Creative CurriculumHope Grows

Our curriculum is based on the nationally recognized Creative Curriculum from the Teaching Strategies. This curriculum is state sponsored and certified.

The center curriculum is child centered utilizing themes, projects and units to encourage learning. We strive to provide an exciting environment with opportunities for discovery, initiative and inquiry. Developmentally appropriate activities are planned for each content area to give success and challenge to each age level. A balance between teacher-initiated and child-initiated activities is sought with emphasis on the child’s choice. Materials are gathered, created and purchased with these goals in mind.

The curriculum is based on the process of interacting with materials, environment and peers; not on the product of that interaction. Children are given several activities to choose from each day and a variety of activities are available throughout the week. They are encouraged to try new things, extend projects, brainstorm on solutions to problems and verbalize about what their plan was, what happened and how they got the final result. The activities are at varying levels of competence so children may challenge themselves or seek out activities that stress skills they are already comfortable with. We strive to build a learning community where children share exploration with adults, peers, younger and older children.

Learning centers are used and available to children daily and they include the following development areas: Art, Language, Literacy, Writing, Manipulatives (fine motor), Science, Blocks, Dramatic Play, Large Motor Skills and Sensory Skills. Concepts are introduced to the children through the use of centers and these centers are carefully planned with a wide range of skill ability levels to encourage children to expand on the knowledge they possess. Learning centers focus on the basic developmental skills appropriate to the child’s development. Emergent Literacy is strongly emphasized throughout the curriculum.

Each child’s progress is monitored through teacher observation, anecdotal notes and some informal testing. These assessments are shared and discussed with parents twice a year at conferences in the late fall and late spring.