Our Programs

The Centers for Early Childhood Education offers two programs for the convenience of families. The Child Development Lab offers a school-day program from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. (Monday through Friday) for the school year, September through June. The Early Childhood Center offers year-round, full-day care from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Centers for Early Childhood Education enroll children 2 years 9 months to 6 years old. Both classrooms, licensed to enroll a maximum of 18 students, are staffed by highly qualified teachers who have earned bachelor and master degrees in early childhood, literacy and language, or special education, Massachusetts Early Childhood Education teaching licenses, and Early Education and Care lead preschool teacher certification. In addition, University students earning their teaching license or gain experience working with children and their families work in our classrooms to improve the student to teacher ratio.
The Centers for Early Childhood Education is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Framingham State University has a long history of supporting high quality early childhood education for preparing students to teach. In the fall of 1962, Hemenway Hall, a new classroom building at Framingham State College, was opened. Under the direction of the Home Economics Department, a child development lab, known at that time as the “Children’s Workshop”, was designed and built in the new building. The classroom was spacious with an observation booth in the adjoining classroom for students to observe and learn about child development and teaching young children.
With a change in state regulations, early childhood education was shifted from Home Economics to a teaching license with oversight by the Massachusetts Department of Education. With this change in 1971, the Child Development Lab was transferred to our Education Department and continues to operate under the auspices of the College of Education and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Child Development Lab offers excellent education and care in a school-day, school-year program. In 2006, the Child Development Lab was renamed to honor the memory of Dr. Jeanne M. Canelli, Framingham State College alumna, Child Development Lab Director, and Associate Professor in the Education Department.
In July 2015, the Framingham State University Early Childhood Center opened at 2 Church Street under the management of the College of Education and formed the current Centers for Early Childhood Education. Together, both preschool classrooms collaborate with our early childhood education initial teacher license programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels to offer a pre-practicum site on-campus where University students who are interested in learning about and teaching young children gain valuable experience and course credit. Students majoring in the Child and Family Studies major in the Education Department, who also want to work with children and families, put into practice coursework in both preschool classrooms.
In 2021, the Centers for Early Childhood Education joined the Framingham Public Schools Partnerships for Early Learners (PEL). Both preschool classrooms sites for the PEL program to close the education gap in the City of Framingham. The children of FSU faculty, staff, and students, PEL participants, and from surrounding communities are enrolled in our programs.
Today, the Jeanne M. Canelli Child Development Lab and Early Childhood Center continue to provide excellent preschool experiences to meet the changing needs of the families from the Framingham State University community as well as the greater Metro West area. Never static, the two classrooms of the Centers for Early Childhood Education carry on the tradition for offering an innovative, child-centered and integrated curriculum to meet the needs of every child enrolled in its programs.
Curriculum
Our curriculum emphasizes learning as an interactive process. The classroom environment in the Child Development Lab and Early Childhood Center is prepared for children to learn from active exploration and interactions with their peers and classroom materials. Children are encouraged to question, explore, and discover while developing self-confidence and social skills to succeed in school and in life. Together, the teachers, preschool children, and University students work and learn from each other to create a community of learners to enjoy and collaborate in discovering the world and to instill the foundation for life-long learning.
The curriculum is based on developmentally appropriate principles and practices to provide for the physical, emotional, social, language, literacy, and cognitive development of all children through an integrated approach. Play is the primary vehicle for the children’s learning and, thus, the cornerstone of our programs.
Each classroom uses a centers approach to its organization. The children may make decisions about which centers they would like to visit each day. Our centers include writing, art, math, science, blocks, puzzles and games, dramatic play, library, listening center, and music. Reading and writing materials for the children to use throughout the classroom are available in the centers. The teachers and University students work with individual children and small groups at the centers to guide and support learning, exploration, and discovery. Whole class activities, such as a morning meeting and circle time, are included in the daily schedule.
The content of the curriculum is based on selected themes to follow the children’s interests and needs. Themes, curriculum units, and special activities are planned with attention to a wide range of developmental interests and abilities. The curriculum is implemented in a manner that reflects family home values, experiences, language, and community perspectives to enhance each child’s understanding and appreciation of people from various ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The Centers for Early Childhood Education follows the Massachusetts Guidelines for Preschool Experiences, Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, and National Association for the Education of Young Children guidelines to develop the curriculum, themes, and activities.
