Lemberg Children's Center Programs

            Children have different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds.  Their families celebrate different holidays,, or even the same ones, in different ways.  Our curriculum is structured from the beginning of September through the end of June to include discussions of family, race, ethnic origin, family beliefs, seasonal changes and holidays.  We are non-sectarian and anticipate presentations from the point of view of the child, on each family's country of origin, ethnic customs, regional traditions and life styles.  We particularly encourage parental participation in these holiday celebrations and multi-cultural presentations.

                The children help establish rules and codes of conduct.  It is common to hear one child reminding another to keep the sand in the sandbox or to hear a child say, "Can I have a turn in five minutes?"  The children help with the daily routine of preparing snack, cleaning of different areas of the classrooms, and taking care of their own personal items (such as: lunch box, coat and shoes).  We value each child, and work to help each child respect others, broaden empathy, and build healthy relations with others.  Children learn that their cooperation is important and necessary for our program to function smoothly.  The staff use positive approaches when setting limits, and encourage children to speak to others positively too.  We assist children in friendship-making skills and also the skills necessary for group participation (e.g., waiting for one’s turn, listening to others, sharing one's ideas).

            By being sensitive to the child's feelings, we help her/him express themselves in appropriate ways and develop empathy and their sense of self.  Through individual discussions with teachers and in large or small groups, children share their beliefs about important issues in their lives (e.g., use of equipment at school, feelings about a friend, having only one parent, death, fears of monsters, what it means to be a brother or sister, etc.)  These topics come up in stories that are read, films we might see, or in events that occur.  It is very important that parents and Head Teachers speak regularly with each other about a child's emotional well-being.  Our program strives to have each child feel important, attached, and positive about himself/herself in relationships.

            We believe that children enjoy learning when the concepts, challenges, and activities presented are developmentally appropriate and fun.  Our educational program makes use of a wide range of materials to assist children in noticing patterns, and identifying symbols necessary in math and reading.  Children dictate or write stories, act out plays, and learn to appreciate the organization of the natural world.  Children enjoy working with paints, clay, water and building toys.  We have many different kinds of blocks to help children play with geometry and to see patterns and spatial relations and discuss concepts of number and organization.  Our teachers nurture children in observing, recording and analyzing as they support skill building for creative expression, sharing ideas, and explaining and ordering the world.  

            In our playground, children are able to run, jump, climb, ride tricycles, swing, play ball games, and dig in the sand.  We have access to a large grassy area in front of our school, which we use for sledding, ball games, and larger group activities.  When inside children dance, participate in varied movement activities, and many exercises to strengthen their bodies, and sense of balance.  There is a large playhouse inside in the South Room.  Children are provided opportunities to draw and to build with small blocks and Lego. We often have creative drama, lots of dramatic play, some yoga and we use gymnastics equipment. We dance and sing every day.  Physical competency is essential for positive self-esteem, friendship-making and the effective communication of our work, ideas, and values. In addition, teachers plan activities that help the children strengthen their fine motor skills.

Assessing your child’s skills and learning is a family – school process.  Learning about your child and your wishes for him begins when we meet you for your first tour and should grow with information sharing throughout your years with our program.  We use many assessment tools and have several specialists helping us keep track of your child’s abilities, interests and achievements.   Discussions with you about your child is essential as we know you know your child very well and we can’t support him and you without knowing what you think and want.   There are formal parent-teacher conferences three times during the school year in which we use a child development form to guide the meeting.   Daily contact, email messages and additional meetings are very important and common parts of the process.   We keep a portfolio of your child’s work samples and photos of him doing these things along with confidential educational records.   When your child leaves the program it will be given as a gift to you. 

                At the time of enrollment we ask you to fill in a Developmental History form and a Child Observation Record.  These forms (as well as our discussions with you) are used to help us know how you view your child’s development and needs.  After a few weeks of school, the Head Teachers will lead a curriculum meeting to share their plans for the class, adjusting the activities to what they have seen, and to what you tell us about your child.  In this meeting you will receive information about our monthly goals and themes, our curricular scope and sequence.  There will be examples of activities and materials used in the classroom and there will be some time for you to ask questions.  Shortly after this meeting in October the Head Teacher assigned as your primary caregiver will meet with you to discuss your child, the curriculum and goals for the year with your child. We keep track of all this information by using High Scope COR, a research based child assessment instrument developed by the High Scope Educational Foundation.  High Scope COR is designed to help us report to you on six areas of development.  These are Initiative, Social Relations, Language and Literacy, Creative Representation, Movement and Music as well as Mathematics and Science.   We have added three more categories which are: Social Studies, Fine Motor Skills and Health & Safety Awareness.  What follows is an explanation of what we are looking at in each area. (Note: The letters (A-EE) are the way COR labels the items.)  

Initiative

Children choose play areas both in the morning and the afternoon.  Open-ended activities provide opportunities for children to make choices and plans (A), solve problems with materials (B), and initiate play with teachers and classmates (C).  Throughout the day children take care of their personal needs (D) by cleaning up after their own activities.  At snack time, each child cleans up his or her own plate and cup, and helps to wipe up any spills.  Toileting is supervised, but children are encouraged and expected to do all of the steps by themselves. 

