Central Early Childhood Center:  “The Creative Curriculum” for Infants, Toddlers & Preschoolers

 

“The Creative Curriculum” provides the framework for what actually happens in the classroom when children interact with materials, peers and adults.  The primary goal is to help young children feel secure, use their environment productively and see themselves as capable learners.  The teacher’s role is to modify the room to best fit the children’s different developmental needs, to plan interesting developmentally appropriate activities for each child and to support the children as they learn and grow. 

 

The curriculum is rooted in sound educational philosophy and theory as well as practice.  It builds on Erik Erikson’s stages of socio-emotional development, Jean Piaget’s theories of how children think and learn, on principles of physical development and an appreciation of cultural influences.

 

During the early childhood years, children move through three of the eight stages of socio-emotional growth described by Erik Erikson. They learn to trust others outside their families; to gain independence and self-control; and to take initiative and assert themselves in socially acceptable ways. Teachers will work to create an environment that fosters positive responses to these three stages. 

 

Piaget believed that all children learn through active exploration of their environment, beginning in infancy. As children grow, the teacher’s role is to create an environment that invites children to observe, to be active, to make choices, and to experiment. Understanding of the child’s literal and concrete thinking, how language develops, how children learn to classify, how they develop physically and how they develop abstract thinking skills are all tasks for the early childhood teacher to master.

 

Note that this curriculum does not outline what the teachers teach each day, nor does it spell out lesson plans. Teachers prepare the rooms with toys and materials in classroom centers such as blocks, art, science, drama or books. Then the teacher observes the children as they play and interact. These notes are used to create the individual and group plans for the next day. The plan may include specific materials to extend what the teacher observed previously, or activities to help a child develop certain skills. 

 

Finally, parents and families are central to the successful implementation of this program. In “The Creative Curriculum”, supporting children’s learning is viewed as a joint effort between parents and teachers, characterized by mutual respect and trust. Communication with families occurs daily. In addition, each family is given a summary of their child’s development at Parent-Teacher Conferences in late January, and again at the end of the year.

 

Because culture is an integral part of children’s and family’s lives, it should be an integral part of the curriculum as well. The child’s culture is defined as the set of beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, rules for behavior, and expectations about people and events that influence how we interpret experiences and relate to others.