Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)
Children’s Village Day School is a Child Development Center that follows a philosophy of teaching developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) called “Developmentally Appropriate Practices” DAP.
Activities are appropriate to each child’s developmental age and individual characteristics (personality, needs, learning style, interest, etc…). DAP assumes that the process of learning is more important than the product. Learning takes place through play.
We feel that building self-esteem, social skills, teaching cooperation, and encouraging decision-making is just as important as teaching academic skills. Many things that children learn through play are related to feelings and social skills. While it is important for children to learn academically, learning to be a good friend, learning how to appropriately express one’s feelings, building self-esteem, and decision-making are just as important.
Developmentally appropriate practice assumes that cognitive learning will take place if the materials and activities are present at the right time of ach child; when their interest and abilities are both present.
Our philosophy is as follows: Children are always given choices; subject and skills are integrated, not taught separately, learning takes place through active exploration and interaction; teachers are alert to children’s stresses and frustration and act quickly to help them reduce it; and teaching is child empowered vs. teacher directed.