Philosophy and Goals

Building Blocks Learning Center and Child Care Inc.’s philosophy aligns with the Reggio Emilia approach to learning.

The fundamental principles of this approach to learning are as follows:

Children are capable of constructing their own learning.
Children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their
interactions with others.
Children are communicators.
The environment is the third teacher.
The adult is a mentor and guide.

It is our goal at Building Blocks Learning Center and Child Care to:

Provide affordable, convenient, dependable child care services.
Create a child care setting for social, cognitive, and physical development.
Provide a nurturing environment.
Provide a preschool program, readying children for lifelong learning.

Curriculum

Building Blocks Learning Center and Child Care Inc.’s philosophy aligns with the Reggio Emilia approach to learning.

The fundamental principles of this approach to learning are as follows:

Children are capable of constructing their own learning.
Children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their
interactions with others.
Children are communicators.
The environment is the third teacher.
The adult is a mentor and guide.

It is our goal at Building Blocks Learning Center and Child Care to:

Provide affordable, convenient, dependable child care services.
Create a child care setting for social, cognitive, and physical development.
Provide a nurturing environment.
Provide a preschool program, readying children for lifelong learning.

Building Blocks Learning Center and Child Care prides our focus on the individual needs of each child.

Each child is considered unique in temperament and rate of development.

Curriculum is planned to enhance and challenge individual needs, interests, and abilities.

Activities and relationships occur in a healthy, positive, and relaxed environment in which

well-qualified staff provide personal attention, guidance, and nurturing to each child.

BBLC’s curriculum is aligned with the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIPS) and

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). (Below you will find further information on the ECIPS)

Our curriculum is used as a guideline for children to explore their environment tailored to their

interests and developmental needs.

We assign each month with a domain of the ECIPs to focus on. The weeks in each month are
assigned themes and ECIP components to focus on.

The environment in the classroom will support each theme and add on to the previous
theme as the month goes on. This helps children to make real-life connections in their learning.
For example, at circle time they may be learning about the parts of an apple. Then when they go
to play, there are apples that have been cut in half in the sensory table for them to touch and
see the parts of an apple in real life.

What are the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIPS)?
The ECIPs were developed and revised so that Minnesota’s children are served by teachers and
providers with a shared set of expectations. The ECIPs are based on the most recent research
and demonstrate a continuum of learning that includes expectations for all children. They are a
framework that fulfills multiple purposes:
1. Provide a resource for early childhood professionals as they work with young children
and their families across the state.
2. Support quality improvement initiatives in early childhood care and education.
3. Align across the full educational spectrum from birth through secondary levels.

The ECIPs offer research-based information about expectations for children’s capabilities at
different ages and across varying domains of development. They provide a progression of
learning so that teachers and providers in Minnesota have a common framework and
vocabulary by which they can plan curriculum that is developmentally appropriate for children
of different ages, that is attentive to the individual needs of children, and that is culturally
relevant for children’s varying life experiences.

In Building Blocks Learning Center’s curriculum, you will see the words ‘domain’ and
‘component’. In regards to the ECIPS, ‘domain’ refers to the major areas of development.
‘Component’ refers to the specific areas of learning within each domain.
The learning domains included in the ECIPs are:
1. Social and Emotional Development
2. Approaches to Learning
3. Language, Literacy and Communications
4. The Arts
5. Social Systems: Cognitive
6. Physical and Movement Development
7. Mathematics
8. Scientific Thinking
For more information on the ECIPS, you can go to the MN Department of Education’s website:
http://education.state.mn.us
We also have a copy of the ECIPS in the office. Feel free to stop in and check it out at any time!