Our Classroom ~ The Stage For Learning

Situated in a sunny classroom located within our family home, children have the advantage of receiving their education from within our quiet residential setting. Many of the windows offer scenic views of trees and the local mountains. Our East facing windows allow children to observe a variety of birds that come daily to feed at the weeping birch tree in the front garden. We have also positioned an easel near a window that overlooks the garden to inspire and offer the best light to experiment with colour and their imagination. Being above ground on the main floor supplies our center with natural sunlight throughout the entire day while also provides a window to the changing seasons allowing children to be connected to their world and weather outside.

Children will engage in activities that are geared toward their development. All materials will be stored in child safe or age appropriate container to ensure safety as well as accessibility for the children. Materials that the child will have open access to will be stored at eye level or within easy reach to foster independence as well as enable them to return them with ease during clean up time. Our flexible schedule allows times throughout the day to focus and isolate programming for pre-K activities.

Child-Centered Approach

The child-centered approach allows children endless opportunities to explore, think & question while seeking their own discoveries and answers through play.  In this way it encourages creativity without limitations that other teaching styles or even worksheets used in some classrooms impose. At Early Discoveries we observe & document the children’s ideas and then support their education using their interests and discoveries made through play. Using the child-centered approach allows us to observe how the children’s play develops as opposed to us directing their play. Open-ended materials and activities provide children the ability to support all areas of their development through play while mastering skills that will prepare them for Kindergarten.

What you will find in our classroom is natural wood furniture to allow the colours and textures within the room to come directly from the children’s artwork and learning materials, allowing for optimal learning. This child-centered approach eliminates over stimulation by brightly coloured tabletops and chairs. All of our materials are neatly organized and labeled in reachable baskets to foster independence while providing a clean and respectful environment for children. The classroom layout is designed with strategic learning objectives in mind. Each of the learning stations engages your child as they explore and learn through carefully thought provoking activities teachers have set out to inspire curiosity and a love of learning.

Discover & Create

Our pre-kinder program recognizes a child’s play and discovery as the medium through which a child learns. When children interact with the learning materials within the classroom, their peers and the staff they are developing concepts about the world around them, while developing their aptitude and self-confidence. Our clean and carefully thought out classroom empowers children to make appropriate choices mastering their independence. Our innovative and diverse curriculum challenges children to move beyond what they already know through exploration and play, drawing out the most ingenious parts of one self.

Our Secret Garden

When you step inside our secret garden you come to understand instantly why it’s a magical place. Our garden is where everyday miracles unfold before our eyes through the changing of nature’s seasons. Where tiny seeds transform into giant pumpkins and where textures of bark, the colours of the season and the sweet scents of the flowers awaken and sharpen our senses.

We gather here to listen, to move our bodies freely and commune with nature. We leave our other colourful toys at the gate….well the odd one might slip in…but its here that rocks become dragon eggs, and large wood pieces create structures that invite large motor development and team work to carry items across the garden. The idea here is that our imagination takes the lead. We encourage storytelling each visit and our space is where we become the characters in our beloved tales. At times dress ups are brought inside as well for grand performances or events. In early 2014 a fairy door was discovered and the rest has continued to unfold. Catherine having such fond memories as a child playing among the evergreens and ferns on her great grandfather’s property while he shared stories of leprechauns and fairies was the inspiration for the garden.