In our Infant Rooms, the staff follow the guidelines and general philosophy of the centre. In addition, we also follow the Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) philosophy. This is evident in the behaviors you will see in the caregivers, as well as their interactions and relationships with the children. RIE is a philosophy of care that is based on respect. Children are treated as unique, competent individuals. RIE was developed by Magda Gerber, who was an early childhood educator based in California. Her principles stem from her work with Emmi Pikler, a pediatrician who worked with orphaned children in Budapest, Hungary. Their goal was to help raise children who are explorers, curious, competent and cooperative.

In our preschool, including our NEW Before and After School Program, Advantage Child Care Academy supports children’s learning & development with daily opportunities for play-based exploration; experimentation & learning through developmentally appropriate interactions, environments & activities. Opportunity for spontaneous learning happens throughout the child’s day.

In our Pre-K program, we provide our 4 and 5 year old preschool children the opportunity to take part in a program focused on Kindergarten Preparedness. The goal of the curriculum in our Pre-K Academy is to provide advanced age appropriate learning opportunity in a structured atmosphere, resulting in a smooth familiar transition into Kindergarten.The Advantage Pre-K Academy curriculum places extra emphasis on: Name Recognition, Alphabet Knowledge, Letter Formation, Pre-Writing and Writing, Pronunciation, Counting and Numbers, Number Writing and Problem Solving.

Ability to learn right from wrong, how to make choices, development of empathy, sharing feelings, expression concerns, learning proper values, being honest, learning not to judge & treating people well.

Recognition of numbers & counting, shapes, patterns (identifying and reproducing), creating sets of objects & problems solving are all introduced.

Characteristics of living things, observation of natural events, experiment and explore freely, property description (colour, shape, texture, size, weight), outdoor exploration, understanding & appreciation of the environment & encouraging children to ask questions.

Respecting differences (physical and cultural), nurturing friendships, interacting with peers, playing fairly, taking turns, sharing, group play, dealing with emotions, following instructions, socialization, building confidence and balance between individual and group play.