Manhattan Star Academy

The Manhattan Star Academy's mission is to provide high-quality services to your children and their families in a comprehensive, developmentally based program which focuses on the whole child. Instructional activities integrate all the domains of child development, including physical development and health, and social/emotional development; communi... cation, language, and literacy; cognition and knowledge of the world (math, science, social studies, the arts and technology). Our program strives to foster growth and development through a broad range of services within the program while utilizing community resources as appropriate. Our educational approach emphasizes the active engagement of children, opportunity for exploration, a balance between adult-initiated and child-directed activities, and collaborative learning with the emphasis on the process rather than the product. Our goals are to develop skills as well as prepare children to develop positive self-esteem, confidence and the ability to work independently and with others. This work is supported by child development theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori and Erickson which demonstrates that learning develops through the interaction of the child's own thinking and the exploration of his or her learning environment. We believe that children learn best through meaningful, hands-on experiences, in which they can make their own discoveries about the world around them. In order to make discoveries, children must be given many opportunities to touch, taste, construct, interact, share, problem solve, speculate and experiment. Our role in the classroom is to thoughtfully guide the child towards making connections, solving problems, discovering the properties of materials, and exploring his or her world. The type of guidance we provide is based on a firm understanding of each child's developmental level, learning style, and his or her strengths and difficulties.Read More