Philosophy Statement: Carol’s Affordable Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed around the widely respected theories of Jean Piaget, an early childhood theorist who believed that young children learn best through hands on, active experience. The provider’s role is to provide an appropriate environment, routine, and materials. Our materials simplify this process for providers by providing them with a developmentally appropriate plan for the month, along with the materials for successfully implementing that plan. Providers can be assured that they are offering the children in their care everything they need for success in kindergarten and beyond.
Information about the setting and environment in which learning happens:
Young children should be spending a great deal of their time everyday engaged in play.
Your role, as a provider, is to make sure you’re offering them a fun environment where they will best be able to interact with each other and learn new ideas. This is often achieved through setting up learning centers. Children should be given ample periods of time to make their own choice of areas to play. Learning centers can be kept up all the time or, if your space doesn’t allow for that, can be taken down after work hours to make space for your family.
Some common learning centers and materials you can include in each area:
House area: kitchen set, play dishes, play food, dolls, child-size table and chairs, doll crib, variety of dress-up clothes, mirror, old phones, paper, pencils, phone book, cook book
Block area: wood blocks, cardboard brick blocks, Duplos, block play people, cars, trucks, small animals, cardboard tubes
Art area: variety of types, colors, and sizes of paper, crayons, markers, glue sticks, collage items, yarn and string, play dough
Sensory table or bin: tub containing items that you can rotate weekly or monthly. These items can include dried navy beans, sand, water, corn meal, etc.. Note that water requires extensive supervision.
Your environment should include an open area where you can conduct your circle time activities with the children. If space is limited, this can be in your block area. It’s always a good idea to arrange your space so there aren’t any large areas that would encourage children to run. Loud areas should be located next to other loud areas. Quiet centers should be close to other quiet centers. Learning centers make free play time more productive and manageable for children and providers.
