At Little Sprouts, we pride ourselves in our Budding Scholars™ approach to curriculum, which begins to prepare children as young as one month for a lifelong love of learning. But, what is it all about and how is it practiced every day in the classroom?
Know Your Domains!
The Budding Scholars™ approach is based on developing four key areas, or “domains”, that support learning across an array of interests and skills:
The Citizen domain encompasses your child’s social development. As they interact with their fellow students, family members, and teachers, your child experiences many different encounters every day. Developing a sense of community and honing relationship-building skills at an early age is just as important as learning the ABC’s!
Dancing, running, exploring a playground… All of these activities help develop the Body domain. Physical development is instrumental to overall growth, and what better way is there than getting outside and shaking off those sillies? Even daily routines such as crawling, putting on a jacket, or writing your name are crucial to this domain. They are practiced every day, at all age appropriate levels!
The Scholar domain embraces language and literacy and, although it may seem early to introduce such principles to an infant, research shows you can never start too soon! By introducing new themes every week, educators embolden children to express themselves at every age level. Literacy skills begin to develop as a result of these foundation-building activities and become more complex as the child prepares for Kindergarten.
We all know that children of all ages have a strong sense of curiosity. The Mind domain encourages it! Science, math, and even artistic activities help build a child’s cognitive development while challenging their minds. A diverse group of activities spread throughout the day keeps your child engaged, learning, and growing while asking LOTS of thoughtful questions.
Learn Together – at Your Own Pace!
The Budding Scholars™ approach engages every aspect of the child, encouraging growth at every level. However, every child is different and develops at their own pace. Because of this, Little Sprouts employs child centered, individualized teaching methods. For instance, we may be focusing on the letter “D” for the week and, after a fun activity of exploring various “D” words together, children may be encouraged to look around the classroom and find “D” words of their own. Too new of a concept for the younger children? Try carrying around this picture of the letter “D” and see if you can match it! Older students farther along? How many lowercase “D”s can you spot? Every activity is adjusted to ensure all of the children are stimulated and learning at all times.
So Many Choices!
We are all different – what a boring place the world would be if we weren’t! The same goes for our kids, and an activity that is piquing the curiosity of one child may be disengaging another. “Choice” activities are introduced throughout the day to allow all four domains to develop in turn. A child will be encouraged to employ their Mind domain by choosing between either a Body activity, such as painting, or a reading activity that will inspire their Scholar domain. We always have multiple choices available so, if neither of those suit their fancy, use your words, work that Citizen domain, and say, “I would rather build with blocks!”
Principles in Practice, Every Day
Our curriculum changes regularly, ensuring a steady rotation of domains across a large array of themes to keep every child engaged and curious. Focusing on all of the domains through each lesson and activity allows your child to develop their mind and personality all day, every day. It’s no wonder the Budding Scholars™ approach sets up each child for success in Kindergarten, and beyond!
Learn more about Budding Scholars™ or Tour a Little Sprouts school near you!