Curriculum & Approach

“Curriculum should help children make deeper and fuller understanding of their own experience.” - Lillian Katz, Ph.D

This is what we hope for our students - A safe, empowering experience to discover their joy in learning. When you walk into our classrooms, you won’t see cookie cutter crafts. You’ll see kids being free to express themselves in a variety of mediums that fit their learning style. Your child’s learning opportunities are hands-on, interactive experiences geared toward age-appropriate milestones.

 
 

Learning Areas

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We offer a sensory learning approach to cater to each child’s natural curiosities. With a wide range of artistic materials, your child’s development is encouraged in these five areas:

  1. Fine & gross motor skills - from navigating their first steps to forming the first letter of their own name.
  2. Emotional health & problem solving - independent, caring problem solvers that make thoughtful, responsible decisions.
  3. Mathematics - strategic thinker able to recognize and manipulate numbers
  4. Literacy - from first words to full sentences. from recognizing the letters of their name to becoming a comprehensive reader
  5. Physical science - opportunities to explore the natural world around us and use what they know to lead their investigations

Curriculum and Models

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At The Voyage Early Learning Journey, we believe in educating the whole child. Using the rigorous expectations of the HighScope curriculum, intertwined inspiration of the Reggio Emilia approach, and The Responsive Classroom social curriculum, we create an immersive pre-school experience for your child.

The HighScope Curriculum

For more than 50 years, The HighScope Curriculum has studied child development leading to a dynamic, research-based and child-focused blueprint for learning. The curriculum uses active participatory learning hallmarked by the plan-do-review process in which students take an active role from start to finish of the lesson plan. The learning areas include:

  • Approaches to Learning
  • Social and Emotional Development
  • Physical Development and Health
  • Language, Literacy and Communication
  • Mathematics
  • Creative Arts
  • Science and Technology
  • Social Studies

These focus areas set children up for a lifetime of learning by taking classroom study beyond traditional academics and applying methods that promote independence, curiosity, decision making, cooperation, dedication, creativity, and problem solving. Skills that will be used in the classroom and beyond.

Reggio Emilia Approach

In our classrooms, each student’s project portfolio looks a little bit different. The Reggio Emilia approach encourages social learning centered on self-directed study through the vehicle of the project. Children are invited to engage with alternate forms of expression including acting, drawing, and sculpting to demonstrate their mastery of subject materials. This teaches them to use their senses and be free to express their ideas. The student experience culminates in project presentations and collective appreciation of each individual expression.

Responsive Classroom

Responsive Classroom is an evidence-based learning model that places academic success in the context of the child’s social-emotional health. In other words, we believe that your child has the best chance at retaining academic information if they are also taught strategies to problem solve in a social context.

This plays out in our classroom through a class-wide check-in at the beginning and end of the day to talk about high and low points and give space to resolve any lingering issues. We find that this model allows reflection, builds community, and provides a space to process growth and emotion as a team.

Learning Resources

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