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The Early Childhood program is the campus-based division of the Early Intervention Outreach (EIO) program at Overbrook School for the Blind. The program is designed to give students a fun and educational pre-school experience with a special focus on meeting the needs of children who are blind, visually impaired or living with additional challenges. Early Childhood helps students achieve independence and prepares them to enter school programs that are appropriate to their abilities and needs.
Learning Through Play
In specialized classes, the staff works with students on achieving skills such as sensory stimulation, gross and fine motor, language and communication skills and daily living skills, such as feeding, toileting, dressing and washing. The students also engage in activities such as physical education, music, art, library, swimming and computer awareness – all in a supportive social environment.
An innovative aspect of the program is the integration of speech, occupational, and physical therapies, orientation and mobility and audiology. Therapists work with students in the classrooms so that teachers can observe interventions that further the students' therapy goals and learn how to implement therapists' suggestions throughout the school day.
When appropriate to help meet a child's needs, the staff works to procure assistive devices – such as electronic communication aids or switches – that will enable the child to master special challenges.
The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool
The Creative Curriculum® is the curriculum used in our Early Childhood Program and is aligned with the PA Early Learning Standards. It is built upon the child development theory that all children learn through active exploration of their environment and therefore the environment plays a critical role in learning. The goal is to help children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive and enthusiastic learners by actively exploring their environment.
The Creative Curriculum® identifies goals in all areas of development: Social/Emotional, Cognitive, Physical and Language. It also integrates literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts and technology.
Expanded Core Curriculum
In addition to the Creative Curriculum, all students receive instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum. This includes the concepts and skills unique to children with visual impairments that require specialized instruction. The areas included in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) are:
- Compensatory Skills such as braille
- Orientation and Mobility
- Social Interaction
- Independent Living
- Recreation and Leisure
- Sensory Efficiency
- Assistive Technology
- Career Education
- Self-Determination
Parental involvement is also a major aspect of our program. This is achieved through monthly parent and caregiver meetings, chat ‘n chews, story time and a quarterly parent newsletter. We also offer various trainings for families throughout the school year such as braille and Hanen Training (language development).
Early Childhood Extended Calendar
To maintain the skills the students have learned, the Early Childhood Program runs an extended 12-month calendar to include instruction in the summer. Providing fun and exciting activities while assisting the children with achieving their goals, the Early Childhood Summer Program operates for 5 weeks, Mondays through Thursdays.
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