All About Kids Curriculum



All About Kids Curriculum

All About Kids Childcare and Learning center’s curriculum is based on the idea that children learn best through play. Play is defined as behavior that is self-motivated, freely chosen, process oriented, and pleasurable. Play is valuable in children’s learning because it promotes initiative, individuality, and autonomous thinking. The child is completely immerged into the play and is actively involved at all times. Frost, a well-known psychologist, believed that play is the chief vehicle for the development of imagination and intelligence, language, social skills, and perceptual-motor abilities in infants and young children.” Jean Piaget, another well-known psychologist, believed that there were four stages in the learning process. The first stage is from birth to 2 years of age. This stage is called the sensory-motor stage and this stage is dominated by practice play. The next stage is the pre-operational stage (2-7 years of age) here the children engage mostly in symbolic play. From 7-12 years of age and beyond the children are in the concrete operational stage, the children are mostly interested in playing games with rules. Here at All About Kids we believe in the Constructivist theory, which states that the emphasis of learning is placed on the learner rather than the teacher. It is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thus, gains an understanding of the features held by such objects or events. Even though the emphasis is placed on the learner rather than the teacher their role is very complex. There are so many roles a teacher can maintain in play. The teacher can be a stage manager, which is when the teacher provides enough props and time for the children to play. Another role for the teacher is as a mediator in which the teacher teaches conflict-resolution skills and problem solving. Next, the teacher can actually enter play to help the children engage themselves more if they feel they are not learning. Lastly, the teacher can be an assessor and communicator in this the teacher observes the children’s play and talks with the parents about it.

Play is the main vehicle for which we are going to use to engage children in learning and develop their four main skills (social, emotional, cognitive, and physical). However, the children will participate in teacher run activities such as circle time, music and movement, and group activities. We believe with this curriculum your child will begin to develop a long and successful well-rounded education.

Infants are always inquiring about the world around them and developing skills through exploration. All About Kids will continue to foster that development with age appropriate materials and activities for your infant to play with. Also, we will encourage the development of their Gross-motor skills by working with them on rolling over, sitting up, keeping control of their head, and more.

To achieve learning through play in a preschool classroom must be set up into several centers or areas. These centers are the Manipulative center, Science center, Sensory Table, Block area, Writing center, Book area, Art center, Dramatic Play area and Music Center. In these centers children will begin to learn about subjects like Math, Science, and Literacy. Each center is arranged invitingly so that the children want to find out what is in it. The centers are always being refreshed with materials that go along with the theme of the classroom. Within each of these centers a child will be able to develop and build upon all of their skills.

The following information will tell you what your child may learn from each center:

Manipulative Center:

• Math skills – one to one correspondence, more/less, making equal sets

• Recognition and reproduction of patterns

• Perpetual motor skills

Block Center:

• Science through hands on experience

• Shapes

• Math skills- counting

• Art and architecture- balance, symmetry, patterns

• Imagination- building whatever they would like

• Cooperation

• Social interaction

Science Center

• Explore and experiment

• Scientific process- making hypothesis/prediction, creating data to prove or disprove their hypothesis

• Concepts about weight, texture, growth

• Social interaction

Sensory Table

• Teaches the 5 senses and purposes

• Logico-Mathematics- making comparisons between materials

• Social interaction

Book Area

• Develop a high interest in print

• Understanding print is a means of communication

• Develop the knowledge of the many ways we use written language

• Letter recognition

Writing Center

• Experiment with writing

• Practice writing

Art Center

• Logico Mathematics- discovering relationships between the various materials

• Physical knowledge- experimenting with different materials

• Social knowledge- naming the colors and shapes

Dramatic Play Area

• Use their observations and to imitate

• Writing skills (writing down an order at a restaurant)

• Math skills (counting change at pet store)

• Emotional outlet

• Social skills

• Problem-solving skills (who will play what character)

Music Center

• Develop listening skills

• Experiment with sound

• Identity of sound of different instruments

• Eye-hand coordination

In our Preschool classrooms we also use a Supplemental Curriculum through Scholastic Reading Magazine called Let’s Find Out®. Let’s Find Out builds the early learning skills your child needs to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Let’s Find Out® brings simple, fun nonfiction on the seasonal science and social studies themes to help in the classroom. Every issue is built on a firm foundation of skills that reinforces our curriculum and helps meet KY state regulations. Throughout the year, your students will develop cross-curricular knowledge, as well as foundational reading and writing skills.

Kindergarten and School-age children will experience a very open-ended curriculum. The children will help the teacher to plan activities for when they are not in school, such as summer and holiday breaks. These children will be able to attend field trips that will help them to learn about their community and the world around them. On a daily basis when the children are in school they will be provided with materials to help them with their homework and allow them to engage in appropriate activities with their friends.

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