Most preschools have a set of goals and a philosophy that each teacher must follow. In some cases, teachers follow these general guidelines in a less formal way. In many cases, teachers use specific lesson plans and rubrics to measure how well students are doing.
Curriculum for preschool considers how long a preschool day is. Some preschools are only open for a few hours a day, but others, especially those in public schools, are open all day. Some even go longer than a typical school day so that parents can get to and from work on time.
During any given day, preschoolers may take part in:
- Field trips are meant to help teach a lesson. For example, a trip to the post office to learn about mail or a trip to the grocery store to learn how to choose healthy foods are examples of this.
- Special guest speakers, like a police officer to talk about safety or a dentist to talk about oral health, are brought in to add more information to a lesson.
- Special activities that aren't always taught by the main preschool teacher but by a special art, music, library, or physical education teacher.
- Activities like circle time, song time, calendar time, active playtime, story time, and craft time.
- Transition times, like learning to walk in a line with other people and putting away toys and supplies.
Even though it might look like a preschooler just plays all day in the classroom, that's not the case. Play is so much more than just having fun, even though kids do that a lot. Playing with other children, especially, teaches young children how to:
- Create friendships
- Learn how to work together.
- Take turns
- Try different ways to solve a problem.
- Use their creative thinking.
We here at H&H Child Care Training know the value of preschool curriculums and understand how important using one in the childcare program is, which is why we created the online course Roadmapping Preschool Curriculum.
H & H Child Care Training Courses grant .2 CEUs or more as well as awarding state approved clock hours of 2 or more for all childcare centers, and family childcare providers in many states. Check with your licensing agency to check for any additional requirements and to see if we are approved in your home state. Click on childcareed.com to learn more and schedule your next class today!