In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace. -Richard Louv
Scope of Teamwork
The teams in each program are designed to support primary relationships with the children so that each educator has primary children to care for over the years they are together. The infant – older toddler teams and the 2-year preschool program practice continuity of care. Additionally, each team has three members whose roles support the team: the writer who is responsible for creating the children’s portfolios and maintain a weekly documentation of their program’s experiences; the curriculum designer who builds curriculum and creates invitations, and the scheduler who supports the daily planning of the team’s smooth path through the day.
Nature Based Learning
Our Center has focused on nature and play based learning in the early years for over a decade. The curriculum we have developed is responsive to children’s interests, derived from their skills, and shaped by the time and environment afforded to them. We use the seasons, weather, and materials to extend experiences and curiosity in play. This commitment to nature-based learning completes the academic preparation that research shows is substantial and nourishing for young children.
Professional Development
The Children’s Center’s team is professionally oriented to establishing center-wide practices that hold emotional development, freedom to play, and calm daily schedules at the fore. We do this by creating very strong staff child ratios, ongoing time for individual weekly planning, weekly team meetings, and monthly full staff meetings during working hours. This year, our staff studies include understanding anxiety in young children, gender diversity in early childhood settings, and continued conversations about play based curriculum, nature-based work, and team interests.
Cultivating an inclusive community
The Children’s Center aims to cultivate a community that feels welcoming to all. Our intentionality is focused on embracing the discomfort in learning what we do not know; and striving to listen, reflect and advocate for change as we recognize the impact of biases promoted by living in a predominantly white community. The Children's Center staff has had the privilege of engaging in trainings with consultants Britt Hawthorne, and Takiema Bunche Smith. This year, the Bay Area training group, Kaleidoscope will lead our staff in four trainings focused on gender diversity in early childhood education.
Bowdoin College Land Acknowledgement
Bowdoin College is located on the ancestral homelands of the Wabanaki. Today the Wabanaki include the Abenaki, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot nations, who have deep and enduring relationships with Maine’s lands and waterways. We acknowledge the painful legacy of the region’s colonial history and commit to better understanding it, while also celebrating the vibrancy of Native American cultures and working to build a more inclusive community.