Early Childhood Education Curriculum (Kinds, founder, focus, philosophy, role of

teacher):
a.) Montessori: is an educational approach characterized by an emphasis on
independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a childs natural psychological,
physical, and social development.
Year Founded/Started: 1907, Maria Montessori opened her first classroom, the Casa dei
Bambini, or Childrens House, in a tenement building in Rome.
Proponent: Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator (1870-1952). Dr.
Maria Montessori developed her educational philosophy as a result of her observations of
the way children naturally learn. Montessori found that the children needed very little
persuading to do everyday tasks, puzzles or other interesting activities which allowed
them to not direct their energy toward destructive behaviors. She described the ages from
three to six as a particularly sensitive time during which young children are especially
attuned to acquiring knowledge from and about their environment. To enrich their
experience, Dr. Maria Montessori developed a "prepared environment", of child sized
furniture and material, to adapt to the surroundings to the child's natural size and
behavior. This helped the children to feel relaxed and comfortable which created a will to
learn. Through this interaction and experience, the children developed an extraordinary
high level of intellectual and social ability at young ages.
Area of Focus: An educational approach characterized by an emphasis on independence,
freedom within limits, and respect for a childs natural psychological, physical, and social
development. Focused on mixed age classroom, with classrooms for children ages 21/2
or 3 to g years old by far the most common, students choice of activity from within a
prescribed range of options, uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours, a
constructivist or discovery model where students learn concepts form working with
materials, rather than by direct instruction, specialized educational materials developed
by Montessori and her collaborators, freedom of movement within the classroom and a
trained Montessori teacher.
Philosophy it followed: To aid life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the
basic task of the educator.
Role of the teacher: The teacher plays a vital role in putting the Montessori method into
practice. As the previous sections have discussed, the teacher needs to know about the
method, including its history and its special terms, be aware of the typical growth and
development of children, and be able to implement the ideas, materials, and techniques of
the method when working with students. The teacher as: a) a guide - Montessori
teachers goal is to guide and facilitate, not force her/his own ideas of what students
should learn, and when. Acting as a guide for the students involves more than using
certain words and a particular tone. It also involves awareness, attitude, body language,
and actions that reflect the principles of the Montessori method. The role of the teacher is

to guide the student to positive kinds of behavior. The teacher can choose from a number
of appropriate guidance strategies like these: redirecting reviewing time-out and
sitting-out more responsibility strategy meeting with the parent. Montessori believed
that it is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence
too much, so that she may be always ready to supply the desired help, but may never be
the obstacle between the child and his experience". The Montessori teacher demonstrates
key behaviors to implement this child-centered approach: Make children the center of
learning because, as Montessori said, The teachers task is not to talk, but to prepare and
arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the
child (Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook). Encourage children to learn by providing
freedom for them in the prepared environment. Observe children so as to prepare the best
possible environment, recognizing sensitive periods and diverting inappropriate behavior
to meaningful tasks. Prepare the learning environment by ensuring that learning
materials are provided in an orderly format and the materials provide for appropriate
experiences for all the children. Respect each child and model ongoing respect for all
children and their work. Introduce learning materials, demonstrate learning materials,
and support childrens learning. The teacher introduces learning materials after observing
each child.
Principles of the Curriculum: The Montessori approach is designed to support the natural
development of children in a well-prepared environment. Five basic principles fairly and
accurately represent how Montessori educators implement the Montessori method in
many kinds of programs across the United States. These principles include: 1. respect for
the child, 2. the absorbent mind, 3. sensitive periods, 4. the prepared environment, and 5.
Auto education.

b) High Scope: early childhood education approach, used in preschool, kindergarten,

childcare, or elementary school settings.
Year founded/started: Developed in Ypsilanti, Michigan in the 1960s
Proponent: As director of special services in the Ypsilanti (Michigan) public school
district, David Weikart became increasingly interested in the academic performance of a
number of at-risk children from poor neighborhoods.
Area of Focus: Identifies an observable child behavior, reflecting knowledge and skills in
areas such as, language and literacy, math, creative arts, and physical development.
Philosophy it followed: The philosophy behind HighScope is based on child
development theory and research, originally drawing on the work of Jean Piaget and John

