680 Oak Tree Rd, Palisades, NY
Creative Curriculum / Teaching Philosophy
At Red Owl Academy, we prioritize the holistic development of children through carefully designed activities that target various skill areas. Our approach integrates sensory, motor, perceptual, and language skills into free play and hands-on learning experiences, ensuring that each child engages in meaningful, developmentally appropriate tasks.
Sensory Skills: We incorporate activities that stimulate the five senses, enabling children to explore textures, sounds, smells, tastes, and visual stimuli. Sensory play helps children make connections between their senses and their environment, fostering cognitive and sensory processing skills.
Motor Skills: Our curriculum emphasizes both fine and gross motor development. Through activities like building with blocks, drawing, and engaging in physical games, children enhance their coordination, balance, and muscle strength. These skills are fundamental for daily activities and overall physical development.
Perceptual Skills: We focus on activities that help children understand and interpret visual and spatial information. Tasks such as sorting objects, matching shapes and colors, and navigating through obstacle courses contribute to their perceptual abilities and spatial awareness.
Language Skills: Language development is a core component of our curriculum. Children are encouraged to express themselves through conversation, storytelling, and interactive activities. We provide rich language experiences through reading, singing, and discussions, supporting their vocabulary growth, comprehension, and communication skills.
Our use of The Creative Curriculum reflects our commitment to a research-based, whole-child approach to early education. This curriculum is designed to support children's development across all domains, ensuring that they are prepared for academic success and equipped with essential life skills. The Creative Curriculum emphasizes inquiry-based learning, where children are encouraged to explore, question, and engage with their environment, fostering a love for learning and a strong foundation for future educational experiences.
At Red Owl Academy, our Comprehensive Toddler Curriculum is designed to provide a nurturing and structured environment that supports the unique development of each child. This curriculum is built around carefully crafted daily routines that foster a sense of security and predictability while promoting meaningful learning experiences.
Structured Daily Routines: The curriculum includes well-defined daily routines that help toddlers understand the flow of their day, promoting a sense of stability and security. These routines are designed to balance active and quiet times, individual and group activities, and guided and free play. By establishing a consistent routine, children can build confidence, develop self-regulation, and become more engaged in their learning.
Meaningful Learning Experiences: Each component of our curriculum is tailored to cater to the diverse strengths, interests, and needs of our young learners. We create a variety of learning experiences that are both engaging and developmentally appropriate. This includes sensory exploration, language development activities, motor skill exercises, and social interaction opportunities. By focusing on what each child enjoys and excels at, we ensure that learning is not only effective but also enjoyable.
Individualized Attention: Recognizing that every toddler is unique, our curriculum allows for flexibility and individualized attention. Educators observe and assess each child’s progress, interests, and developmental needs, adapting activities and support to best meet those needs. This personalized approach ensures that each child’s learning journey is both challenging and achievable, promoting a love for learning and a sense of accomplishment.
Developmental Support: The curriculum is designed to support key developmental milestones, including cognitive, social-emotional, language, and physical development. Activities are intentionally crafted to stimulate curiosity, encourage problem-solving, and build foundational skills. Through playful exploration and structured guidance, toddlers gain the skills necessary for future learning and social interactions.
Family Involvement: We believe that family involvement is crucial to a child’s success. Our curriculum includes opportunities for families to engage with their child’s learning experience through regular communication, parent-teacher meetings, and family-oriented activities. This partnership helps to reinforce learning at home and fosters a supportive learning environment.
At Red Owl Academy, our approach to early education is grounded in the belief that play-based, hands-on investigations are crucial for fostering confident, creative, and caring learners. This method empowers preschoolers by immersing them in engaging activities that naturally integrate essential skills across various domains.
Play-Based Learning: We believe that play is a fundamental way through which children learn best. Our curriculum emphasizes the importance of unstructured and structured play, allowing preschoolers to explore, experiment, and discover through activities that interest them. Play-based learning encourages curiosity, imagination, and problem-solving skills, providing a solid foundation for academic and personal growth.
