YMCA Early Care and Education Curriculum

What your child learns early in their life is the foundation for forming well-rounded individuals. Our age-appropriate, comprehensive curriculum has a clear organizational structure and focuses on routines and learning experiences. Our programs foster joyful and purposeful learning while addressing specific developmental needs.

Focus Areas

• Social-Emotional: Gaining self-awareness and social skills to positively navigate the world and build relationships
• Physical Development: Understanding healthy eating, physical and personal safety and building a lifelong enjoyment for physical activity
• Language & Literacy: Learning to speak, read and write are an essential part of successfully communicating with others
• Cognitive: Developing reasoning and problem-solving skills
• Social Studies: Understanding of people, places, environments, nature and the appreciation of diversity
• Body, Mind & Spirit: Developing social skills and positive core values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and equity as a foundation for learning social responsibility
• STEAM:
  • Science: Beginning to understand physical life and the environment
  • Technology: Becoming aware and learning the basics of tools and technology
  • Engineering: Building, constructing and problem-solving
  • Arts & Self Expression: Granting the freedom to explore, think creatively and find healthy ways to express individuality
  • Math: Understanding of numbers, concepts, patterns and relationships

Creative Curriculum^®

Creative Curriculum^® uses the latest research in the field of early childhood education. It focuses on not only what to teach your child, but how and why particular practices are effective based on your child’s learning style. By learning the what, how and why, our teachers are better equipped to support your child’s development, no matter how they learn.

Creative Curriculum^® foundations:

• Social-emotional competence: Learning how to self-regulate emotions, control behavior and resist impulses
• Interacting with the environment: Engaging in tasks throughout the classroom helps children develop and learn
• Partnerships with families: Building continuity and helping families support their child’s enthusiasm for learning 

YMCA Healthy Kids Initiative

Using Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) standards, we developed the Healthy Kids Initiative. Your child is exposed to all types of healthy eating, nutrition and physical activities to help them develop lifelong habits, and have fun while doing it.

At YMCA we have three initiatives to keep kids and their families excited and learning about healthy choices:

• Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH): Walk, run, jump, dance and move through fun and play. CATCH brings nutrition, physical activity and relationship building to the classroom. 
• Food Philosophy: When we feel our best, we thrive. Our Food Philosophy ensures we always offer nutritious food options to teach your kids healthy food habits. 
• Farm to YMCA: Children will learn about more than eating when it comes to food. They’ll also get to dig in with hands-on gardening and cooking activities.