Katie Harder

Preschool Practicum
Philosophy Statement

My philosophy on early childhood education is that all children learn differently and at different
rates. My job as the teacher is to look at each child individually and meet them where they are at
developmentally. I believe that children should have a place to come every day and feel safe to take
risks and share their ideas. The environment needs to stimulate children and help them grow physically,
mentally, emotionally, and socially.

I believe that children need many different things to nurture their growth and development.
Children need a teacher to act as a model of how to treat others and objects. The teacher is the child’s
role model. Children need to have access to hands-on activities such as paint at art time (it’s okay to be
messy), trees and grass to touch and explore during science and sensory play, and areas for pretend
play. I believe teachers need a plan for each day but to let children be the guide as they direct
themselves to their interests. Children need areas to move and play with others. Lastly, children need an
environment that allows them to friends, practice taking turns, and learn to be unique.

My goals for children three to five years of age are to help them learn school-readiness skills.
Children will enhance their knowledge in the following areas cognition (problem-solving, memory, and
opposites), social-emotional (understanding emotions, self-help skills, and peer-to-peer relationships),
language and literacy (speaking with sentences and understanding stories), and physical development
(writing/drawing, running/moving).

My goals for working with families is to have an open line of communication with all caregivers.
As the teacher, I will greet each family as they enter the center. I will end each day talking about a child’s
struggles and strengths. I will work with the family to help a child overcome their struggles and share in
the joy of their child’s accomplishments. All children are capable of good things, and that should be
celebrated!