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An Original Curriculum
Designed by Early Childhood
Development Specialists
Our Parenting Center Early Childhood Development Specialist and Educators work together to help your child reach their fullest potential.
How We Got Started
The Indy Lab’s original curriculum was started in 2019 when Frida Matute founded Playful Literacy, the first class of The Indy Lab. The class was growing popular among schools in the city when the pandemic hit and she and her education partner, Lara, moved to Westchester and sought out a new facility to host their programs. They found a home at The Play Place and were able to add great movement options to their program, as well as expand on the curriculum to include STEM, Dramatic Play, Spanish Immersion and Uninterrupted Free Play. Every year, research is done to ensure that the most evidence-based and progressive approach to learning is being implemented with The Indy Lab values which include curiosity, playfulness, inclusion and collaboration to create community.
Communication is Key
At The Indy Lab, we believe that communication is the single most important goal to going to elementary school. When a child enters kindergarten, they need to socialize, advocate for themselves and retell their day. Our goal is to design a curriculum that fosters a strong sense of communication along with a curiosity to learn about the world.
What Are the Core Segments of Our Curriculum?
Playful Literacy
Our Playful Literacy segment teaches early literacy concepts through play using multi-sensory activities. Concepts like letter to sound correspondence, rhyming, sound identification, book awareness and comprehension skills are all a component.
STEM
Each day, children also participate in STEM and Drama. STEM activities are also paired with our theme of the week. We help children become curious thinkers by asking questions, thinking abstractly, and problem-solving. Children have made clouds, oobleck, volcano explosions, and more!
Uninterrupted Free Play
Backed by evidence-based science, we create a structure during the day called Uninterrupted Free Play which allows children to explore loose parts and abstract materials and tools as they immerse themselves in an hour of open-ended creation. Materials are considered across the following 4 areas: loose parts, abstract, concrete and sensory.
Spanish Immersion
Children participate in a daily Spanish Immersion segment in which they complete a thematic related activity purely in Spanish with a focus on play, creation and exploration.
Movement
Our amazing facility has an indoor jungle gym, rock climbing wall, toddler gym and turf. Each day, students will participate in a 30-minute movement-based class. Our coaches design lessons that improve motor skills through fun games!
Cultural Studies
Each month, our education team provides a home-based project for families and students to learn about a new culture. Children bring in their projects from home to display in our hallways. Our educators take time during the day to discuss the culture of the month to learn about the food, dress, landscapes and traditions.
How Do We Keep Children Interested in Learning?
Thematic Lessons Based on the Real World
Our curriculum specifies a theme each week that corresponds with a letter sound which we pair with an interesting topic about our world like C is for Caterpillars and Butterflies or B is for Bones.
Themes are both concrete so that children can grasp the concept of theme, but also abstract enough to push their boundaries to be creative, imaginative, and inquisitive as they play.
Child-Led
Our program centers its lessons on development which means we focus on the child and what they are showing us to understand what they need to learn. By focusing on development, we can tune in on the specific needs of each child and make the curriculum accessible to them.
- Areas of development we focus on include:
- Social-Emotional
- Language-Literacy
- Cognition
- Approaches to Learning
- Physical
Experiential
Children actively engage in hands-on activities, such as science experiments, art projects, gardening, and nature exploration. By immersing themselves in these experiences, children develop a deep understanding of concepts and make meaningful connections to the world around them.
Play-Based
Children have many opportunities for free play throughout the day as small group learning takes place and they wait their turn, as well as an hour of uninterrupted free play each afternoon. All interest areas are always free to them and they are never forced to engage in a core segment, only encouraged.
Language-Enriching
Our curriculum, designed by our language specialists, naturally embeds opportunities for children to learn how to communicate well with their community. By using explicit language, we teach our students options for how to express themselves in a way that allows them to flourish their thoughts independently.
How Do We
Scaffold Learning?
Children learn at different rates and different paces, which is why we focus on child development at the core of our curriculum.
Individualized, dyad and small-group learning with specific pairings for both learning styles and healthy group dynamics.
Educational plans for accommodations in the classroom, as needed.
Motivational tools to learn classroom community like jobs and super powers.
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