result is an environment which is ever-changing each year, not “canned” using the same themes year after year. All people in the school environment (children, teachers, parents, community members) contribute to the richness and variety of the curriculum texture each year. |
| Thoughtful set up of materials invite children to play, read, write, and manipulate different materials in ways that suit their interests and needs. |
They have free access to many open-ended materials and can use them as they like (within reason) to express themselves, study cause and effect and practice problem solving skills. |
| BellaVita respects all people as individuals with unique ways of learning. |
Using the benchmarks of early childhood development, pre-planned
activities are designed to build on the strengths of existing skills to master
new, more complex skills and in turn, the responsibility, and self-esteem of
the learner. |
| Activities are also designed to boost social skills and foster friendships. Successful social interaction is a life skill that will serve children well as they enter bigger schools. Interacting positively with others, while maintaining high self-esteem, is an extremely important skill. Part of our job is to help instill this as much as possible. Simple activities such as walking to the park together can be a great social learning experience for children. They are encouraged to look out for one another (everyone has a buddy), take turns (everybody gets to jump over that mossy rock), follow directions (turn right when we get to the end of this sidewalk), learn about traffic and how people in cars follow signs and rules to stay safe, and so on. |
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