Dewey. Since then, the HighScope Curriculum has evolved to include the findings of
ongoing cognitive-developmental and brain research. In its teaching practices, the
HighScope Curriculum draws upon the work of developmental psychologist and educator
Lev Vygotsky, especially the strategy of adult scaffolding supporting children at their
current developmental level and helping them build upon it in a social setting where
children have opportunities to choose materials, ideas, and people to interact within the
projects they initiate. The adults working with the children see themselves more as
facilitators or partners than as managers or supervisors.
Role of the teacher: A teacher is supposed to act as a facilitator - High/Scope is a child
driven program where the teacher plans the daily routine around the wants/interests of the
children. Dittos are not allowed. The teacher follows a daily routine - circle time, small
groups, music and movement, planning, work time, recall followed by a family style
lunch, nap, play time. While the teacher does maintain discipline and must make a lot of
teacher made items, boards, etc, it is the child who learns through active play.
Principles of the Curriculum: The HighScope Preschool Curriculum includes defined
teaching practices that enable adults to create effective early childhood programs. These
practices are discussed in detail in HighScope training and publications. Three topics are
particularly important for teachers who want to strengthen their programs adult-child
interaction, classroom layout and materials, and the daily routine: a) Adult-Child
Interaction - Adult-child interaction is the process of working alongside children and
communicating with them both verbally and nonverbally to encourage learning. A
key strategy for adult-child interaction is sharing control with children. Additional
strategies include supporting children's play, using encouragement instead of praise, and
taking a problem-solving approach to conflict; b) The Classroom - HighScope settings
are divided into interest areas stocked with a stimulating range of materials designed for
specific types of play, for example, house area, art area, block area, small toy area,
computer area, reading and writing area. Materials are arranged in consistent places and
the shelves are tagged with child-friendly labels so that children can get out and put away
materials themselves. The classroom's organization also helps children understand how
the world is organized, and concepts like more, less, same, different, large, small, in, out,
in front of, etc; c) The Daily Routine - In HighScope programs there is a consistent
framework for the day that provides a balanced variety of experiences and learning
opportunities. Children engage in both individual and social play, participate in smalland large-group activities, assist with cleanup, socialize during meals, develop self-care
skills, and exercise their small and large muscles. The most important segment of the
daily routine is the plan-do-review sequence, in which children make choices about what
they will do, carry out their ideas, and reflect upon their activities with adults and other
children.
c) Bank Street, employs a child-centered education program focusing on diversity of
curriculum.
Year founded/started: 1916

Proponent: Lucy Sprague Mitchell

Area of Focus: Primarily focused on how children learn or develop thru interaction
approach, the emphasis is on educating the whole child-emotionally, socially, physically
and intellectually in an experience-based, interdisciplinary and collaborative setting.
Students are offered active educational opportunities in areas that develop cognitive,
emotional, physical and social growth. Learning often includes more than one subject and
in groups, allowing that children learn at various levels and using different methods.
Philosophy it followed: Learn by doing is the Bank Street philosophy. That children can
become lifelong learners by interacting with the environment around them, including
other people, different places and various things, and then interpret what they've just
experienced. Students are offered myriad opportunities in which to do this -- blocks,
dramatic play, puzzles, field trips and lab work. Bank Street is an experienced-based,
interdisciplinary, and collaborative education. There is an emphasis on educating the
whole child - the intellectual, emotional, and physical aspects of the person. One of the
most important organizing principles of education at Bank Street is that in order for
children to learn in school and to become lifelong learners, they must interact with their
environment (people, places, and things) and interpret their experience, experiential
education: carefully designed and executed educational experiences that are reconstructed
and reflected upon in a variety of ways through talking, drawing, building, and acting;
constructivism: the idea that a child makes discoveries from his or her own observations,
explorations, and experiences, and then uses all of them to construct understanding.
Constructivists say that the child is the "maker of meaning"; ownership of learning:
because a student is directly involved with the environment and with assorted learning
experiences, he or she feels more invested and more excited about learning.
Role of the teacher: Teachers that use the Bank Street approach are aware of the whole
child, their engagement with the world and their interests. A moment at free play when
children pretend to deliver the mail can become a whole unit on the postal service, how
our mail gets to us, how to write a letter, mapping a route and so on. It may even include
a field trip to the local post office. The curricula can be individualized based on the
childrens interests and stage of development. The children are allowed to learn through
interaction. Using their knowledge of child development, teachers set up the classroom,
mindful that children come to pre-school with diverse learning styles. Teachers observe
the children in various settings in order to learn more about each child. By recording
observations and reflecting on patterns, teachers can create environments that nurture the
whole child and encourage active participation. Through open, supportive approaches to
problem-solving, teachers promote a sense of fairness and create a sense of community
that helps children gain confidence. By fostering integrated, dynamic approaches to
curriculum, teachers provide concrete opportunities for children to play, explore,
experiment, and recreate their experiences. Knowledge of each child, based on
observation and responsive care and engagement enables teachers to build partnerships
and to communicate effectively with parents.

