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USES’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) program is focused on preparing children to become confident, successful learners. Our teachers and group leaders create nurturing and warm spaces to support the development of each child’s self-esteem and growth. All ECE classrooms provide rich learning environments where children can flourish socially, emotionally, and intellectually.
What is the difference between Early Childhood Education and Daycare?
Early Childhood Education (ECE) focuses on providing foundational numeracy and literacy skills for child infants through Pre-kindergarten to help prepare them for their school years. This is a critical period of a child’s development as this is where they learn and develop cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills that are designed to set them up for success during their school years. Our teaching methods typically incorporate play-based learning, hands-on activities and age-appropriate instruction in language, math, science and social studies. At USES, we use an emergent curriculum approach as a guide for creating developmentally appropriate lesson plans to ensure that each child’s individual and developmental needs are met. Our curriculum is also taught by educators experienced in the field who have received their certification in early education and care.
Daycare providers may also offer basic educational activities, but the focus is generally on meeting the physical and emotional needs of the children in their care. In contrast, ECE refers to programs and services that are designed specifically to support the learning and development of young children. Additionally, daycare settings may or may not follow a structured curriculum and specific educational training is not required of staff. At USES, all educators are certified following the requirements mandated by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. If you have any further questions about what makes USES’ ECE program unique, please feel free to contact Kaiti Coffin, Director Of Youth and Family Mobility Programming, at kcoffin@uses.org.
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We aim to create developmentally appropriate lessons to ensure that each child’s individual and developmental needs are met. Art and science are frequently integrated in each of our classrooms through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math). STEAM allows us to teach abstract concepts in a tangible and accessible way to young children who learn with their whole bodies and minds. We believe that art is a powerful tool for literacy and language development, critical thinking as well as reasoning and emotional regulation skills.
Our program is divided into three age groups:
ECE operates year-round and is open Monday – Friday, from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. For more information about enrollment, ECE programming, rates or vouchers, please contact Kaiti Coffin, Director Of Youth and Family Mobility Programming, at kcoffin@uses.org or (617) 375-8119.
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