Play is not just a part of our curriculum; it’s the heart of it. It’s where learning and fun come together. Our children engage in different types of play throughout the day, such as dramatic and block. We promote play with a purpose by guiding children to make socially acceptable choices, interacting with them to enhance play, encouraging complex play, building cooperative play skills, and incorporating learning standards into their play. This approach ensures that your child is not just learning but also enjoying every moment of it.
Art experiences are not just a part of our curriculum; they celebrate your child’s creativity and imagination. We emphasize process art to stimulate children’s creativity and self-expression. Using a variety of materials such as crayons, markers, paint, and everyday household items, children create original products and express themselves creatively. Our lessons foster familiarity with the elements of art: lines, shapes, colors, space and form, texture, value, and rhythm. Teacher-guided art activities support other curriculum areas, including science, social studies, and reading readiness. Our art program’s primary goal is to nurture each child’s creativity and independence while enjoying the process.
Our block center plays a significant role in promoting mathematical skills through exploration and play. Children learn about numbers, patterns, measurement, proportion, shape, and size by engaging in block play and using various manipulatives. We guide children in expanding their discoveries by discussing their communities and neighborhoods, using play models of diverse people and professions. These activities help children construct mathematical ideas based on their environment, interactions, and observations.
Math is seamlessly integrated into our everyday activities. Children learn counting, patterns, and geometry through puzzles, games, and play. Following directions, practicing fine motor skills, and participating in cleanup activities reinforce mathematical concepts practically and engagingly.
Cooking provides natural, fun experiences for exploring the five senses and fosters early scientific concepts and life skills. Children learn math (measuring), science (observing reactions), and literacy skills (using recipe cards). Fine motor skills are developed through cutting, kneading, rolling, and mixing. Cooking projects also allow children to express creativity and develop practical life skills.
Dramatic play is a daily activity that fosters imagination and natural learning. Children recreate familiar roles, confront scary situations, negotiate roles, and regulate their behavior. They are pretending and imagining supporting abstract thinking development. Our dramatic play area is fully equipped with child-sized furnishings, toy appliances, costumes, puppets, and play kits, providing ample opportunities for creative expression.
Circle time supports language and expressive language development with engaging reading materials. It helps develop reading comprehension, narrative skills, critical thinking, phonemic awareness, and problem-solving abilities. Circle time also offers character-building opportunities and strengthens social and communication skills. Children practice leadership, teamwork, negotiation, listening, and problem-solving through activities like Circle Leader, group games, and assigned responsibilities.
Early literacy encompasses what children know about reading and writing before they can read and write. It includes alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, print awareness, vocabulary, print motivation, and narrative skills. Our curriculum fosters a love for stories, books, and drawing, helping children develop into authors and artists. Weekly participation in early literacy programs and a print-rich environment support strong language skills. We also have onsite visits from an early literacy librarian to enrich our program.
Language development is supported through daily interactions, reading books, rhyming words, singing songs, and modeling conversations. We emphasize speaking, listening, and nonverbal communication. Our print-rich environment, storytime participation, and in-home speech services help children develop strong language skills as expressive and proficient communicators. We also have onsite visits from a speech specialist who is available to support language development.
Our music center is not just a place for fun; it’s a hub for cognitive development. It’s stocked with a variety of musical instruments. Playing instruments, singing, and dancing are creative outlets that help children express themselves and find comfort. Music and rhythm activities develop patterning skills, balance, spatial awareness, and whole-body/brain integration. Dancing and physical movement are connected to cognitive growth and reading readiness. We offer weekly piano lessons and individual music sessions to enhance musical learning. This comprehensive approach ensures your child’s education is academic, holistic, and well-rounded.
We promote healthy eating habits by providing nutritious snacks and meals aligned with MyPlate guidelines. Our meal planning follows a cycle menu provided by the Fairfax County Office for Children, Child, and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), ensuring compliance with USDA dietary guidelines. We incorporate cultural foods through yearly celebrations, helping children appreciate diverse cuisines. Children learn dining etiquette, set the table, clean up, and practice good hygiene, fostering independence and healthy habits.
In addition to math skills, sand and water play can help children develop hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, creativity, and social skills as they engage in cooperative play.
Scientific activities include observing nature, insects, plants, weather, and other natural phenomena. Virtual field trips and hands-on exploration encourage prediction, experimentation, and reasoning. These activities help children understand the world and develop problem-solving and logical thinking skills.
We support children’s social and emotional development by helping them function effectively in a group, express feelings, acquire social skills, make friends, and promote mutual respect. We build positive relationships, support cultural identity, and provide positive guidance. Our strategies promote self-regulation, acceptable behaviors, and effective intervention for challenging behavior. We use observation, documentation, and parent collaboration to plan a curriculum that meets each child’s developmental needs.
We educate children about self-awareness, awareness of others, and environmental consciousness. Learning about oneself and others and participating in a social group is lifelong. We celebrate ethnic and cultural diversity, helping children understand the world’s complexities. Virtual visits and invitations to our program enrich learning experiences and help children gain knowledge while clarifying information. Our nurturing environment fosters trust, respect, kindness, and consideration, promoting a peaceful atmosphere.”
At Jackson Child Care, a comprehensive curriculum integrates play, creative arts, math, cooking, dramatic play, circle time, literacy, language, music and movement, nutrition, sand and water play, science, social and emotional development, and social studies. Our approach ensures holistic development, preparing children for future success in school and life. We provide a nurturing, engaging, supportive, fun environment that encourages growth, learning, and discovery.
