My Educational Philosophy

Dual Language Daycare

My educational philosophy has been shaped by more than fifteen years of experience working with children in a variety of educational settings, including preschool and elementary education, Montessori schools, Dual Language and Spanish Immersion programs, traditional public schools, and special education.

My academic background in Elementary Education K–3, my Master’s degree in Special Education, and my doctoral studies have strengthened a belief that has guided my practice throughout the years:

Young children learn best when they are given opportunities to experience the world, feel emotionally safe, ask questions, explore through their senses, and find meaning in what they are learning.

For this reason, my practice does not belong exclusively to one educational philosophy. My approach is integrated, bilingual, child-centered, developmentally appropriate, and deeply connected to real life.

I incorporate elements of Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, emergent and project-based learning, developmentally appropriate traditional practices, social-emotional education, and GLAD strategies. From each approach, I intentionally select the elements that best support the individual and collective needs of my students.

The Child as the Protagonist of Learning

I believe children do not enter the classroom as empty containers waiting to be filled with information. They arrive with curiosity, experiences, emotions, questions, interests, and their own theories about how the world works.

For this reason, one of the most important questions guiding my practice is:

“What do our children want to know?”

Observing and listening to children is an essential part of teaching. Their conversations, play, questions, challenges, and interests can become opportunities for curriculum development.

I also believe in listening closely to families. When a parent shares that their child is beginning potty training, struggling with sharing, developing independence, experiencing a fear, or moving through a new developmental stage, that information can help us create learning experiences with genuine purpose.

The curriculum should respond to the child’s life—not simply to a predetermined list of topics.

Learning by Doing

One of the most important principles of my philosophy is that concrete experiences should come before abstract ideas.

A young child understands a bakery more deeply when they knead dough, mix ingredients, observe how the dough changes, and visit a place where bread is actually made. A child understands community helpers more meaningfully when they can speak with a firefighter, visit a police or fire station, or experience firsthand how these professionals serve their community.

For this reason, I intentionally connect our weekly themes to real-life experiences, projects, experiments, nature, community visitors, and field trips.

As part of our curriculum, I strive to incorporate approximately one meaningful experience outside of our program each month, directly connected to what the children are investigating.

I do not want children simply to hear about the world.

I want them to have opportunities to touch it, observe it, question it, experience it, and become part of it.

Montessori: Independence, Order, and Purpose

From Montessori education, I especially embrace the prepared environment, independence, purposeful work, and respect for each child’s individual pace.

Our classroom is intentionally organized with accessible shelves where materials have a clear educational purpose. I strive to offer fewer toys without a defined learning intention and more materials that invite children to sort, transfer, count, build, organize, explore through their senses, strengthen fine-motor skills, and practice everyday life skills.

I want the environment itself to communicate:

“There are things here that you can do by yourself.”

Pouring water, cleaning a small spill, returning a material to its place, caring for a plant, choosing an activity independently, and completing a task are as meaningful to me as recognizing a letter or counting objects.

Waldorf and Our Relationship With Nature

From the Waldorf philosophy, I particularly value rhythm, imagination, storytelling, the beauty of natural materials, and a strong connection with the outdoors.

Outdoor learning is an important part of our experience. We go outside to observe, walk, collect, listen, and discover.

A leaf, stone, branch, water, mud, flower, or seed can later become a material for counting, sorting, creating art, constructing stories, or investigating natural phenomena.

Nature is not simply our playground.

It is also our classroom.

Reggio Emilia: Investigating, Creating, and Documenting

From Reggio Emilia, I especially embrace the image of the child as competent and curious, project-based investigation, expression through multiple languages, and documentation of the learning process.

Children can express what they know through words, movement, music, drawing, construction, dramatic play, natural materials, photography, and play.

For this reason, I document our experiences through photographs, conversations, children’s work, and videos.

At the end of each week, these pieces of documentation are not simply evidence of “cute things we did.” They tell the story of our learning and allow families to become participants in that process.

Dual Language: Two Languages, One Community

Bilingualism is not an additional activity within my program.

It is part of our identity.

English and Spanish are naturally incorporated into songs, stories, conversations, vocabulary, instructions, routines, projects, play, and everyday experiences.

My goal is not simply to teach children words in two languages. I want them to develop the confidence to think, communicate, listen, and participate in both languages, while developing respect and curiosity for different cultures and ways of communicating.

I also incorporate GLAD strategies, particularly visual supports, pictorial input, vocabulary charts, songs, movement, meaningful repetition, and other resources that make language visible and comprehensible for young learners.

Circle Time: Where Our Community Comes Together

Our Circle Time combines academic, linguistic, social, and emotional learning.

It is our time to greet one another, sing, observe the calendar and weather, count, explore letters and sounds, introduce questions and investigations, listen to stories, and have meaningful conversations.

But it is also where we learn how to live together as a community.

We discuss questions such as:

“How am I feeling today?”
“What can I do when I feel angry?”
“What can we do when two friends want the same material?”
“How can I ask for a turn?”
“What words can I use instead of using my hands?”
“How can I help a friend?”

These conversations are part of our curriculum because learning to recognize emotions, communicate needs, regulate ourselves, and solve everyday conflicts are fundamental aspects of early childhood development.

The Whole Child Comes Before the Activity

My lesson planning begins with a question that is much more important than:

“What craft are we going to make this week?”

I begin by asking:

“What do these children need to develop right now?”

I consider their ages, developmental milestones, physical and emotional needs, language development, fine- and gross-motor development, independence, social skills, self-regulation, and family experiences.

I also consider what is happening in the world around them that they can actually observe: the seasons, weather, celebrations, changes in nature, events within our community, and situations that are meaningful to their lives.

From there, I design the learning experiences.

For this reason, each week has a Big Idea or Enduring Understanding—a simple but meaningful concept that I want children to carry with them after the individual activities are over.

That Big Idea is then translated into observable and measurable objectives that are developmentally appropriate for children approximately two to five years of age.

Families as Part of the Curriculum

I deeply believe that early childhood education is most successful when there is a genuine partnership between families and educators.

I do not want communication with families to consist only of telling them what we did at school.

I also want to ask:

“What are you noticing at home?”

“What is your child learning?”

“What challenges are you experiencing?”

“Is there something we can practice together?”

When families and educators share information, we can support children with greater consistency and transform everyday situations into meaningful opportunities for learning.

My Purpose as an Educator

My purpose is not to prepare three-year-olds to behave like first graders.

My purpose is to give them what they need at three years old so that, little by little, they can become capable, curious, independent, empathetic, and confident human beings.

I want my students to learn letters and numbers, but I also want them to learn how to put on their shoes, wait for a turn, care for a plant, recognize when they are frustrated, ask for help, comfort a friend, observe an ant, ask a question, make a mistake, and try again.

I want them to be able to say:

“I can do it.”
“I can learn it.”
“I can ask questions.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I can care for others.”

And above all, I want to protect what I consider one of childhood’s most powerful educational resources:

Curiosity.

Because my ultimate goal is not simply to teach children many things.

My goal is to help them become children who want to keep learning.