A brief history of our Center   Congratulations Parents! You have chosen an early childhood program for your child that is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC administers the largest and most widely recognized national, voluntary, professionally sponsored accreditation system for all types of early childhood schools and child care centers. NAEYC is the nation's largest organization of early childhood educators. What is accreditation? Early childhood programs accredited by NAEYC's National Academy of Early Childhood Programs have voluntarily undergone a comprehensive process of interal self-study, invited external professional review to verify compliance with the Criteria for High-Quality Early Childhood Programs, and have found to be in substantial compliance with the Criteria. A copy of the Criteria can be obtained from NAEYC. The Shrewsbury Children’s Center (SCC) is a family owned and operated Early Childhood Program that was established in 1982. Originally opened as a Preschool program, we soon expanded our services to include full day care for Preschoolers and Toddlers. Infant Program Toddler Program Preschool Program Kindergarten Program   Infant Program: 12 weeks through 15 months   A more indepth review of our philosophy and objectives for the Infant Program is provided in the Parent Information Booklet at the time of enrollment. Our Infant "Curriculum" is based primarily on play and the development of a loving, consistent and secure relationship between each child and their Primary Caregiver. Our efforts are directed toward providing a safe, loving, and healthy environment for young children as well as building a mutually and positive relationship with parents. Our staff is responsive to each child’s needs, temperament and schedule. The Caregivers in the Infant Program also insure that each child has many supportive opportunities to explore their environment and gain new experiences through frequent and stimulating interactions with the caregivers and other children. Our program emphasizes frequent and meaningful communication between parents and caregivers. Regular daily written and verbal communication is essential to meeting the unique individual needs of each child. Please refer to the Parent Information Packet for detailed information and a "typical" daily schedule of activities and routines. Our Infant Program consists of 2 Infant rooms and 6 Infant Caregivers. Our Infant 1 room provides care for children 12 weeks through 8 months (approximately). We also provide a mixed Infant/Toddler room (Toddler 1) for children to transition to between 12 and 15 months of age. Transitioning to this room is based on the observations and recommendations of the Infant 2 caregivers, the Toddler 1 Lead Teacher and the Program Director. More detailed information on transitions is provided in the Parent Information Packet.   Toddler Program: Ages 15 months through 33 months   The primary goals of the Toddler Program are to provide a warm, caring and stimulating environment for young children and to provide opportunities to develop socially, intellectually, physically and emotionally. Toddlers learn best by experiencing and interacting with their environment. We strive to provide consistent, pleasurable and rewarding interactions between children and adults so that children develop a sense of trust in their environment and in their teachers while developing positive feelings of their own abilities. The development of warm relationships and positive self esteem are highly valued by our program and staff. Children in our Toddler Program are provided with frequent opportunities to practice newly acquired skills such as toileting, eating and dressing. We believe that children learn best by discovery and imitation. We strive to provide a child centered program to take advantage of a wide range of activities, materials and learning activities available through a center based program. We place an emphasis on language learning as a building block for more formal learning experiences as children grow. To: Provide daily experiences that are warm, emotionally supportive, consistent, predictable, and safe Provide ample opportunities for social interactions with children of various ages. Provide opportunities for exploration and manipulative objects, learning materials, and toys, etc. Provide experiences and activities appropriate to the child’s current level of development. Provide guidance and support toward self control and sense of competence. Provide a wide variety of creative, open-ended activities placing an emphasis on play Provide opportunities for large and small muscle activities indoors and outdoors. Provide support to families as partners in issues of child development and parenting issues. Allow children to develop at their own pace without placing inappropriate expectations on their development. Encourage creativity, problem solving and the joy of learning.   Preschool Philosophy: Ages 2.9 to 5 years   The Shrewsbury Children’s Center philosophy, curriculum and classroom environments are child centered and designed to take advantage of the natural learning situations that develop through children’s play. We emphasize active, hands-on exploration and strive to help children learn about themselves and the world around them through discovery and play. We seek the input of the children in planning activities in areas they are naturally interested in or curious about. Children are offered opportunities for making choices regarding the types of activities they will spend their time with during the day. We provide opportunities for children to develop a positive self-image, social skills and creative expression. We emphasize learning through experience. Art, music, imaginative play, language development, natural science, and movement activities are some of the areas that the children have opportunities to experience. The teachers plan and prepare experiences for small group activities that include, where appropriate, experiences with numbers, letters, and opportunities for beginning writing activities. Our daily schedule of activities reflects a balance of individual and group activities, quiet and active activities, child determined and teacher planned activities.   Kindergarten Philosophy   Our Kindergarten Program is based on our belief that children learn best through discovery, play, and teacher guided activities. Our daily curriculum provides a wide variety of learning opportunities that include using learning/activity centers, free play, and small group activities. Our Kindergarten provides opportunities to develop reading, writing and math skills through both the planning of activity centers and small group activities/instruction in these areas. All Kindergarten children participate in a teacher guided reading group each day. Our approach to reading includes BOTH a "whole language" approach as well as instruction in phonics. Our classroom is a "print rich" environment and children have frequent, daily opportunities to see, hear and use written language.