Educational Enrichment with Community Partners
Every day, OCC works hard to educate the whole child — every facet of the intellectual, emotional, physical, and social being. By offering a diverse array of educational enrichment, we explore and inspire each of these aspects of a child’s development. Learning that looks different from that in the school environment also makes a critical difference to youngsters with aptitudes and/or learning styles that may remain untapped in a traditional classroom.
Every student in every classroom at Ossining Children’s Center benefits from a well-rounded enrichment lineup. Our offerings include:
Gardening PrograM
Our children plant and grow an expansive vegetable and herb garden right in our own backyard. Gardening provides a variety of life lessons from planning and sustainability to instilling healthy eating habits. Plus, children who grow their own vegetables enjoy eating them! Master Gardener and Environmental Educator Andrea Sauro brings a unique ability to connect with very young children while sharing her love of gardening with them.
Digging Into Nature
We partner with Teatown Lake Reservation and The Nature of Things to bring the great outdoors into our classrooms. Live animal interactions offer hands-on and developmentally appropriate science education that features an inquiry-based approach to animal exploration. Our students may meet a hedgehog, chicken, or lizard during any given session and learn concepts of the natural world such as hibernation, molting, and migration.
Music and Movement/Dance
Research links music and spatial intelligence (the ability to visualize the world accurately and to form mental images of things) as well as increased math outcomes. And music and movement provide children with a means of self-expression and higher levels of self-esteem. Moreover, in group music and dance activities children can also learn to better communicate and cooperate with one another. Using familiar songs to teach new information also helps to imprint the new knowledge on young minds when they work with our music specialist, Miss Rose.
Art
Art-related activities infuse our curriculum with fun, self-expression, and sensory exploration. Children benefit from opportunities to express themselves freely, lose themselves in a self-directed project and take pride in their work. Children are encouraged to experiment with different media in the classroom, and are introduced to different types of artists.
Theater and Creative Arts
Theater O teachers work with our Pre-K students monthly. The “Stories through Theater” program guides our children to use their bodies, their voices, and their imaginations to act out a story that is aligned with the current unit of study.
Pre-literacy and community engagement
The Children’s Librarian from Ossining Public Library, visits regularly for story time and related activities; she sometimes uses puppets to tell the story, and she engages the children in conversation about the story. She also teaches the children what a library is, and how and why to get a library card; she sends home a library card application for parents to fill out with their children.
Physical Activity
Development of fine and gross motor skills is an important task for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Gym on Wheels’ CPR-certified instructors visit twice a month to facilitate developmentally appropriate experiences in gymnastics, aerobics and physical games.
Field Trips
We incorporate age-appropriate field trips into our curriculum to expand our children’s world and provide them with new experiences. Some field trips are walking trips to local points of interest in Ossining, such as a dance studio, the local bakery and our neighborhood Fire House.
Other trips may include Teatown Lake Reservation, the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Liberty Science Center, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, the Katonah Museum of Art, Philipsburgh Manor, Van Cortlandt Manor, the Bronx Zoo and Muscoot Farm.
Child Development Specialist on Staff
Our on-staff social worker has deep expertise in early childhood development. She meets with our teacher-caregivers regularly to help them individualize their approach to each child in their care while also serving as a resource for parents. She can guide parents with advice on dealing with everyday problems or suggest a consultation when a child might benefit from additional services. Our social worker provides each family with support as they proceed with the process of obtaining any type of special therapeutic services for their child.
Diversity and Collaboration in Action: Community Learning through Diversity
Interacting with people from various backgrounds is an essential learning experience for children today, as they will be expected to function as adults in a global, multicultural marketplace. We are fortunate that our learning environment is characterized by the rich cultural and socioeconomic diversity of Ossining, reflected in our enrollment and in our staff.
Long-term partnership with Ossining Union Free School District
We have long held a close working relationship with the Ossining Union Free School District. Today’s joint programs include full day Universal Pre-Kindergarten and a child care and parenting program for teen mothers, enabling them the support they need to graduate from Ossining High School.
Ossining Agencies Council
We are part of the Ossining Agencies Council, comprised of representatives from other local child care centers, the Ossining Public Library, the Open Door Family Medical Center, the “First Steps” Family Literacy Program, the Ossining Public School District, Interfaith Council for Action (an affordable housing agency) and other local organizations that serve children and families in Ossining. Member agencies keep one another up-to-date on their work, brainstorm ways to meet the needs of our community more efficiently and effectively, and initiate collaborative projects.
Regional and Statewide Leadership and Advocacy
Our Executive Director, Howard Milbert, plays a leadership role in early childhood education at the County and State levels. Mr. Milbert is co–chair of both the Westchester Early Childhood Directors’ Association and the New York State Not for Profit Child care Directors’ Association. He also serves on the board of the New York State Child Care Council.