Play Based Curriculum
Children learn individually and with others through play. We offer our children a play-based curriculum, which supports all aspects of their learning and development. It supports their inbuilt curiosity and desire to make sense of the world around them and helps them to discover that learning is interesting and fun. This is vitally important if children are going to remain keen learners for the rest of their lives.
We deliver the curriculum in a number of ways, through:
• Construction and small world play
• Large & fine motor skills and experiences
• Literacy and numeracy skills
• Water, sand and malleable experiences
• Role play and imaginative opportunities
• Stories and mark making – the marks that children make through a range of media, such as paint, water, sand, pencils and the meanings that they give to them
• Creative workshops
• Outdoor opportunities
• Exploring and investigating science and nature
• Play through independent exploration and investigation of real, found and natural resources and materials
• Dance, music and sensory experiences
Our curriculum includes all content areas: literacy, math, science, social studies/community exploration, music and art. A child-directed, play-based approach is our primary means of instruction. Short, structured gathering times are also used daily for group instruction/exploration in pre-planned activities.
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is play and thematic based. Our programs and curriculum are designed to provide children from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds with unique interactions, opportunities, and experiences that will help them reach their full potential in six developmental domains:
1. Physical: gross motor skills (running, jumping, climbing, etc), fine motor skills (manipulating beads, holding a crayon, etc) and sensor motor (touch and feel, body awareness, etc);
2. Cognitive: mathematical (blocks and patterns) and science (cooking, critical thinking, scientific method, outdoor experience, etc);
3. Language: speaking, listening, reading and writing;
4. Creative: art, music, and dramatic play;
5. Emotional: Self-esteem; nurture, support and guidance;
6. Social: inclusion, multicultural experiences, health and safety;
Our Curriculum was developed based on the research of following Early Childhood Theorists:
- Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Theory
- Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development Theory
- Vygotsky: Social Cultural Theory
- Maslow: Hierarchy of Human Needs
- Howard Gardner: Multiple Intelligences Theory