Our Creative Caring Pre-School Program is modeled on the High Scope Educational Research Foundation Active Learning Curriculum.

Creative Caring Child Development Center has been providing high quality preschool experiences to families in Dexter, Pinckney, Gregory, Hamburg, Chelsea, Ann Arbor and western Washtenaw County Michicgan for over 12 years.

Active learning is a term that describes the interactive process between the child as learner and the environment. Real learning-active learning-takes place when children see how something is done and them do it for themselves. In active learning, the proper role of adults is to support and challenge their thinking. It means that adults first validate, or support, what children already know, and then challenge them to extend their thinking to the next level.

Our Creative Caring active learning approach is designed to enhance school readiness for children by providing children with play-oriented, exploratory activities that allow children to make choices, and participate at their own developmental level.

The Creative Caring Daily Schedule
Our Creative Caring Pre-School Program follows a predictable sequence of events known as the daily routine. This provides a structure within which children can make choices and follow their interests. Following a consistent routine day after day gives children the sense of security they need to make choices and take risks, which opens the door to exciting learning opportunities. When children can predict the order and content of the day's events, they feel safe, reassured and empowered.

Our Creative Caring Pre-School Program also has flexibility built-in, because the length and order of the events can vary from day to day, depending on children's interests. There is enough flexibility that our children feel neither rushed nor slowed down in carrying out their activities. Most important, our pre-school children make choices-within reasonable limits-during each part of the day. Because daily activities build on their interests and abilities, and because children know they have a say in the learning experience, Creative Caring pre-schoolers feel that the daily routine belongs to them. They enjoy learning it and following it.

Components of the Creative Caring Pre-School Daily Routine

Greeting and departure times. (generally mornings and afternoons)
Creative Caring teachers work with parents to ensure that arrivals and departures for pre-schoolers are pleasant and reassuring. We provide warm greetings to help assure children that they are in the hands of trustworthy adults who will keep them safe until their parents return. At departure time, our caregiver's pleasant, friendly goodbyes and warm wishes for return allow children to reunite with their parents but also be free of concerns about their sense of belonging at Creative Caring.

Small-group time. (generally 10:00-11:00AM and 3:00-4:00PM)
During this time, a small group of children meet with an adult to experiment with materials, try out new skills, and solve problems. Creative Caring pre-school teachers develop a small-group activity based on children's interests and particular skills, materials, or content areas that suit children's developmental learning needs. As they work with the materials, children make choices about how to use the materials and how to talk about them.

Large-group time. (generally 11:00 to 11:30AM)
Large-group time is when all Creative Caring pre-school children and teachers participate in an activity together. We have several large-group activities (sometimes called 'circle time') throughout the day. Large-group time, which usually lasts between 10-15 minutes, builds a sense of community in the classroom. It is a time when everyone comes together to participate in music and movement activities, storytelling, or a discussion about something important to the children, such as the first snowfall of the season.

Outside time. (usually before lunch)
Creative Caring has an attractive half-acre outdoor play area. Creative Caring pre-schoolers and teachers spend at least 30 minutes outside every day, enjoying vigorous and often noisy play in the fresh air. This is where children can run, jump, throw, kick, climb, dig and ride. Being outside also lets children and adults alike connect with the local community and use all their senses to appreciate nature. And rather than standing to the side and just observing, Creative Caring staff joins children in their outdoor play activities.

Transition times. (varies, depending on the daily activities)
Transitions are the minutes between other blocks of the day, as well as arrival and departure times. Creative Caring teachers strive to make transitions pass smoothly, since they set the stage for the next segment in the day's schedule. They also provide meaningful learning opportunities themselves.

Eating and resting times. (usually 1:00 to 3:00PM)
Meals and snacks allow children to enjoy eating healthy food in a supportive social setting. Rest is for quiet, solitary activities. Since both activities happen at home as well as at school, adult caregivers and teachers in all Creative Caring programs try to respect family customs at these times as much as possible. A primary goal is to create a shared and secure sense of community within the program.