Community School is guided by the principles of the Creative Curriculum, developed by Diane Trister Dodge, Laura J. Colker, and Cate Heroman.
The Creative Curriculumฎ for
Preschools provides teachers with a clear and concrete way to apply
child development and learning theories to their everyday work with
preschool children.
The underlying philosophy draws from widely accepted research and theories of child development and learning.
While other developmentally appropriate curriculum models rest on these same theories, The Creative Curriculum applies them to an environmental framework that focuses planning around indoor and outdoor interest areas, and clearly defined logical goals and objectives
On the basis of scientific research and state and professional standards, The Creative Curriculum identifies the knowledge, skills, and concepts important for preschool children to acquire in each content area: literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology.
The key components of these content areas are:
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Literacy | vocabulary and language, phonological awareness, letters, words, print, comprehension, books and other texts, and sources of enjoyment |
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Mathematics | numbers; patterns and relationships; geometry and spatial awareness; measurement; and data collection, organization, and representation |
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Science | physical science, life science, and earth and the environment |
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Social Studies | spaces and geography, people and how they live, people and the environment, and people and the past |
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The Arts | dance, music, drama, and the visual arts |
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Technology | awareness of technology, basic operations and concepts, technological tools, and people and technology |
Professionally qualified teachers develop programs rich in language experiences, reading readiness and math readiness to encourage a love of learning.
Your Childs Day
Each day is made up of:
Group Activities, such as morning meeting, project work, reading
circle and snack time
Free Play Time, both indoor and outdoors, (please see our Tools of
The Trade)
Special Weekly Programs, such as music, library and movement
Learning Units
Throughout the year there are monthly modules that the whole school will
focus on, which are determined by the director and the teachers together.
This years calendar of modules is shown below:
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September | Apple Week |
| October | Discovery Day | |
| November | Sharing & Family | |
| December | Festival of Lights, Peace friendship giving | |
| January | Music Week | |
| February | Author Week | |
| March | Artist Week | |
| April | Planting Growth | |
| May | Bugs, Butterflies & Frogs |
Furthermore, each class develops
special units of focus, frequently driven by the passions and interests of
the children.
This year some of the units being worked on are:
Penguins
Outer Space
Transportation
Farms
Dinosaurs
and more
..
Through Reading, Painting, Singing, Storytelling, Research and Graph & Charting, the teachers attempt to answer the following three questions with the children:
As we start, what do we already know?
As we determine our approach, what do we want to know?
At the end, what have we learned?
At the end of the unit and monthly modules a class project is typically produced, in the form of a book, a folder, or a portfolio, with a contribution from each child.
All the classroom activities share
many aims for the social and emotional development of the child, which are
of paramount importance in developing creative, independent and confident
learners.
Furthermore each activity in itself adds and builds on different areas of
academic development, specifically reading readiness and math readiness,
and some of these aims are listed below.
Shared Development Aims in classroom play
Developing the small muscles of fingers and hands to Strengthen fine motor
skills (Controlled movements of the fingers and hands enable children to
master the muscles necessary for writing)
Strengthening visual perception and eye hand
coordination
Developing and Strengthening vocabulary
and language skills
Planning and making decisions
Learning how to work cooperatively with others;
sharing ideas while respecting the work of others; working towards a common
goal
Fostering
creativity - Creative expression develops creative thinking
Having a variety of sensory experiences
Having the opportunity to express feelings and
emotions non-verbally
Enhancing self esteem; experiencing pride in their
efforts and a sense of accomplishment
Promoting self awareness and building self
confidence
Learning responsibility as they
participate in clean up and use materials appropriately
Having Fun !!
Block Playing
Actively engaging in learning the mathematical
concepts of:
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size, shape (geometry, symmetry) and weight
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addition and subtraction (adding and removing
blocks to equal each other)
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spatial comparisons (higher / lower, longer /
shorter, taller / smaller)
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equality and inequality ( same as / more than /
less than)
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classification (Counting order, numbers)
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measurement (height, width, length, depth)
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fractions
Actively engaged in science activities involving:
Gravity, stability, balance, weight, trial and error, inductive thinking,
inclined plane and weight and motion
Art
Experiences
Using imagination and independence
Increasing cognitive development as they identify
colors; label and sort shapes, objects, materials; observe cause-and-effect
of mixing and manipulating materials
Engaging in the mathematical processes of
counting, making patterns and sequences, learning about size, perspective
etc.
Engaging in critical thinking as they choose
materials and decide how and where they want to use them
Organizing information
Puzzles, Games, Small Manipulatives
Learning
patterning, sequencing and counting (Math readiness)
Developing visual discrimination and visual memory
(skills necessary for identifying letters and reading)
Identifying colors
Problem solving
Learning to follow directions
Engaging in symbolic play
Dramatic Play Family Area
Making sense
out of the events and experiences occurring in life
Expressing and dealing with emotions
Developing a conscience - what is right or wrong
for a particular situation
Making sense of moral values and social issues;
understanding rules and their place in the world
Overcoming feelings of powerlessness (In
fantasy children can be in control and do what they cannot do in real life)
Engaging in reading and writing readiness
activities as they pretend to read or menu or write a shopping list or
letter to a friend
Developing a sense of the needs, expectations and
feeling of others
Water Table
Learning mathematical concepts (empty / full,
more than / less than)
Conducting science experiments (sinking /
floating, displacements, dissolving, bubble making, air movement)
Learning liquid measurement and size comparison
Practicing addition and subtraction
concepts (1 cup + 1 cup, etc.)
Identifying and experimenting with colors
Engaging in symbolic play as they wash babies,
give shampoos and make special soup!