The Rutgers Psychology Child Development Center implements the Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos and the Creative Curriculum for Preschoolers to design thoughtful and intentional experiences for each of the classrooms and their respective age levels. In accordance with our Mission and Philosophy Statement, great care is devoted to creating developmentally appropriate learning activities to support the overall development of each child. Children will participate in activities and opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles. Large portions of the day are devoted to Center Time (self-selected learning activities). There are two Circle Times, scheduled for the children to come together to share in discussions, songs and movement activities. Outdoor play times occur two or three times a day, weather permitting.
Supplementing the Creative Curriculum for Preschool, our school also implements a preschool SEL curriculum for the whole child, Al's Pals. Al’s Pals is a nationally recognized, evidence-based social–emotional learning curriculum designed for children ages 3 to 6. This comprehensive curriculum empowers young children to learn how to make healthy decisions, resolve conflicts, manage their feelings, and build positive relationship within our nurturing classroom environments. Al’s Pals is one of the only SEL curricula that has been investigated using rigorous methodologies and found to have a positive impact on social-emotional competence and coping skills. Al’s Pals was developed with research from cross-cultural studies on risk, protective factors, and resiliency to identify the types of classroom strategies that truly have an impact on children’s lives.
Our program is proud to offer the Music Together In Schools curriculum for integrated learning. Each family receives a Family Songbook with a digital download code so that families can access the songs the children are learning in their weekly music classes. The songbooks and materials are designed to be interactive and focused on the way children learn, with different activities that can be done both in the classroom and a home. From babyhood through the early elementary years, Music Together nurtures each child's natural musicality in a playful, musically rich learning environment. Music Together's researched-based music classes allow children to learn at their own pace and in a way that is developmentally appropriate. By participating in our weekly Music Together in School program, children will experience high-quality classes led by trained Music Together Specialists. Children and families will learn new songs and music activities to inspire them to bring music into their families' everyday lives.
Teaching Strategies
