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The Project Approach which
highlights investigation of children’s topics of interest is one of the
planning tools used at ECLC but we also have a commitment to the acquisition of
skills so that children are ready to move on to the next stage of academic
life.
The teachers assess using 2 main
theoretical formats; The Creative Curriculum and Te Whàriki
however they also apply many other theoretical tools they have gain over there
many years of training.
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The Creative Curriculum® Goals and Objectives at a Glance |
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Social/Emotional
Development |
Physical
Development |
Cognitive
Development |
Language
Development |
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1. Shows ability to adjust to new situations 2. Demonstrates
appropriate trust in adults 3. Recognizes
own feelings and manages them appropriately 4. Stands up for
rights
5. Demonstrates self-direction and independence
6. Takes
responsibility for own well-being 7. Respects
and cares for classroom environment and materials 8. Follows
classroom routines 9. Follows
classroom rules Pro-social Behavior 10. Plays well with other children 11. Recognizes
the feelings of others and responds appropriately 12. Shares and
respects the rights of others 13. Uses
thinking skills to resolve conflicts |
14. Demonstrates basic loco motor skills
(running, jumping, hopping, galloping) 15. Shows
balance while moving 16. Climbs
up and down 17. Pedals
and steers a tricycle (or other wheeled vehicle) 18. Demonstrates
throwing, kicking, and catching skills
19. Controls small muscles in hands 20. Coordinates
eye-hand movement 21. Uses
tools for writing and drawing |
22. Observes objects and events with curiosity 23. Approaches
problems flexibly 24. Shows
persistence in approaching tasks 25. Explores
cause and effect 26. Applies knowledge
or experience to a new context
27. Classifies objects 28. Compares/measures 29. Arranges
objects in a series 30. Recognizes
patterns and can repeat them 31. Shows
awareness of time concepts and sequence 32. Shows
awareness of position in space 33. Uses
one-to-one correspondence 34. Uses
numbers and counting Representation and Symbolic Thinking 35. Takes on pretend roles and situations 36. Makes
believe with objects 37. Makes
and interprets representations |
38. Hears and discriminates the sounds of language 39.
Expresses self using words and expanded sentences 40. Understands
and follows oral directions 41. Answers
questions 42. Asks
questions 43. Actively
participates in conversations 44. Enjoys and values reading 45. Demonstrates
understanding of print concepts 46. Demonstrates
knowledge of the alphabet 47. Uses
emerging reading skills to make meaning from print 48. Comprehends
and interprets meaning from books and other texts 49. Understands
the purpose of writing 50. Writes
letters and words |
Te Whàriki
Early Childhood Curriculum
Ministry of Education
Learning Media
Early childhood is
“…a period of momentous significance for all people growing up in
[our] culture… By the
time this period is over, children will have formed conceptions of
themselves as social
beings, as thinkers, and as language users, and they will have reached
certain important
decisions about their own abilities and their own worth.”
Donaldson, M.,
Grieve, R., and Pratt, C. Early Childhood Development and Education:
in Psychology.
CONTENTS
Introduction
The
Purpose and Structure of the Document
The
Principles
Development
of Learning and Capabilities
Planning
Evaluation
and Assessment
The
Strands
Strand 1
– Well-being
The Goals
Learning
Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
Strand 2
– Belonging
The Goals
Learning
Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
Strand 3
– Contribution
The Goals
Learning
Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
Strand 4
– Communication
The Goals
Learning
Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
Strand 5
– Exploration
The Goals
Learning
Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
Introduction
This curriculum is founded on the following aspirations for
children:
To grow up as competent and confident learners and
communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of
belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society.
This curriculum defines how to achieve progress towards this
vision for learners in early childhood learning environments. It is about the
individual child. Its starting point is the learner and the knowledge, skills,
and attitudes that the child brings to their experiences. The curriculum is
also about early childhood settings. Learning begins at home, and early
childhood programmes outside the child’s own home
play a significant role in extending early learning and in laying the
foundations for successful future learning.
Each community to which a child belongs, whether it is a family
home or an early childhood setting outside the home, provides opportunities for
new learning to be fostered: for children to reflect on alternative ways of
doing things; make connections across time and place; establish different kinds
of relationship; and encounter different points of view. These experiences
enrich children’s lives and provide them with the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions they need to tackle new challenges.
