Curriculum - The Learning Express CDC

We believe as early childhood educators, our duty is to provide quality child care through a stimulating learning environment that meets each child's need for social, emotional, and cognitive development.

The Learning Express follows Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of Development. Vygotsky believed that a child’s cognitive development is based on the interaction with their family/peers, language, and culture. He emphasized that knowledge is transferred via imitation, instructions, and collaborative learning.

Our teachers utilize the Creative Curriculum for Preschool when creating lessons for our children. The Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive, research-based curriculum that features exploration and discovery as a way of learning. This method enables children to develop confidence, creativity, and lifelong critical-thinking skills. Our lessons are "student-centered" social interactions rather than a more "traditional" teacher-lead instruction. We believe that our children learn best through play with guidance from our teachers and their peers.

Lesson plans are posted on the door of each classroom. Lesson plans for children 6 weeks to 24 months are tailored to each individual child based on their goals and age-appropriate milestones. Lesson plans for children 24 months and older are group focused and centered around to preparing them to enter kindergarten.

Baby sign language and Spanish are introduced as well where appropriate.

By the time many of our Pre-Kindergarten children enter kindergarten, most if not all of our graduates know how to write their first and last names unassisted, count to 100, identify colors, identify the letters of the alphabet, recognize sight words, and more.

In addition, The Learning Express participates in the NC Rated License Assessment Project (NCRLAP) and is rated every 3 years based on staff education and program standards.

Each classroom’s daily schedule may vary slightly as activities alternate between quiet and active, free play, and total group experiences. The typical day in one of our classrooms looks like this:

6:30-8:00am Arrival, free play/activity time

8:00-8:30am Breakfast served

8:30-9:30am Free play/activity time

9:30-10:00am Outdoor time/vigorous gross motor play if indoors*

10:00-10:30am Circle time and art

10:30-11:00am Prepare for lunch, songs, finger plays & stories

11:00am-12:00pm Lunch served, prepare for nap

12:00-2:00pm Nap*

2:00-2:30pm Snack served

2:30-3:00pm Free play/activity time

3:00-4:00pm Outdoor time/vigorous gross motor play if indoors*

4:00-6:00pm Departure, free play/activity time

*Per NC Child Care Law and Rules, all children must be allowed to play outdoors each day (weather permitting) and must have space and time provided for rest.