Programs
The CYC operates a :
- Full day program for children ages 3 through 5 - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, September to June.
- Kindergarten, State certified program - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, September through June
- Morning Gathering optionally any enrolled child 7:30 - 8:30 am, Monday through Friday September through June.
- Afternoon Gathering optionally any enrolled full-day child, 4:30 - 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday September through June.
- Summer Camp- a six-week program during late June- early August
At the Center for Young Children, the teachers, who hold degrees in Early Childhood Education or a related field , work with children using the Project Approach to complement their development within seven learning areas: Personal and Social Development, Language and Literacy, Mathematical Thinking, Scientific Thinking, Social Studies, The Arts, and Physical Development.
The Curriculum
The CYC bases its curriculum on both teacher knowledge and what is meaningful for each child. Curriculum emerges from a collaboration between teacher direction and children's interests.
Some of the goals of the curriculum are:- To encourage children to be actively involved in the learning process.
- To prompt children to think creatively.
- To aide children in asking questions and discovering answers.
- To encourage children to become curious and enthusiastic learners.
- To support children in experiencing success and developing self-confidence.
- To promote, model, and support appropriate social behavior.
Each learning area is considered as teachers set up appropriate materials for exploration and scaffolding of knowledge, as well as in the choice of study topics that allow for first-hand experiences. The Center for Young Children's Study Approach is based in theory on the educational philosophy of John Dewey and the Project Approach, a set of teaching strategies that enable teachers to guide children through in-depth studies of real world topics. Each study topic is explored for several weeks, giving the children opportunities to ask questions, actively explore hands-on materials, interview experts, reflect on information gained, and share new knowledge with peers.
Curriculum Related Links
- Center for Young Children Curriculum Statement PDF
- Project Approach Website
- A Quilting Study
- A Restaurant Study
- A Mixing Study An example of a project implemented during summer camp.
- A Summer Camp Energy Study

Children's personal and social development is enhanced through the building of relationships within the classroom community. Teachers and children interact through conversation, free-choice of activities, and daily class meetings in which children participate in the progression of the class study. Children are encouraged to explore and discover within their immediate world, and teachers act as recorders of their ideas and experiences. Children are expected to learn to follow classroom rules and routines, and are given the needed assistance in developing positive conflict resolution skills.
When a child walks into a classroom at the CYC, a language-rich environment will surround him or her. Book areas are an integral part of every classroom, where a child is able to spend quiet time looking at books on his own or within a group. Books are also integrated into other areas of the curriculum, with non-fiction picture books available at the science table or books about shapes displayed above the math center. Through exposure to different types of children's literature, the teachers encourage a deep appreciation of reading. Children will see the teachers writing down their ideas during meetings and work with language experience charts, thus being exposed to language and literature within a meaningful context. Teachers become aware of individual children's stages, and in turn provide the appropriate materials and experiences to build upon every child's development.

Building skills through experience also applies to scientific thinking. Given magnifying glasses, children can explore their class gardens, the class pet, or a leaf collected on the playground. Many study topics provide scientific experiences for observations, such as "Gardening" or "Insects." Teachers assist the children by asking scaffolding questions and encourage them to become scientific thinkers who ask questions and research answers.
Art experiences include drawing, easel painting, collage and clay. Daily exposure to these materials allows children to continue to build their skills throughout their years at the CYC. Children are given the opportunity to express themselves freely through these media and are encouraged to share their work with others. Throughout the week, classes participate in group music and movement activities, such as fingerplays, singing, or creative movement activities based on familiar stories.
Children develop physical skills through movement and activity. Morning and afternoon playground time is part of the daily schedule to allow for gross motor activity. Our playground offers the opportunity to run, climb, slide, ride tricycles and scooters, and play ball. In the classroom, children develop fine motor skills by working with art and writing tools, puzzles, and computers. Various manipulative materials are available for children to explore while developing their fine motor skills.

As children work with materials they construct their own understandings through self-guided exploration, learn from peer interaction, and further their thinking and use of academic language through teacher questioning and modeling. Writing utensils and texts (i.e. books, menus, magazines, etc.) are integrated throughout the classroom to foster their use in authentic ways.
In addition to child-initiated activities throughout the day, children participate in whole group meetings, small group activities and individualized instruction to further support their literacy, mathematical, and scientific development. In Kindergarten children continue to study real-world topics through the Project Approach (Lillian Katz, Sylvia Chard, & Judy Harris Helm), however the projects become more in-depth as they are familiar with these types of investigations, develop more complex thought processes, and can sustain attention to a topic for a longer period of time. Kindergartners are active participants and decision makers through the Project Approach offering and voting on topic ideas, helping to determine how to study their chosen topic, and choosing how to culminate their study and share what they have learned with the CYC community. Previous Kindergarten studies include The Human Body, Musical Instruments, Airplanes, Boats, and Electricity.

