Learning Approach

Our curriculum focuses on both the needs of each individual child and the needs of children in groups. The staff at Carousel have been trained in depth in the theory and practice of The Creative Curriculum for Infants through Preschool. Please feel free to explore the web site of this curriculum: www.teachingstrategies.com

The staff at Carousel is trained in theory and practice in the CTELDS (CT Early Learning and Development Standards from the CT Department of Education and the Office of Early Childhood), the Preschool Curriculum Framework (PCF) and the Preschool Assessment Framework (PAF). The Creative Curriculum, CTELDS, PCF and PAF join together to create a solid and comprehensive curriculum and assessment framework for each child enrolled. The Creative Curriculum is used for infants through age 4 as a foundational curriculum. The CTELDS, PCF and PAF are used with 3 and 4-year children and enable a smooth transition to what children will encounter in their Kindergarten curriculum. The CTELDS are used for planning learning experiences, observing and documenting the progress of children through stated goals and objectives, and guiding teachers and educational staff to implement teaching tools and strategies that will serve individual children’s needs and the needs of children in groups. Please explore CTELDS: www.ct.gov/oec/elds.

Goals and objectives are the road map of an early childhood curriculum. They offer the teaching staff direction and planning opportunities and also methods to determine what children know what they don’t yet know, and how they are developing. This important process is called “INTENTIONAL TEACHING”. The goals and objectives within Carousel’s curriculum, allow the teaching staff to respond and observe each child in an individual way, to build on their strengths and target areas that require improving and attention. Just as we interpret a road map, we become familiar with the signs along the way and have an idea of where we are headed. Goals and objectives point teachers in the right direction and offer routes to take for all children that are both interesting and enriching. Learning goals for your child include all aspects of growth and are grouped into 4 domains: Physical, Cognitive, Personal and Social, and Creative development. Within those domains, the teaching staff selects several different performance standards to concentrate on with the children each week. This process is reflected in our lesson plans, which are on display in the classrooms for you to view.

Through emergent curriculum (curriculum that is designed by the children and adapted by the teachers and children), the teachers begin to work with the children together to plan activities based on various themes that are of interest to children. The teaching staff conducts a morning meeting every morning and during this time, teachers discuss with the children what the plans are for the day, draw a web about a theme that allows the teachers to ask questions which determine what children know and don’t yet know about that theme. Then a conversation occurs about the theme and creates the opportunity for the children to be participants in their own learning. You will find these webs in every classroom. We encourage you to review them to understand how we then take them and plan our activities for the children. In is in this process that teachers and children become on-going learners and involved with their own learning – what they learn, how they learn and why they learn

Each family will be given a Curriculum Booklet at time of registration that explains our curriculum and assessment procedures.