Child Development and The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool

Knowing how children develop and learn is the basis for planning your program, selecting materials, and guiding children's learning. By knowing, we mean appreciating general patterns of growth in all children as well as the differences you will certainly encounter among individual children.

The Creative Curriculum^® enhances social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development. Goals and objectives for each of these developmental areas are organized into The Creative Curriculum^® Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5.

Because children do not master a skill all at once, each objective has three steps that illustrate the typical sequence of development. A special category called forerunners helps you look at emerging behaviors for each objective and enables you to assess all children's learning and development, including those with disabilities or developmental delays.

The Creative Curriculum^® for Preschool and Children With Disabilities

Whether you work with children who are disabled in self-contained classrooms or in an inclusive program, The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is appropriate for all 3- to 5-year-old children. The Curriculum's emphasis on organizing the physical environment to promote learning is especially important for children who require structure and predictability in their lives. Children with autism, for example, demonstrate varying degrees of need in communication, social relationships, and play content.

Throughout The Creative Curriculum, strategies that might be used to help include children with disabilities always will be related to specific behaviors, rather than identified conditions. Therefore, you can plan and individualize for these children as you would for every other child whom you teach.

The Creative Curriculum for Preschool Approach to Discipline and Behavior Management

Children's behavior is very often a direct reflection of their needs. We know that children's basic needs for physical comfort, safety, a sense of belonging, and self-esteem must be met before they can learn. When children are actively involved in activities that have meaning to them, behavior problems are minimized. The clear structure of The Creative Curriculum for Preschool describes how children make their own choices, become involved, and cooperate with others.

The Creative Curriculum for Preschool provides specific examples of positive guidance techniques for teachers to use when children exhibit challenging behaviors. By keeping the environment organized and letting children know that every action has a logical consequence, children develop self-discipline and learn to manage their conflicts in a constructive way.

The Creative Curriculum for Preschool and "At Risk" Children

The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is used by teachers serving at-risk children throughout the country. Diane Trister Dodge, President of Teaching Strategies, began her early childhood career working with at-risk children as a Head Start teacher and trainer in rural Mississippi. Her experiences working with the programs in these areas helped shape the philosophy and goals of the curriculum. Today, over half of Head Start teachers use The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, along with thousands of teachers in school-based and faith-based early childhood programs serving children at risk of school failure. More importantly, research has shown that The Creative Curriculum for Preschool has been successful in improving both the outcomes of at-risk children and the quality of the programs that serve them. A recent study from the Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research project, funded by the Department of Education, found that The Creative Curriculum for Preschool improved classroom quality across three measures: the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised; the Caregiver Interaction Scale; and, the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale.  In addition, a number of research studies have found The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, when well implemented, improves the cognitive, social, and self-regulation skills of children most at risk.

Read an excerpt from The Creative Curriculum for Preschool: "How Children Develop and Learn," Chapter 1 (pdf).