This curriculum emphasises the critical
role of socially and culturally mediated learning and of reciprocal and
responsive relationships for children with people, places, and things. Children
learn through collaboration with adults and peers, through guided participation
and observation of others, as well as through individual exploration and
reflection. In early childhood education settings, all children should
be given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of the
cultural heritages of both partners of their community.
The Purpose and Structure of
the Document
The purpose of this document is to provide a curriculum framework
that will form the basis for consistent curriculum and programmes.
It sets out the principles, strands, and goals which are distinctively
appropriate for the early childhood years, and provides examples of the links
between early childhood education and the school years.
The term “curriculum” is used in this document to describe the sum
total of the experiences, activities and events whether direct or indirect
which occur within an environment designed to foster children’s learning and
development.
These experiences, activities, and events
may be based on forward planning or may evolve in response to a particular
situation.
The Principles
There are
four broad principles at the centre of the early childhood curriculum.
Empowerment
The early
childhood curriculum empowers the child to learn and grow.
Holistic Development
The early
childhood curriculum reflects the holistic way children learn and grow.
Family and Community
The wider
world of family and community is an integral part of the early childhood
curriculum.
Relationships
Children
learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and
things.
The strands and goals arise from the four
principles. The whàriki is woven from these four
principles and from the following five strands, or essential areas of learning
and development. The principles and strands together form the framework for the
curriculum. Each strand has several goals. Learning outcomes have been
developed for each goal in each of the strands, so that the whàriki
becomes an integrated foundation for every child’s development.
Development of Learning and Capabilities
Although the patterns of learning and development are sometimes
seen as a progressive continuum linked to age, such patterns vary for
individual children in ways that are not always predictable. The direction and
speed of learning and growing will often fluctuate from day to day, according
to where the child is and the people they are with. During the early childhood
years, children often demonstrate needs and capabilities at a variety of
stages.
For example:
Within
minutes, a child can be both dependent and independent, according to changes in
temperament, environment, or adult expectations.
A
young infant needs an environment that is predictable but also needs and enjoys
challenges and surprises.
A
child may be using language and reasoning to order the world while continuing
to use the sensory skills used in infancy.
Children
learn through a combination of imagination and logic.
The curriculum for the early childhood years must, therefore, be
flexible enough to encompass the reality of:
Fluctuations
in individual behaviour and learning;
The
need for repeated, familiar experiences to consolidate concepts and reassure
the child;
The
need for challenge as a medium for growth.
Planning
Planning the curriculum whàriki should
be a continuing process, involving careful observation, identification of needs
and capabilities, provision of resources, assessment, and evaluation.
Discussion and debate about planning programmes are a
crucial part of the process of improving it, by ensuring that people think
about, and are able to justify, their beliefs and practices. Each programme should be planned to offer sufficient learning
experiences for the children to ensure that the curriculum goals are realised. Planning will usually begin from observations of
the children’s interests, strengths, needs, and behaviours.
Planning experiences or events can focus on the environment, the setting,
particular age groups, and on groups of children or individual children. The
focus could also be on a routine or regular happening, such as planning for
mealtimes. Planning should help adults who work in early childhood education to
understand what young children are learning, how the learning happens, and the
role that both adults and other children play in such learning.29
Evaluation and Assessment
The purpose of evaluation is to make informed judgments about the
quality and effectiveness of the programme. A system
of evaluation will ask: In what ways do the human relationships and the programme provide a learning environment which is based on
the goals of the curriculum?
Evaluative procedures emphasise the
quality of provision and make use of all the forms of assessment that can be
carried out by both adults and children. Assessment of children’s learning and
development will be part of the information needed to evaluate the programme. Evaluation processes will identify whether the
environment and programme are providing for the needs
of all the children in the early childhood setting.
The programme will be continually or
regularly modified in the light of evaluation, to ensure that it meets the
needs of the children within the curriculum goals. It is important that the
curriculum whàriki as a whole, or a particular range
of experiences in the programme are modified if they
are not working well to meet the needs of the children and the goals of the
curriculum.
The purpose of assessment is to give useful information about
children’s learning and development to the adults providing the programme and to children and their families. Assessment of
children’s learning and development involves intelligent observation of the
children by experienced and knowledgeable adults for the purpose of improving
the programme.
Children are increasingly able to assess their own learning, to
outline their own goals, and to decide how to achieve these goals. They work
hard to achieve such goals as learning to walk, forming letters and numbers,
and contributing to group interaction. The learning environment should enable
children to set and pursue their own goals within the boundaries necessary for
safety and to reflect on whether they have achieved their goals.
