Open-Box Early Learning Centre Philosophy

Open -Box Early Learning Centre

We believe every child deserves an equal opportunity to play, learn, create, explore and discover. Every child should be treated equally no matter their race, religion, sex, family, etc.

Our values and beliefs. . .

Role of teachers:

• Encourage, support, and enhance a child's learning through the child's own discoveries and interests
• Allow children to explore independently, but scaffold when deemed appropriate and only when it would enhance the child's learning through their own discoveries
• Respect and empathize with children's individual differences, feelings, etc
• Provide a loving, safe, and caring environment
• Encourage children to reach their highest potential and expand their learning
• Keeping practices, rules, etc consistent between the classroom and at home
• Provide a good role model for the children to learn and look up to

Role of child:

• Free to explore and discover without limitations 
• Lead their own learning
• Free to express their ideas and feelings
• Intrinsically motivated 
• Learn through play

Role of Parents:

• Free to provide insight and express their ideas to improve the program 
• Free to express and communicate their own philosophy with the centre
• Communicate with the staff in the classroom about their child and the parent's wants
• Share individual cultures and beliefs and incorporate it into the classroom to teach children to embrace their own diversity as well as learn and accept others
• Keeping practices consistent between the classroom and at home
• Explaining to their child the differences between the rules and schedules at home and in the classroom
• Continuing education at home

Materials used in the classroom:

Open-Box Early Learning Centre celebrates the children's creativity and imaginative thinking. We believe that the materials used in the classroom will encourage children to explore individually and allow them to express their individual ideas.

• Developmentally appropriate materials
• Materials that enhance their learning and allow independent discoveries
• Balance between natural, open ended materials and technology so that children may be free to use their imagination as well as be familiar and relate with the technology that is used today
• Materials such as books, dramatic play props should be organized and displayed that appeals to children 
• No pre-cut shapes, rather children will be able to create their own work to express their ideas in their own way without limitations 

Model:

• We have adopted theories from Lev Vygoysky and Reggio Emilia
• The roles of the teachers and children reflect Lev Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development as well as James Brunner's scaffolding concept. Adults have an important role in a child's learning and should be there to support and encourage them.
• The natural materials used in our centre reflect's the Reggio Emilia approach of using the same materials that can be manipulated in different ways. The materials also connect the classroom with the natural environment that the child can relate to. 

-Jessica Su, Stacey Asuncion, Lubomyr Stasyszyn, Suvetha Suthakaran