PARENT TESTIMONIAL

I have 2 girls at Bent Tree Child Development Center. One is almost 4 and the other is almost 2. They have both been enrolled since they were 18 months. I have observed their classes on numerous occasions and I have never seen a more caring, engaging environment. The teachers work with the children on both a group and an individual basis meeting all of their learning needs, and the hugs and smiles are endless.

Prior to Bent Tree the girls were at a different school but I knew I wanted to move them to an environment that would constantly engage them in learning. I could tell immediately a change in their attitudes and overall demeanor. They were happy, talking about what they did at school, who they played with and singing songs... all of which I did not see prior to their time at Bent Tree. The time spent at Bent Tree has helped my oldest daughter with her confidence as a student, her skills at being independent in a classroom setting and her ability to succeed. My girls have been exposed to many different experiences while at Bent Tree. The school has great play areas, both inside and out, computers and several things, like dance and gymnastics, for the kids to participate in. In addition, the children are exposed to a variety of cultures and age groups.

We found a home away from home for our girls. What more could you ask for – a group of people to love your children and help them grow and learn. I would recommend anyone send their child to Bent Tree. I know that every school may not be right for every child, but Bent Tree was perfect for us!

Bent Tree Parent

Curriculum Philosophy

The philosophy behind our curriculum is that young children learn best by doing. Learning isn’t just repeating what someone else says; it requires active thinking and experimenting to find out how things work and to learn firsthand about the world we live in.

In their early years, children explore the world around them by using all their senses (touching, tasting, listening, smelling, and looking).

In using real materials such as blocks and trying out their ideas, children learn about sizes, shapes, colors, and they notice relationships between things.

In time, they learn to use one object to stand for another. This is the beginning of symbolic thinking. For example, they might pretend a stick is an airplane or a block is a hamburger. These early symbols – the stick and the block – are similar in shape to the objects they represent. Gradually children become more and more able to use abstract symbols like words to describe their thoughts and feelings. They learn to “read” pictures which are symbols of real people, places and things. This exciting development in symbolic thinking takes place during the pre-school years as children play.

Play provides the foundation for academic or “school” learning. It is the preparation children need before they learn highly abstract symbols such as letters (which are symbols for sounds) and numbers (which are symbols for number concepts). Play enables us to achieve the key goals of our early childhood curriculum. Play is the work of young children.

The Goals of Our Curriculum

The most important goal of our early childhood curriculum is to help children become enthusiastic learners. This means encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts. Our goal is to help children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive learners. We’re teaching them how to learn, not just in preschool, but all through their lives. We’re giving good habits and attitudes, particularly a positive sense of themselves, which will make a difference throughout their lives.

Our curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development,

Social: To help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends, and feel they are a part of the group.
Emotional: To help children experience pride and self-confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life.
Cognitive: To help children become confident learners by letting them try out their own ideas and experience success, and by helping them acquire learning skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and use words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings.
Physical: To help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do.

The activities we plan for children, the way we organize the environment, select toys and materials, plan the daily schedule, and talk with children, are all designed to accomplish the goals of our curriculum and give your child a successful start in school.