Wellesley Community Children’s Center

The bond between parents and infants is a precious one. Beginning with the home visit, infant teachers convey their understanding of the importance of developing trust and attachment to others. By respecting the needs of infants and establishing good communication with parents, we build a foundation for healthy infant development. Between the morning goodbye waves and the afternoon hello hugs, each baby is on an individual schedule that assures the best care possible. We know that infants need time and space to grow, and we want to provide experiences that nourish all areas of their growth. Teachers and babies share happy moments throughout the day, as we exchange smiles, gurgles, and giggles.

Children enter the Orange Room equipped with many skills. Typically they have a solid sense of themselves as independent beings, good language and motor skills, and an understanding of their world primarily based on concrete experiences. In the Orange Room, as we build on those skills, we challenge each child to go further. Throughout the year, we carefully develop and adjust our curriculum to meet their changing – and increasingly sophisticated – developmental needs. To promote social and emotional growth, we focus on helping children see the importance of individual abilities and choices as well as their roles and responsibilities in the group. Developing friendships, sustaining play, learning social problem-solving skills, communicating feelings and beginning to understand the feelings of others are year-long goals in the Orange Room. We recognize the value of regular physical activity. Children regularly play in our Red Room, on our playground, and take nature hikes around the Wellesley College campus.

At WCCC’s After School Program, our mantra is simple: let kids be kids. We strive to enrich the educational, recreational, and social experiences of school-age children by providing a supportive environment where they can learn through play. We encourage children to explore the world around them, to challenge themselves, to create and imagine, and to have fun. We believe that children need a balance in their after school hours. Time to relax, time to play, time for homework, and time for special activities are all part of the daily schedule at each of our our sites.