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Our Philosophy

Teacher plays with blocks with child

The Boise State University Children’s Center is a center for early care and education that holds the following beliefs:

Beliefs:

  • We honor and nurture young children’s curiosities and place their interests at the center of our curriculum. We encourage children’s inquiry into their world and support them as initiators, researchers, inventors and explorers.

  • We value play as children’s research and the vehicle through which they build relationships within their world.

  • We protect the early years as a critical time for children to discover the joy and wonder of life on their own terms, with space to fail, persist and try again.

  • We prioritize the whole child by equally valuing all domains of children’s development, including cognitive, communication, motor, physical, sensory and social-emotional development. We respect all children’s right to grow and develop at their own pace.

  • We thoughtfully build respectful and supportive partnerships with all members of our community (children, families, educators) and see an engaged adult as the most important tool in a child’s learning.

Engaged adults:

  • Intentionally observe and provide respectful attention to children’s words, actions and creations

  • Focus on the process of learning, not teaching. They inquire, explore, and research alongside children

  • Carefully organize the environment to optimize children’s growth, thus extending and deepening each child’s learning experiences in the classroom and at home

  • Provide responsive and respectful caregiving at all times during a child’s day