Creative Curriculum for Preschool 5th Edition Prairie Lakes AEA Early Childhood (Special Education) Department.

Creative Curriculum for Preschool5th Edition

Prairie Lakes AEAEarly Childhood (Special Education) Department

BlocksDramatic PlayToys & Games

ArtLibrary

DiscoverySand & Water

Music & MovementCooking

ComputersOutdoors

How Children Develop & Learn

The Learning

Environment

WhatChildren

Learn

TheTeacher’s

Role

TheFamily’s

Role

The Creative Curriculum Framework

1. Positive interactions and relationships with adults provide a critical foundation for successful learning.2. Social-emotional competence is a significant factor in school success.3. Constructive, purposeful play supports essential learning.4. The physical environment affects the type and quality of learning interactions.5. Teacher-family partnerships promote development and learning.

5 components that form the framework:

Teacher-Child Interactions & Relationships• Through interactions and responses with peers, children attach value and

social meanings to their activities. • Help children extend on building their knowledge and understanding by

scaffolding.• Relationships actually affect the physical structure of the brain. Nurturing

and positive interactions release chemicals that promote brain development.

What will this look like in my classroom?Get to know each child on an individual basis.Validate children’s efforts by acknowledging what they did.Provide learning experiences that are challenging, but not too

difficult so they do not become frustrated.Model self talk that supports children’s thinking.

Social and Emotional Competence• Ability to provide relationships with others. • Affects school adjustment and academic success

– Kindergarten teachers rank self-regulation, the ability to control one’s emotions and behaviors and to resist impulses, as the characteristic most necessary for school readiness.

• Adult Support vs. Adult Direction

What will this look like in my classroom:- Promote problem solving and appropriate risk taking.- Encourage to see tasks through to completion.- Help children detect and interpret cues about how other people feel.- Teach turn taking and sharing, model cooperation- Offer opportunities for children to work together and learn social

skills.

Constructive, Purposeful Play• Play serves MANY purposes and provides an excellent vehicle for learning:

– Memory development, symbolic thinking, positive approaches to learning, positive social skills, language and literacy skills, and math skills.

• Complex socio-dramatic play is linked to the development of self-regulation.• Play also provides the context for foundational learning in the content areas.

What will this look like in my classroom:- Provide an assortment of play props both cultural and developmental and encourage children to create play scenarios.- Observe children’s interests and build on them.- Provide at least an hour of free, unstructured play daily in half-day programs.

Interacting with the Environment• Children learn best in a stimulating environment that is designed according

to the interests and experiences of the children in the classroom.• Children construct knowledge through action.• The physical environment helps children know what is important, what

they are to do, and how they might do it.• A child’s physical and social well-being are closely linked to their ability to

think and learn effectively in well-designed environments with appropriate materials.

What will this look like in my classroom:- Environment should be set up so that children can play with toys and return them with ease.- Provide places for them to display their work

Partnerships with Families• A positive relationship is drastically important if their culture differs from that

of the teacher.• When families are involved, children do better.• Participation of fathers is strongly linked to school success and a child’s

emotional self-regulation.

What will this look like in my classroom:- Develop informal and formal relationships with families (home-visits pg. 207).- Communicate regularly with families- Offer a variety of family involvement activities.- Become familiar with community supports.- Create a welcoming environment- Make sure parents here the positives…..not just the negatives!

Areas of Development• Social/Emotional• Cognitive• Language• Physical

Individual Differences• Gender• Temperament• Interests• Learning Styles• Life Experiences• Culture• Special Needs• Second Language Learners

How Children Develop & Learn

In what ways are preschool children alike?

4 Developmental areas are closely related and often overlap:

Social/Emotional- The process by which children learn the values and behaviors accepted by society and become a competent and confident person.

Physical: Physical activity contributes significantly to personal health and well being.

Cognitive: Refers to the mind and how it works and involves how children think, how they see their world, and how they use what they learn.

Language: Includes understanding and communicating through words spoken and written.

Ages & Stages of Development Divide into groups

Complete Ages & Stages worksheet and describe what each age and developmental level looks like.

