Early Childhood Education at St Josaphat School
Children need freedom and time to play. At St. Josaphat School we are increasing our focus on play. We know that young children learn best through play and we want to strengthen their development in literacy and numeracy in the most natural ways possible. Our play-based program is filled with opportunities for the children to work alone, in small groups, and as a whole class. These moments are thoughtfully planned by our early childhood team making sure that we are offering our youngest students a safe and nurturing environment where they can grow as children of God.
Centers are a large part of our day. Beginning with our three year old program, centers are offered with little restriction or interruption by the classroom teachers. We want students to experience uninterrupted play during center time where they can develop their ideas, take risks in a safe environment and learn from their mistakes.
As our students move on into our four year old program the teacher introduces more structure, encourages the children to plan and set goals. The scaffolding our team is continually working on allows our children to grow. We believe that this plays a critical role in supporting social, emotional and intellectual development of our students and sets the foundations for them to be confident, lifelong learners.