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Kirstin McIntosh
Personal Planning Statement
2/6/23
Mission Statement

Our mission is to help children reach their full potential as we provide nature-based experiences
for children that foster their spiritual development.

Philosophy Statement

Belief Statement 1:
We believe and appreciate that childhood is a valuable period in the human life cycle that
influences future development and growth. We acknowledge this by providing quality
educational experiences that are influenced by current developmental theory and practice
(NAEYC, 2011). We also encourage children to embrace childhood as they play and explore the
world around them. We believe that “play is essential for all children, birth through age 8”
(NAEYC, 2009).
We respect the dignity of children and recognize their worth and uniqueness as
individuals (NAEYC, 2011). We achieve this as we visit families prior to the beginning of each
school year to gather information about the individual children and families. We also strive to
know each child personally and form connections with them through playful interactions within
the classroom. In addition, we recognize the children are able to achieve their full potential when
relationships with adults are founded on trust and respect (NAEYC, 2011). Therefore, we trust
and respect children by allowing them to take risks, while establishing healthy boundaries, as
they explore outdoors.
Finally, we appreciate that children are vulnerable and depend on adults (NAEYC, 2011).
To protect the vulnerability of children, we mandate that all employees receive training in
recognizing and preventing sexual abuse.

Belief Statement 2:
We believe that children learn best through their experiences. Jean Piaget developed the
constructivist theory, in which children construct knowledge of the world based on their
experiences in the home, school, and society (Saracho, 2023). We incorporate this idea in our
practice as we honor and recognize the various backgrounds and experiences of individual
children and help them each to experience something new. We plan play-based activities that
allow for exploration and trial-and-error, both in the classroom and in natural, outdoor
environments.

Belief Statement 3:
Although many schools put tests and assessments at the center of their curriculum, we
choose to provide playful experiences for children across all developmental domains: physical,
cognitive, spiritual, social and emotional. As previously mentioned, play is an essential
component of development for all young children. Play is an important component of our
curriculum because it “promotes joyful learning” that expands across all disciplines (NAEYC,
2009). Children who associate learning with joy will likely become lifelong learners. We believe
that all developmental domains previously listed are important and have influence over each
other (NAEYC, 2009). Therefore, we strive to foster development in all domains by providing
activities each day that cover all domains. Teachers also strive to foster development in all
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domains as they have meaningful conversations with children and model behavior and solutions
for children to follow.
Assessments are instrumental to understanding children’s development and learning and
in modifying curriculum and instruction (NAEYC, 2009). We use assessment tools that are
appropriate to the child’s age, development, and culture. We ensure that the reasons behind
assessing children are directly related to optimizing their learning experience and developmental
growth. When assessment results raise questions about a child’s development, we report those
results to parents and other responsible parties that can identify what special services may be
required (NAEYC, 2009).

Goal 1: Foster each child’s sense of belonging and spiritual development.

Objective 1: Encourage respect for self and others by encouraging children to call
the individuals in the classroom by their names. Children should be able to
recognize names by the end of the fourth week.
Objective 2: Display pictures of children and their families and children’s work
products in visible locations for children to see around the classroom.

Goal 2: Promote relationships between teachers and families.

Objective 1: Hold home visits with individual families once before every school
year.
Objective 2: Form a classroom committee in which parents help to make
classroom decisions, plan events/socials, and volunteer within the classroom.

Goal 3: Expose children to outdoor experiences regularly.

Objective 1: Provide at least one outdoor activity for children to choose from each
day.
Objective 2: Take field trips that are dedicated to outdoor exploration once every
month.
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References

NAEYC. (2009). Principles of Child Development and learning and implications that inform

practice. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/principles

NAEYC. (2011). Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment.

https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/

position-statements/Ethics%20Position%20Statement2011_09202013update.pdf

Saracho, O. N. (2023). Theories of Child Development and Their Impact on Early Childhood

Education and Care. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51(1), 15–30.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01271-5