Social Relations

Free play and playground time are key times of the day for children to develop their social skills.  Adults help to facilitate constructive play among groups of children (E, F) and encourage children to use positive language when negotiating conflicts with their peers (G).  Through books, stories, and personal interaction, children begin to understand both their own and others’ emotions (H)

Creative Representation

Blocks, play dough, and/or legos are made available daily for use in both building models (I) and dramatic play (K).  In the art area, children can use crayons, markers, pencils, and paint in a variety of open-ended art activities (J).  The children also engage in dramatic play (K) in the playhouse and with small toys such as plastic farm animals, food toys, and baby dolls. 

Movement and Music

The children attend a weekly yoga session and dance frequently to live and recorded music (L, N, O).  On the playground, balls, tricycles provide an opportunity to build gross motor skills, and inside activities at the manipulatives table (puzzles, stringing beads, Lego) help develop fine motor control (M).  Music is ubiquitous in the daily schedule – in large- and small- groups, transitions, free play, and outside.  Children are exposed to a variety of musical instruments, dance and build a large repertoire of songs for all occasions.  (M, N, O, P)

Language and Literacy

Language skills are addressed constantly throughout the day.  Children are encouraged to express themselves verbally (Q, R, S) at an age-appropriate level.  Large-group time frequently features activities that provide opportunities for the children to hear and generate rhymes and alliterations (T).  Children look at books independently and are read to in small groups (U) and the many signs, posters, and labels posted around the classroom further expose the children to symbols and writing (V, W).  At the art table, writing implements such as markers, crayons, and colored pencils are made available daily (X.)

Mathematics and Science

At the manipulative table and on the rug area, children use small plastic toys such as bears, dinosaurs, farm animals, and colored blocks for sorting (Y), patterning (Z), and building (AA) and to increase special awareness (CC).  Each area of the classroom is limited to a certain number of children at a time, and children count to check if activities are “full” or “not full” (BB).  Science activities such as freezing/heating cups of water provide opportunities for the children to make predictions and observe changes in properties of different materials (DD, EE) At the sensory table, children are also exposed to a variety of materials (EE) and time spent outside – on the playground and on walks around campus – children are able to interact with the natural world. 

Social Studies

Cultural awareness is made personally relevant to each child through ongoing discussions of family traditions, personal differences, and home languages.  These discussions not only focus of noticing differences, but also on identifying similarities between one another.  Children learn to say “Hello” in a variety of languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and Sign Language.  Topics such as “Community Helpers” and “Caring for our Environment” provide an awareness of the school as a diverse community in which people work together to get what they need.   

Fine motor skills

At the manipulative table, children are given small toys (plastic animals, shaped blocks, etc.) in a variety of activities that require sorting or arranging groups of toys.  At the art table, children draw with paint, crayons, markers, chalk, and colored pencils in open-ended activities aimed at building fine motor control.  Some examples of frequent fine motor activities include anagrams, sewing toys, shaped magnets, and coloring.  

Health and Safety

Through discussions of classroom rules, children learn about regulating their own bodies for safe play.  Children help generate rules for specific play areas (e.g. “No pushing on the slide”) and help post these rules around the classroom.  An ongoing “tasting group” encourages children to try a variety of healthy foods.  The playhouse is often set up as a Doctor’s office or as a kitchen for children to engage in pretend play having to do with health and safety.  

At the beginning of the school year in September, the Explorers and the Thunderbirds spend more time separately sharing information about themselves and their families among their classmates.  This is a time to learn the program routines and to develop a group identity.  After only a few weeks, Explorers and Thunderbirds may become more involved in activities together.  This happens most frequently on the playground.  However, children also visit each others classroom frequently.  Children of mixed ages can be seen setting up the playhouse as a "doctor’s office,” reading books together, playing ball, or riding tricycles. 

At the end of September (or beginning of October) the Head Teachers meet with parents to share their classroom and curricular plans for the school year.  Of course parents share their ideas and expectations with us at this important meeting.  We have many other events and times for parents and teachers to meet through out the school year.  A calendar of events is posted under the Current Parent’s section at www.brandeis.edu/lemberg and in each classroom. 

Once we have established goals and objectives, our teachers record observations of your child’s day into the High Scope Child Observation Record. The program is divided into nine categories.  We get help from student teachers, our speech and communications specialist, and our sensory awareness specialist. They will do a screening of your child’s skills sometime during the year (only with your permission; this authorization form is included in the packet of forms that we ask you to return at the beginning of your child’s participation in our program.)  If we feel it would be helpful for your child, other specialists may be called upon to help us devise the best educational plan for your child.  Sometimes we will suggest the public school’s early childhood specialists in your town do a screening too. 

In January or February a progress report generated by the COR and your child’s primary caregiver is given to you for review and discussion at the second formal parent-teacher conference.  At the meeting, adjustments will be made based on how your child has responded to our program.  In late May or June we will have our third formal parent conference to provide you with an end of the year progress report.  There should be no surprises in this report if we have been maintaining communication with you. If your child participates in our summer program, the information gathered during the previous year will be used to better your child’s experience.  This also applies to children who will return for the following year. 

We are happy to give you a copy of all reports in your child’s personal folder, along with his portfolio upon graduation.  You may need this for your child’s next schooling experience, but most importantly, they become memories of a treasured time.