Our Philosophy
Welcome to Asra's Family Childcare Center!
Asra's Family Childcare Center’s philosophy is based on three core principles which promotes the development of the child as a whole. We strongly believe that a holistic approach needs to be taken while teaching the child, because learning for children is multi-layered and involves the heart, soul, and mind. Awareness and understanding of a child’s social and emotional needs are the first steps in creating an environment best adept for learning.
The first principle is the heart of our philosophy, which is based on the idea of providing “a home away from home.” Emotionally, the thought of separating from family for the day may be difficult for children. We at Asra’s understand this emotional process families go through when dropping off a child whether it be a newborn infant or a three-year-old. Providing a warm and comforting classroom environment along with the social and emotional support of the teacher is the base that helps children adapt to this learning environment and thrive, because each child receives the attention and care so vital for nurturing development.
When a child truly feels the belonging and acceptance within a learning environment, this is the greatest opportunity for us as educators to provide learning experiences that will support a child in meeting academic goals. Proceeding to the second core principle of our philosophy, we believe that helping children become independent and confident individuals has a strong correlation with meeting academic goals. Inspired from the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori, we have set up our classrooms with work available to children which promote the practical skills required as described by Dr. Montessori. She emphasized the importance of children being provided opportunities in which their fine motor skills develop and lay the framework for acquiring independence in doing everyday tasks such as putting on a coat or helping oneself to pour that spoonful of veggies during lunchtime. This very independence gained, is the basis for confidence a child feels after accomplishing a given task, which in turns promotes the child to explore and take on new challenges that are developmentally appropriate to further learning and critical skills such as problem solving and working with peers.
In order to foster the development of the independent and confident child, it is essential to provide a prepared environment which is the third principle upon which our philosophy is based. A prepared environment is a concept derived from Dr. Maria Montessori’s philosophy, in which the classroom is set up to specifically allow the child for self-directed learning through the use of diverse materials and activities. The teacher’s role is to facilitate and guide the child. The beauty of this type of classroom set up is that it puts trust into the child to choose an activity based on personal interest. Each activity which is accessible to the child has a purpose that is developmentally appropriate for the child. When the material and activity is set for the child in a manner that is both accessible and open to choose, the environment is then “prepared” for learning that promotes the independent child to explore through the varied experiences.
