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DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESS | INFANT CLASS | TODDLER CLASS | PRESCHOOL CLASS
Our curriculum reflects the standards, goals, and practices of high-quality child development programs. The purpose of the curriculum is to present a course of study that addresses the unique needs of the families and children served at the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, while providing a comprehensive framework comparable to traditional childcare settings.
At the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, we believe that children learn through play; thus every child has the ability to learn. Our learning environment fosters the emotional social, physical, cognitive, and language skills critical to the successful development of young children from infancy through age five. Through a partnership with Georgia State University; a group of Speech and Language students volunteer with us weekly to conduct activities with the children that promote language and literacy.
Once enrolled in ACS, the children are assigned to one of three classrooms based on their chronological ages. The immediate and basic needs of the child are assessed by the teachers and Childcare Director who engage the Social Worker for assistance in identifying resources. Once those matters are addressed, the children are allowed to settle into a classroom routine. Observations and anecdotal notes are used to document the child’s ability to adjust to the new environment. Parent teacher conferences are done upon entering the program and in September, December, June and March. However, families are more than welcome to request a conference at any time.
DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESS
The Atlanta Children’s Shelter strives to ensure that 80% of the children enrolled in its Early Childhood Education Program make progress towards developmental milestones. Every child upon entering our program receives an Early Childhood Screen using the Brigance Screen which measures a child’s current development level. This information is used to create individualized instructional planning to help children make progress towards developmental goals.
The Atlanta Children’s Shelter adopted Creative Curriculum which provides tools to monitor and measure a child’s progress towards developmental goals. The data captured will be used to revise a child’s individualized instructional plan in order to ensure the greatest progress during the child’s enrollment.
The Brigance and Creative Curriculum will also provide parents with important developmental information for their children that can be shared with other early childhood education providers and the public school system. This will help ensure that we have given parents the tools they will need in order to be their child’s advocate in the school system and will help ensure a smooth transition for the children as they progress through their education.
INFANT CLASS (ages 4 weeks–17 months old)
The goal for the care of infants is to ensure that they are clean, healthy, safe, nurtured, and engaged in stimulating activities that will enrich their development. The infant room is nestled in a cozy classroom in the rear of our school. The class serves a maximum of eight infants. We maintain a 1:4 ratio with two full-time teachers and one part-time afternoon assistant teacher.
The room is very colorful, well decorated and suitably arranged to accommodate the variety of needs for the mixed age groups present in this classroom. Active and quiet areas are in place, along with strong, stable furnishings to create small learning centers such as: manipulatives, dramatic play, and library. Discovery centers and the materials in them are labeled with words and pictures to foster literacy and organizational skills. The furniture in this room is also designed to support gross-motor skill development. Pull/push toys, low shelves and child-sized railings are present in the classroom. Although most of the children sleep in cribs, children that are 12 months and older have cots available for them to sleep on as they begin their transition process into the Toddler Classroom.
The infants in our infant class range from one month to seventeen months old. During the first twelve months of their lives, infants grow rapidly, and at the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, careful attention is paid to the health of infants. Each day as parents arrive with their babies, routine health-checks are done by the teachers, and concerns are documented for follow up with our nurse.
TODDLER CLASS (ages 17 months–2 years old)
The toddler classroom is attractively arranged into learning centers that naturally capture the attention of this age group. Toys and materials are rotated to reflect the weekly theme or developmental goal. Small and large group planning allow for the acquisition and use of new skills and information.
The toddlers explore new ideas and activities in each of their discovery centers. As a toddler matures, new physical skills emerge and a great amount of time is spent in motion. Walking becomes more refined; balance, speed and agility are manifested; and soon the toddler is running, jumping and hopping. To support their new found movement, our teachers are always close by and encourage their freedom of movement while ensuring their health and safety. In addition to upper body strength development, the toddlers continue to develop fine motor skills such as: hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Pounding, molding, sculpting and squeezing playdough support their fine motor skill development. They also assemble puzzles, string beads, and manipulate objects that require them to use their eyes and hands simultaneously.
Language development is in full force in the toddler classroom. Their words become phrases, phrases become complete sentences, and soon, the toddler is speaking non-stop. The teachers actively support language development by scaffolding sentences and phrases for the toddlers as they speak. Discovery centers and the materials in them are labeled with words and pictures to foster literacy and organizational skills. Language development takes place at each and every interaction, therefore every discovery center incorporates literacy activity. Our family-style dining practice at lunchtime continues to support the toddlers’ language development as teachers engage them in conversation.
Every toddler has developmental goals that he/she works towards. The toddlers are given opportunities to make choices as well as learning how to feed and dress themselves. Toddlers who have positive intrapersonal experiences will be more confident and assertive as they grow older.
PRESCHOOL CLASS (ages 3–5 years old)
The preschool children love to explore and investigate. The preschool classroom is colorful, roomy and very comfortable. It is strategically arranged into discovery centers that allow the children to work alone or with a group of friends. The shelves are well stocked with a variety of supplies, materials, and toys that are accessible to the children to promote independence. Discovery centers and the materials in them are labeled with words and pictures to foster literacy and organizational skills.
The development of critical thinking skills is important for our preschoolers. As they move around, these children are often exposed to inconsistent situations and procedures that can lead to confusion and frustration. The ability to think critically, classify, reason and draw conclusions can minimize the negative effects of these transitions, and enable children to organize and create structure from chaos. While routines and transitions are in place in the preschool classroom to provide structure and stability, the emphasis is on process-oriented learning rather than product-oriented learning.
Language becomes more relevant for a preschooler. They are more competent communicators, capable of explaining their ideas, sharing information and expressing their feelings. Their vocabulary skills continue to increase and they begin to use correct grammar. Preschoolers are also beginning to read and write. They are able to master tasks that require dexterity and hand-eye coordination because they are able to concentrate longer.
Each and every activity that our preschoolers engage in prepares them for Kindergarten by helping them build strong fine motor skills and encouraging self-help skills. Our teachers also assist the preschoolers with refining essential social skills such as sharing, compromising, turn taking, and problem solving. Each child in this classroom also has developmental goals that are monitored and assessed by the teachers as the children matriculate through our program.
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