The Goddard School Learning Environment!

Our extensive resources include a warm, nurturing environment where children can make many supportable choices, independently explore the learning materials and develop socialization skills as they interact with others. Toys and equipment are carefully chosen for safety and for how well they stimulate young imaginations and help children develop. Enrichment programs augment the Goddard School’s core curriculum to encourage children to develop the skills necessary to support their active lives, develop positive self-esteem and set the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.

The most useful model for understanding how to build esteem in children is Erik Erikson’s eight stages of man, particularly the three stages for infants through preschoolers listed below. Trust – Meet Needs in Infants Autonomy – Nurture Independence in Toddlers Initiative – Provide Supportable Choices for Preschoolers through School-Age Children1. Trust - Meet Needs in Infants

• Nurture a feeling of belonging and acceptance;
• Help children feel safe to explore their environment and relations with adults and peers;
• Provide a consistent schedule;
• Be good to your word;
• Provide interactive support.

2. Autonomy – Nurture Independence in Toddlers

• Show children they are valued;
• Actively listen to the children;
• Respect their opinions and choices;
• Encourage their self-expression;
• Reinforce independent actions;
• Reinforce the results of play;
• Provide ample time and materials;
• Provide guidelines for closure.

3. Initiative – Provide Supportable Choices for Preschoolers through School-Age Children

• Provide clear appropriate expectations;
• Encourage risk-taking and exploration within well-defined limits;
• Encourage creative uses of materials;
• Allow children to choose activities;
• Extend the children’s play;
• Guide the children to solve problems.

Trust

An infant’s emotional needs require teachers to provide the following:

• Consistent, timely responses;
• Hugs;
• A sense of security;
• Opportunities to explore, attempt, fail and experience safely;
• Responsive interactions that support infants’ awareness of their feelings.

An infant’s social needs require teachers to provide the following:

• Opportunities to interact with other infants and toddlers;
• Opportunities to explore, attempt, fail and experience safely;
• Meaningful conversations with infants, toddlers and adults;
• Consistent modeling of appropriate social interactions.

Autonomy: Each stage in a child’s development is important, and each stage brings different learning opportunities. During the toddler years, from roughly 18 months to 30 months, children learn to do things themselves.Autonomy, the feeling that a person can make a difference in the world, is integral to a child’s sense of confidence and a child’s willingness to try new things. A child needs both of these to be open to learning. When the people who are important to the child repeatedly recognized that the child has accomplished the intended task, the child develops a sense of accomplishment. Everything that happens to a toddler is meaningful. Making decisions themselves, saying no and learning about the consequences that result from their actions help toddlers build a clearer understanding about how the world operates and what their place in it is.The toddler stage involves growth, mood swings and behaviors that are appropriate and healthy, but may not be desirable. Toddlers get frustrated easily when they do not have the skills to achieve their goals. They need the freedom to explore their environment and begin defining their own limits. Toddlers are concerned with their own needs and ideas, and they have not yet learned to share, take turns or express remorse.Toddlers work best in small groups with lots of personal contact with the teacher. Teachers can join the children on the floor and extend the games the children are playing.Teachers should plan schedules while remembering that toddlers may need to change activities often and toddlers may want to do many things at the same time. Teachers should maximize outdoor and music activities to manage their classrooms effectively. Working with toddlers requires lots of patience, lots of love and enough flexibility to change course in a split second. An understanding of this stage of development helps teachers plan a fun and rewarding day. The teachers must know behavioral expectations for this age group and plan their day accordingly. This will help create a more fun and less stressful day for everyone!

Initiative: The teacher will identify activities and projects that reflect the current interests of the children.The lesson plans should relate first and foremost to the children’s interests. By providing activities that children will enjoy and choose to do and then supporting their choices, the teachers can encourage initiative.Teachers should spend time observing individual children to gain insights into activities and projects that may be interesting to all of the children and into the development level of individual children.The appropriate use of interest centers helps teachers offer supportable choices in a variety of learning categories.

Visiting our School is a great way to see our programs in action, introduce you to our teachers and answer your questions. We offer Infant,Toddler, Preschool, Private Pre-K,Kindergarten and now First Grade as well as an After School Program for local elementary students.

The Goddard School in Snellville

EMAIL: snellvillega@goddardschools.com

Phone: 678-344-0042

FAX: 770-985-5262