Areas of Focus
By engaging in art activities, students develop in areas such as self-expression, fine motor skills, pre-writing, language, cooperation, creativity, critical thinking, and social interaction. In addition, students learn about the colors and textures that make up their world. Here at the Child Development Lab, we offer art centers as part of the whole, child centered curriculum, designed to encourage children to explore their world through self-expression.
The library, writing center, read alouds, and meeting time immerse students in literacy. These centers foster the development of a love of words and language through read alouds and meaningful writing activities. Oral language and vocabulary development is emphasized, as it often is a precursor to early reading. Students use imagination, self-expression, and communication skills to engage in writing activities, drawing from their own personal experiences. Children have the opportunity to put their emergent literacy skills to work when writing, using their knowledge of letter-sound correspondence when sounding out words. Teachers encourage students to illustrate and write about their experiences, interests, and stories in their own words. The students enjoy sharing their stories with the class and even acting out them out!
By participating in developmentally appropriate and organic math activities such as counting, sorting, categorizing, measuring, and exploring shapes and number relationships, students develop an understanding of math concepts. Students also gain knowledge in the areas of cooperation, geometry, place value, social interaction, problem solving, sharing, language and communication, fine motor skills, and patterns. All of which are embedded in the world around us. Our math centers give students the chance to explore mathematical concepts in natural, age appropriate, and student-directed ways that stimulate thinking, reasoning, problem solving: skills for life long learning.
When students engage with developmentally appropriate science activities and experiments they develop science concepts and skills such as observation skills, data collection, predictions, language and vocabulary, team work, problem solving, critical thinking skills, reasoning, and taking risks to ask questions and seek answers. The science centers at the Child Development lab are carefully designed to foster development in these skills.
Dramatic play is a cornerstone of our children's curriculum, where imagination and creativity take center stage. In this engaging content area, children are encouraged to explore various roles and scenarios through pretend play. By dressing up, acting out stories, and using props, they develop language skills, social competence, and emotional understanding.
Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on sensory play, which stimulates children's senses through hands-on activities. This area includes a variety of tactile experiences, such as sand and water play, finger painting, and exploring different textures and materials. Sensory play not only enhances fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination but also supports cognitive growth by allowing children to experiment and discover.
Outdoor activities are integral to our children's curriculum, providing opportunities for physical exercise, exploration, and a connection with nature. Our program includes a range of activities such as walks and playground games. These activities promote gross motor skills, physical health, and an appreciation for the environment.
Family Engagement
The Centers for Early Childhood Education welcomes parent and family participation in our programs. Parents are invited to volunteer any time during the year. Participation may involve leading an activity in a learning center, reading a story, or serving as a room parent or on the Advisory Board. Parents and staff plan special events throughout the year for all children and families to enjoy. Some of the special events held in the past have been literacy nights for children and their families, movie nights, children’s art shows, STEM or tinkering nights, open houses to welcome the new school year, class performances, and special affairs to celebrate a particular curriculum theme.
Parental input is encouraged at all times. This may be done through discussions, written notes, or during meetings and conferences with the teachers. Parent-teacher conferences are held three times per school year: before school begins, mid-year, and at the end of the school year. During the spring semester, parents are asked to complete a questionnaire as part of the CECE’s annual program evaluation. Information from the questionnaire will be used to update the Centers for Early Childhood Education programs, policies, and procedures.
Contact the Center

Valerie Hytholt

Sandra Shaw, M.Ed.
General Inquiries
For general inquiries and enrollment information, contact vhytholt1 [at] framingham.edu (Valerie Hytholt). Please note: We are no longer accepting applications for enrollment or for the wait list for the 2025-2026 school year.
University Students
The Centers for Early Childhood Education is an on-campus pre-practicum site for early childhood education majors studying to become licensed teachers. Please contact sshaw [at] framingham.edu (Sandra Shaw) for more information about the early childhood pre-practicum
Students interested in working in the Centers for Early Childhood Education should contact vhytholt1 [at] framingham.edu (Valerie Hytholt) for availability of internships and positions funded by work study and department funds.
Our Staff

Valerie Hytholt

License and Accreditation
We are state licensed by the Department of Early Childhood Education, and nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).