Curriculum
At Mashpee Creative, we believe that children develop a life-long love of learning through a play-based, child-centered approach to early education. Research has shown us that when children are allowed to direct their own learning, they become more motivated and engaged which significantly enhances the learning process. When children see their own interests and ideas recognized and encouraged, their self-confidence grows and their desire to learn is ignited. Our goal is to promote learning through the joy of discovery.
Children, supported by our talented and experienced teachers, are constantly thinking, exploring, experiencing, learning and testing new skills which creates the scaffolding for a lifetime of learning. As children grow and develop, they are continually nurtured and challenged.
Our preschool curriculum is designed to include a balance of free-choice/child-directed play with more structured large and small group activities. Teachers intentionally plan opportunities that support learning across all domains of development including cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. A theme-based approach helps guide the curriculum and careful attention is given to ensure that each lesson is appropriate to each child’s age, stage and style of learning.
Important goals of our curriculum include:
Social Development: to provide students with opportunities that promote appropriate interactions with both peers and adults; to help children verbalize their thoughts, emotions, questions and ideas; to promote opportunities to practice cooperation and sharing; to develop young students’ abilities to wait patiently and take turns; and to nurture the delicate give and take needed to form friendships and cooperative relationships with peers.
Emotional Development: to help young learners begin to recognize and articulate their feelings and develop strategies to handle the big emotions they will face when leaving their familiar home environment for the larger community of preschool and beyond; to foster a positive sense of self by giving children the opportunities to see their own special interests and characteristics recognized, valued and reflected in the classroom environment; to develop students’ creativity and sense of belonging by providing opportunities to explore and express themselves in a variety of different ways including song, story time, art, dance and play.
Cognitive Development: we encourage cognitive development in our preschoolers by providing them with hands-on experiences to develop a love of learning and a sense of curiosity which in turn leads them to explore, question, investigate and think about the world around them. Our curriculum is designed to offer child-directed investigation as well as small and large group teacher-facilitated lessons that promote problem-solving, reasoning and the communication of ideas to set the foundation for a life-long love of learning that will carry them through later schooling and beyond.
Physical Development: during the preschool years physical development includes both gross motor (large muscle) and fine motor (small muscle) development. Children are given many opportunities throughout the day to build stamina, balance and coordination of their large muscles through movement songs, dancing, games, gym mats, balance beams, scooter boards, rakes, shovels, hoola hoops and opportunities to throw and catch. Fine motor skills are developed and enhanced through our carefully chosen selection of play materials including our well stocked manipulative shelves, block area, sensory tables, Lego bins and puzzles. We also provide many structured and unstructured opportunities to explore a variety of writing materials, including markers, crayons, chalk, dry erase markers and boards; cutting with scissors; peeling and placing stickers; painting with a variety of materials; and plenty of practice using tweezers and tongs.
In a nutshell, we at Mashpee Creative believe that children will flourish in an environment rich with authentic and meaningful learning experiences guided by loving, enthusiastic and experienced teachers. For the last 30 years it has been our mission to nurture young hearts and minds to find their wings and fly and we would love to do the same for your preschooler. Schedule a visit to meet our teachers and tour our classrooms today. You will not be disappointed!