When founder Jill Rooney started Harbor Child Care with eight children in 1973, it was to offer assistance to working families. Fast forward to 2025 and there are now six centers spread across Nassau County, representing the largest not-for-profit organizations dedicated to full-day child care, early childhood and, school age education on Long Island. The centers, located in Glen Cove, Shelter Rock, Herricks-New Hyde Park, Manhasset, Union Dale, and Mineola each offer programs for children of many ages, including:
Infants (3 months to 18 months)
Toddlers (18 months to 36 months)
Pre-Kindergarten (3-5 years – full day)
School Age (Breakfast Club and After School)
Summer Camp
Enrichment Programs
One of the main contributing factors to the success of the organization is its nine esteemed board members, each of whom are dedicated to giving back to this very special cause that they are passionate about even while having varied professional experiences and backgrounds. Several come from families who have teachers, while others have children enrolled at Harbor. They all support the use of the Creative Curriculum in each center, since it is highly regarded as a leading early childhood educational approach and aligns with New York Common Core standards. While offered for many ages, it is also the most widely used preschool curriculum in the country. It’s popular as it prepares children for not only school, but also for life. This program also provides a guide for teachers/caregivers and helps them to understand not only what and how to teach, but why certain practices are successful.
Parents and caregivers usually come with a list of questions when deciding to place their child in an early childhood learning center and are pleased when they find out that Harbor offers this type of successful education program as it reinforces the motto of each center which is “Preparing Children for Life Beyond Academics.” The fact this program revolves around adapting to each child and their particular learning strengths helps to put many parents at ease, especially when they are trying to balance work as well as nurturing their child.
What is the Creative Curriculum Program?
The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, Fourth Edition, is an early childhood curriculum designed to foster social/ emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development and to enhance learning in literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology.
– Teaching Strategies
What makes it successful?
The curriculum is broken down into five different fundamental principles that seamlessly overlap with the developmental goals and objectives formulated to enhance a child’s learning. The five principles include:
Social/emotional: Positive interactions with teachers and other children is a fundamental necessity for successful learning. The social/emotional stage is probably the most important as it serves to promote independence, self confidence and self-control.
Physical: The environment in which a child learns has been shown to affect how children learn
Cognitive: Constructive, purposeful play supports essential learning
Language: Social-emotional competence is an important factor in success at school
Relationships: Teachers and families working in tandem helps to promote development, learning and self confidence.
How is it applied in the classroom?
The Creative Curriculum provides a blueprint for how a classroom can be set up to greatly enhance learning. Depending on the space available, it can include designated areas for dramatic play, block building, toys and games, an art center, cozy corner for book reading and writing, water (and possible sand) play and different “discovery” areas, all designed to stimulate a child’s curiosity. When combined, these activities provide a wealth of overlapping learning experiences, all of which work to the benefit of the child as they continue to grow and evolve developmentally. Many parents are thrilled when they see the variety of what is offered, especially when their child has the opportunity to do play and learn among children their own age.
Why do teachers like this program?
No matter their age, when children come to an early education center they may be at very different stages both emotionally and developmentally. The Creative Curriculum helps teachers to learn the strengths and areas needed for improvement for each child. Teachers learn what interests a child, how they learn best and what materials and activities will help to foster the most growth. This program empowers teachers by providing them with the right tools to maintain a productive learning environment for all.
Interested in learning more? We’re happy to give you a tour of the location most convenient to you. Contact us to learn more from our dedicated staff and set up an appointment today. We can’t wait to meet you and your child and show you around!