One age level per group Use pgs. 34-36 from Vol. 1 – The Foundation for guidance

Activity:

How Many Objectives Are There?

36 + 2

How many areas are the 36 objectives organized in? 9 + 1

- Social-Emotional- Physical- Language- Cognitive- Literacy

- Mathematics- Science & Technology

- Social Studies- The Arts

- English Language Acquisition

DevelopmentalAreas

Content Areas

Title

Teaching Strategies GOLD

Objective 2c: Interacts with Peers

• Emerging

• Needs Support

• Verbal

• Visual

• Physical

Level 1 ????

Level 2 Plays near other children; uses similar materials or actions

Level 3 ????

The Learning Environment

Setting Up and Maintaining the Classroom should send 6 positive messages: This is a great place to be. You belong here. This is a place you can trust. There are places where you can be by yourself when you want. You can do many things on your own here. This is a safe place to explore and try your ideas.

1. Blocks2. Dramatic Play3. Toys and

Games4. Art5. Library6. Discovery

7. Sand and Water8. Music &

Movement9. Cooking 10. Computers11. Outdoors

11 Interest Areas

Read and ReportPages 56 to 66

1. Guidelines for Setting Up Interest Areas2. Equipping Interest Areas3. A Place for Group Time and Classroom

Displays4. Places for Storage5. Adaptions for Children with Disabilities

& A System for Classroom Jobs6. Strategies for Protecting Children’s Work

Messages in the Environment

Messages in the Environment

• Blocks (pages 236-262)• Dramatic Play (pages 264-287)

• Toys & Games (pages 288 – 310)• Art (pages 312 – 347)

• Library (pages 348 – 376)• Discovery (pages 378 – 401)

• Sand & Water ( pages 402 – 422)• Music & Movement (pages 424 – 444)

• Cooking (pages 443 – 457)• Computers (pages 474 – 496)

• Outdoors (498 – 526) Read and Report

11 Interest Areas

Establ ishing A Structure for Each Day:The Dai ly Events

Establ ishing A Structure for Each Day

Daily Schedule - Establish a sequence for routines and experiences. - Provide a range of child directed and teacher directed activities - Let it be a guide for your daily routine, not to be used as a time clock! - 3 year olds: Horizontal schedule - 4&5 year olds: Vertical schedule

• Arrival/Attendance:– You may want to include a photo with child’s name on sign-in card during the beginning of the year.– Include a model of what you would like them to do.

• Large Group:– Keep short…15 to 20 minutes….depends on the age of the children.– Provide opportunities for the children to talk about what they are interested in & to solve problems that affect the

whole group.– Can do more than one a day….story time before rest, end of the day to recap etc.– Start morning meeting the same way each day, however change up the discussion topics for large group.– WHAT ABOUT THE CALENDER??????

• Research shows that children do not truly indicate time concepts until the 1 st or 2nd grade of school. They have a better focus of the hear and now…….concepts of before, after, later & next. You can use it as a tool to show children how to keep track of important events.

• Choice Time:– A.K.A. center time or work time– Children choose the interest area in why they would like to work, with whom they would like to work, and what

materials to use. – Typically lasts for an hour or a 1/3 of your day.– Use planning boards or create a management system for choosing centers.

• Small Groups:– Should be done at least once a day– Introduce new concepts, teach a specific skill, encourage conversations and sharing of ideas, extend children’s

thinking and document what children know.– Last about 10 to 15 minutes.– The makeup of small groups should not be the same every day.– Should be able to address multiple objectives with children at different levels.– If your schedule does not allow, we would rather have you cut large group, than small group.

More Details…….

