Goals for our children
Goals for our children include: develop a positive self image, know that they are valued, learn how to act independently and with confidence; develop and strengthen social skills, learn to recognize and express feelings appropriately; learn to be responsible for choices and actions; establish a foundation for good health and safety habits; build strength, muscular coordination and physical skills.
Child centered learning
There are two types of learning environments: teacher-centered and child-centered. The environment in our program is child-centered. Of these two, this one takes the greatest investment of time. We create a child-centered environment because of the results we see in student learning. Research shows that children who are actively involved in choosing what they learn, and when they will learn it, have tremendous success in their education. In our program, there are no adults with whistles around their necks, shuffling children from one center to another. Instead we offer an environment rich in learning where children choose the activity that is exciting to them and stay with that activity as long as it engages them. Child-centered environments look like this: * Long periods of uninterrupted free time * Few restrictions * Adults acting as facilitators * Lots of outdoor time
Resources
Petaluma Adult School
Photo Albums
California Adult Schools
