Little Oxford House, Fairfax

The main ingredient at Little Oxford House is a high-quality program, a curriculum that recognizes the value of child-initiated active learning is the most important. The best early childhood activities build on children's natural curiosity, are matched to children's current and emerging abilities, and allow for exploration and variation rather than having to perform in a single "right way." Learning is a process of "developmental change" — that is, a process in which we learn by relating and adding new information to what we already know, and if necessary, changing the way we thought before. Learning does not happen when children are simply told something. To learn, they must see and do things for themselves, with parents and teachers present to encourage and challenge their thinking. Children must be secure and confident in what they already know before they are ready to move to the next level. When High-Scope says adults support and extend children's learning, it means that the adults first validate, or support, what children already know, and then challenge them to extend their thinking to the next level.