Curriculum goals tell you where you are heading. Someone once said, "If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?" Stating goals for children helps you know where you are going and whether you are accomplishing your objectives.

• help children learn about themselves and the world around them
• help children feel good about themselves and capable as learners

We identify specific goals for each area of development:

• Socially: to feel secure and comfortable, trust their environment, make friends, and feel part of the group
• Emotionally: to experience pride and self-confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life
• Cognitively: to become confident learners by trying out their own ideas and experiencing success and by acquiring thinking skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and use words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings
• Physically: to increase their large and small muscles and feel confident about what their bodies can do

Teaching young children requires spontaneity--the ability to see and use everyday opportunities to help children solve problems, explore new materials, and find answers to questions. It also requires continuous thinking and decision making on your part:

• Should I intervene or should I step back and let the child try to solve the problem?
• What questions can I ask to help a child think creatively?
• Is the child ready for these materials, or will they prove frustrating? What else could I offer?
• Is my space arrangement working or do I need to modify it?

A good curriculum for children must be "developmentally appropriate." This means that the quality of care will be related to how well the provider understands the different developmental stages of childhood--what is generally appropriate for a particular age group and how individual children may differ within each stage. What you plan for the children in your care and how you respond to a given situation or unanticipated problem will depend on your knowledge of each child's development and their interests, abilities, needs, and background.

To plan appropriately, you want answers to questions such as:

• What can I expect of a child at each stage of development?
• How does a child learn at each stage of development?
• What do I know about each child that will help me individualize my care?
• What activities and learning materials are appropriate for each child?
• How can I adapt my home and materials for children with disabilities?
• What is my role in children's play?
• What role will each child's parents play in my program?