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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Does This Sound Ok? (A Part In My Handbook About Curriculum)
melilley 12:49 PM 12-02-2013
Does this sound ok to you? I have a part about curriculum in my handbook and have been reading it and changing it and I'm to the point where I'm not sure if it sounds good or not....lol
I am mainly play based, but for our Stars program I have to have some type of curriculum. I chose to do Thematic curriculum and would like to explain it. Almost all of the activities are child led, but some are teacher led.


CURRICULUM
I implement a Thematic Curriculum where we have a weekly theme and expand on the theme daily. This includes a mixture of predominately child directed activities, along with limited teacher led activities. Every child will be taught the same theme using developmental appropriate material so that children of every age can participate.

Please remember that children develop and grow at different rates; developmental milestones are achieved at different times individual to each child. Please do not compare your child to other children or ask about the other children’s development.
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Heidi 01:31 PM 12-02-2013
I would not put the part about growing at different rates, or especially "don't ask" . That should be covered under the confidentiality part of your contract.
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MarinaVanessa 01:44 PM 12-02-2013
I like the part about developing at different rates, but I would take "Please do not compare your child to other children or ask about the other children’s development." out and replace it with something like "if you feel that your child is having trouble with some milestones don't worry! We will continue to practice them until they can be mastered" ... or something like that ... but that's just me .

I think that the point is that you don't want parents to be worried about their child's development or ask you about other children and how they are doing right? Like Heidi said, if they ask about another child "Because of privacy laws I can't discuss that with you but tell me what your worry is" should be a nice way to turn the conversation focus back on the parent and their child.
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Brooksie 01:49 PM 12-02-2013
Originally Posted by Heidi:
I would not put the part about growing at different rates, or especially "don't ask" . That should be covered under the confidentiality part of your contract.



Mine states this:
• Curriculum. I use the Maryland State Department of Education approved 'Creative Curriculum' to plan our days and meet the individual needs of the children in my group. We do have a mixed as group and our days are planned accordingly; when the older children are working on something developmentally appropriate for them, I still find a way to involve the infants in something similar to the older children but that will meet their different needs.
Every 4 months all children are screened with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and after scoring the ASQs and meeting with the parents I use the information given to decide what we need to work on and how I can adjust my lesson plans to help support the needs of the child. I also do daily observations and note what the children are showing interest in and what they are capable of and try to implements their interests to create a better learning experience.

That kind of covers the kids develop at different rates without saying it that way.

Hope it helps!
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preschoolteacher 04:25 PM 12-02-2013
How about giving an example? Some parents won't understand the teacher lingo you're using even though it's very clear to me what you're saying.

What about... For example, during our theme on butterflies, we read books about butterflies, do butterfly crafts, look for butterflies outside, and many more activities. The preschoolers might make a craft that turns the letter "B" into a butterfly's wings, which teaches them letter recognition, while the babies finger paint with edible paint on butterfly-shaped paper, which helps with fine motor development and teaches about different textures.

Just throwing out some ideas!
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melilley 05:23 PM 12-02-2013
Thanks everyone! I have the worst wording things to make things sound professional. I know what I want to say, but it never comes out like I mean it too....lol

Great idea about taking out part of it! I only put it in there because I have a dcp who always has something to say or advice to give about another dcb and it drives me nuts! I'll put that part in a different part of my handbook!
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itlw8 07:57 PM 12-02-2013
this one line bothers me

Every child will be taught the same theme using developmental appropriate material so that children of every age can participate.

I guess because it means you do not stray from that theme even if they want to lean something else.. instead could you say something about I find ways to adapt our theme so all children can participate and learn at their individual level. Then put in something about while you do a theme base curriculum there is always time to explore their interest even when they have nothing to do with that weeks theme.
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melilley 08:14 PM 12-02-2013
Originally Posted by itlw8:
this one line bothers me

Every child will be taught the same theme using developmental appropriate material so that children of every age can participate.

I guess because it means you do not stray from that theme even if they want to lean something else.. instead could you say something about I find ways to adapt our theme so all children can participate and learn at their individual level. Then put in something about while you do a theme base curriculum there is always time to explore their interest even when they have nothing to do with that weeks theme.
I see what you mean. Ahhh I'm having such a hard time with this. I'm only doing a curriculum because it's required to get points for our state's Star program, which I'm on the fence about to begin with. I do themes anyways so I figured to go the thematic curriculum route and it seems to be more on the side of play based. So confusing. Sorry, I'm going on and on and probably not making sense...
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daycare 08:20 PM 12-02-2013
I cover my curriculum mostly in person, but do have it also covered on my website.

when it comes to your sentence about developing at different rates, this is what I have said in mine....


*****


All children will have the opportunity to learn and develop at their own pace while working in small groups of 3-4 kids at a time.
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melilley 08:22 PM 12-02-2013
Originally Posted by daycare:
I cover my curriculum mostly in person, but do have it also covered on my website.

when it comes to your sentence about developing at different rates, this is what I have said in mine....


*****


All children will have the opportunity to learn and develop at their own pace while working in small groups of 3-4 kids at a time.
I like the wording "at their own pace" as opposed to "at different rates"!
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itlw8 07:24 AM 12-03-2013
I like the at their own pace also. Do not worry so much a theme base curriculum is great for planning I just meant to also include something about following the childs lead for explorations outside of the theme.

One year we had dinosaurs with every theme because that is how I got one young man interested.this group collects treasures outdoors that we then learn about in addition to what ever I planned.
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