Planning Forms
The importance of building relationships is emphasized throughout The Creative Curriculum® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos. You must observe children purposefully, think about what you learn about each child, and respond in supportive ways. Even though you develop a plan for each day, you must always be open to following children's interests and addressing their needs.
As you care for and teach infants, toddlers, and twos, you balance planning--thinking ahead about what you might do during a given week or a day--with following the child's lead at particular moments. When you know individual children's interests and developmental levels, you can offer experiences that engage and delight them and build their competence.
To help you prepare for each day and still respond to children's changing interests and abilities, The Creative Curriculum® includes two weekly planning forms: the Child Planning Form and the Group Planning Form.
The Child Planning Form is used on a weekly basis to record current information about each child. It helps you use what you know about each child to plan experiences that support his or her development and learning. This enables you to individualize your program.
The Group Planning Form helps you think about all of the children in your group and decide what changes to make to the environment, general schedule, and routines. It also helps you decide what experiences to offer during the week. It gives you an overall sense of direction for the week and a list of the materials you will want to have available.
Think about weekly planning as planning for possibilities. You prepare for routines and meaningful experiences and then follow each child's lead. If your plans are flexible and you feel free to revise them as often as you think best, you are more likely to take advantage of learning opportunities that arise during the course of daily life in the program.