CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The converted barn facility is designed with the needs of the young child in mind. In addition to the physical space, our child-centered programs provide enriching opportunities for children to satisfy their natural curiosity.
Equipment and materials foster creative and imaginative play and exploration. Teachers are trained to understand the development of the whole child and to observe the individual children in their care. Our fenced outside playground is an integral part of the learning environment. The outside area includes swings, a large playhouse, riding and climbing equipment, sand, a hill and room to run.
We strive to know the young children in our care. We observe, question, and listen to them. And we study about them. Our curriculum is based on a study of theoretical principles of how children learn, hand-in-hand with knowledge of the needs and interests of the individuals in the classrooms. We provide opportunities for creativity, discovery, and, most importantly, problem solving. We seek to construct knowledge.
We are grounded in the natural life cycles and processes that interest the children. The butterflies and the snow squalls outside our windows inspire and challenge us. The make-up of the school community, with its diversity and richness, provides us a resource for our studies.
Finally, we strive, with love and respect, to give young children the most precious commodity of all . . . TIME; time to explore, to choose, to make noise and to make friends, to be brave and to be cuddled, to be thoughtful and to be guided . . . to smell, to touch, to listen, to speak, to write, to climb, to be our friends. We also give them time to be ready, competent, and eager to move on.
Curriculum at Woodside is defined as "what we do". All teachers at Woodside, at all levels, develop curriculum. The key components of our plans are:
· observation of the individual children in our programs interests, needs and strengths
· knowledge of child development
· collaboration with families and parents, i.e. what they bring and who they are
· interests of staff
INCLUSION
Woodside School is committed to the philosophy of inclusion. All children are welcome, encouraged, and supported in our programs.
PL 101-336 (1990), known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, requires that individuals with disabilities have equal access and reasonable accommodations to public and private services, including equal access to enrollment in early childhood facilities. Woodside has always included all children in its enrollment. Our staff supports children with disabilities. In order to achieve individual goals, integrated therapies from related services (such as speech, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc.) are part of a typical classroom. Our goals for all children are individualized to their needs and strengths. We work in collaboration with over fourteen school districts to refer children who have special needs. We also serve as a community placement site for Concord, which is fully committed to inclusion. We do keep our ratios of identified children at no more than ten to twelve percent.
All children benefit from the inclusion of children with special needs. Positive modeling, important friendships, and acceptance of differences are among the many advantages of an inclusive community. Our commitment to this natural community model is one of our strengths. We continue to explore the opportunities this model affords and to confront the challenges.
Field Trips
Field trips are an important part of our curriculum. Advance notice is given for all trips in newsletters and by posting on class boards. Children are transported in volunteer parents' cars. By law (RSA 265:107-a), all children under the age six or less than 55 inches in height must be in an approved car seat which is in accordance with the safety standards approved by the United States Department of Transportation in 49 C.F.R. section 571.213. In order to help monitor the children, staff will not drive unless absolutely necessary.
Our insurance company requires that drivers provide a copy of their auto insurance coverage and a copy of their drivers license. If you are able to drive, please help us by providing this information for our files. We appreciate your support in providing transportation and in cooperating with this important request.
SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE
7:30 9:00 Arrival/Play
9:00 9:30 Morning Snack/Play
9:30 10:30 Outside
10:30 11:30 Projects and Play
11:30 12:30 Lunch
12:30 Stories
1:00 1:30 Rest
1:00 2:30 Sleep for Some
2:00 3:00 Projects and Play
2:30 Afternoon Snack
3:00 4:00 Outside
4:00 5:30 Play/Departure