please visit http://www.thelearningcurvekids.blogspot.com – i have entries everyday.

The Principles include:
*recognition of the uniqueness of each child’s capacity and potential
*a holistic view of each child’s development
*an ecological view of mankind in the natural world
*a recognition of the integrity of childhood in its own right
*a recognition of the child as part of the community

The Pedagogy involves:
*knowledgeable and appropriately qualified teachers and nursery nurses
*awareness that skilled and informed observation of children underpins effective teaching and learning
*use of first hand experience, play, talk and reflection as media for learning
*activities which have sense, purpose and meaning for the child, and involve joy, wonder, concentration and satisfaction
*a holistic approach to learning which recognises children as active, feeling and thinking human beings, seeing patterns and making connections with their own lives
*encouragement rather than punishment
*individual and collaborative activity and play
*development of children’s independence and sense of mastery, building on what children are good at
*development of all faculties and abilites of each child: imaginative, creative, linguistic, mathematical, musical, aesthetic, scientific, physical, social, moral, cultural, and spiritual
*a recognition that parents and educators work in harmony and partnership

The Environment should:
*be physically safe but intellectually challenging, promoting curiosity, enquiry, sensory stimulation and aesthetic awareness
*combine indoors and outdoors, the cultural and the natural
*provide free access to a rich range of materials that promote open-ended opportunities for play, representation and creativity
*demonstrate the nursery to be an integral part of the community it serves, working in close partnership with parents and other skilled adults
*be educative rather than merely amusing or occupying
*promote interdependence as well as independence, community as well as individuality and responsibility as well as freedom

Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson describes the physical, emotional and psychological stages of development and relates specific issues, or developmental work or tasks, to each stage. For example, if an infant’s physical and emotional needs are met sufficiently, the infant completes his/her task — developing the ability to trust others. However, a person who is stymied in an attempt at task mastery may go on to the next state but carries with him or her the remnants of the unfinished task. For instance, if a toddler is not allowed to learn by doing, the toddler develops a sense of doubt in his or her abilities, which may complicate later attempts at independence. Similarly, a preschooler who is made to feel that the activities he or she initiates are bad may develop a sense of guilt that inhibits the person later in life.

Infant

Trust vs Mistrust

Needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertaintyto trust himself/herself, others, and the environment

Toddler

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

Works to master physical environment while maintainingself-esteem

Preschooler

Initiative vs Guilt

Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; developsconscience and sexual identity

School-Age Child

Industry vs Inferiority

Tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills

Adolescent

Identity vs Role Confusion

Tries integrating many roles (child, sibling, student, athlete,worker) into a self-image under role model and peer pressure

Young Adult

Intimacy vs Isolation

Learns to make personal commitment to another asspouse, parent or partner

Middle-Age Adult

Generativity vs Stagnation

Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family, andcivic interests

Older Adult

Integrity vs Despair

Reviews life accomplishments, deals with lossand preparation for death

“Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.”
~~ Albert Einstein