Programs for Young Children
Introduction
The programs at Bing Nursery School have similar educational goals, values and philosophy. In each of the programs, children use the same basic materials (i.e. blocks, paint, sand, water) in a developmentally appropriate manner within a challenging and exciting learning environment. Play, setting the stage for learning, provides the medium through which the children may imitate, explore, test ideas, acquire information and draw conclusions. Our spacious building and naturalistic grounds were carefully designed, constructed, and landscaped to meet the needs of young children.
"Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul."
-Friedrich Froebel
". . .each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered for himself, that child is kept from inventing it and, consequently, from understanding it completely."
-Jean Piaget
"The nursery school is a place where children are given back some of the things modern life has tended to take away from them."
-Edith M. Dowley, Founding Director of Bing Nursery School
Two-Year-Old Program
The Two-Year-Old Program encourages the growth of independence and social awareness, sensory exploration, the development of physical skills and language development. Children play in a planned indoor and outdoor environment designed to provide a variety of materials to explore. During the quarter, a parent or other consistent caregiver is expected to remain in the classroom with the child until the teaching staff indicates that a separation from this primary adult is appropriate and can be comfortably accomplished. Once a child is comfortable in the group environment, seeking out teachers for support and developing increased peer social skills, the teachers and parents may plan for parent-child separation on an individualized basis. The time frame for accomplishing this separation can vary from a few days to several months.
Nursery School Program
Emphasis in these groups is on learning through play in an environment planned to encourage discovery, independence and social interaction. In order to develop self-esteem and social competence, children are encouraged to help themselves, take initiative, and become increasingly independent. To help children develop a sense of trust and feel comfortable from the start, a parent or consistent caregiver is expected to remain in the playroom until the teaching staff indicates that a separation is appropriate and can be comfortably accomplished.
The nursery school program is designed to encourage a balance of child initiated and teacher facilitated activities. This program offers children a variety of choices provided within a carefully prepared indoor and outdoor environment. The environment includes art, dramatic play, unit blocks, manipulatives, language arts, books, music, computers, water and sand play, building of large structures, gardening, running, climbing, animal care, and a variety of large and small motor activities. Our goals include the encouragement of each child's natural curiosity and interest in learning. We feel it is important for children to actively participate in the learning process, and therefore provide many opportunities for learning by doing, for both indirect and direct acquisition of new knowledge and skills.
