Happy Tree Child Programs
Infant Curriculum
The first year of life is an exciting time for parents and is one of the most exhilarating experiences in the life of an infant. Every child and every family is unique. Our highly praised infant room provides a warm, safe, and nurturing environment for babies starting at six weeks old. Our teachers are aware of each child’s individual needs and therefore follow a flexible schedule that caters to each child. The teachers work closely with parents to determine a child’s specific needs and adjust accordingly.
Curriculum for infants:
- Depends on the care teacher’s ability to make decisions in planning and providing interactions, materials, and activities that supports a child’s interest
- Entails caring teachers who understand the stages of infancy, what infants are learning and how they are learn
- Is based on an on-going relationship in which teachers take responsibility for the learning and development in infancyOur Infants feel safe to explore their surroundings.
We routinely use baby sign language during the day along with multiple development activities. Written reports are prepared for parents daily, with all relevant information about their child’s day.
Toddler Curriculum
Toddlers learn through sensory experiences that enhance their cognitive, language, social and motor skills. Teachers plan lessons and respond to naturally occurring events over the course of a day. In each of our two Toddler classrooms, the daily curriculum offers opportunities to explore the environment according to their growing abilities, interests, and developmental needs. Our teachers approach each toddler as an individual with specific "wants and needs."
The learning areas are focused on dramatic play, creative arts, language and sensory exploration. The day’s schedule, while flexible, will include free choice activities, a short group gathering (for our older Toddler group), outdoor play, art activities, and story time. Weekly music and creative movement classes enhance daily opportunities to develop motor skills. Our teachers will work with your child from mastering his/her first steps to becoming a running, jumping, climbing socially active preschooler.
How Do Toddlers Learn?
When toddlers are being supported in their learning by adults, they feel confident to pursue their own explorations and develop the following basic learning processes that cut across all domains, or areas, of development:
- Maintaining attention
- Curiosity
- Memory
- Gather Information
- Solving Problems
Preschool/Pre-K
Our Preschool I and Preschool II classrooms promote individuality, self-direction and self-esteem while allowing children to learn about being members of a group. Preschool teachers expand children's curiosity, enthusiasm, creativity, and abilities as children to learn about the world around them. Each classroom consists of well-planned learning centers. Teachers plan a thematic curriculum that is based on children’s interests and provide hands-on activities both in and out of the classroom. Curriculum is inclusive of all appropriate developmental domains and aligned with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (naeyc) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) standards for preschool learning and development. Field trips are planned to support the curriculum and parents are welcomed to attend. Circle time expands from singing songs and sharing books to include discussing ideas, feelings, and experiences. In the preschool classrooms, children begin to develop friendships and make choices about the activities that interest them. The preschool daily schedule provides opportunities for free choice activities, outdoor play, neighborhood walks, gross motor activities, story and fantasy time. Our preschool classrooms participate in weekly music, creative movement, and language classes.
The Pre-K room at The Happy Tree is a fun, exciting place to learn, experiment, and become kindergarten ready!
The Pre-K teachers strive to provide hands-on, developmentally appropriate experiences that appeal to varied interests and learning styles. The daily schedule offers the chance for small and large group activities that expose children to a multitude of concepts and themes. These same ideas are then extended into independent and small group play opportunities. While in Pre-K, children continue to develop social and self-help skills as well as pre-academic concepts such as the early stages of numeric awareness and literacy.
Each of the Pre-K learning centers is designed to encourage children to play in small groups with diverse materials for building, experimenting, and exploring. Children use their own ideas during play while observing and reflecting on the ideas of others. Children are encouraged to make decisions about their classroom environment. Creative expression is celebrated through art, movement, and language. We highlight individuals as members of a classroom "team" learning and solving problems collaboratively.
Every day in Pre-K is a celebration of individuality, respect, exploration, laughter, teamwork, learning and FUN!
