Core Program for 3-6 year olds:
Monday - Thursday $11,750*
Monday - Friday $13,250*
Includes core hours from 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

*Before and after care available at an extra cost

About our program:

Negotiated Curriculum: In Reggio Emilia philosophy, children are considered the “first teacher” and teachers the “second teacher.” Curriculum emerges then from the interests and ideas of both teachers: children and adult teachers. Topics for study are determined in morning meetings with the children; children or teachers suggest what they want to do that day, and team planning is essential to the creation of daily activities, the development of projects and finding the needed materials and resources. We believe children have tremendous potential to make choices, create, discover, invent and to co-construct their own learning. Our atmosphere allows children to feel safe to articulate ideas and know their comments will be given serious consideration and respect.

Learning:  We approach learning as a process, rather than a set of facts to be ingested.  We believe that the single most important thing that we do is supporting and encouraging children’s natural dispositions to be learners.

Our indoor and outdoor learning environments provide infinite raw materials to suggest wonderful ideas, and the negotiated curriculum approach values the possibilities of the unexpected. So, the “curriculum” is really everything that happens during our day. Teachers are experienced at recognizing “big ideas,” those ideas that have captured the children’s interests and are worthy of deep exploration. Components of math, literacy, writing, science, inquiry, interpersonal skills are typically used to investigate and test hypotheses as big ideas are explored. Children acquire academic skills, in relevant ways, as they are needed to further their own investigations.   

 
Large blocks of time are available for children and adults to work. Children’s work is respected, and preserved so that they can return to their projects and continually edit their work.   
 
Children learn about the natural world by tending our garden, constructing wildlife habitats, observing and caring for animals. They explore early mathematical concepts by graphing, sorting, and patterning real objects. Even cleaning up after each activity offers experience in classifying and sorting.  
 
Scientific discoveries are made while "working" with sensory tables, sand, water, pulleys, weights
and measures, and magnets. Books relating to the topic or child’s interests are always available and we share books and stories throughout the day.

Project Work: Projects, which can come from children or teacher ideas, are in-depth studies that capture the interest of the group. Projects are things that are concrete and important to the children, and large enough for there to be diversity of ideas. Projects may last a week or a year, but are always long enough to allow ideas to be discussed, conflicts to arise, and negotiation to be practiced.

Documentation & Journals: We believe that experiences alone are insufficient to promote meaningful learning. Reflection and representation of what has been learned must go hand in hand with experience.  This is why documentation is so important to us. Teachers at Discovery Woods are careful observers and serve as scribes to document the process of learning.  

For children, documentation is a visual placeholders for their learning, and enables them to deepen their investigations. It also serves as a kind of debriefing or re-visiting of experience during which new understandings can be “clarified, deepened, and strengthened” (Chard, Katz 1996)  For adults, documentation informs our teaching, deepens our understanding of child development and strengthens our relationships with the children. It helps us to challenge our assumptions, and in sharing our work and understandings with colleagues we grow and become better teachers.

You will see journals almost every day. We ask that you view them with your child and document his or her comments word for word.

Environment: Reggio Emilia philosophy holds that the environment is “the third teacher” and this is very important to us. We invest considerable resources to develop and continually improve the indoor and outdoor spaces where Discovery Woods children work and play. We try to make sure that every nook and cranny children encounter has something valuable to offer – a sensory delight, an invitation to experiment, an opportunity to create, a puzzle to unravel, an image or idea to contemplate.

Our indoor environment is rich in cozy spaces: the art studio, the playroom, the kitchen, the mailboxes, the drawing table – all places where the children work and play. It is also rich with raw materials— clay, paint, markers, oil pastels, blocks, sand, water, wood, paper, pretending props, stones, recycled scrap materials, real (rather than play) tools — all of these things are a medium for expression and representation and they inspire children. We want our children to become fast friends with these materials. We want them completely at home with the creative freedom these materials offer. We want them, over time, to unlock the mysteries of these materials, to discover the myriad ways these materials can make their ideas and feelings visible and audible and understandable for themselves and others. Our spaces are also rich with our own projects and documentation of our journey, as opposed to pre-made posters and bright cartoon bulletin boards.   

The outdoor environment and our connection to the natural world is paramount to us. We spend time outdoors every day, in all types of weather.  We observe and experience birds, fungi, weather, dirt, bugs, plants, creeks, frogs, turtles, roots, bark, rocks, berries, wildlife habitats and vernal pools. We believe in science-based nature study, and we believe that all the things that happen indoors—pretending, building, painting, dancing, reading stories, and so much more—can happen outdoors as well.

Nature offers us much that does not need to be improved upon, and we take full advantage of that. We take great care with our environment, hosting native plants, being respectful of all wildlife, and maintaining and caring for our space. Where needed, we build and create wonderful outdoor spaces to facilitate learning. Our outdoor space includes meadows for running, domestic and wild animal habitats, a place for wheel vehicles and  ball play; natural climbing trees and fallen logs; an enormous natural sand area; tables for eating; play houses constructed of natural materials and vegetable gardens. We explore the area near the school several times a week, including several hikes a week on nature trails and creek exploration.

 
      Teachers:

•  Learn alongside the children;
• Are a resource and a guide who lends expertise to children;
• Research ideas
• Provoke ideas, problem solving, and conflict;
• Stimulate thinking, and stimulate children's collaboration with their peers;
• Take ideas from the children and return them for further exploration;
• Organize the classroom and materials to be aesthetically pleasing;
• Organize materials to help children make thoughtful decisions about the media;
• Carefully listen, observe, and document children's progress: photos, video & audio recording, journaling and portfolios;
• Help children see the connections in learning and experiences;
• Help children express their knowledge through representational work;
• Dialogue about the projects with parents and other teachers;
• Foster connections between home, school and community; and
• Constantly reflect about their own teaching and learning