Assessment of children’s learning and development should always
focus on individual children over a period of time and avoid making comparisons
between children. Even where there are pathways of increasing knowledge or
skill, children’s responses and behaviour will be
subject to swings and variations in development according to a number of
factors, including where the children are, the people they are with, and how
they are feeling. A single observation is a snapshot of that occasion only, and
adults should be wary of generalising from individual
pieces of information.
The Strands
The strands and goals of the curriculum arise from the principles.
Each strand embodies an area of learning and development that is woven into the
daily programme of the early childhood setting and
has its own associated goals for learning.
There are five strands.
Well-being
Belonging
Contribution
Communication
Exploration
The strands are defined in terms of the
goals and learning outcomes needed to achieve them, of each strand’s
relationship to the principles, and of adult responsibilities associated with
each strand.
The Goals
The goals identify how the principles and strands can be
incorporated into programmes at a practical level.
The goals for learning and development within each strand are described in
terms of learning outcomes for knowledge, skills, and
attitudes.
Learning Outcomes: Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
The outcomes of a curriculum are knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
The list of outcomes in this document is indicative rather than definitive.
Each early childhood education setting will develop its own emphases and
priorities.
The Strands
Strand 1 – Well-Being
The health and well-being of the child are
protected and nurtured.
Goal 1
Children experience an environment where their health is
promoted.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and attitudes
Children develop:
increasing understanding of their bodies
and how they function;
knowledge about how to keep themselves
healthy;
self-help and self-care skills for eating,
drinking, food preparation, toileting, resting, sleeping, washing, and
dressing;
positive attitudes towards eating,
sleeping, and toileting.
Goal 2
Children experience an environment where
their emotional well-being is nurtured.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
an increasing ability to determine their
own actions and make their own choices;
a capacity to pay attention, maintain
concentration, and be involved;
a growing capacity to tolerate and enjoy
a moderate degree of change, surprises, uncertainty, and puzzling events;
a sense of personal worth, and knowledge
that personal worth does not depend on today’s behaviour
or ability;
an ability to identify their own
emotional responses and those of others;
confidence and ability to express
emotional needs;
trust that their emotional needs will be
responded to.
Goal 3
Children experience an environment where they are kept safe
from harm.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and attitudes
Children develop:
increasing knowledge about how to keep
themselves safe from harm;
confidence that they can participate and
take risks without fear of harm;
ability and confidence to express their
fears openly;
trust that their fears will be taken
seriously;
a sense of responsibility for their own
well-being and that of others;
an increasing sense of responsibility for
protecting others from injury and from physical and emotional abuse;
respect for rules about harming others
and the environment and an understanding of the reasons for such rules.
Strand 2 – Belonging
Children and their families
feel a sense of belonging.
Goal 1
Children and their families experience an environment where
connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and attitudes
Children develop:
an understanding of the links between the
early childhood education setting and the known and familiar wider world
through people, images, objects, languages, sounds, smells, and tastes that are
the same as at home;
knowledge about the features of the area
of physical and/or spiritual significance to the local community, such as the
local river or mountain;
interest and pleasure in discovering an
unfamiliar wider world where the people, images, objects, languages, sounds,
smells, and tastes are different from those at home;
awareness of connections between events
and experiences within and beyond the early childhood education setting;
connecting links between the early
childhood education setting and other settings that relate to the child, such
as home, school, or parent’s workplaces;
knowledge about the role of the wider
world of work, such as the hospital, the supermarket, or the fire service.
Goal 2
Children and their families experience an environment where
they know that they have a place.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and attitudes
Children develop:
an increasing ability to play an active
part in the running of the programme;
skills in caring for the environment,
such as cleaning, fixing, gardening, and helping others with self-care skills;
the confidence and ability to express
their ideas and to assist others;
a feeling of belonging, and having a
right to belong, in the early childhood setting;
an ability to take on different roles
indifferent contexts.
Goal 3
Children and their families experience an environment where
they feel comfortable with the routines, customs, and regular events.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and attitudes
Children develop:
an understanding of the routines,
customs, and regular events of the early childhood education setting;
an understanding that these routines,
customs, and events can be different in other settings;
capacities to predict and plan from the
patterns and regular events that make up the day or the session;
enjoyment of and interest in a moderate
degree of change;
constructive strategies for coping with
change.
