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What Are the Different Types of Creative Curriculum for Preschool?
Preschools are in a unique position to teach kids when their minds are the most malleable, so creative curriculum for preschool is necessary to give kids an advantage throughout their schooling and even into their adult lives. Much standard coursework is available for preschool teachers through their employers, but a smart, caring teacher goes above and beyond to find creative ways of learning and teaching. Modern creative curriculum for preschool branches beyond basic skills of learning numbers, shapes and letters and sets a child off on a discovery of more advanced topics like science, space and environment.
It is absolutely necessary to cultivate social relationships among the children in a preschool. Creative curriculum for preschool should involve group participation and emphasis on cooperation to achieve goals. Team building has been proven effective for adult workers, and is rapidly becoming a vital part of the curriculum in any grade level. Kids can be divided into groups for just about any exercise, and tables and chairs can be arranged to encourage participation within groups and among them.
Crafts are a part of any creative curriculum for preschool. There are many studies proving that hands-on learning is optimal for young and old alike. Kids can learn a variety of subjects by creating things themselves. For example, topics like science and nature can be taught by creating home-made planters and bird-feeders.
In today's society, many areas place emphasis on bilingual capabilities as creative curriculum for preschool. Many lesson plans are available online in Spanish and other languages, and basic letters, numbers and words are taught frequently, especially in major metropolitan areas. In fact, the International Preschool Curriculum organization has established a standard for preschool students that awards a certificate for bilingual learning.
Along this line, kids are encouraged to learn about other cultures to help them adjust to a more global society. Creative curriculum for preschool should introduce children to foods and customs of other cultures in addition to language development. This could be designed to introduce children to the Internet as well, as the teacher can look up information on just about any culture online and answer any questions the children have.
Fables and fairy tales can easily be added to any creative curriculum for preschool. Kids not only enjoy them, but they teach about reading, listening and storytelling. One might encourage a group to come up with its own fairy tale using just the oral word, utilizing their own imagination. Fables and fairy tales are usually written with a moral theme in mind, so kids can learn some issues of morality and ethics from the stories.
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![Group art projects can be used to cultivate social relationships among preschoolers.]()
By: Monkey BusinessGroup art projects can be used to cultivate social relationships among preschoolers. -
![Creative curriculum goes beyond standard curriculum to engage students in advanced skill acquisition.]()
By: Elena BlokhinaCreative curriculum goes beyond standard curriculum to engage students in advanced skill acquisition. -
![Crafts are a part of any creative curriculum for preschool.]()
By: Petro FeketaCrafts are a part of any creative curriculum for preschool. -
![It's important to allow preschoolers to use their imaginations.]()
By: Konstantin YuganovIt's important to allow preschoolers to use their imaginations. -
![A preschool is an institution of early childhood education, generally for children between the ages of three and five.]()
By: micromonkeyA preschool is an institution of early childhood education, generally for children between the ages of three and five. -
![Computers may be used to teach educational skills to preschoolers.]()
By: michaeljungComputers may be used to teach educational skills to preschoolers.
Discussion Comments
It is definitely important to make sure that your kids are being allowed to actually be creative when they are doing things like crafts. I find all too often the teaching strategies for young children will involve basically giving them steps to follow, rather than allowing any kind of innovation.
A friend of mine will always do lessons like this in a particular way. She'll give a brief introduction and then get the students to try and make something on their own, like a kite. Predictably, the kites won't be very good and will fail to fly. So, then she will encourage the students to do some research on what makes a good kite and how they can make one that will actually work. This way she ensures that they will be successful, but she also lets them essentially follow their own process when it comes to creating the craft.
She teaches a level a little above preschool, but I think you could do something similar with younger students if you scaffold their learning very well.
@Iluviaporos - By the same token, dance and other forms of body expression are very important for children. This is not only because they need to develop physically, although lots of movement will definitely help with that.
They need to explore the different ways they move through the world and the ways that they can interact with each other. Playing games and making up little plays with puppets and dancing with each other is a really excellent way for them to explore relationships and learn about things like body autonomy, as well as developing their creativity.
There are some really good kindergarten lesson plans for drama and dance online if you search for them.
Music is also a really good way to help kids to express themselves creatively. You can give them little instruments and get them to follow along with a song, or even just sing together. I don't think the creative curriculum for a preschool would be complete without using a lot music, even if it was used in conjunction with other things, like maths or learning the alphabet.
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