Curriculum

A Child’s Haven bases its curriculum on the philosophy that children learn through play. Our curriculum emphasizes a “hands on” approach to learning. Classroom lessons provide active involvement, meaningful exploration, and reinforcement through repetition. Daily schedules are designed to balance structure and free choice, as well as active and quiet times.  Skills are introduced through materials and activities which are both child-centered and teacher-directed. Activities are planned which emphasize the process instead of the  product, fostering a sense of achievement and self-worth. Equipment, materials, and activities are chosen based on the appropriate ages and stages of the child’s development.

We follow the Texas Early Childhood Guidelines in our younger classes and the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines in our Pre-K class.

Program Objectives

• Assist children in learning to live comfortably in a social environment in addition to the family.
• Develop toleration and respect for individual and cultural differences through discussion, literature, and role modeling.
• Provide opportunities for the children to interact, guided by models of socially acceptable behavior.
• Enhance the child’s self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-confidence by offering many opportunities for a child to succeed, express ideas, and understand his/her emotions and to attain skills to control them (using peaceful conflict resolution).
• Provide opportunities for math, science, reading, memory skills, language development, and social science.
• Increase attention span and follow simple directions.
• Foster creativity and self-expression through art, music, and dramatic play.
• Develop small muscles by using scissors, paste, clay, blocks, puzzles, beads, pegs, etc.
• Develop large muscles through outdoor activities such as climbing, riding a tricycle, running, etc.
• Stimulate and encourage curiosity and provide opportunities for problem solving.
• Encourage children to take care of their own needs with support from the adults in their environment.
• Foster a belief in God and to know that God loves them and cares for them.

Christian Education
A Child’s Haven provides a Christian environment where God’s love is celebrated. Each week the teachers present a bible story to the children in a developmentally appropriate way. Prayer is used appropriately throughout the day. Songs with A Christian message are used in the classroom on a regular basis. Children attend chapel once a week to listen to a lesson and sing with the pastors.  Each month the children learn about a different Fruit of the Spirit, which uses fruit to teach about the characteristics of Jesus.

Spanish
Young children learn a second language much like they learn their first: through songs, stories, talking, and playing. Once a week, our Spanish teacher will come into your child’s class to teach Spanish basics through engaging hands-on lessons.

Art
Children engage in daily art activities in their classrooms.  They enjoy doing crafts and other artistic projects related to our weekly planned themes.  The emphasis is on developing a love for art and of free expression.

Music and Movement
In addition to the daily music and movement time that your children will do with their teacher in class, they will attend a music and movement class once a week in the Gross Motor Room. This class will support:

• Self-Expression
• Hand-Eye Coordination
• Balance
• Language Development
• Rhythm
• Memory

Garden
The Howard Butterfly Classroom was added to our campus in the Spring of 2022. The children will have the opportunity to help with gardening tasks each week. Seasonal plants will be planted and grown by the children. When fruits and vegetables meet their maturity, the children will be able to taste the fruits of their labor. No chemical pesticides will be used in the garden to allow for the children to dig and explore in the soil. In addition to gardening, this space is available for teachers to use as an extension of their classrooms.