Our Curriculum

 

Sunny Hill Preschool has a child-centered, play-based philosophy. We believe in a developmentally appropriate curriculum, presented in an environment that builds emotional, social, physical, and cognitive skills. Our goal is to promote learning through the joy of discovery.

Children, supported by our staff, are constantly thinking, exploring, experiencing, testing new skills, and creating scaffolding for a lifetime of learning. Our curriculum is guided and shaped by our experienced staff of early childhood educators, based on:

  • Standards of developmentally appropriate practice

  • Recommendations from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

  • Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Guidelines for Preschool Curriculum Experiences

Our classrooms also incorporate The Creative Curriculum and the Handwriting Without Tears Program into daily activities.

Preparing for elementary school and beyond

Developing a love of learning

Our talented, professional team creates an environment that supports and develops a love of learning, respect, cooperation, leadership, an ability to make choices, pride in individual accomplishments, and problem solving skills. As children grow and develop in our program, they are both nurtured and challenged as they move towards the greater independence that elementary school brings.

While the school is sponsored by Sudbury United Methodist Church, religion is not a part of the curriculum.

For details about currently scheduled programs, see Classes.

Sunny Hill Preschool is an NAEYC Accredited Program

Our accreditation means that your child’s program meets NAEYC’s standards of excellence in early childhood education. These standards were created by a blue-ribbon panel of early childhood experts and are based on the latest early childhood research. Programs that meet these standards:

  • Promote positive relationships for all children and adults to encourage each child's sense of individual worth.

  • Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development: cognitive, social-emotional, language, and physical.

  • Use developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate effective teaching approaches.

  • Provide ongoing assessments of a child's learning and development and communicate the child's progress to the family.

  • Promote the nutrition and health of children and protect our community from injury and illness.

  • Provide a safe and healthy physical environment.

  • Employ a teaching staff that has the educational qualifications, knowledge, and professional commitment necessary to promote children's learning and development, and to support families' diverse needs and interests.

  • Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with each child's family.

  • Establish relationships with and use the resources of the community to support the achievement of program goals.

  • Implement strong personnel, fiscal, and program management policies so that all children, families, and staff have high quality experiences.

We are continuously improving to provide the best possible educational opportunities for young children.