North west learning centre: VDA Inc. in the Central Valley

Our Curriculum –

Infant

Curriculum is designed to work around the infant’s daily needs. Introducing language development, large and small motor development, social/emotional development and cognitive development

Language development with use of talking to infants when taking care of their needs. Teaching and using simple sign language to help the infant communicate their needs. Reading stories based on monthly themes.

Large and small motor development through movement with room to crawl and start to walk and picking up and grabbing toys. 

Social Emotional Development with music and art. Listening to theme based songs and playing with musical instruments. Art projects with holding large crayons, paintbrushes or fingerpaint.

Cognitive development through sensory play. Activities that introduce all five senses.

Wobbler

Curriculum is designed to build on language development, social/emotional development and cognitive development. 

 Activities to build language include a weekly book, fingerplay songs, and  a new alphabet letter a month.

Activities to build on social/emotional development include a variety of weekly art projects, music and creativity. Learning new songs and reinforcing concepts with music and creativity.

Activities to build cognitive development through sensory and science. Weekly sensory and/or science activities for awareness of self and the environment around them.

Large and small motor developments with outdoor play thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the afternoon and art projects. 

Music classes are being offered started July 2021 to children once a week.

Toddler

Curriculum is designed to build on language development, social/emotional development and cognitive development. 

 Activities to build language include a weekly book, fingerplay songs, and  a new alphabet letter a month.

Activities to build on social/emotional development include a variety of weekly art projects, music and creativity. Learning new songs and reinforcing concepts with music and creativity.

Activities to build cognitive development through sensory and science. Weekly sensory and/or science activities for awareness of self and the environment around them.

Large and small motor developments with outdoor play thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the afternoon and art projects. 

Preschool

Our Preschool is a Montessori classroom with a sprinkling of monthly themes.

The Montessori Method encourages children to perform self-directed learning at their own pace.  The school encourages the development of the whole child, allowing for an orderly, calm and peaceful approach to learning.

Montessori classrooms provide an atmosphere that is pleasant, attractive and geared towards the children. It is divided into logical areas for each of the key curriculum areas of Practical life, Sensory perception, Language, Mathematics, Science & Nature, Art , Music, and Geography. Learning materials are placed on easily accessible tables and open shelves that are sized appropriately for small children.

Each classroom has children spanning three age levels with the class staying together for three years. In this model, the older children help teach the younger children, which reinforces the concepts for the older children. The younger children see the older children as role models and are encouraged to learn so they can “do what the big kids do”. The children stay with the same teacher all three years. This allows the teacher to develop close relationships with the children, allows them to know each child’s learning style very well and encourages a strong sense of community among the children.

Montessori uses innovative, hands-on learning materials that are often self- correcting. This enables children to realize that mistakes are an opportunity for learning. They also deepen the student’s understanding of a concept and allow them the joy of discovering something by themselves.

Recent research studying brain development in young children supports many of the theories behind the Montessori Method. Students have a smooth transition to traditional classrooms after the Montessori experience and the values they have gained serve them well in high school, college and in their lives as adults.

North West Learning Center – Fresno, CA 93722