For the new school year, our focus as a teaching team has been rededicating ourselves to the Early Childhood standards from the National Association of the Education of the Young Child (NAEYC). This is a focus for us each school year, but with greater emphasis this year as we were preparing for a NAEYC accredidation visit. Our team has spent endless hours completing classroom portfolios and re-evaluating their classroom environment. This process is so important for our teaching team as we learn and grow with the emerging research in the Early Childhood profession. Creating these NAEYC portfolios allow our teachers to reflect and document all the wonderful things they are doing in their classrooms. It also allows us to gain greater confidence in our processes, knowing they are the most current and best practices for our children and families.
As we prepared for our NAEYC accreditor to come visit, we took time to reflect on the core of who we are at Parish Day School of Eastern Shore Chapel. These items are linked to our purpose statement and goals each school year.
We are a faith-based program, grounded in the strong roots of the Episcopal Church. As a community of faith, we are called to celebrate, lift up, proclaim, and send forth the love of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We are committed to learning through play. Research shows that children learn best through play and hands-on activities to allow them to explore their classrooms and our outdoor spaces. We are committed to providing a positive school environment that instills a love of learning.
As educators, we spend our days helping our children build a positive self-image, foster independence, practice self-control, and develop a sense of responsibility.
As a learning community, we strive to allow the children to experience differences in cultures through interaction with others. We encourage trying different foods and learning about others' customs. We focus on teaching our children to be accepting of others and to learn how to share and interact with one another.
We foster the development of the whole child through language development, listening skills, gross and fine motor skills, and social emotional intellegence. Our goal is for each child to have a successful preschool experience that will build a strong foundation for their future learning.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics active play is fundamental to childrens' health and is essential to the foundational skills children will need to live successful lives in a complex world. Through play, children solve problems, negotiate with one another, practice leadership skills, learn to interact with one another, build creativity, and develop language skills. Active play also decreases anxiety in children which is so important in our current world.
Our teaching teams seek opportunities to collaborate with one another to plan and set up play environments for our children. Each day our teachers see the positive impact play has on our students' growth and development. Celebrating this growth is one of our favorite things to do at Parish Day School!
Parish Day School of Eastern Shore Chapel
Where Children Spread Their Wings!
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