When we say “curriculum” the first thing that comes to most people’s mind is a regimented set of goals based on the level the child is currently in. Here at The Learning Gardens, that is not how we describe “curriculum”. Our center uses Creative Curriculum as a guide to create a learning environment unique to each child and classroom needs. It creates an atmosphere of “intentional teaching,” allowing teachers to experience everyday discoveries with the children which in turn helps direct the teacher to the next area of activities to offer the classroom. No two classrooms are learning and growing at the exact same pace with the exact same activities.
The Creative Curriculum bases its learning on Routines and Experiences in the classroom. What this means is the children are learning at every moment of every day. Every time they wash their hands, line up to go to the gym, sit down for a meal, play with toys together or any number of daily activities, are the moments when the most learning occurs; this is where our planning will revolve. As lesson plans are written there will be more of an emphasis on daily activities and not as much around product based activities. This means our activities will revolve around the process of learning during activities rather than the product that is produced. This can sometimes be difficult for parents when you want to know what your child did that day. Ultimately, there is so much learning being done each day that it is difficult to write down everything. Sometimes our emphasis will be on the same thing for many days but it will be practiced in different scenarios.
One area that we practice regularly is sharing. We have to learn to share almost everything we have, so we will practice it while playing with toys. We will also talk about it and we will learn that sometimes a friend doesn’t have to share with you right now. The results of all this learning will be seen at different times from the children while they participate in everyday things.
