The Early Childhood Development Center

Welcome to The Coastal Carolina University Early Childhood Development and Literacy Center. We work with young scientists, engineers, writers, artists, and mathematicians to build on their natural curiosity. Central to our approach to learning is an idea borrowed from the Reggio Emilia philosophy - all children are competent, capable, and ready to learn, having rich and powerful ideas. "It is necessary that we believe that the child is very intelligent, that the child is strong and beautiful and has very ambitious desires and requests. This is the image of the child that we need to hold" (Malaguzzi, 1993).
Our preschool center is a special place on campus where children come to learn and explore. An inquiry-based curriculum, family and child focus, natural outdoor play area, and teacher education are traits that set us apart from other schools. An emergent, project-based curriculum allows us the freedom to explore the interests of our children as they learn academic and social emotional skills within the context of their topics of interest. Observation of children, their skills and interests, is the foundation from which our curriculum emerges. Access to resources on campus and natural areas for discovery encourage questions and opportunities for learning through play; and play is the work of the child.