We have been caring for children aged three months to five years since 1990. In 2005, we were proud to receive accreditation from the National Association of Education for Young Children, in recognition of our high professional standards and commitment to serving our young learners.
They, the children are autonomously capable of making meaning from their daily life experiences through mental acts involving planning, coordination of ideas and abstractions...The central act of adults, therefore, is to activate, especially indirectly, the meaning-making competencies of children as a basis of all learning. They must try to capture the right momements, and then find the right approaches, for bringing together, into a fruitful dialogue, their meaning and interpretations with those children.
Loris Malaguzzi 1920-1994
At APS we believe and recognized that children themselves provide the ideas and the inspiration for learning, and that the learning is a community experience that children, teachers and parents can explore together. To promote this approach, we view the role of the teacher and the child as a researcher and in partnership with the parents we create the learning together. The school is a place for everyone and APS values relationships between children, teachers and parents. It’s what intensify the child’s learning when she sees her parents are participating and learning along side her. At Aps our goal is that children also retain their Key teachers from toddlerhood to graduation. This “continuity of care” helps foster the strong relationships that are vital for the social emotional development of young children. Our philosophy is rooted in the foundations of early childhood development and learning theory. Our beliefs are based on the work noted by developmental theorists: Piaget, Dewey, Erickson, Vygotsky, and Bruner.
At APS we take our inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. Looking at this complex system of education is fascinating and challenging. It invites us, as teachers, to see the possibilities of what can be, if we are willing to take risks and let go of our traditional roles.The Reggio Approach is a complex system that respects and puts into practice many of the fundamental aspects of the work of Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky and many others. It is a system that lends itself to: the role of collaboration among children, teachers and parent, the co-construction of knowledge , the interdependence of individual and social learning and the role of culture in understanding this interdependence. (Baji Rankin 2004). At the heart of this system is the powerful image of the child. Reggio educators do not see children as empty vessels that require filling with facts. Rather they see children as full of potential, competent and capable of building their own theories. The Rights of Children as written by Loris Malaguzzi best describes how children are viewed.
APS Values:
The rights of children.
Children with special rights.
Parents have a right to participate.
The rights of the teacher. Professional development is a right of the teacher.
The right to quality.
Curious people. Researchers.
The right of time.
The right to dialogue.
Social justice and conflict resolution.
The right to negotiate.
Play is the work of children. Through play children learn to make sense of the world and the relationships around them. It is a vital part of our curriculum.
Relationships and learning coincide within an active process of education.
Self help Skills which promotes indepence and self confidence.
Emergent curriculum children are engaged learners and we seek to support and deepen their learning, wherever and whenever we can. Our teachers build on the interests and learning of the children to frame curriculum: this leads to a dynamic interplay between the child and the teacher.
Project based the children learn when they are in control of their learning and with the adults and their peers. Children work on a project for months and in turn deepens their knowledge and understanding.Social Justice and prodiversity - APS also stands for All People’s School. We take an active approach to challenges, prejudice stereotypes and bias. This approach is an integral part of the learning process for the entire APS community-parents, teachers and children alike. We also promote an empathetic approach to conflict resolution.
The physical environment is designed to be the third teacher. We believe children have a relationship with the physical space in which they explore. We take care in designing areas where children can work in large groups, individually and with one or two children. We give respect to displaying the children’s work, which creates a comfortable, warm and cheerful ambience and pleasant environment. Our environment reveals how much regard and value we put on the children and their processes of learning.
APS is committed to a green curriculum. We actively teach ecological responsibilty such as, recycling, composting, gardening and respect for nature and our earth.