Campus

PARENT INFORMATION

Theory

The Creative Curriculum’s foundation is based off the findings of six main theorists. Through their views on children, the curriculum is constructed as a guideline for how we as a center can be united to provide the best possible care.

T. Berry Brazelton and Abraham Maslow believed that children need their basic needs met, which include safety, belonging and esteem. Erik Erikson and Stanley Greenspan focused on the necessity of having supporting, trusting relationships with adults, which increases social, emotional development. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky discussed how interactions with others are crucial in cognitive development.

As a center, we use these principles to help make decisions about the care and education of the children. The teachers use their knowledge of child development, the knowledge of children’s individual needs, strengths and interests, and the knowledge of the social and cultural context within each child. By using these theorists’ beliefs, we have a solid base to begin when planning for your child.

The four stages

The Creative Curriculum includes developmentally appropriate goals and objectives for children within four main categories of interest: social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language.

The social/emotional stage helps promote independence, self-confidence and self-control. Within this stage, children learn how to make friends, how to have group interactions and how to follow rules.

The physical stage is intended to increase children’s large and small motor skills.

The cognitive stage is associated with thinking skills. Children learn how to solve problems, ask questions and think critically.

The language stage deals with communication. Children learn how to communicate with others, listen and participate in conversations, and recognize various forms of print. In this stage, children begin to recognize letters and words and begin writing for a purpose.

The organization of the curriculum

There are five basic components that comprise the curriculum. From these five categories, focus and planning can be aimed so that learning is best achieved.

The role of the teacher

The teacher is crucial to your child’s learning. The teacher is the person who sees your child daily, plans activities to promote your child’s individual skill, and helps bridge the gap between what they can do alone and what they need assistance with. As teachers, we need to:


The classroom layout

Each classroom is set up for exploration and learning. Children have many opportunities to make choices, experiment, and interact with others. Each classroom should look similarly to this so that each child can be proactive in his or her learning. With a positive learning environment, each of your child’s four stages should be developing and growing with experience.


Goals

As a center, our emphasis is on community. We need to work together to help learning continue. The importance of working together also extends between school and home. Teachers, staff and parents must communicate and share ideas so the child’s interests are best met. Through this bond, we will develop an individual care plan and update it as your child grows and changes. By pairing teacher and parent, we can help your child acquire the skills, attitudes, and habits to do well in school and in life.

We have seven main interest areas from which learning emerges. Through these topics, we can build off what children know to explore and comprehend the unknown.

We encourage children to observe, take things apart, build and see what they can find out. The more active children are in their work, the more they learn and remember. As children play, we watch how they use materials. We listen. We talk with them to find out what they are thinking and trying to do. We observe what they do and take note. Through those notes, we can plan activities that interest them but still teach skill building within the four stages.

Beliefs

We believe in a core list of traits for each teacher and classroom to follow. These traits inform lesson planning and are why we are here — to impact your child’s life and help him or her on the path of learning. These beliefs hold true for each classroom and are the basis of our curriculum:

Summer school-aged child care

The center is licensed for children up through age 11. Therefore, any school-aged child up to and including 11 years old may attend days off school, holidays and summer. Summer registration packets are mailed out in April.

 

School-aged children who arrive by bus

Parents having their child transported to and from the center via a public school bus must sign a written consent form. It includes specific information about the child’s school (name and phone number), bus company (name and phone number), bus route number, and time of drop-off or pick-up. Center staff wait outside or at the bus stop and accompany the child to his or her appropriate classroom.


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Child Care Center

Marquette University Child Care Center is an on-site, employer sponsored non-profit organization dedicated to quality care for children of all of those who make-up the Marquette University community — students, staff, faculty and alumni.