Our Philosophy

The CEC Philosophy

The rich and comprehensive nature of our research-based philosophy provides a solid foundation for our curriculum and teaching practices. Childhood is a crucial time of discovery, development, and growth. Children today face increasing pressures to grow up too fast, depriving them of fundamental early childhood experiences that help them to become successful adults. The CEC is committed to preserving the experience of childhood. In the safe harbor of our indoor and outdoor spaces, children are free to laugh, climb, run, talk, dig, explore, and interact. Through extended and complex play, they acquire knowledge and form their own unique identity, understanding the world and their place in it.

We want children to develop what may be termed as soft skills, things like confidence, competence, creativity, and critical thinking. An ability to work together as a team in collaboration. To develop effective communication skills so they can fully express themselves and understand what others are communicating to them. We want them to have a powerful sense of self, knowing what they are all about, and the confidence to take risks, engage in problem solving, and to go after the information they seek. We want them to learn that they are their best resource and that the answers do not always lie with adults.

We want them to run and run, moving to keep their brain working and to develop a complex vestibular system that will eventually mature enough to allow them to sit still. We want them to wiggle through a story together because we know that wiggling enhances their ability to stay focused and remember. We trust them to be on their own path of learning and we support them in their efforts. Our program is founded on the philosophy that a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth develops from a positive sense of self. We treat children with love and respect, and encourage them to grow, create, and learn at their own unique pace.

The Importance of Play

Play is pivotal in the lives of young children. It is how they are intended to interact with the world around them. It is how they learn. It is important that we understand play, and value this as a practice in early childhood. The ancient philosopher Plato (427–347 bce) actually talked about the importance of play, “…enforced learning will not stay in the mind. So avoid compulsion, and let your children’s learning take the form of play.” Theorists, researchers, and educators since then have long championed a play-based approach to early education, yet the debate between didactic teaching and play still goes on in various parts of the world, including this country. At some level, it is difficult to understand why we are still struggling with this concept, but here we are.

Over the years, there have been many attempts to define play. There has been debate about work versus play and whether one is mutually exclusive of the other. Early educators often talk about play as the work children are doing in order to highlight the importance of it to others. I have heard the phrase, “play is a child’s work” more times than I can remember and have used it myself over the years. Yet, is their play really their work? Does that define what it is that children do in their most natural state? I don’t think so. I came across this definition of play recently from scholarpedia.org. It seems to check all of the boxes most educators talk about when discussing play.

“The five most agreed upon characteristics of play

  • Play Is Self-Chosen and Self-Directed.

  • Play is intrinsically motivated—means are more valued than ends.

  • Play is guided by mental rules, but the rules leave room for creativity.

  • Play is imaginative.

  • Play is conducted in an alert, active, but relatively non-stressed frame of mind.”

All of these characteristics are in full view in every corner of every space here at the CEC. We truly value children’s need to play as well as their right to play. Our spaces, both indoors and out, are designed specifically for play that is initiated by the children and supported through teacher’s engagement with them. Children have nearly their full day here to seek out materials, find friends, and create the magic that is play.

The learning that happens through play is deep, meaningful, and long lasting. Children are absorbing concepts well before they can articulate them. We see children experiencing centrifugal force when they are whirling around on the tire swing. They don’t know what to call it but they know that if they all pull their heads in toward the middle they go faster, and they slow down when they all lean back. Those physics lessons later on in their schooling will be so much easier to understand and explain because of their experiences now. When the sunflowers are towering over their heads, as ours do in the garden right now, they are working with concepts of distance and height. They have wondering questions such as “how tall is it?” and “how much more will it grow?” Math concepts will be second nature in elementary school.

I could give you a hundred different examples and not even come close to covering all of the learning that is taking play in the Preschool Yard. All of this helps children not only build their cognitive abilities, but gain social skills in working with others, be physically confident and capable, experience and manage a wide range of emotions, and lastly, but most importantly, develop a strong sense of self and the confidence that is needed to be a risk-taker and competent learner. Play is not extra. It should not be what happens for children when their work is finished. It is what being a child should be all about. It is necessary. It is vital to their development. It is the natural state of being for young children.

Watch your children play. See the joy and wonder in their faces. Value their imagination and ingenuity. Understand how important this is for them.