Goal 4
Children and their families experience an environment where
they know the limits and boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
the capacity to discuss and negotiate
rules, rights, and fairness;
an understanding of the rules of the
early childhood education setting, of the reasons for them, and of which rules
will be different in other settings;
an understanding that the early childhood
education setting is fair for all;
an understanding of the consequences of
stepping beyond the limits of acceptable behaviour;
an increasing ability to take
responsibility for their own actions;
the ability to disagree and state a
conflicting opinion assertively and appropriately.
Strand 3 - Contribution
Opportunities
for learning are equitable and each child’s contribution is valued.
Goal 1
Children experience an environment where
there are equitable opportunities for learning, irrespective of gender,
ability, age, ethnicity, or background.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
an understanding of their own rights and
those of others;
the ability to recognise
discriminatory practices and behaviour and to respond
appropriately;
some early concepts of the value of
appreciating diversity and fairness;
the self-confidence to stand up for
themselves and others against biased ideas and discriminatory behaviour;
positive judgments on their own gender
and the opposite gender;
positive judgments on their own ethnic
group and other ethnic groups;
confidence that their family background
is viewed positively within the early childhood education setting;
respect
for children who are different from themselves and ease of interaction with
them.
Goal 2
Children experience an environment where
they are affirmed as individuals.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
a sense of “who they are”, their place in
the wider world of relationships, and the ways in which these are valued;
a realistic perception of what they know
and of what they can and cannot yet do;
a perception of themselves as capable of
acquiring new interests and abilities;
abilities and interests in a range of
domains – spatial, visual, linguistic, physical, musical, logical or
mathematical, personal, and social – which build on the children’s strengths;
awareness of their own special strengths,
and confidence that these are recognised and valued.
Goal 3
Children experience an environment where
they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
strategies and skills for initiating,
maintaining, and enjoying a relationship with other children – including taking
turns, problem solving, negotiating, taking another’s point of view, supporting
others, and understanding other people’s attitudes and feelings – in a variety
of contexts;
a range of strategies for solving
conflicts in peaceful ways, and a perception that peaceful ways are best;
positive and constructive attitudes to
competition;
an increasing ability to take another’s
point of view and to empathise with others;
a sense of responsibility and respect for
the needs and well-being of the group, including taking responsibility for
group
decisions;
an appreciation of the ways in which they
can make contributions to groups and to group well-being;
ways to enjoy solitary play when they
choose to be alone.
Strand 4 – Communication
The languages and symbols of their own and
other cultures are promoted and protected.
Goal 1
Children experience an environment where
they develop non-verbal communication skills for a range of purposes.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
responsive and reciprocal skills, such as
turn-taking and offering;
non-verbal ways of expressing and
communicating imaginative ideas;
an increasingly elaborate repertoire of
gesture and expressive body movement for communication, including ways to make
requests non-verbally and appropriately;
an increasing understanding of nonverbal
messages, including an ability to attend to the non-verbal requests and
suggestions of others;
an ability to express their feelings and
emotions in a range of appropriate nonverbal ways.
Goal 2
Children experience an environment where
they develop verbal communication skills for a range of purposes.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
language skills in real, play, and
problem solving contexts as well as in more structured language contexts, for
example, through books;
language skills for increasingly complex
purposes, such as stating and asking others about intentions; expressing
feelings and attitudes and asking others about feelings and attitudes;
negotiating, predicting, planning, reasoning, guessing, story-telling; and
using the language of probability, including words such as “might”, “can’t”,
“always”, “never”, and “sometimes”;
a playful interest in repetitive sounds
and words, aspects of language such as rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration, and an
enjoyment of nonsense stories and rhymes;
an increasing knowledge and skill, in
both syntax and meaning, in at least one language;
an appreciation of the child’s first
language as a living and relevant language;
confidence that their first language is
valued;
the expectation that verbal communication
will be a source of delight, comfort, and amusement and that it can be used to
effectively communicate ideas and information and solve problems;
the inclination and ability to listen
attentively and respond appropriately to speakers.
Goal 3
Children experience an environment where
they experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
an understanding that symbols can be
“read” by others and that thoughts, experiences, and ideas can be represented
through words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models, and
photographs;
familiarity with print and its uses by
exploring and observing the use of print in activities that have meaning and
purpose for children;
familiarity with an appropriate selection
of the stories and literature valued by the cultures in their community;
an expectation that words and books can
amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate, inform, and excite;
familiarity with numbers and their uses
by exploring and observing the use of numbers in activities that have meaning
and purpose for children;
skill in using the counting system and
mathematical symbols and concepts, such as numbers, length, weight, volume,
shape, and pattern, for meaningful and increasingly complex purposes;
the expectation that numbers can amuse,
delight, illuminate, inform, and excite;
experience with some of the technology
and resources for mathematics, reading, and writing;
experience with creating stories and
symbols.
