Creative Curriculum: What is it?
About the Curriculum:
The curriculum reinforces the belief that the best way to help children succeed is to teach them to think creatively and confidently. That means offering them opportunities for hands-on exploration and discovery that help build lifelong critical thinking skills and foster confidence. The Creative Curriculum for Preschool encourages and supports every type of learner and addresses all the important areas of learning.
Read-Aloud:
Each day, the children will gather on the carpet for a story. This gives the teacher an opportunity to introduce a book related to the study of interest or a subject the children may be interested in. During this time, children will learn about print concepts. How to hold a book, how to turn the pages, and understand that a book is read from left to right. Children will also be encouraged to learn who the author and illustrator are. Read Aloud is designed to help youngsters develop an appreciation and enjoyment of literature. Reading activities enhance children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills, and also expand their knowledge base.
The curriculum includes books related to each interest area for read-alouds, and many books will be read three times. Full-day programs have three read-alouds a day.
Circle Time/Large Group:
Circle Time is a group gathering during which we share our ideas, plans, and observations. Circle Time activities are designed to stimulate youngsters’ thinking, enrich their social skills, and expand their attention spans.
During Circle Time, we discuss the days of the week, months of the year, colors, shapes, numbers, and the alphabet.
The children are also presented with a “Question of the Day”. Question of the Day is part activity, part assignment, and part classroom culture strategy. It’s designed to encourage students to play with language and connect with each other. The question of the day is important for preschoolers because it helps develop critical thinking skills, encourages communication and language development, and promotes social-emotional learning.
Choice Time:
Sometimes programs call “Choice Time” free play, free choice, play time, work time, center time... Creative Curriculum calls it Choice Time. Each student chooses an interest area to work in and will move around the room as they choose. Typically, Choice Time lasts 1 hour uninterrupted and does not include clean-up time.
The children can choose from 10 interest areas: Art Center, Dramatic Play Area, Block Center, Writing Center, Music Center, Library, Math Center, Science Center, Sand & Water Area, and Snack.
The teacher’s role is to observe, help children accomplish their play goals, and look for opportunities to expand children's activities and thinking.
Small Group:
During small group time, children are invited to join the teacher or teacher’s aide in groups of 4 or 5 to work on specific skills. This allows the teacher to interact with students in a more intimate setting. Small group activities don’t always have to be study-related. The teacher may work with the children on a specific concept or skill. For instance, the students may practice fine motor skills like cutting, coloring, writing, or gluing. Students may work on math skills such as sorting, patterning, number recognition, or number sense. Small groups may also include alphabet recognition. Small group typically lasts between 20 and 30 minutes.
Gross Motor Time:
Gross motor activities give children the opportunity to use their muscles-as well as their imaginations-as they engage in fun, healthy exercises such as running, jumping, and climbing. Gross motor time occurs twice during the school day and lasts 30 minutes.
The Creative Curriculum has five fundamental principles that guide the preschool program:
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