The Turrell Fund is proud to highlight one of the 2024 Landon Award winners: Burlington Children’s Space!
What is Burlington Children’s Space?
Burlington Children’s Space (BCS), founded in 1984, is an early education and child care center that serves children as young as 6 weeks to 5 years old.
BCS also commits to providing resources around early educational issues for families and the Burlington community.
Families are encouraged to participate in their children’s educational journeys by engaging with teachers and within the community.
Burlington Children’s Space’s Work
BCS offers programs that center around: family involvement, community partnerships, therapeutic child care, farm-to-school education, and Schools Excelling in Emotional Development (SEED).
To facilitate conversations with the community’s parents, BCS holds Coffee Chat mornings to allow families to voice their ideas and obtain resources to support their child’s learning.
BCS also works with community partners to provide training opportunities for staff, as well as workshops for parents. Some partners include: ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Northeastern Family Institute.
Burlington Children’s Space Educational Approach
BCS’ early education development is based on the Reggio Emilia approach, which is centered around a child-led curriculum.
Teachers observe students’ interests and prioritize changes based on the children’s needs.
Children are encouraged to explore both inside and outside the classroom, with open-ended materials that allow for creative thinking.
Teachers facilitate learning by listening, watching and documenting how students interact with the material.
Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on family connections with the educational programs.
Parents are encouraged to communicate with teachers and be involved with their children’s learning process.
The Turrell Fund congratulates Burlington Children’s Space and supports its mission of helping young children thrive as they prepare for kindergarten. Thank you for all you do!
