Our curriculum is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and its four themes: every child is unique, build positive relationships, create enabling environments, and lifelong learning. At Milestones Academy of Texas we strive to nurture every child in our care providing consistency, innovation and excellence and igniting curiosity and a lifelong love of learning. We foster children’s individual needs and develop their talents, abilities and interests. Our children are at the early stages of their learning paths. They are like little sponges soaking up the seeds of learning that we sew. They are beginning to build concepts of the world around them that will influence the rest of their lives. We have a unique and privileged opportunity to help shape and develop each and every child in our care, building firm foundations for their futures. We believe in the development of an individual curriculum for each child based on the child’s needs, talents, abilities, and interests. Needs include safety, security, nourishment, and relationships of trust, praise and encouragement, respect and stimulation of curiosity. Talents are innate skills with which a child is born. Abilities are skills that a child acquires through their own exploration of their environment, through problem solving, through learning by instruction from adults or other children. Interests are areas in which a child demonstrates focus through choice for prolonged periods. It is possible in looking at the focus of a two year old to know something about the adult the child will become. Children demonstrate a natural inclination for certain skills, areas of learning and interests. It is important to nourish those appropriately at the same time as encouraging exploration in areas in which a child may not be so confident in order to develop a well-rounded child. When we focus on these four areas for each child individually, we provide the best possible start in their life-long journey of learning and growing, and giving them the best preparation for entrance into their next schools. Our curriculum ensures that our children are given opportunities to Explore, Discover, and Learn while introducing them to world culture, in ways they could not achieve in other settings. We use the excellent basis provided by the Early Years Foundation Stage, and overlay this with our own focus on world culture and activity-based stimulation.
