Educational Philosophy
We paint, glue, dress-up, share, build, sort, cut, smell, act, observe, squish, scrub, mix, balance, make friends, converse, sing, move—and that’s only in one morning! When someone asks, “What is your school like?” I respond with, “We are busy ‘doing’ at DNS.”
The mere mention of curriculum for preschoolers causes parents to jump into philosophical camps faster than it would take a five-year-old to answer the question, “Do you like Halloween?”
We emphasize play and socialization at DNS because that is the world in which preschoolers operate. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has created preschool curriculum frameworks which we incorporate into our play: language and literacy, mathematics, science, literature, music, sensory, social studies, art, dramatic play and creative dynamics.
Activities are developed and toys are presented based on biweekly curriculum themes that encourage the exploration of learning. As teachers, we do not assess the program or a child based on what she has learned about a curricula theme, but to see if she tried something new, lengthened her attention span, was engaged, brought up the information in another context, or collaborated with a peer.
We have a daily mantra that we express at Circle Time: “Will everyone please have a great day at play!”