Our Curriculum
Little Hands Academy Curriculum: Play-Based Preschool Program for Holistic Child Development
The Little Hands Academy curriculum offers a play-based, child-centered preschool program where children choose activities that align with their current interests. Through creative arts, literacy, numeracy, social studies, science, and more, learning occurs naturally during play. Educators actively facilitate play to nurture social and emotional skills, ensuring children engage in meaningful learning while “just playing.”
Play is essential for children’s physical, social/emotional, and creative development. It allows children to explore their world and make sense of their surroundings. Without play, understanding the functioning of the world and their role in it becomes challenging for young learners.
Play-based learning not only fosters cognitive growth but also helps achieve important educational goals. Through play, children problem-solve, explore solutions, and gain practical understanding of the world. Educators support this development by encouraging play-based activities that target academic areas, while also promoting social and emotional learning.
The play-based learning environment is organized into distinct sections, including science, literacy, writing, reading, dramatic play, blocks and building, and social studies. Each area incorporates engaging, play-based materials and activities to captivate children’s interest. Designed to be stimulating, nurturing, and inclusive, the classroom environment welcomes children from all cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. It provides a safe, organized space for children to explore, learn, and grow, supporting both cognitive and social-emotional development.
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The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) jointly developed standards for social/emotional development and approaches to play and learning in preschool and kindergarten.
Self-Awareness
Self-Awareness: Understanding Emotions, Thoughts, and Behavior
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand your emotions and thoughts and how they influence your behavior. It involves accurately assessing your strengths and limitations while developing a strong sense of self and optimism. This key aspect of emotional intelligence fosters personal growth and enhances decision-making, helping individuals navigate life with greater confidence and insight.
Self-Management
Self-Management: Regulating Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors
Self-management is the ability to effectively regulate your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in various situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, staying motivated, and setting and achieving personal and academic goals. Mastering self-management helps individuals maintain focus, build resilience, and make thoughtful decisions, leading to improved personal growth and success.
Social Awareness
Social Awareness: Empathy, Perspective-Taking, and Understanding Diverse Cultures
Social awareness is the ability to empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, while understanding social and ethical norms for behavior. It also involves recognizing the resources and supports available within family, school, and community settings. Developing social awareness enhances interpersonal relationships, fosters inclusivity, and helps individuals navigate diverse social environments with greater empathy and understanding.
Relationship Skills
Relationship Skills: Building Healthy, Rewarding Connections
Relationship skills are the ability to establish and maintain healthy, rewarding relationships with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds. This includes clear communication, active listening, cooperation, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and both seeking and offering help when needed. Developing strong relationship skills fosters positive interactions, promotes teamwork, and enhances personal and professional connections, helping individuals thrive in various social settings.
Responsible Decision Making
Responsible Decision Making: Making Ethical, Constructive Choices
Responsible decision making is the ability to make thoughtful and respectful choices regarding personal behavior and social interactions. It involves considering ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, evaluating consequences realistically, and prioritizing the well-being of oneself and others. Developing responsible decision-making skills leads to better judgment, promotes positive outcomes, and enhances personal and social responsibility in various situations.
Our Programs
Infant One
Infant Care One: Nurturing Growth and Development in a Safe, Clean Environment
We understand the delicate and complex nature of the early stages of an infant’s life. With your child’s health and the cleanliness of their environment as our top priority, we ensure they receive individual care and attention based on their unique needs. Infants follow their own established schedules, and in addition to cuddles, lullabies, picture books, and gentle praises, our dedicated teachers provide activities that support physical, language, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Through story time, music, and simple games, we help infants build essential skills in a nurturing and safe environment.
Infant Two
Infant Care Two: Exploring and Developing Language and Social Skills
Infants transition to this room when they begin crawling or toddling, ready to explore their surroundings. At this stage, curiosity is high, and we provide a stimulating, pleasant atmosphere for learning. Activities such as music, nursery rhymes, songs, sensory tables, dancing, reading, and finger play support their development in this exciting phase.
This age is marked by significant growth in language and social skills. Our teachers actively model language skills and help toddlers express their wants and needs. By offering developmentally appropriate tools and activities tailored to each child’s unique personality, we foster all areas of development and ensure a nurturing environment for exploration and growth.
Toddlers
Toddler Activities: Encouraging Exploration and Developing Independence
Motivating toddlers is easy, but we aim to structure their activities to enhance their natural curiosity. At this age, children are highly active and curious about everything around them. We fill their day with childhood wonders while helping them build a strong sense of self. Their activities include songs, storybooks, puzzles, expressive artwork, finger plays, nursery rhymes, dress-up, stroller rides, and fun in the sandbox.
Around 24-27 months, toddlers begin to focus on potty training, and we work closely with parents to support these goals. However, no child is pressured into potty training—each child will progress at their own pace. Children transition from the toddler room to Preschool when developmentally ready, and potty training is not a requirement for this transition.
Preschool
Early Childhood Development: Preparing for Lifelong Learning at Little Hands Academy
At Little Hands Academy, we believe that a child’s fullest development at any stage is the best preparation for the next. With the teacher’s encouragement, nurturing, and understanding, children build a strong sense of well-being and confidence. Our curriculum is designed with specific goals and enriched with experiences that serve as a foundation for future learning. Activities like dramatic play, science, counting, basic math, alphabet recitation, letter recognition, language skills, motor skills, manners, and social skills are key achievements for our preschoolers, setting them up for lifelong success.
Pre-K
Pre-Kindergarten at Little Hands Academy: Preparing Children for Success in Kindergarten
At Little Hands Academy, our Pre-kindergarten program is a crucial and exciting time in a child’s learning journey as they prepare for Kindergarten. Our goal is to ensure that children in our program develop the necessary skills to confidently step into Kindergarten, with excitement about all they already know. Along with a strong focus on language and literacy, math development, and motor skills, we prioritize social and emotional readiness. This foundation equips children to be confident, tackle new challenges, express their emotions, follow directions, and adapt to a structured routine, ensuring they are fully prepared for their next academic milestone.
F.A.Q.
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Why Choose Little Hands Academy?
