The purpose of The Academy for Little Children is to provide high quality responsive care and a learning environment for children between the ages of six weeks and 5 years old. We offer an educational program based upon developmentally appropriate practices in order to help the children develop a strong foundation and gain a positive attitude toward learning. We focus on the children’s cognitive, socioemotional and physical growth in order to promote an integrated and effective approach to learning. We maintain a warm, loving environment to instill in the children that this is a place where they can trust, be happy and feel secure. Our highly trained staff recognizes that each child is unique and provides an environment to encourage physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development.
Our Philosophy
PLAY is the business of children. Our program agrees with Jean Piaget’s theory that children must construct their own learning. When children build with blocks, explore their environment with all their senses, create with art materials, listen to stories, and communicate ideas and feelings, they are working and learning.
The Academy for Little Children strongly supports the full development of children through rich, research-based, and developmentally appropriate curriculum. Our dedication to the Rhode Island Early Learning and Development Standards (RIELDS) is evident throughout every step of the curriculum process. Our RIELDS-trained staff craft age appropriate and engaging lesson plans, and use their education and experience to shape the content, context, and process of each activity or experience. They act as facilitators to allow children to be active learners instead of passive listeners.
Our teachers strive to create a positive classroom climate. Throught the day our teachers facilitate, model, observe, play, and scaffold with the children.
Creating classrooms that are nurturing, stimulating, and have a positive climate is important to our center. Each learning environment is specifically designed and contains developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant materials according to the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS).
We believe in the philosophy of I AM – I CAN. There are no limits to the heights our children can reach when given positive reinforcement and an abundance of love.
Our program is welcoming of families and children of all abilities. Often in early childhood, disabilities and/or developmental delays may become evident. We work closely with families to help each child receive supports and/or services that may be needed.
The Academy for Little Children firmly believes that a child’s family serves as his or her first and greatest teachers. We stress the importance of a home-school connection through interviews, tours, our open-door policy, family-teacher conferences, and many more opportunities to build a strong relationship with each and every family.
To view the full version of our Philosophy of Early Childhood Education, please click here.