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  • 340 Harvey Lake Rd, Highland MI 48356
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Beliefs & Values

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Play based

A Play-Based Approach

Research shows that for toddlers, and preschool-aged children, the best outcomes occur when learning is embedded in play. Building Blocks Preschool curriculum is based on three research-based principles:

  • Children need both unstructured free play and playful learning under the gentle guidance of adults to best prepare them for entrance into kindergarten.
  • Academic and social development are so intertwined that the former must not trump the latter.
  • Learning and play are not incompatible; learning takes place best when children are engaged and enjoying themselves.

VISON & VALUES

Where children are valued for their ability to do meaningful work, their wonder and curiosity, their perspectives, and their ability to play. Where families are valued for their bonds and traditions, their ability to play, their commitment to work, home, and community, and their dreams for their children. Where staff are valued for their vision, their delight in children, their skill, heart, and knowledge, their commitment to families, and their ability to play

VISON & VALUES

At Building Blocks Nature Preschool, children are respected and treated as capable and competent individuals who learn through play. Families are seen as a child’s first teacher and are valued as partners. Teachers serve as advocates for the success of both children and their families. We value being interconnected within our community and both our indoor and outdoor environments serve as the third teacher.
values

Image of The Child

The first social experience away from home shapes the way the child sees the world from that point on. Children need to feel empowered and see themselves as a truly integral part of the world’s operations. Each child should feel important and needed in his or her environment. Children realize that they have something special to share with their world on each given day; it is our role to allow the child to naturally bring forth what they have inside of them.

Integration Philosophy

Building Blocks Nature Preschool is a unique environment that integrates carefully planned environments for the child’s essential development with active child led play. Lesson-based work fosters the development of intellect and refines social grace and courtesy while individual imagination and social skills are developed through the opportunities of child led play, motion, and music. The integration of these philosophies allows us to focus on the “whole child”.

We cherish what we learn from each other

We at Building Blocks, are dedicated to nurturing trusting relationships and to growing a deeply connected community that allows intellectual and emotional risk-taking. We emphasize a joyful, playful climate and a culture of intellectual inquiry and critical thinking.

Our program is anchored by commitments to:

  • creating environments that emphasize spaciousness and light, intriguing materials, thoughtful order and organization, and connections to the natural world
  • growing joyful, trusting, authentic relationships among children and adults; developing curriculum anchored in shared inquiry and in the pursuits of children, both playful and serious
 

Learning Environment

Building Blocks curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia / Project Approach to early childhood education. Our programs are play-based because we believe children learn by doing. The curriculum is carefully designed by Building Blocks Preschool Program to provide engaging, developmentally appropriate activities that encourage children to be confident, competent learners.

Our goal, as it is for the schools of Reggio Emilia, is to create an environment for children, teachers, and parents. Our Preschool Program is staffed with multiple teachers; however, in the Reggio Emilia Approach the environment is considered the “third teacher.”

Values and Principles

The classroom provides a home-like learning environments and the outdoors extends the curriculum.  The classroom is set up to inspire, nurture and encourage discovery.  We believe children are lovers of learning and we create an environment to encourage and support this desire.  Classrooms are divided into learning centers that intrinsically foster social skills, cognitive development, and academic skills, while engaging their desire to learn, as they explore and discover together.  Learning activities, materials, and other items are introduced into the classroom environment that focuses around the interests of the children.  The daily schedule provides a structure that helps the children feel secure and competent.  We follow the best practice guidelines at NAEYC and you can read current articles here.