More Details…….• Outdoors:

– Need to have at least half an hour in ½ day program, and 1 hour in a full day program.– Need 80 to 100 square feet per child– Fenced in, free from debris, wires, and hazardous equipment– Recommends creating spaces for: sand & water play; wheeled toys; indoor materials that can be brought outdoors;

playing games; building; and pretend play; a garden & caring for animals.– Surfacing of at least 10 to 12 inches– See more details on pg. 515 of the Interest Area volume

• Mealtimes:– Home style serving and setting of the table– Mealtimes are a sociable time!– BE PREPARED!!!!– Encourage children to help & use child sized pitchers, baskets, and serving utensils.– Allow enough time– Never use food to reward or punish behavior

• Rest Time:– Needed in programs where children attend 6 hours or more– Follow a regular routine– Plan a quiet activity for children before resting: i.e. a story, finger play, or quiet song.– Have children help you set up cots or mats after they finish eating, toileting and brushing their teeth– Allow children to bring comforting toys or special blankets from home.– Allow wakeful children to get up after 15 minutes and engage in a quiet activity.

Intentional Read Aloud: at least twice a day!

Interest Areas: Are they using interest areas appropriately? Can I add items to go along with my study? Or record new open ended questions to ask.

Write down what you need to prepare. Record the focus of your discussion. Also record

Question of the Day!

Read Aloud: Record titles of books to share with the class. Think of ways to make read alouds more interactive.

See CC for Preschool Vol 3: Literacy

Small Group: List the experiences and materials you want to use during this time. Use your most recent assessment information & current observation notes to make decisions on sm. group activities.

Outdoor: Record special activities you plan to offer. Consider recent check point data and plan experiences for gross-motor skill development.

Family Partnerships: Include ways to involve children’s families and community resources in the program.

Wow! Experiences: List activities that require planning, such as field trips, site visits, celebrations, or an invited guest.

“THEME” DAYS ARE

LONG GONE!!!

Caring and Teaching: Being an Intentional Teacher

• PURPOSEFUL!• Know what, where, why and when & where to teach

– What: ODL (Needs to be relevant and child related)– Why: ODL– When: differs in each child– Where: 11 Interest Areas– How: range of approaches and instructional strategies used to be responsive to teaching.

• Guiding children through learning, not just giving them the answer.

• Extending their learning• Coaching

Create a Classroom CommunityWhat different kinds of communities do you belong to? How do those make you feel?

First Few Days: - Keep groups small- Allow time for hellos and goodbyes- Select activities that children can do independently- Teach children your signal for getting their attention- Keep the first group meetings short- Take children on a tour of the classroom/center/school.- First Year Teacher: at least 3 to 5 centers Refining Teachers: adding in cooking and music centers- What message is my classroom sending?

Build A Relationship With Each Child:- Observe, observe, observe- Talk with children respectfully- Be sensitive to children’s feelings- Validate children’s efforts, accomplishments, and progress

Develop Rules:- Don’t be afraid to set limits and explain consequences- Involve children in developing the rules- What behaviors are absolutely essential to you?- “Big Rule, Little Rule”

Caring and Teaching

• Daily Exchanges– Have something specific to say to each family!– Share information about an event– Solicit family members’ advice about their child– Give support to families when needed– Clarify messages…SAFETY!

• Formal Communications– Daily or weekly bulletins– Telephone calls……not just to complain but also giving positives!– Email– A class web site (blog)– Thank you notes– Journals– Telephone tree or text messages

Communicating with Families

Involving Families in the Program

EVERY FAMILY HAS SOMETHING POSITIVE TO OFFER!

• Offer a variety of ways to be involved- Making items for the program- Share their culture- Share a talent or job- Participating in a study- Join the Parent Advisory Board or School Board

• Make classroom participation meaningful

• Meet with families to share information and plan: conferences

Review the portfolioConsider the family’s interests and valuesPull out information that will be most interesting

to family.Think about which areas of development,

objectives, and strategies you will discuss with the child’s family.

Preparing for a Conference

Conducting a ConferenceReview what you

have written about the child’s

development.

Share work samples and positive comments.

Invite families to share their own observations and identify objectives

important to them.

Discuss specific objectives you

want to focus on.

Provide families with a copy of the plan.

Prairie Lakes AEA Early Childhood “Guru’s”!!!

Denise [email protected]

Becky [email protected]

Marcie [email protected]