Curriculum

It is our goal to provide all of our children with the best possible education delivered by motivated, inspirational teachers who have been specially trained to teach an integrated curriculum.  We provide children with the tools and resources necessary to explore and discover the world around them while having fun every day.  Through hands on activities and learning centers teachers facilitate and encourage exploration and learning at all ability levels. Children explore music and movement, math, science, art, language, literacy, and computers, all while growing their imaginations through dramatic play. The Little Green Tree House supports a child’s natural curiosity and desire to learn by creating a school environment unlike any other around. 

 The Little Green Tree House Approach to Education

 At Little Green Tree House we use a combination of techniques to develop a well rounded approach to teaching Early Childhood Education.  We follow aspects of Creative and Themed Based curriculum. Please read more information below on both curriculum philosophies:

Themes can vary in nature and scope; however, they should be motivating to students and relevant to their lives. For example, one theme might focus on the color red where students discuss, experience and manipulate red things in different contexts during the day. Or for older children, another theme might focus on ocean life and students can learn about salt water, waves, beaches, and ocean fish through a range of activities that happen in different contexts, all while meeting all of the developmental needs specified in the creative curriculum (physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language)

The philosophy behind creative curriculum is that young children learn best by “doing”. Learning isn’t just repeating what someone else says; it requires active thinking and experimenting to find out how things work and to learn firsthand about the world we live in; in other words, learning through inquiry. It is also a part of our philosophy that asking questions instead of simply giving answers is the most powerful teaching tool.

In their early years, children explore the world around them by using all their senses (touching, tasting, listening, smelling, and looking). By using real materials such as blocks to try out their ideas, children learn about sizes, shapes, and colors, and they notice relationships between things.

Creative curriculum focuses on the following areas of development:

  • Social: To help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends, and feel they are a part of the group.
  • Emotional: To help children experience pride and self- confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life.
  • Cognitive: To help children become confident learners by letting them try out their own ideas and experience success, and by helping them acquire learning skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and use words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings.
  • Physical: To help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do.

Enrichment

  • Music: Twice a week children of all ages will receive interactive musical and movement instruction at Little Green Tree House.  Our talented music teachers tailor their lessons to each age group based on the children’s interests and developmental appropriateness.  By incorporating a variety of musical instruments and styles, the children will be exposed to concepts such as sound, rhythm, tempo, melody and movement.  The lessons also incorporate physical movement as well as hands-on games and activities to actively engage students and foster their musical appreciation!
  • Spanish: Twice a week children toddler age and above will partake in Spanish language immersion in their classrooms.  The lessons will focus on basic concepts such as colors, body parts, shapes, and numbers.  The lessons will also incorporate commands, questions and short responses in Spanish in addition to repetition of songs and routines.  A variety of interactive games, songs and movement are used to reinforce the material taught during each lesson.