Desert Spring Children's Center

Desert Spring Philosophy:
We believe every child: • Is a capable and competent being. • Is a unique and complex learner. • Deserves an environment that supports the optimal development of the whole
child. • Learns through child-directed, child-initiated, teacher-supported play. • Is a social being who learns through the development of relationships and
collaboration with peers and adults. • Is by nature a creative and curious researcher and learns best through hands-on
exploration that is relevant to the child’s experiences. • Deserves trust and respect to facilitate confidence and healthy risk-taking. • Possesses hundred of languages with which to describe their beliefs and
experiences and to express their learning.
Guiding Principles:
• Each child progresses at a unique rate, has an individual learning style and possesses diverse abilities.
• Young children learn through active exploration of their environment when there is a balance between self-discovery and adult-initiated projects.
• Children’s learning is based on prior knowledge and experiences guided by nurturing adults.
• Optimal learning occurs in environments where the adults are respectful and inclusive of the child, the family, the language, the culture, and the community.
• Children’s learning is best understood using ongoing observation, anecdotal record keeping, and collection of children’s work.
• Children develop a sense of empowerment by having many opportunities to make choices within their daily routines.
• Children learn best when their nutritional and health needs are met. • Families are the primary caregivers and educators of children. • Families, educators, and children are equal protagonists in constructing children’s
learning. • Young children are competent and capable learners, and whole citizens of the
world community regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, and varying abilities.
Goals for Children, Families, and the Community:
All children will experience growth and learning in all areas of development, including cognitive, physical, and social-emotional arenas.
All families will be supported in their role as the primary caregivers and educators of children.
The community will be aware of the importance of childhood and the need for high- quality early education.
Expected Outcomes:
Based on Tom Drummond’s 15 Capabilities for Children, Desert Spring desires the following outcomes for children and their families:
When children leave our program, they can: • Participate as a member of an interdependent community. • Care for themselves, others, and the community. • Treat others with love and compassion. • Cooperate with other children to accomplish group goals • Celebrate group accomplishments. • Laugh and play with a tangible sense of joy. • Express the range of human emotion through the symbolic languages of music,
building, drawing, dance, in addition to the hundreds and hundreds of possible
languages. • Be inquisitive. • Initiate new ideas and invent solutions to problems. • Stick to a variety of tasks or come back to them in order to reach completion. • Run, hit, catch, throw, kick, tumble, hang, climb, balance, ride, and swing. • Sing and dance with exuberance. • Paint, draw, sculpt, and construct objects of beauty.
• Maintain the community’s spaces in cleanliness and order. • Greet guests with courtesy and charm.
When families leave our program, they can: • Be confident in their ability to advocate for their children. • See their children as competent learners and capable of being proactive members
of a learning community.