Program and curriculum
Infants and toddlers program
Our infant-toddler program provides a loving “home away from home” for our youngest learners. Your little ones feel special thanks to our nurturing, certified caregivers who happily offer lots of holding, rocking, singing, reading, and cuddling.
You can rely on Children’s Village for an early childhood educational environment that is totally:
- Safe
- Comfortable
- Consistent
- Loving
- Stimulating
We customize schedules for feeding, napping, and activities by regularly consulting with parents and caregivers to promote healthy eating and sleeping habits. Sleep guidelines meet those suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Program highlights for this age group include:
- “Duck-Bunny” and “Teddy Bear-Rocking Horse” rooms for sleep, play, and quiet activities
- Visits to our “Village Square” central gathering place to learn about socializing, sharing, friendship, and fun
- Parent lounge for breastfeeding (we also accept frozen or fresh breast milk labeled with your infant’s name and date)
- Diapers changed and bottles/food provided on an as-needed basis
- Fresh air and exercise
- Regular updates to keep you informed
Our environment encourages growth and development. We communicate daily with parents to share updates about your child, and we hope you do the same when your child is starting something new at home or has changes to eating times or habits.
We welcome crib sheets, blankets, and soft toys. We suggest that other toys remain at home to avoid being lost or damaged.
Children’s Village understands that daily routines are important to make your child feel secure. That routine includes lots of touching, tasting, throwing, banging, jumping, and climbing.
At this age, we gradually start to introduce more playtime and creative activities. We’ll be sure to celebrate special milestones like following simple directions, learning about the potty, dressing and undressing, or meeting new friends. We make sure we communicate these accomplishments to our parents.
We help toddlers reach development goals by studying their interests. This allows them to contribute in their own special way. This method is called the Project Approach. Your child will start learning to express wants and needs verbally, to gain self-confidence, to respond to others’ emotions, and to participate in classroom routines with some independence.
Our toddler curriculum includes:
- Language and literacy (increase vocabulary, develop pre-reading and pre-writing skills)
- Cognitive skills (begin counting, increase problem-solving skills, and identify basic shapes and colors)
- Motor skills (using fingers to grip utensils, experimenting with scissors, climbing, balancing, pedaling a bike)
- Creative arts (role-playing with props, blocks, dramatic play, visual arts)
Toddlers are naturally full of curiosity. While your children experience new activities and challenges, we’re right behind them with hugs, smiles, and lots of personal attention and encouragement.
We love to cook and eat. Many of our delicious snacks are based on our cooking and baking programs with toddlers and older students who assist us in whipping up delicious snacks like banana bread, monkey bread, or cupcakes in one of our three adult kitchens throughout the building. We even make pasta and let our children add cheese. Other favorite treats are homemade applesauce and pumpkin bread in the fall.
Preschool program
A natural extension of our toddler rooms, our preschool program encourages children to develop greater independence, to learn to follow directions, and to play nicely with friends. Our rooms are large enough to accommodate a variety of fun activities.
Children acquire self-help skills such as dressing, cleaning up after meals, and storing toys after playtime. They assume responsibility by washing hands, getting plates and silverware, pouring milk, putting lunch boxes away, and using the bathroom.
Developmentally appropriate software in every preschool classroom allows children to fuel literacy development and stimulate creativity. Even simple activities like choosing characters, picking games, or choosing backgrounds help your child make decisions.
After lunch, bathroom time, and book time, children are encouraged to nap. Those who no longer nap may rest quietly on mats and read books. Children arriving during rest time may engage in quiet table activities.
Children’s Village children enjoy a special learning experience with the nearby Doylestown-owned Pine Run retirement community. One afternoon a week, a small group of children rides the exciting Pine Run trolley for a rewarding intergenerational program with Pine Run residents. Our students truly love these supervised adventures with holiday celebrations, snacks, music, and crafts. Our friendly senior neighbors welcome us weekly with open arms.
Children start learning letters, numbers, etc., with songs, dramatic play, stories, and individual and group art experiences. “Choice time” allows your child to develop decision-making abilities. With teacher guidance, children plan which area of the room they would like to play in and follow through on their chosen activity.
Pre-kindergarten
The pre-kindergarten program at Children’s Village is geared to four-year-old children. Here, we build on your child’s continuing maturity and growth. Literacy, numeracy, pre-writing skills, science, and social studies exploration are encouraged through projects and play-based experiences. We can make valuable lessons out of counting while stirring a recipe of yummy pumpkin bread or shaping soft pretzel dough into letters and numbers.
Outdoor play is great for gross motor skills! In addition to playground games, children play and learn through creative activities such as growing tomatoes and herbs for homemade pizza, climbing our “rock,” visiting our duck pond, touring the hospital cafeteria to learn about nutrition, and hiking our nearby nature trails.
Kindergarten readiness isn’t about knowing the alphabet. It is about listening, playing well with other children, and being eager to learn. Our curriculum is based on an in-depth study of a topic determined by the child’s interest; a program we call the Project Approach. In pre-K, we help your child:
- Learn more about computers
- Discover literacy and numeracy
- Work on pre-writing skills
- Explore science and social studies through projects and play-based experiences
Children’s Village encourages our parents to be involved. Parents are welcome here any time, any day. We welcome books, music, and visits that will enrich our project themes.
Kindergarten program
Our full-day kindergarten program for 5-year-olds is fun, educational, and meets all national, state, and local curriculum requirements. For example, our math and reading curricula, Math in Focus and Reading Horizons, are used in the Central Bucks School District.
We match academic readiness with our continuing emphasis on finding joy and fun in learning every day. Kindergarten tuition includes before and after-care.
Our curriculum is designed to prepare your child academically for first grade and includes:
- Reading
- Writing
- Math
- Library
- Computer
- Science
- Social Studies
- Music
- Art
- P.E.
The word “kindergarten” comes from the German “kinder” for “children” and “garten” for “garden.” We follow the true essence of the word kindergarten by ensuring your child experiences exercise and outdoor playtime.
Children’s Village offers a large, shaded outdoor play area for your child’s enjoyment. Here, children discover nature, make friends, shout, and have lots of fun. Our outdoor adventures can also include activities such as:
- Building snowmen
- Sledding
- Climbing jungle gym “mountains”
- Hiking trails
- Outdoor classroom/amphitheater within property confines
Library
The Children’s Village library offers a charming and cozy space where children read, tell stories, play, discover, and imagine. Our students choose from more than 4,000 age-appropriate books and related materials to help them discover the lifelong value of learning through reading.
With a full-time librarian and our substantial selection, we function like a true “circulation” library. Your children will learn how to select and borrow books while following proper library circulation procedures. Our collection grows with your child, from nursery rhymes through beginner readers. Children have full access to our large variety of books, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and learn how to:
- Recognize basic library terms
- Demonstrate proper material care
- Create book reviews and reports with follow-up discussions
- Foster a passion for learning and curiosity about the wider world
There are many ways you can make a difference in your young child’s world. Why not come in to read and share your love of books? Our children and staff heartily welcome guest readers, whether in our library or in the classroom. Parents, grandparents, relatives, or even older siblings can select a favorite children’s book from home or ask our librarian or classroom teacher to help pick one.
If you’d like to volunteer as a guest reader, please call 215-345-2942 and sign up today.