Philosophy
"Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul."
Friedrich Froebel
The Early Childhood Programs at Bowen Children’s Centre nurture the
whole child by providing learning activities that are
developmentally appropriate in a stimulating, challenging, fun and
creative environment.
We incorporate aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach to early
childhood education into our Preschool and Daycare programs. The
emergent curriculum integrates meaningful projects and adventures
that spark children’s natural curiosity, interests, and enthusiasm.
The atmosphere is warm, child-centric, and social. We share the
children’s joy as they discover and learn.
“Learning through play” is a term we use to summarize what we
believe in here. However, in our rushed, business-oriented adult
world, the word ‘play’ is sometimes misunderstood, and even given a
dismissive connotation. We think that’s unfortunate, and wrong.
We’d like to take this opportunity to explain what we know, and what
the best of current research on early childhood development
supports.
Children’s play is vitally important!
Children act and react with the world through their play. They learn by doing.
Play enables children to create an understanding of their world from their own experiences. It influences all aspects of their growth and development – physically, socially, emotionally, creatively and cognitively. In our Daycare and Preschool programs the teachers act as facilitators, creating learning opportunities and guiding the children as they explore their own evolving interests.
At Bowen Island Preschool and the Community Daycare, skilled, caring early childhood education certified teachers are dedicated to meeting the needs of all children in all areas of their development, recognizing and respecting their differences and valuing them for the wonderful individuals that they are. The children are given the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop in a climate of genuine affection and warmth, each in his or her own time and unique way.
We do this through a balance of group and individual activities. Teachers’ roles are fluid: they explain new concepts, guide the children as they explore ideas and develop projects to support the learning, and become co-learners who share the experiences with the children. Our Preschool and Daycare programs include free play – art activities, puzzles and manipulatives, science, dramatic play, as well as sensory play with substances such as sand, water and clay – and group activities which include circle time, snack time, story time and physical exercise, and teacher directed music, language, games, experiments and projects.
We introduce children to the French language because we believe that hearing different sounds enhances children’s cognitive development and problem-solving skills. Our goal is not bilingualism, but rather to take advantage of the way in which young children can learn another tongue intuitively as opposed to word by word translation. We’d like to foster a deeper appreciation of communication and of sense of cultures beyond their own.
In an inclusive social setting, children develop inner discipline, independence and confidence. Preschool and Daycare can have a tremendously positive influence, guiding and enhancing children’s development in their important, formative years.
At Bowen Children’s Centre, we work to support all aspects of children’s growth, and to help them develop the social skills that they’ll need at school and throughout their lives. We believe that it’s all very well for a child to enter kindergarten with the ability to count to ten and name 26 letters more or less in a row, but it’s just as important – if not more so – to know how to make a friend, to interact in a group, to resolve a conflict without coming to blows or dissolving into tears.
All of our teaching is underscored by our belief that when a child is playing, there’s nothing more important that they could possibly be doing. Because we know that through these natural, joyful experiences they are truly learning.
Most of all, we believe that learning should be fun.