University of Michigan Children’s Center for Working Families
has merged with the Pound House Children's Center to become the Towsley Children's House. During construction of the new Towsley Children's House, the Center will be located at the Pfizer child care facility on Plymouth Road.
Program Overview
The U-M Children’s Center for Working Families, established in 1980, is a full-time program serving 35 children. The Center provides young children with an exemplary preschool experience while serving as a resource for the University faculty's scholarly agenda and providing University students interested in the development of young children with a setting for observation, participation and research.
The Center for Working Families provides a safe, secure and happy place for children and their families. The curriculum is designed by teams of professional teachers, emphasizing a play-based philosophy that is developmentally appropriate. Attention is given to social, cognitive and physical development. Children enjoy large and small group activities including music, art, cooking, science projects and many enriching field trips.
In all classes the curriculum is designed to nurture social behavior and enhance the child's self-concept.
For the toddlers, the focus is on the transition from home to school with particular attention given to issues related to separation. At three years of age, the focus continues to be the transition between home and school, as well as the addition of a rich variety of social, physical and cognitive experiences. Four year olds begin working within a more structured environment, adding complexity to pre-reading, pre-math, science and language development. The kindergarten program is designed to enhance curiosity, problem-solving and creative thinking including a variety of weekly math, reading and writing projects, as well as small and large group times.
Using the observational facilities, parents are encouraged to observe their children as frequently as they wish. In addition to informal observations, there are parent-teacher conferences each year. Parent-teacher communication, both spontaneous and planned, is recognized as being essential for the overall success of both programs.
