The Caterpillar’s Cove is different from other child care centres in 4 aspects: curriculum, research, demonstration and professional development.

Curriculum
The programme provides high-quality early education and care to children and families. It is a full-day programme, operating from Mondays to Fridays from 7:30 a.m. until 7.00 p.m. and Saturdays, from 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
The curriculum focuses on the child and undertakes to develop the whole child physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally and aesthetically. We believe that what children need to learn in the early years can be accomplished through play by providing appropriate guidance from nurturing and responsive adults.

Based on specially customized learning outcomes and through a balance of child initiated and adult mediated learning experiences, our teachers negotiate the developmental trajectory of the different curriculum domains and build simple to increasingly complex activities in each domain and across the age groups, thereby raising children’s thinking from concrete to the abstract.

The programme is also committed to using practices that build upon each child's individual interests and preferences while assisting them in learning to be members of a diverse group of other children, including children with special needs.

Daily activity schedules include a variety of indoor and outdoor activities that are appropriate to the ages and interests of the children in the classroom. Structured and unstructured activities are balanced across the day, and whenever possible, children are allowed to choose among several available activities. They will also engage in project work. The curriculum includes the documentation of children’s growing competence.

We understand the importance of the school readiness: we provide a variety of developmentally appropriate activities each day that are designed to encourage the children’s exploration in language, math concepts, creative expression, social and physical learning.

Research
The programme supports the research mission of SEED Institute and the Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Families are often participants in research studies conducted by the child care staff, investigators at SEED Institute, and faculty and students of the Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Educational Studies and Leadership programme offered in partnership with Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Wheelock College and SEED Institute. Generally, the research focuses on practices designed to help children learn and develop, on methods for structuring and operating early education and child care programmes, and on health issues of young children.

Demonstration
As a child development and study centre, The Caterpillar’s Cove is designed to facilitate observation and research, as well as to serve as a normal child development centre. It is also designated to be used by SEED Institute /Ngee Ann Poly faculty and students who observe and study child development here. The programme is designed to demonstrate and disseminate information about quality child care and innovative practices related to the early learning and development of young children. The staff is actively involved in developing, implementing, evaluating, and sharing with others new methods for providing early education and care. As a result, many different individuals and groups from the polytechnic, and other countries visit the programme each year.

Professional Development
The Caterpillar’s Cove Child Development and Study Centre is different from other child care centres in that it is operated by SEED Institute. Our students volunteer in our classrooms and use the facility for their assignments, which can range from the simple observation of child development to the design and implementation of an ethical research project that is approved by the Research Advisory Committee.

The programme also serves as a training site for child care administrators and service providers who are interested in enhancing the quality of services in their own programmes.

When one enters the outdoor grounds of The Cove, two gardens for play and learning await our children - one outside the childcare centre and another on the ground floor. Some spaces are open, others private so that children can play games together or find sanctuary when they need a little time on their own.

Trees with seasonal leaves, flowering shrubs that blossoms the whole year round and lush coves provide the physical beauty, shade and a natural haven showing children that the adults care for the environment, the school, and the children who attend. Within the natural surroundings, children will discover the patterns of birds, butterflies, caterpillars, insects and surprise visitors that come often to this lush habitat.

The accessibility, challenge and scale of the play equipment such as the sand pits and bicycle tracks were specifically designed to support the physical and social development of children from eighteen months to six years.

The class size and age groups are as follows :

Staffing and Children Capacity