Hands-On Investigations: Our preschool program is designed around interactive, hands-on investigations that captivate children’s interests and encourage active participation. Whether it's exploring nature, building with blocks, or engaging in sensory play, these activities promote critical thinking and foster a deeper understanding of concepts. By physically manipulating materials and experimenting with different approaches, children learn to approach problems with creativity and resilience.
Integration of Key Skills: Throughout the day, our curriculum seamlessly incorporates literacy, language, mathematics, and engineering skills.
- Literacy and Language: We integrate literacy through storytelling, interactive read-alouds, and playful language games. Children build their vocabulary, comprehension, and communication skills as they engage with a variety of texts and express their own ideas. Language development is supported through rich dialogue, questioning, and opportunities for creative expression.
- Mathematics: Mathematical concepts are woven into daily activities, such as counting objects during play, sorting by attributes, and exploring patterns. Hands-on activities like building with blocks or measuring ingredients for a simple recipe introduce basic math concepts in a tangible and meaningful way.
- Engineering: Engineering skills are nurtured through activities that involve building, designing, and problem-solving. Preschoolers might construct structures with blocks, create simple machines, or experiment with different materials to understand cause and effect. These experiences encourage spatial awareness, critical thinking, and innovation.
Confidence and Creativity: By providing opportunities for exploration and self-expression, our play-based approach helps children develop confidence in their abilities. As they navigate through various activities and challenges, they learn to trust their instincts, take risks, and solve problems creatively. This confidence extends beyond the classroom, influencing their approach to new experiences and interactions.
Caring Learners: Our curriculum also emphasizes the development of social-emotional skills, encouraging children to be empathetic, cooperative, and supportive of one another. Through group activities and collaborative play, preschoolers learn to share, negotiate, and resolve conflicts, building positive relationships and a sense of community.
At Red Owl Academy, our Pre-K curriculum is thoughtfully crafted to make the year before Kindergarten a truly magical experience for our young learners. This curriculum is designed to foster a joyful and engaging classroom environment while laying a solid foundation for Kindergarten readiness. Here’s how we achieve this:
A Joyful Classroom Environment: Our Pre-K classrooms are vibrant spaces filled with energy and enthusiasm. We create an atmosphere where learning is fun and exciting, capturing the natural wonder and enthusiasm of young children. Through colorful and interactive learning areas, engaging activities, and supportive interactions, we ensure that each day is filled with joy and exploration.
Everyday Learning Through Play: We believe that play is an essential vehicle for learning, especially in the Pre-K years. Our curriculum incorporates play-based activities that encourage children to explore, experiment, and learn through hands-on experiences. Whether they are role-playing in a pretend store, building intricate structures with blocks, or engaging in creative arts and crafts, children are actively involved in their learning process, making connections between their experiences and the world around them.
Infrastructure for Whole-Child Development: Our Pre-K curriculum is designed to support the holistic development of each child. We focus on:
- Cognitive Development: Through problem-solving activities, games, and explorations, children enhance their cognitive skills and build a strong foundation for future learning. Activities are designed to challenge their thinking, promote curiosity, and develop critical reasoning skills.
- Social-Emotional Development: We prioritize the development of social and emotional skills by encouraging cooperation, empathy, and self-regulation. Children are guided in building positive relationships with peers and adults, learning to express their feelings, and navigate social interactions in a supportive environment.
- Physical Development: Both fine and gross motor skills are nurtured through a variety of activities, from building with small manipulatives to engaging in physical games. This helps children develop coordination, strength, and dexterity.
- Language and Literacy Development: Our curriculum integrates language-rich activities, such as storytelling, interactive read-alouds, and vocabulary games, to support literacy development. Children are encouraged to express themselves verbally and develop their listening and comprehension skills.
Honoring Interests and Nurturing Curiosity: We recognize that each child has unique interests and natural curiosity. Our curriculum is flexible and responsive, allowing children to explore topics and activities that spark their interest. By incorporating their passions into daily learning experiences, we foster a love for learning and encourage children to ask questions, seek answers, and explore new ideas.
