The most fertile time of our lives for absorbing the sounds and meanings of words, developing motor skills, establishing social confidence and determining emotional well-being are the toddler years. From birth to age three, children have brains that are two and a half times more active than that of adults. They are busy building the foundation for a lifetime of learning. Our goal at Creative Tots is to foster and advance the natural curiosities of children in a safe, nurturing environment.
Social/Emotional Development The way that children feel about themselves, their ability to understand and regulate emotions, as well as the importance of expressing them appropriately largely determines their capacity for developing relationships with others. This aptitude will flourish when they have close, supportive and trusting relationships with adults. A Creative Tots teacher is responsive, shares in the pleasure of her students’ accomplishments and creates an environment in which children can actively participate in daily routines and experiences. She shows children that they are important, interesting and capable. It is through these positive interactions that the students learn about themselves and how to relate to others.
Physical Development As children grow, their gross motor skills are refined as they progressively gain control over smaller muscle groups and acquire the dexterity necessary to manage the tremendous muscular expansion during the toddler years. Our program is designed so that our toddlers will deliberately explore the environment that has been created to strengthen their physical development.
Language Development The most productive period of life for language development is during the first three years. If properly instructed, these young children can rapidly acquire thousands of words and learn complex contextual rules by simply interacting with adults who communicate with them appropriately. Our teachers have been trained to recognize this specifically, facilitating early language progression in the classroom. Students build their vocabulary by themed verbal and auditory cues throughout the day, engaging in musical experiences and participating in our literature based curriculum.
Cognitive Development Toddlers are uniquely alert to their developing senses. They are continually using them to construct their own understanding of the people and objects in their environment. This cognitive development directs the way children use what they learn to reason and solve problems. Our teachers provide a rich classroom environment that stimulates cognitive development through discovery. The children are given unique opportunities to explore, develop and investigate fascinating characteristics of the world around them.
A tremendous advantage to specific programs such as this is the ability to capture a group of children that may find themselves among program limbo with regards to their birthdays. Because of this unique development window, our Preschool Prep program evolved with emphasis on individual cognitive skill development that will build a strong foundation for future learning. Social development is also a major focus in our Preschool Prep classroom. Experiences within this program gives your child many interactions with peers. These daily interactions allow students to learn to share both physically and verbally as well as negotiate with their classmates. Parents teach some of these skills at home, but being a part of a group of peers give your child a real-word chance to practice those skills
Our goal at Creative Tots is to engage and educate your child. Every activity is an opportunity for young children to develop knowledge, skill and a positive attitude about learning. We implement a unique preschool curriculum carefully designed to balance the traditional and the innovative, prompting the enthusiasm necessary for your child to excel in the many years of school ahead. As much as it is true that we should not deny children the path to learning they seek through play, what develops their natural curiosities and interests is when they experience success, increase self-confidence and discover their strengths. Our curriculum is designed to strengthen your child in the areas of social-emotional behavior, physical development, basic mathematics, language arts, science and the fine arts.
Today, kindergarten has greatly evolved. It is no longer the traditional experience of alphabet songs and finger-painting. Kindergarten-readiness does not just happen. Young children do not automatically acquire the knowledge and skills they need for a positive kindergarten experience. Parents are continually motivated by early testing, new teaching methods and recent research findings to ensure their child a firm academic foundation. Creative Tots recognizes that children who have received advanced preschool exposure maintain this advantage moving forward. We take pride in our innovative program and ever-expanding and evolving curriculum offerings. Children are like wet cement, anything that falls on them makes an impression. By focusing on academic fundamentals in this final year before kindergarten, we place your child in the center of their own learning experiences that will challenge and nurture them into successful learners for the years of school ahead.
Social/Emotional Development Kindergarten teachers expect new students who enter their classroom to be able to function within a cooperative learning environment. We help the children to become group learners, effective problem solvers, thoughtful decision-makers and good citizens. Learning procedures, taking turns, listening to directions and the ability to focus on and finish a task are critical skills for kindergarten success. Creative Tots teaches more than just following rules. The children experience many situations that help them to grow and develop into empathic, compassionate and caring individuals. We foster confidence, independence and the self-control needed to excel in kindergarten.
Reading Early reading is a key predictor of academic success. Creative Tots acknowledges this critical time for literacy development in your child by helping them build vocabulary, understand letter and sound relationships as well as recognize site words through reading books with predictable language. In our formalized reading program, children quickly begin to memorize phrases, play with rhyming and alliteration while delighting in the repetitive sentences that lead to reading and comprehension. Our balanced approach involving parent, teacher, and child was developed and designed specifically to provide individualized instruction for beginning readers.
Writing Writing is a complex process and is an important part of literacy development. At Creative Tots, we celebrate and recognize the linguistic competence of early writers by encouraging them in the fundamental processes of writing. Young children have the natural desire to express themselves through writing. It is critical to keep that excitement, interest and confidence thriving while carefully developing the proper configuration of written language. Our K-Prep curriculum captures these powerful opportunities to develop fluency of thought in sentence structure and sound-letter correspondence. We instill confidence. We teach them that we are all writers.
Mathematics Each year brings greater depth to the children's understanding of mathematical study. The final year of preschool is when most children exhibit the ability to comprehend complex logical sequencing, order and progression. This leads to counting, measuring, patterning and mathematical problem-solving. It is a critical developmental stage that must be advanced. Specific playful activities in everyday situations allow children the opportunity to observe, question, collect information, communicate ideas and connect math to the familiar world around them. A foundation in mathematical concepts is essential for success in school.
Science Observation comes natural to preschool-age children. They have an extraordinary capacity to absorb new information through inspection and examination of the world around them. This curiosity, if properly guided, can lead to astonishing insight and knowledge. Our experiments are practical, hands-on science explorations that make great use of the children's enthusiasm to hypothesize, predict and record results. We offer a variety of experiences through chemistry experiments, guided nature walks and exploring animal behaviors and habitats. Children will look closely at animal and plant life cycles, sharing what they already know about the butterfly and frog, then actually using their powers of observation first hand while watching them develop in the classroom. They are taught the process of researching answers to the questions that have arisen through their observations. Using every-day activities to introduce concepts such as cause and effect, hypothesis, organization and classification will engage your child's curiosity increasing the knowledge of their surroundings and encouraging critical thinking about the social and natural worlds.
We are excited to be bringing back our Summer Playdate Series! Everyone loves a playdate, but the kids want to have them more than parents like to host them. Let us play host this summer . . . that means no mess, no noise, no cleanup and no negotiations about who gets to come over. We have decided that summertime at Creative Tots should be more about what the kids want. The kids want to play. The kids want to see their friends. The kids have spoken and we have listened. They think that anything to do with “camp” might just be a little too much like school. Let your kids explore the way they are built to explore . . . through playing in the summertime with their friends. So, grab a friend and join us!
Creative Tots has specialized in the private education of both toddlers and preschool age children for over 15 years. We began in the heart of Madeira and now also have a new Mason location. We are specifically designed to focus on early childhood development for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
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