Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Education Curriculum Discussion

    Posted 03-07-2019 10:08 PM
    Hi everybody, 
        I am new to this organization (NAEYC), and I started this discussion post because I wanted to get people's perspectives on the curriculum that people are teaching their students. It has been an interest of mine for a while, and maybe I will even study it in college. I just think that sometimes, curriculum is designed for people that are too young to understand it, and maybe we can help find the right age for it to be taught. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to having many great discussions with many people on this topic.

                                                                                                                        Sincerely,
                                                                                                                           John David DeOliveira

    ------------------------------
    John David DeOliveira
    Randolph NJ
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Education Curriculum Discussion

    Posted 03-07-2019 10:30 PM
    Hi John,

    I use Creative Curriculum put out by Teaching Strategies.  I love it and think it is just right for ages 3 to 5.  There are ways to adapt it to the older or younger ages in that range.  This curriculum is often used in University child development centers.

    ------------------------------
    DeAnn Jones
    Co-Facilitator for the Family Child Care Interest Forum
    Discovery Place Child Care, LLC
    Bozeman, MT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Education Curriculum Discussion

    Posted 03-08-2019 05:28 PM
    John, you can find more information about how Creative Curriculum works by going to the Teaching Strategies website.  You can even request a sample packet for free.  The "studies" are led by the students' interests.  Here is a link where you can learn about it and request a sample pack on the link to the left.  To explain "what does it teach" would take too much time to answer in an email or a post.  It covers 38 objectives that meet each state's requirements.  It does not teach "alphabet letter of the day".  It is more comprehensive and looks at the whole child.  i hope this helps! You can learn more by going to the website.

    ------------------------------
    DeAnn Jones
    Co-Facilitator for the Family Child Care Interest Forum
    Discovery Place Child Care, LLC
    Bozeman, MT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Education Curriculum Discussion

    Posted 03-09-2019 12:22 PM
    We use Creative Curriculum, which is one of the approved curricula that align with the NC Foundations. I've found it lacking in some areas, as some weeks only have two days of content and the questions are more focused on "What" rather than "why." But it does allow for children's interests and holidays; for example, we learned about space during the week of "What makes balls move?" This week, we're extending the question ""How are buildings built" by moving past jobs and doing some engineering experiments. 
    I encourage you to look up the NC Foundations, as they are a fantastic and well-researched guide to what children should know before they enter kindergarten.

    ------------------------------
    Amy Latta
    Lead NC PreK Teacher
    "All that is gold does not glitter; not all who wander are lost." --J.R.R. Tolkien
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Education Curriculum Discussion

    Posted 03-09-2019 09:15 PM
    ​Welcome John. Our program uses the High Scope curriculum. We have used it for many years and it is based on child initiated activities. We utilize all phases of the curriculum. The curriculum was developed from the Perry Creek Project out of Ypsilanti, Michigan.

    ------------------------------
    Sue Miller
    team leader
    Child Development Center
    Hawarden IA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Education Curriculum Discussion

    Posted 03-12-2019 11:48 AM
    Hi John and all: One process for preschool curriculum that I enjoy a lot is emergent/interest-based curriculum. Subject-matter and skill-based learning is derived from observing children, their interests, and the social context they live in (i.e., community, culture, school, and families). Emergent curriculum goes hand-in-hand with The Project Approach. Check out these brief videos that explain both:

    Why is The Project Approach Ideal for Young Learners?
    Project Approach

    What are the three phases to The Project Approach?
    REC and the Project Approach to Learning


    Investigating Containers
    Investigating Containers

    Attached is also a one-page resource from New Mexico's prek program that explains The Project Approach and how it aligns to the state's developmental learning standards (EI's, essential indicators). 

    I believe children can be taught an array of subjects, however, the content and concepts have to be broken down to accommodate children's particular developmental level. That is, teachers aren't going to be teaching physics to a two year old using a ball, rather, they're going to teach simple concepts, like round, up, down, bounce. Unfortunately, a lot of curricula is misleading when they purport to teach "physics," "properties," "academics," etc.

    The Project Approach
    ------------------------------
    Alberto Mares
    Santa Fe NM
    ------------------------------

    Original Message