What is curriculum in early childhood?

Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood Students

• Answer:

  Creative curriculum for early childhood education encompasses several different practices to help children develop and learn at an early age. The curriculum focuses on how children learn, their learning environment, what they learn and how to work in conjunction with parents for successful teaching. Two of the accepted theories behind creative curriculum are Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory and Erik Erikson's stages of social and emotional development. Philosophy The philosophy behind creative curriculum is based upon several examples of theoretical and empirical research. Children benefit from constructive play activities that have a purpose; in addition, social growth and the development of relationships is crucial to the child's future learning success. Teachers make periodic assessments of how the children are learning and find ways to improve their methods. The home and family environment is vitally important to young learners. Literacy Teachers encourage children to view reading and writing as a source of enjoyment and an exciting new skill to learn. To teach the concepts of vocabulary, phonetics, comprehension and letters, creative curriculum uses the following activities: reading out loud, storytelling, repetition of stories, singing, writing practice and meaningful play. Math Math concepts that young children can learn through creative curriculum include counting, recognizing numbers, adding and subtracting and understanding the relationship between numbers and objects. Early exposure to math can prepare children for more difficult concepts taught in elementary and middle school. Teachers using creative curriculum place students in large groups, small groups and improvised interest groups based upon the particular lesson. Parental Involvement Many early childhood educators believe that developing a partnership with parents and families can strengthen the child's ability to learn. Parents can help children develop habits, routines and attitudes that are conductive to learning and can reinforce the idea that learning is fun and rewarding. Through the creative curriculum program, parents are encouraged to understand the philosophies behind the teaching methods, how children learn, why social skills are important and how they can be a part of their child's learning process.