At the heart of any successful program is a curriculum foundation that not only effectively meets a full range of outcomes and objectives, but also supports teachers in a way that allows them to confidently provide new and exciting learning opportunities every day.
At PeachTree we use the collected data from our classroom observations and assessments of students to help guide our staff in writing our programs curricula and lesson plans. Our students and their needs guide the curriculum.
Over the years I’ve watched the pressures of academic performance attempt to push its way into the Early Childhood classroom. Kindergarten is no longer the place to learn your letters, now parents are feeling like their children are behind if they are not reading by the time they are in Kindergarten. This is not a developmentally appropriate or realistic expectation for most children. The work of the preschool classroom is to teach the whole child.
Within my programs, I make the choice to write our own curriculum. Buying a prewritten curriculum means you are ignoring the needs of the children represented in your classroom. Through our continued use of observations and assessments, we are able to plan developmentally appropriate activities and lessons geared towards scaffolding our children’s learning progress.
Choosing to write my own curriculum does not mean that my program will not prepare a child to enter Kindergarten. We adhere to the Wyoming state Early Childhood Standards, NAEYC’s Early Childhood Program Standards, NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice Position Statement, and Wyoming’s coherent path to quality.
Programs that make claims to lining up with the school district are only just making claims, it is only very recently that the school district worked in conjunction with a council of Early childhood Educators and leaders from all over the state in developing the State standards. It was written together and everyone was trained together. ALL preschool classrooms within the state are being trained in how to use and apply these standards in their daily practices with children and how to integrate these standards into their current curriculums.
While at the time that the standards group was being formed I was unable to volunteer to be a part of that, I did get to review them and agree to them before they were finalized. Months later I began working with another group of leaders and educators throughout the state to design the required training all Early childhood Educators would take on the standards. So my voice can be heard throughout that training, which is pretty cool!
I’ve been writing preschool curricula for over 18 years. I believe in what we do at Peachtree and Little Peaches. I don’t plan to change how we serve our children. I believe the more I educate myself and the staff, the better we are able to educate our children and families. This method has helped me to build a program I am proud to stand behind, a program that is successful.
PeachTree 