Helping Teachers…Be Great Teachers!
By Julia Yaremchuk, M.S.
1. Why should you plan for something to happen if the learning centers are already set up?
Even though learning centers are set up in the early childhood classroom, it is imperative that planning occurs daily to accommodate the individual needs of the children within that environment. Teachers must plan because unexpected issues do occur and plans, such as activities make the day a great deal smoother and calmer. Children also feel a routine and a sense of importance when plans are discussed with them, therefore talking to children regarding the objectives of the day is important as well.
2. How do you make plans personal for children?
Children have individual needs and even though they may be similar in age, they may or may not have accomplish the developmental milestones, which are set by the CDC. Therefore, children need individualized instruction that will allow them to master old tasks and succeed in accomplishing new tasks as well.
3. How can curriculum webs help staff members have direct input in planning?
Curriculum webs focus on organizing the entire theme of the day/week/month on all of the activities and centers within the early childhood center. The web allows for teachers to develop a multitude of activities which will allow for children to differentiate their learning of a topic through various aspects of the day/week/month. Such intermingling in curriculum makes subjects and activities studies more hands-on and pertinent for children to understand.
4. How can each learning center be integrated into the curriculum plans?
Learning centers can and should be integrated into curriculum plans. For example, the curriculum for the week is learning the days of the week. In the art center, children may do a creative project with the days of the week. In the music area, they may sing about the days of the week. The writing area may involve them using chalk or colors to paint the first letter of each day of the week or the actual day itself.
Such usage of all the centers allows children to master the overall concept of the days of the week and transfer the knowledge into different media formats.
5. How can a curriculum web be the basis for planning for the entire year?
A curriculum web can be the basis for the yearly plan because it stems and integrates all of the centers in the early childhood center. The web may include standards and milestones which may integrate the activities in each of the centers. “Webs are simple, easy to do, and flexible” (Beaty, 2009, p.339).