Preparation for Kindergarten: Our Pre-K program is designed to ensure that children are well-prepared for the transition to Kindergarten. We focus on developing foundational skills that will support their future academic success, such as early literacy and numeracy skills, social competence, and independence. We also work closely with families to ensure a smooth transition, providing guidance and support to help children and parents navigate this important milestone.
At Red Owl Academy, we emphasize the development of critical and analytical thinking skills as essential components of our educational approach. We believe that nurturing these skills from an early age prepares children for complex problem-solving and decision-making in their future academic and personal lives.
Critical and Analytical Thinking: Our curriculum is designed to challenge children’s thinking and encourage them to question, analyze, and reflect. Through activities such as problem-solving games, open-ended projects, and exploratory tasks, children learn to evaluate information, make informed decisions, and think creatively. We create opportunities for them to explore different perspectives, weigh options, and understand the reasoning behind their choices, fostering a mindset of inquiry and intellectual curiosity.
Teamwork and Independent Work: We recognize the importance of both collaboration and independence in a child’s development. Our program encourages children to work as part of a team through group projects, cooperative games, and collaborative problem-solving tasks. These experiences teach essential social skills such as communication, negotiation, and compromise, and help children learn to value and respect different viewpoints. At the same time, we also provide opportunities for independent work, allowing children to pursue their individual interests, develop self-discipline, and take responsibility for their learning.
Weekly Yoga Classes: To support the physical and emotional well-being of our students, we incorporate weekly yoga classes into our curriculum. These classes offer several benefits:
- Strength and Flexibility: Yoga helps strengthen children’s growing bodies by enhancing their flexibility, balance, and coordination. Through various poses and stretches, children develop muscle strength and improve their overall physical fitness.
- Physical Outlet for Expression: Yoga provides a creative and expressive outlet for children to connect with their bodies and manage their energy. The physical movements and mindful breathing exercises help them release tension, focus their attention, and develop a sense of calm and relaxation.
- Emotional and Mental Benefits: Beyond the physical benefits, yoga supports emotional and mental well-being. It encourages mindfulness, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. By practicing yoga, children learn to recognize and manage their emotions, develop resilience, and build a positive self-image.
- Integration into Daily Life: The skills learned in yoga classes, such as deep breathing and relaxation techniques, are integrated into daily activities and routines. This helps children to stay calm and focused, enhancing their overall learning experience and social interactions.
At Red Owl Academy, our Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 programs introduce young learners to French as a Foreign Language through the innovative QTALK method. This approach is designed to make language learning engaging and effective from an early age.
QTALK Method: QTALK employs a unique system of icons placed side by side, which are interpreted as complete, complex sentences from the very beginning. This visual approach helps children understand and construct sentences in French, making language acquisition intuitive and accessible. By using icons, children can quickly grasp the structure of sentences and begin to use them in context.
Interactive Learning: During QTALK lessons, students engage in a variety of interactive activities that make learning fun and dynamic. They sing songs in French, which aids in developing pronunciation, rhythm, and listening skills. Additionally, students use word cards to create new sentences, allowing them to experiment with language in a playful and creative way. These activities not only reinforce language skills but also build confidence and enthusiasm for learning a new language.
Active Cognition: QTALK is based on the principle of Active Cognition, meaning that students are active participants in their learning process. Rather than passively receiving information, children are encouraged to interact with the language, make connections, and explore concepts actively. This approach fosters deeper understanding and retention of the language as students engage in hands-on learning experiences.
Teacher’s Role: In the QTALK method, the role of the teacher is to act as a facilitator rather than a traditional instructor. Teachers guide and support students as they navigate the language, providing opportunities for practice and exploration while encouraging independence and self-expression. This supportive role helps create a positive and motivating learning environment where children feel empowered to experiment with and use their new language skills.
Endorsement and Research: QTALK is endorsed by the NYU Department of Neurology, reflecting its strong foundation in research and cognitive development principles. The method’s emphasis on visual learning and active engagement aligns with the latest understanding of how young children acquire language, making it a scientifically supported and effective approach to language education