Philosophy
We the owners, administrators, and teachers of Heidi’s House provide a safe, nurturing, and educational environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and creative development of young children. Our curriculum is significantly influenced by the works of Jean Piaget. Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory incorporates the belief that children construct their own knowledge through their continued experiences with the environment and their interactions with peers and adults. Each experience leads children to new understandings and beliefs about the world around them building upon prior experiences. When this process is encouraged children begin on a pathway to building their bank of knowledge.
We support this approach with an inviting environment that provides opportunities for children to explore experiment, question, fail, succeed, argue, and reason. The materials we provide are a critical component to the environment. The materials are reflective of our children’s cultures, as well as, developmentally appropriate.
“When I had to send my 6 month old to daycare I toured over ten places. Most I knew within 5 minutes of being there it wasn’t for me and my child. The staff is amazing! It is clear they love their jobs—and in turn, love our kids. I can go to work feeling confident everything will be okay!”
Child-Teacher Interactions
Another key component in our philosophy is the child-teacher interactions. In this role our teachers act as the facilitator in the classroom. This requires our teachers to be keen observers of our children’s play and interactions with peers. While our teachers observe children they gain valuable insight and understanding of the children in their care. With this knowledge, a teacher is more prepared to meet the ever changing needs of each individual child. Our teachers’ roles are a very complex balance of providing direction and empowerment of children, support and independence, nurturing and building self-reliance.
Language Plays a Central Role in Children’s Development
Our programs support and encourage the development of language skills in many ways. We are continually helping children link words to their feelings and supporting them to problem solve in a constructive manner. Children will have continuous opportunities to interact socially with their peers and are guided in respecting the rights and feelings of others.
A Kind and Respectful Atmosphere
We provide an atmosphere of gentleness and respect that encourages children to care for themselves and others. We respect the integrity of each individual child, this means expecting and accepting differences. Our children are encouraged to develop their own personalities, to hold their own thoughts, opinions and ambitions, and to express themselves comfortably and freely. Our program embraces supportive environments, engaging materials, well trained and experienced staff, and promotion of language development, decision making, and problem solving to create the foundation for fostering the development of independent, articulate, confident children.
