Curriculum
A word from one of our education partners . . .
"The Jacob Burns Film Center is so fortunate to have the Ossining Children's Center as a partner in the development of its education initiatives. The OCC staff truly understands the value of giving their youth opportunities for creative expression. The JBFC has been welcomed with open arms on the many occasions we have sought to pilot a curriculum, work with a group of students, or initiate a program. OCC is always our first call, because the dedicated staff are supportive and the rich diversity of students are exceptionally engaged."
Emily Keating,
Director of Education Programs
Jacob Burns Film Center
At the Ossining Children's Center in Westchester County, New York, we help
children become enthusiastic and confident learners. We teach children HOW
to learn, through hands-on discovery activities, games, arts and crafts, music,
movement, unstructured play, and especially through positive interaction with
their teachers and with one another. Enrichment specialists visit the Center
and work with the children regularly.
The Center offers three distinct programs. All programs are open year-round.
- The Infant and Toddler Program provides a "home away from home" environment where children develop a sense of security, trust and self worth. Infants are on individual schedules; a structured schedule is gently introduced to toddlers. Age-appropriate Self-care skills are an important part of our toddler curriculum, including toilet training.
- The Pre-School Program for three- and four-year olds provides discovery-play experiences in language, literacy, mathematics, science, social-emotional development, physical development and the arts. Age-appropriate self-care continues to be important. Our Pre-School includes a Collaborative Pre-Kindergarten with the Ossining Public Schools.
- The School-Age Program offers before-school care and after-school enrichment for kindergarten through fifth graders on school days; a full day enrichment program is provided on school holidays and vacations. Includes help with homework, projects in the arts, science, math and writing. On school vacations, the children go on recreational and educational field trips.
A note on our Summer Programs
During the summer, the Center programs transform into a full day camp for preschoolers and school-age youngsters. The summer program features swimming, sports, arts and crafts, drama, and recreational field trips. Our 8 - 11 year olds have the opportunity to create their own original animated films under the tutelage of Jacob Burns Film Center staff.
Our curriculum fosters seven areas of development
- Self Esteem: We support each child's emerging sense of individuality and encourage her healthy steps toward independence, self-expression and self-control.
- Relationships: Through our warm teacher-child relationships, we help children learn to connect with one another. At age appropriate levels, we help children make friends, feel comfortable in a group, and show respect for one another. One of our strengths is the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of our children. Through playing and learning with friends from a variety of backgrounds, our children learn to respect individual and cultural differences.
- Language: Our toys and materials, our language-rich learning environment, our daily story time and book-inspired activities support language development and pre-literacy skills. Our teachers help children learn to use words to describe their experiences, to ask questions, and to solve problems.
- Logic, spatial awareness, mathematics: play with puzzles, blocks, sand, water, structured cooking activities, and math-oriented toys and games, all cultivate the development of mathematical concepts such as "less," "more," "add," "take away," "bigger," "smaller," "over," "under," etc.
- Scientific awareness: Enrichment specialists in nature study and gardening visit the Center regularly to introduce our children to processes and concepts in the natural word. During March through October, our preschoolers plant, nurture, and harvest a vegetable garden.
- Creativity, artistic expression: psycho-social and cognitive development are enhanced through multi-sensory creative activity. Visual arts and crafts activities using a variety of media are part of the daily program. In addition, specialists in music, movement, and dance teach here regularly. In the summer, our school-age youngsters participate in an intensive film animation workshop taught by education staff of the Jacob Burns Film Center. To view an animated film created by our youngsters click here.
- Physical skills: Each day the children spend ample time on our playgrounds (three areas designed for specifically for different age levels), engaging in both structured and unstructured play. School-age youngsters have the opportunity to participate in sports and professional instruction in tennis and swimming.
Progress reports for preschoolers
The Ossining Children's Center was the first preschool childcare center in Westchester to institute parent-teacher conferences and written evaluations. Unlike test-based assessments that evaluate narrow, selected skills in an artificial situation, the Center utilizes teacher observation of behaviors that indicate the child's level of knowledge, intellectual processing skills, social-emotional intelligence, self-care, as well as fine and gross motor skills. Each January, our preschool teachers meet with parents on an ongoing basis to share their assessment of each child's progress. In June, annual written narrative reports evaluate each child's functioning against age-appropriate benchmarks.