Philosophy
The Growing Tree has a Five-Star license issued by the state of North Carolina.
The Growing Tree offers a nurturing, safe environment that is centered around the needs of each individual child. Since each child grows and develops at his or her own pace, activities are age appropriate for each child's stage and rate of development.
Some of the beliefs associated with this approach to early childhood education are:
Every child has the right to feel good about himself or herself. The self-worth of each child is the focus of many activities and methods of interacting.
Infants and Toddlers learn to trust their adult care giver, and preschoolers learn confidence and self-discipline.
Children learn by doing. More specifically, play is their work, and learning is best accomplished through discovery. Classrooms, therefore, encourage an approach to learning that takes advantage of children’s curiosity and eagerness to learn.
Interest centers, including art, blocks, dramatic play, books, music, science, small motor activities, etc. foster self-guided learning and teacher-assisted practice.
Children learn from interactions with other people. The environment is designed to encourage children to observe other children working, to work with other children, and to work individually.
Whole group, small group and individual time is planned to teach children patience, respect of others and individual creativity. We conduct weekly visits to Wilson Rehabilitation & Nursing Center to create an opportunity for each child to engage with an entirely different age group. The visits also bring an element of child-like play to the residents of the nursing home.