My Daycare Page

Our Classroom Style

I should start this post by saying every preschool classroom is different, every daycare center is different, and every child is different.

Our classroom today is exponentially different than it was when we opened our doors to the families in 2023. Our layout is different, our materials are different, our schedule is different, even our play kitchen is different.

Why the change?

To be completely transparent, I think our environment has changed so much because I was not very decisive about which “style” I wanted to commit to.

& then I realized, maybe that’s the point. Perhaps we’re doing a disservice to our youth by expecting them all to learn and retain information in the same way. My personal opinion is that each approach to Early Childhood Education can benefit most children in some way. This is why I have become confident in what I call the blended approach. The primary idea behind the blended approach is to recognize that each child is an independent individual that learns best through a variety of different methods.

The five mainstream approaches to Early Childhood Education:

  1. Waldorf– The Waldorf approach to Early Childhood Education focuses on bringing different art forms into academic study. Some ways that you would be able to identify a Waldorf based classroom is daily circle time, teachers sharing imaginative stories, children partaking in things like cooking, sewing, gardening, with organic socialization.
  2. Montessori: The Montessori approach to Early Childhood Education focuses on the “children’s work” through their organic play. Some ways that you would be able to identify a Montessori Classroom could be through a mixed age environment, no standard testing or grades, children are self-directed, as well as activities being set up in stations where children rotate during their own uninterrupted work time.
  3. Reggio Emilia: The Reggio Emilia approach to Early Childhood Education focuses on encouraging children to honor themselves as individuals and build confidence. Some ways that you could identify an Reggio Emilia classroom could be through hands on exploration, dramatic play, and children being encouraged to express their emotions fully.
  4. High Scope: The High Scope approach focuses on the evaluation of the child through standardized testing to advance their learning. Some ways that you could identify a High Scope classroom is through small group activities, traditional play, and all activities are hands on.
  5. Bank Street : The Bank Street approach focuses on the involvement of the teacher in the child’s play. Some ways that you could identify a Bank Street classroom is through constant teacher involvement, multi age classroom, and play based learning.

How we use the Waldorf approach to Early Childhood Education in our classroom

We have explored the Waldorf method in our classroom in a variety of different ways. We have made biscuits, cookies, and bread. We have started a flower garden, a vegetable garden, and a berry patch in our backyard. Additionally, we encourage the use of the child’s imagination through fictional stories and dramatic play.

How we use the Montessori approach to Early Childhood Education in our classroom

Some of the key concepts related to the Montessori approach to early childhood education that we use are a multi age classroom, the use of Montessori Materials, as well as undisrupted work time. I do need to say that we have never done a three-hour work cycle during our daily schedule. However, we do have an hour of free play each day that is comparable to the Montessori work cycle. Additionally, children are encouraged to assert their independence, as well as encouraged to lend a helping hand to their peers.

How we use the Reggio Emilia approach to Early Childhood Education in our classroom

One thing I make sure to do every single day is to ask each child “what do you want to do today?” and ensure to honor that want. Whether that be something as simple as coloring a picture or something a little more complicated like going to the Zoo. (I should mention that we do use a TV for virtual field trips) We also encourage children to take pride in all of their accomplishments. Some ways we do this is by displaying our art on our classroom walls or sending pictures of our huge fort to mom & dad. Additionally, Children are encouraged to recognize their emotions and use our emotion puppets to act out their big feelings. Doing this promotes the child’s ability to feel confident in their emotions and their actions. Additionally, children that are struggling with a big emotions are directed towards healthy coping alternatives. Such as reading a book or completing a puzzle.

How we use the High Scope approach to Early Childhood Education in our classroom

In my opinion, the High Scope method has little use for children under three years of age and my only reason for using it in the classroom is to ensure the children are equipped for kindergarten and will not fall behind their peers. I also feel that assessments should be used minimally. That being said, children that are over three years of age participate in a more advanced curriculum than younger toddlers, The curriculum is designed specifically to prep the child for kindergarten, as well as to teach them essential reading skills. Some of the things we do include Hooked on Phonics, Alphabet and Math Worksheets.

How we use the Bank Street approach to Early Childhood Education in our classroom

With the correct materials the bank street approach is relatively simple. The material concept for the bank street approach is relatively similar to the Montessori approach. The child should be able to learn from the toy, however the banks street approach values the input of the teacher when the learning occurs. Some ways we do this is by a monthly rotate of books and one toy bin. The rotation materials are directly related to our theme that month.

The Simplified Version

  • We have a Child level vegetable garden that we inspect for weeds, bad leaves, and bugs. We also water the garden together every morning and afternoon.
  • We have a cut garden where we are growing a variety of different flowers. We inspect for blooms and we water them every morning and afternoon.
  • We make bread, butter, biscuits, treats, and more together. Doing things in the kitchen is the perfect thing to do during the winter season, especially on days where it is too cold for us to go outside.
  • We fold our blankets after nap and children will help put away our soft toys after they’ve been washed.
  • We offer a variety of fictional stories and we have had special story time with fictional characters.
  • We offer different materials that promote dramatic play.
  • We offer an environment where children are not separated by age. Instead children from 6 weeks and up are in the same classroom mimicking traditional family structure and allowing children to take on the role of student and teacher.
  • Children are encouraged to be helpers to both adults and their peers.
  • We offer a variety of Montessori branded materials from companies like Lovevery and Melissa & Doug.
  • We opt for natural materials for our indoor environment, in addition to maintaining a more neutral color scheme within the classroom.
  • Independence is encouraged when appropriate and each milestone is followed by another. For example once we learn to put on our shoes, now we learn to put on our jacket, then we will learn to zip our jacket. Each skill is a building block to reach the next skill.
  • We encourage children to be deciders in their day and their length of participation in each activity.
  • We encourage children to use their voice to communicate their emotions effectively and to consider using an emotion puppet to act out their feelings.
  • We encourage children to participate in positive coping activities when they are managing big feelings. Children are directed to activities such as reading, sensory bottles, cool down bottles, or puzzles. Children are not required to remain there for a certain time but organically rejoin the group when they have successfully managed the emotion.
  • We encourage children to be leaders in their own play and take charge of their free time.
  • We participate in virtual field trips using our wall mounted daycare TV.
  • Children ages 2 and up are able to participate in tech time. During Tech Time we use Hooked on Phonics and Hooked on Math to assess children’s learning.
  • Children will participate in Leapfrong Learning videos to enhance their learning, on occasion.
  • Children ages 3 and up participate in different phonics and math focused worksheets. This is to prepare them for the work they will be doing in Kindergarten.
    • You can grab some of the preschool and kindergarten friendly worksheets I created here: https://learningwithkaitlyn.etsy.com
  • Children ages 4 year and up will do an assessment in July, and again in January.
  • During certain periods of the day children are uninterrupted and I will assess their development through observation of organic activities.
  • We rotate certain materials monthly to extend theme learning.
  • We enjoy using natural material to enhance our learning such as real food boxes in the kitchen area.

Training

I recommend that any person working with children seek some type of training beyond basic first aid and cpr.

In Michigan the state offers free trainings on MI Registry. If you’re interested in purchasing trainings I highly recommend the Childcare education institute and Big Littler Feelings Winning the Toddler Stage course