Originally Posted by sahm2three:
I would love to do a cirriculum, but how on earth does one on our salary afford one? It looks fantastic, but not something I can afford to do. Does everyone do a cirriculum?
I don't do a curriculum. I do not think doing one is a bad thing by any means, but I just don't do it. We used to have one, but it got to where the kids didn't care about doing any of it, and if the kids aren't happy, we aren't going to force them to do it. So...I decided to do my own. The kids, so far, have loved every minute of it, and it is not getting old to any of us teachers yet either. What I do is come up with a theme for every week of the year that we're open (which is all but one--the week of Christmas), and then I got on Amazon.com and found books to go with the themes (one book for each day of the week). Like others have said, I googled each theme, came up with ideas for songs, fingerplays, art, "walking" field trips since I don't transport, and even some things to add in dramatic play, sand and water, or whatever. I love doing it. The kids love learning about new stuff, and all the parents seem more pleased with me doing it this way than with a curriculum. (And it's cheaper!) Good luck!