1. By, Samantha Morrissey, Rachael VanKerrebroeck, Tami Mumm

2.  It is a child-centered, progressive education and developmental interaction approach  It focuses on diversity of curriculum.  Students are offered active educational opportunities in areas that develop cognitive, emotional, physical, and social growth. It focuses on the “whole” child.  Learning includes more than one subject and in groups.  Believes that children learn at various level using different methods.

3.  This philosophy believes to create lifelong learners children need to interact with the environment around them gaining rich interactions, including people, various places, and things.  Choice, Active Investigation, Independent Pursuit through discovery are components of this learning approach.  Students often do this by experiencing dramatic play (most essential), puzzles, field trips (ex. local grocery stores), lab work, and much more hands on activities. It is not structured and leaves much discretion to the teachers and children on what to work and when to work on it.

4.  It is based on the theories of:  Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Dewey, and Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Anna Freud, Barbara Bieber.  It started in 1916 with Lucy Sprague Mitchell and was known as the Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE). This is where the emergence of a child-centered approach began.  In 1950 the BEE is renamed Bank Street College of Education.

5.  1966 The Early Childhood Center opens up an puts these child-centered philosophies into use.  Throughout the years many new schools are opened up to test these new philosophies.  The School for Children, The Family Center, The Center for Children and Technology, The Principles Institute, New Beginnings, and many more in the new century.  2010 Bank Street creates its latest project of Bank Street Online (BSO), to increase educational participation.

6.  Start with a recycling project. After the recycling project is over and items have collected allow the students to build something that fits into the curriculum.  These students built the Parthenon out of their recycled materials.

7.  Another activity for earth day would be to take a walk. Take the students for a walk outside. Visit places outside such as a park or nearby woods to connect your curriculum or to do read aloud.  When outdoors children can adopt trees, pick up litter, landscape areas, study insects and birds and so much more.  Hands on activity is the key to learning in this progressive education approach.

8.  http://earlychildhoodhistory.weebly.com/the- developmental-interaction-approach.html http://earlychildhoodhistory.weebly.com/the- developmental-interaction-approach.html  http://preschoolers.about.com/od/parentinggl ossary/g/bankstreet.htm http://preschoolers.about.com/od/parentinggl ossary/g/bankstreet.htm  http://www.nj.gov/education/ece/curriculum/ desc/bank.htm http://www.nj.gov/education/ece/curriculum/ desc/bank.htm  http://bankstreet.edu/discover- bankstreet/history/ http://bankstreet.edu/discover- bankstreet/history/  http://bankstreetcollege.wordpress.com/2009/ 04/18/six-earth-day-activities-for-your- classroom/ http://bankstreetcollege.wordpress.com/2009/ 04/18/six-earth-day-activities-for-your- classroom/