At Arlington Heights Nursery School,
we provide unparalleled opportunities for children to play, which
have been carefully planned to enable each child to grow and develop
in a social setting. We encourage children to be active, confident,
and connected learners as they explore their environment and develop
trusting and friendly relationships with adults and other children.
AHNS has a long interest in supporting the presence of children with
mild/moderate special needs in our programs, dating from before there
was federal and state legislation supporting this concept.
Young children learn most naturally through play. Play allows children
to engage with the world at their level, and to work through and understand
their feelings, thoughts and ideas. Play facilitates children learning
problem-solving skills, expanding their symbolic thinking, and extending
their language skills. Open ended play with other children provides
a natural mechanism for children to learn social skills such as sharing,
cooperating with others, waiting for a turn, listening to other viewpoints,
and using language to express themselves.
We view all children as strong, capable and innately competent to
construct their own knowledge. Our low teacher-to-child ratio enables
teachers to build nurturing and meaningful relationships with the
children, which form the very heart of our program. Children thrive
in our calm and joyful classrooms, which provide a balance of organized
activities and the freedom to explore and discover the many activities
available to them.
Our curriculum is emergent: it emerges from the needs, interests and
abilities of the children. The teachers carefully observe children
at play, and then plan activities and organize the classrooms based
on their observations. This fosters the children's burgeoning social,
emotional, and cognitive skills, their relationships with each other,
their sense of wonder, and their imagination.
Our classrooms each have a predictable but flexible daily routine,
established by the teachers and based on the needs of the children
in the group. The routines and schedule change as the needs of the
children change throughout the year. Each day includes a balance of
free play, and age appropriate activities such as: music and movement,
gathering time, small group time, and outdoor play. The curriculum
is richly embedded with activities that foster skills in literacy,
numeracy, science, age appropriate language skills (which may include
reading, writing, speaking, and listening). Open-ended art activities
are an integral aspect of our curriculum for all age groups.
At AHNS, we deeply respect childhood. Every aspect of our curriculum,
including our classroom environments, the relationships we form with
children, and our routines are carefully designed to be supportive
of young children and their developmental needs. For over four decades
we have been committed to providing warm, responsive and child-centered
programs that provide opportunities for young children to develop
self-confidence and self-esteem, to express themselves creatively,
to develop the skills to form warm and lasting friendships, and the
problem solving skills they need to successfully negotiate their world.
Our school is spacious and sun-filled, and has been carefully designed
to ensure that young children feel comfortable and competent. In addition
to bright and welcoming classrooms, our facilities include an art
room, gross motor rooms, large indoor play space/gathering area, and
two kitchens. Classrooms are well equipped with a rich variety of
materials and provide areas for both active and quiet play.
Outdoors we offer an adjoining sunny, fenced in playground with a
large sandbox, climbing structure, riding toys, playhouses, and a
lawn, perfect for active, open-ended play. We have off-street parking
for families adjacent to the school, as well as stroller space for
those who walk.
|
