Full Circle Farm Preschool Program

Our philosophy at Full Circle Farm Preschool is based on what we know about the nature of children and the developmental process. Some assumptions are:

*Learning takes place when the child interacts with peers, objects and significant adults.
*Children are by nature active. They are curious, exploratory and strive towards competence.

• Children develop unevenly and not in linear fashion. A wide variety of factors in the childs life, as well as the manner in which he interprets his own experience will have a bearing on the pattern and rate of progress toward greater social and emotional maturity.
  *Before a child can effectively use the learning opportunities of his environment for his own growth, his psychological needs and his need for physical and emotional safety must be met. It is crucial that the people in his environment convince him that he is safe and that his well-being is of genuine concern to the significant adults in his world.
• Children strive for mastery in the world around them and in their own inner and private world. The two worlds are interrelated and each child needs support and understanding as he operates in both.
  *A childs self concept is a combination of his feelings of self worth and inner sense of competence. Feelings of self worth grow from positive and accepting responses to him in terms of who and what he is rather than from what he can do.
  *A childs sense of competence blossoms, as he perceives his increasing power and mastery within his environment. The childs expectations of himself in terms of competence reflect his perceptions of the expectations of others.

At Full Circle Farm Preschool, childrens social, emotional, cognitive and physical development is encouraged by providing an environment in which children are actively involved in the learning process through different play experiences.

We work to make Full Circle Farm a place in which children have the freedom to make choices, the safety to take risks, and the opportunity to express themselves.

Our curriculum reflects a diverse community of learners where individual learning styles are respected and honored. We create an atmosphere where children learn to love learning and experience a sense of wonder about the way things work.

Full Circle Farm supports a philosophy that is respectful of family, culture and community.

Educational and Curriculum Goals

Based on the previous assumptions, through age-appropriate and developmental hands-on activities, we provide the environment, materials and guidance in which children will:

• Develop a positive sense of self and learn to be self-confident.
• Be able to function as part of a group: to cooperate, share, problem solve, listen and participate.
• Learn to be independent according to their ability.
• Be able to think, reason, question and experiment.
• Develop early literacy skills along with a love of books.
• Develop language and communication skills that will enable them to be able to articulate needs, express feelings, develop negotiation skills, initiate conversation and share experiences.
• Experience the thrill of creativity, exploration and discovery.
• Recognize that they are part of a classroom community.
• Feel comfortable experimenting with a variety of materials.
• Develop respect for themselves and others: to learn to respect differences and recognize similarities.
• Be exposed to many various types of artistic expression.
• Develop mastery of their emerging skills
• Become lifelong learners

Our curriculum is designed to encompass the whole day, every day at Full Circle Farm Preschool. We view teachers as facilitators and supporters of development. Teachers and children are partners in learning active learning, whether planned by the adults or initiated by the children. This is the central element of our curriculum.

Our approach is one in which teachers and children are actively engaged partners in the learning process. This balanced approach to adult-child interaction, also called intentional teaching, is critical to the effectiveness of our program. It includes techniques for encouraging learning in specific content areas as well as supports the development of emerging skills.

Our teachers are trained professionals who understand child development and help scaffold the important areas of learning that take place during the preschool years. Teachers offer guidance and support daily.