Goal 4
Children experience an environment where
they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
familiarity with the properties and
character of the materials and technology used in the creative and expressive
arts;
skill and confidence with the processes
of art and craft, such as cutting, drawing, collage, painting, print-making,
weaving, stitching, carving, and constructing;
skills with media that can be used for
expressing a mood or a feeling or for representing information, such as
crayons, pencils, paint, blocks,
wood, musical instruments, and movement skills;
an ability to be creative and expressive
through a variety of activities, such as pretend play, carpentry,
story-telling, drama, and making music;
confidence to sing songs, including songs
of their own, and to experiment with chants and pitch patterns;
an increasing ability to keep a steady
beat through speech, chants, dances, or movement to simple rhythmic patterns;
an increasing familiarity with a
selection of the art, craft, songs, music, and stories which are valued by the
cultures in the community;
an expectation that music, art, drama,
and dance can amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate, inform, and excite;
familiarity with a variety of types of
music, art, dance, and drama as expressions of feeling, mood, situation,
occasion, and culture.
Strand 5 - Exploration
The child learns through active exploration
of the environment.
Goal 1
Children experience an environment where
their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous
play is recognised.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
the ability to make decisions, choose
their own materials, and set their own problems;
the attitude that not knowing and being
uncertain are part of the process of being a good learner;
an expectation that they take
responsibility for their own learning;
the knowledge that trying things out,
exploration, and curiosity are important and valued ways of learning;
increasing confidence and a repertoire
for symbolic, pretend, or dramatic play;
the knowledge that playing with ideas and
materials, with no objective in mind, can be an enjoyable, creative, and valid
approach to learning.
Goal 2
Children experience an environment where
they gain confidence in and control of their bodies.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
increasing knowledge about how to keep
physically healthy;
increasing control over their bodies,
including development of loco motor skills, non-loco motor skills, manipulative
skills and increasing agility, co-ordination, and balance;
strategies for
actively exploring and making sense of the world by using their bodies,
including active exploration with all the senses, and the use of tools,
materials, and equipment to extend skills;
confidence with moving in space, moving
to rhythm, and playing near and with others.
Goal 3
Children experience an environment where
they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking, and reasoning.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
confidence in using a variety of
strategies for exploring and making sense of the world, such as in setting and
solving problems, looking for patterns, classifying things for a purpose,
guessing, using trial and error, thinking logically and making comparisons,
asking questions, explaining to others, listening to others, participating in
reflective discussion, planning, observing, and listening to stories;
the ability to identify and use
information from a range of sources, including using books for reference;
a perception of themselves as “explorers”
competent, confident learners who ask questions and make discoveries;
the confidence to choose and experiment
with materials, to play around with ideas, and to explore actively with all the
senses;
the ability to represent their
discoveries, using creative and expressive media and the technology associated
with them.
Goal 4
Children experience an environment where
they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social,
physical, and material worlds.
Learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and
attitudes
Children develop:
the ability to enquire, research,
explore, generate, and modify their own working theories about the natural,
social, physical, and material worlds;
an understanding of the nature and
properties of a range of substances, such as sand, water, ice, bubbles, blocks,
and paper;
spatial understandings, including an
awareness of how two- and three dimensional objects can be fitted together and
moved in space and ways in which spatial information can be represented, such
as in maps, diagrams, photographs, and drawings;
familiarity with stories from different
cultures about the living world, including myths and legends and oral, no
fictional, and fictional forms;
working theories about Planet Earth and beyond;
a knowledge of features of the land which
are of local significance, such as the local river or mountain;
theories about social relationships and
social concepts, such as friendship, authority, and social rules and
understandings;
a relationship with the natural
environment and a knowledge of their own place in the environment;
respect and a developing sense of
responsibility for the well-being of both the living and the non-living
environment;
working theories about the living world
and knowledge of how to care for it;
a growing recognition and enjoyment of
“nonsense” explanations.
This curriculum format is taken from ‘Te Whàriki – The
Published for the
Ministry of Education by
Learning Media Limited,
© Crown copyright 1996
All rights reserved.
Enquiries should be made to the publisher.
ISBN 0 478 02980 2
Dewey number 372.21
Item number 02980