Teachers guide children’s individual writing development through stages beginning with pretend writing and moving toward writing sentences and stories. The combination of invented spellings (sounding out of words) and conventional spellings are supported by encouraging children to sound out unknown words and use resources around the room, such as our Word Wall, to write frequently used words. Games and individual teacher interactions provide authentic meaningful contexts to support children’s growing letter/sound correspondence, concepts of print, memorization of Sight Words, use of letter blends, and other important skills needed for reading and writing. Additionally, chapter books are read before rest time throughout the year and children are encouraged to critically think about and analyze texts read aloud.
During the Spring semester of Kindergarten children work with teachers in small groups on Sentence Journals and one-on-one with guided reading in addition to Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop. Small group instruction takes place to support and challenge children as needed. All stages of writing and reading development are respected in our classroom and children are given ample opportunities to share their writing with the class and display their work.
Children explore mathematical concepts on a daily basis through self-initiated choices in the block area, at the math table, and using tools around the classroom. Teachers provide mathematical language to enable children to explain their creations and observations. Teacher-created games and activities often entice children to further work with math related concepts in a more direct way. For example, teacher-made board games may require children to add the value on two dice, and beads may be available for making patterned jewelry.
Children are also engaged in math word problems during whole group and small group instruction with the help of concrete materials to solve these problems. Word problems ask children to solve mathematical equations in story form, often based on real life situations, making the problem more meaningful to the children. Once children understand how to solve a word problem, the number sentence is introduced. Throughout the year children are engaged in higher-order thinking while working with materials through teacher questioning that guides them to think in new ways. Children also participate in collecting data through surveys, representing the data in different ways, and analyzing and interpreting the data. During the second semester children meet in small groups to formally explore concepts such as money, weight, estimation, and 3-dimensional shapes in game-like situations.

Fostering children’s social and emotional development continues to be an emphasis in the Kindergarten classroom. We guide children towards independence, modeling problem solving skills and encouraging them to “use their words” to solve problems with their peers before coming to a teacher for help. Children are given responsibilities and we empower them to be positive leaders within the classroom and to the younger children on the playground. Responsibilities such as choosing their own place to sit during group meetings supports children’s growing ability to self-regulate their behavior.
The CYC Kindergarten supports Vygotsky’s philosophy that teachers are facilitators of learning and children should be taught to initiate and direct their own learning. Children are taught to be cooperative members of a classroom community, to be inquisitive about the world around them, to research answers to their questions, and the important roles of reading, writing, and mathematics in their lives, all of which set them on the path to being lifelong learners.
CYC Summer Camp 2021 enrollment is now full. If you would like to be put on the waitlist, please email cyc-camp@umd.edu. Please note that only children currently enrolled at CYC can be added to the waitlist at this time.
CYC Summer Camp 2021 will be held June 28 - August 6. We will be closed July 5th. Camp will close at 1pm on August 6.
The Center for Young Children offers a summer program for currently enrolled students.
The Program
CYC Summer Camp will be under the direction of Amy Laakso and Alison Hurst, both of whom have worked as past Summer Camp teachers for the CYC.
Camp hours are from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily. The program will be based at the CYC building. Due to COVID restrictions, we will not be using the pool or going on field trips. Teachers will continue to provide exciting, developmentally appropriate activities for the students. Morning snacks are provided as well as milk for lunch. Hot lunch is not available during the summer camp program. Parents are responsible for packing a disposable lunch each day. Each classroom has a rest time.
Registration Information
To register a child, parents must fill out the registration form, return the completed contract, and submit the first payment. That installment serves as a non-refundable deposit and ensures a summer slot for your child until all classrooms are fully enrolled. Registration is on a first come, first served basis.
1- Complete the Registration Form.
2- Submit a Signed Contract via email to cyc-camp@umd.edu.
3- Make the first non-refundable payment of $500 (see below).
Your child's camp registration is not complete until we have received these three items.
2021 Tuition Information
Tuition is one flat rate of $2,000 for the six weeks. The payments are made according to the following schedule. All bill payments are made online. All payments are non-refundable once paid.
Pay Camp Bill Payments Here
Payment Schedule and links | 4 Equal Payments | |
---|---|---|
1st Payment | $500 | Due with registration |
$500 | Due March 5, 2021 | |
$500 | Due April 2, 2021 | |
$500 | Due April 30, 2021 | |
Total | $2,000 |
Or you can pay all four payments at one time here.
When any payment is more than one week in arrears, the CYC holds the right to cancel that family's enrollment.
For more information, please call 301-405-3168 or e-mail cyc-camp@umd.edu.