College Terrace Children’s Center Activities
Children at CTC are provided with opportunities to dictate a large part of the curriculum by letting teachers know what their interests are. Our emergent curriculum builds upon these interests. Projects, also emergent, are in-depth studies of concepts, ideas and interests that arise within the group. Throughout a project, teachers help children make decisions about the direction of study and how the group will research the project. Teachers document projects with pictures, stories and journals. Each child at CTC has a personal journal that teachers continually write in, chronicling the child’s experiences at CTC.

Weekly focus groups are offered for three year olds at CTC. These small groups meet to work on a focused activity, such as art, science or cooking.

The purpose of the Pre-K Program at CTC is to give children the opportunity to engage in more teacher-directed activities, while working in a small group. Though the focus is more teacher-directed, the curriculum still encourages creativity and provides many opportunities to communicate.

CTC’s Pre-K Program meets in small groups twice a week for about an hour per session. During this time, the children engage in brief activities that build school-readiness skills and encourage creativity and curiosity. As children build their skills and the school year progresses, the class will engage in a more project-based curriculum. Project-based learning often involves a field trip to a relevant location and/or a visit from an expert who can answer some of their questions.

Parent Information and Participation
At CTC, we communicate with parents in several ways. We host a Family Orientation Night in the fall each year, and provide opportunities for families to spend time with one another throughout the year by hosting potluck parties and workdays.

In an effort to keep parents informed about their child’s development, we regularly make entries into each child’s journal, which we encourage parents to take home and read. We schedule yearly parent-teacher conferences to discuss each child’s progress, and email photos to parents to that they may see their child learning and discovering new things. In the center, we keep a white board of each day’s activities and lessons.