At this time we are only offering Virtual Programing.
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We offer full day early education and care programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Families have the opportunity of enrolling children in our 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM program with the opportunity to have morning arrivals as early as 7:30 AM and evening departures as late as 5:30 PM.
Maplewood Child Development Center is a peaceful learning environment where children can relax, grow and learn. We support child-directed, play-based learning in a home-based environment designed to enrich the whole child: mind, body, and spirit. We prioritize partnering with our families to help each child successfully transition into our program.
Maplewood educators believe in meeting the developmental needs of the whole child. We mindfully observe the children’s play and carefully plan explorations and our interactions to help each child develop core skills and emotional stability that set the foundation for future learning and relationships.
Our teaching methods reflect best practice in the field of early childhood education. We stay current by participating in ongoing professional development. We use research-supported methods from the full spectrum of approaches in both child development and early childhood education.
We inspire life long learning, a connection to the natural world, and responsibility within a global society. We believe these characteristics emerge by becoming part of a greater community of learners and seek to model these traits as their adult educators.
Philosophical and Methodological Influences
We are inspired by the work and research of pediatrician Dr Emmi Pikler, the Pikler Institute and Lóczy Children’s Home, infant specialist Magda Gerber, and Resources for Infant Educarers. We use a combination of the Pikler® Pedagogy and Educaring® Approach in our curriculum and relationships with the babies and children in our care.
Curriculum
Included in our curriculum are a variety of learning projects aimed at Social Responsibility, Environmental Awareness, and Healthy Living Habits.
Our Green Initiative, R-cycle principles, and Respect for Nature philosophy are included in the children’s daily experiences at school.
We provide well-balanced nutritional meals prepared on-site using fresh ingredients. We aim to include children in meal planning and preparation.
We guide children in their experiences as they internalize a respect for themselves and others. This includes good manners and an introduction to the idea of social giveback.
Infant Program
Our infant curriculum requires respectful and committed attention to the youngest children in our care along with careful observation and reflection and a partnership with parents. Consistency, continuity, and respect are the primary principles behind our relationships and programming for our babies. We believe in the importance of respect and mindfulness during all interactions and care routines. We understand the importance of uninterrupted child-initiated exploration with free and unrestricted movement.
Toddler Program
The toddler curriculum responds to every child’s interests and its practice is open-ended and self-directed. The teachers understanding of child development and child psychology, their initiative, intuition, and intrinsic motivation lends itself to a play-based environment and therapeutic interactions where the curriculum emerges from the play of the children and the play of the teachers. It is constructed by the children and the teachers and the environment itself.
Preschool Program
Preschoolers are exposed to a curriculum which is based on short and long term investigations and explorations based on their interest in their environment and experiences at home and Maplewood, while developing skills in literacy, math, the arts, and sciences. These investigations are meaningful to young children because they provide them with the opportunities through direct observation and experimentation and then link the new ideas to what they already know.