How do Early Childhood Educational Philosophies differ?
We are close in practice to a Traditional American Nursery School that focuses on socialization, creativity, and learning through play, but with the cogiitive orientation that has come to be seen as important over the last four decades. We believe in a balance between the two major philosophies. Learning is a complex process that results from the interaction of children’s own thinking and their experiences in the external world. We believe strongly in concrete “hands-on” experiences that give children the opportunity to play, to do, and to discover mathematical and scientific concepts in addition to many other kinds of learning. Children need to construct their own cognitive meaning through active involvement with many kinds of materials and experiences. Simply being exposed is not enough. Each child must “make it their own” by doing it themselves. We also feel that the teacher plays a crucial role in providing a rich environment of relevant experiences. We foster this by talking to ch
