Our Philosophy

“Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.”

– Maria Montessori

At Kinder Connection, we believe that early childhood should primarily be about play. However, we know that making friends, sharing, counting, recognizing letters, cutting, buttoning and zipping don’t just happen without careful guidance. Teachers have the responsibility to create an early learning environment that is rich in opportunities for children to learn about themselves and how they can interact in a positive way with the world around them.

As you choose the best place for your child, consider the differences between childcare homes, centers, and educational institutions. Childcare homes are places that are tasked to keep children “safe and happy” but not required to provide any educational programming. On the other hand, some centers and educational institutions may push academics at an early age. Both styles have their advantages and challenges.

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play, children learn how to learn.”

– O. Fred Donaldson

Using what the latest research says about children needing both guided and uninterrupted play, our program aims to strike a balance between the two differing educational philosophies – one of only play and the other of early academics.

We provide that balance of both in our micro-center setting. This allows for a small environment with low student teacher ratio and consistent teachers – giving your child extra attention. While we integrate kindergarten readiness skills, we do so in an interactive way that doesn’t force children to sit still for an extended period of time and learn before they are ready. We utilize Creative Curriculum, an MSDE approved play-based curriculum for early learning and Heggerty for Phonological Awareness.

We believe that language learning at a young age benefits children – as such we introduce children to vocabulary in both English and Spanish. By presenting words in both languages, children are able to gain a larger vocabulary than their same-age peers. We are not an immersion program – teaching only in Spanish – but we are also not a program who offers Spanish as a specials class. Instead, Spanish is integrated into the units we are studying.

Here is a glimpse into our day:

As children come in, they may put away their things, wash their hands and choose a brain bin to play – these are bins of toys with educational value that allow for building and creating such as magnetic tiles, Lego, and brain flakes.

When everyone has arrived, our day formally begins with circle time – a brief teacher-led time together to sing, dance, find out how we are feeling, do the weather and calendar and discuss the daily schedule.

Students then move to self-directed learning centers during our “choice time”. From dramatic play to finding objects in sensory bins, children are given the opportunity to learn through choice and exploration. During this large block of time each morning, children also have the opportunity to work with a teacher 1:1 or in a small group to complete the daily art activity or science experiment, work on letter sounds, use objects to practice counting or playdough to make letter shapes.

We believe that outdoor time is vital for children. Unless it is dangerously cold, unbearably hot, or pouring rain we are outside every day. We play in our fenced playground or the town playground nearby, letting children climb, slide, get dirty and explore nature. We also plan short walks to explore our community – visiting places like our local fire hall, town hall, and post office. We take field trips to the pumpkin patch, local theater, water park, and zoo to show children that they aren’t isolated, but connected to a bigger community.

Literacy is an important part of our day. After Music and Movement, Pre-K/Kindergarten children begin with Haggerty – an interactive phonological awareness curriculum and progress to listening to a multicultural or themed book with their teacher. They then choose books to look at before rest time. Younger children listen as the teacher reads board books individually throughout the morning and enjoy our Hello! series meant for Infants and Toddlers.

Children need time away from the noise of play to decompress. During quiet time, younger children may choose to nap or rest on their mats while older children may read books or write with a Magna doodle. Children enrolled in our homeschool support program receive individualized help during this time with the subjects they bring to work on for the day.

After quiet time, we have our afternoon snack and an afternoon sensory or learning activity. Children who stay for aftercare may play outside if the weather permits or play in centers, with board games or trains until a family member can pick them up.

Please know that this is a general guide – our schedule is flexible as we adapt to the needs of the children in our program.

Most of all, we want your child to want to come each day. With guided autonomy and a small classroom learning environment with two teachers and an aide available, we hope they will feel safe, loved and well cared for while they are at Kinder Connection.