Educational Philosophy

The mission developed in 1965 is intact today - to provide your child with the best possible educational experience in a nurturing environment of warmth, trust and acceptance. Our program focuses on the development of the whole child with activities that encourage social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth through play-based activities. Each year our goals are reevaluated to assure that they reflect our philosophy and current ideas in pre-school education.

LANK believes that each child is unique, developing along his or her own individual timetable, with wide variation in what should realistically be expected. Drawing from our years of experience in working with young children, we have developed goals for each of our programs. These are to be considered guidelines in the broadest sense. This framework of goals helps us to focus on appropriate developmental tasks for each group, ever mindful of just how special each and every one of our children is. Our staff shares a deep commitment to setting the stage for all of their future years of learning.

LANK provides children the opportunity to acquire skills appropriate to their developmental level in:

Observation
Discovery
Literacy
Comparison
Organization
Problem Solving
Language
Number Skills
Large and small motor skills
Patterning
Rhyming

As a community, LANK strives to affect children's social growth in the following ways:

Develop social skills such as interacting, sharing, taking turns, cooperating, and being sensitive to the needs of others
Promote self-confidence and sense of competency
Make learning enjoyable
Stimulate natural curiosity
Encourage flexible thinking, creativity and experimentation
Incorporate learning through play
Promote independence, initiative and resourcefulness
Develop ability to choose, make plans and follow tasks through to completion
Engage children in social situations through play
Take responsibility for one's actions
Respect differences in cultural, ethnic and family backgrounds

LANK also stresses the arts, providing experiences in music, drama, art appreciation and individual creativity. Extensive opportunities for creative expression are a part of every level of the LANK program.