Child Development Center Programs

Infant Toddler Program | Preschool Program | School Age Program
Student Parent Subsidized Childcare Program | Nutrition Program

The Children's Program Center Purpose

The Isabel Patterson Child Development Center provides quality child development services which enable student parents to attend classes at the university. The Center offers children an experience that facilitates their growth, learning, and creativity. Children of student parents receive priority for registration. As space permits, children of CSULB staff, faculty, alumni, and the community are offered services as well. The Center also serves as a resource for the university's academic programs, for the community, and for other institutions of post secondary education.

Philosophy and Program Overview

The Isabel Patterson Child Development Center is a development program. While care is a major component, a development program also includes

1. Developmentally appropriate curriculum
2. Staff development
3. Parent education, involvement, and support
4. Community participation, and
5. Referral services.

Our child development philosophy is based on the following assumptions:

1. Children are important people who deserve to be cared for by people who respect, trust, and accept them for who they are.
2. Children are competent, active learners.
3. Play is an essential ingredient in an environment that nurtures the whole the whole child.
4. Children do the best they can with the skills that they have.
5. Children must be able to trust adults.
6. Behavior must be understood and not labeled.
7. Children learn to cope with their feelings by being allowed to experience the full range of their emotions.
8. Believing in oneself is the basis of all growth.
9. Solving problems gives children a sense of competence and self-worth.
   
   

Our program is child-centered. This means that the teachers are observant of and responsive to what children do. The teachers create the physical and psychological environment that encourages children to play and thereby direct their own cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. The teachers support the children's development through interesting, challenging, and fun activities, sensitive listening, and ongoing relationships. The children have plenty of time to figure out what interests them. The children are free to move about, to touch things, to try things out, to explore, to test them selves, and practice what they have already learned. Materials, activities, and the daily routine are designed to match the needs of children attending on a flexible schedule, and the varied development levels, individual needs and interests found within any group of children.

The development of social and emotional skills is of primary importance during these years. The children also have opportunities to learn about relating to other people. Understanding feelings and needs, knowing how to communicate them to others, and having the skills to solve problems are characteristics and skills that the CDC values and believes leads to a healthy personality. Play, respect, trust, and responsibility all convey the importance of the child.

Goals for the Children's Program

The goal of the program is to provide an environment that encourages children to:

1. Grow in all areas: socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively
2. Develop self-awareness and acceptance about their own physical, social and emotional selves
3. Develop creative problem solving skills
4. Grow in self-confidence and willingness to try new things
5. Become inner-directed
6. Become responsible
7. Be creative thinkers, aware of choices
8. Acquire a sense of unity, connectedness and belonging to the Center Community
9. Receive an anti-bias education that includes an appreciation for individual differences and cultural diversity.
   
   

Infant Toddler Program

The program for children 6 months to 2 1/2 years of age is held in the infant and toddler facility. A maximum of six children are enrolled in the infant and beginning walker rooms with a ratio of 1 adult to 3 infants. Eight children at a time can be enrolled in the younger and older toddler rooms, with a ratio of 1 to 4.

Preschool Program

School Age Program

Student Parent Subsidized Childcare Program

Nutrition Program

Mealtime is important for both informal nutrition education and for pleasant conversation. Menus are posted listing the meal plan for one week at a time. Meals are prepared on the premises without the use of additives or preservatives. The Center's meal program does not include soda, punch, candy, beef, pork, or hot dogs. Vegetarian children are offered an alternate meal on the days that meat (chicken, turkey or tuna fish) is served. The Center participates in the California Department of Education's Adult and Childcare Food program. There is no discrimination in the course of food service. Children in attendance are served the same meals at no separate charge, regardless of sex, race, color, handicap, religion, national origin, or ancestry.

Breakfast Lunch PM Snack
Preschool Children 8:30am 11:30am 2:30pm

AM Snack Lunch PM Snack
School age Children 8:30am 10:45am 3:00-3:30pm

Infants 6 to 12 months are served based on an individual plan. Older children in the infant and toddler program are offered meals on the following schedule or per parental request:

Breakfast Lunch PM Snack
Infant Toddler Children 8:30am 11:30am 2:30pm