Principles of the Curriculum: Engaging actively with the environment is essential to the
human motivation. As children grow, they construct more and more complex ways of
making sense of the world; In order to learn in school and to become a lifelong learners,
children must interact with their physical and social environments and interpret their
experiences with them; Growth and maturing involve conflict. Program Characteristics:
a) Materials include teacher-made and parent-made items as well as child-made, that
relate to the childs own world; b) As children go about their work, they move and talk
freely; c)Children responds to functional environment of written labels, messages, job
charts, and other signals that tell them where things are, the events of the day, the choices
they have available, therefore symbols become meaningful; d)They learn how to attack
problems and how to express there thoughts and feelings; e) Adults relate to each child as
a person and as a learner; and f) Central themes of study begins with self and family then
extends to community and the world. Curriculum: A unit that might take as long as one
month in more traditional curriculums might last as long as three months in Bank Street.
Curriculum areas: Social Studies, Art and Shop, Music, Spanish and French, Library,
Science, Physical Education, Math, and Literacy.

d) Head Start: a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Service
that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent
involvement services to low-income children and their families.
Year founded/started: 1965
Proponent: Jule Sugarman
Area of Focus: The Head Start program is designed to increase access to early childhood
education and improve school readiness for low-income children. Rigorous evidence
shows that Head Start meets short-term school readiness goals, but there is room to
improve its capacity to decrease school readiness gaps. In order to understand Head
Starts effectiveness and the program improvements needed to reduce inequities in school
readiness, the diversitydatakids.org policy equity assessment considers Head Starts logic,
capacity and research evidence within the programs historical and present context.
Philosophy it followed: Helping people. Changing lives. Building Communities. The
programs services and resources are designed to low-income children and their families.
The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships,
enhance children's physical and emotional well-being, and establish an environment to
develop strong cognitive skills.
Role of the teacher: Teachers are the most important and influential part of Head Start.
They have the most interaction with the children, so they are admired and respected by

the different families and their children. They are able to explain to a parent what is
helpful to the child, or what the child needs to work on. They see the child progress under
their influence and assistance over the years that the child is involved in the Head Start
program. Since teachers have such a significant role in the development of the child, they
need to be trained in a certain manner.
Principles of the Curriculum: Defining curriculum for infants and toddlers is a challenge
for professionals in the fields of child development and early childhood education.
Curriculum for children under three is often described as everything they do. And
curriculum in Early Head Start is discussed in terms of a program's philosophy, or a
common set of beliefs that is shared by parents and staff. Children's goals, which relate to
their development and overall well-being, are drafted by staff and parents working
together. Whether the program offers home- or center-based services, or a combination of
the two, children's goals should drive the development of planned experiences, the roles
of staff members and parents, as well as the materials and equipment that will be
provided to support goals. Developing a curriculum that continuously meets the needs of
children from birth to three is an important task for any Early Head Start program. The
following is a list of questions that an Early Head Start program may want to consider
when designing or evaluating their curriculum: 1. What is the overall philosophy for the
program? How does this philosophy relate to the services to children? (For example, the
program's philosophy might include community collaboration, which may translate to the
involvement of representatives from various agencies, such as early intervention, in the
delivery of services to children.) 2. What are the major program goals that drive the Early
Childhood and Education Services? (For example, to support parents in their role as
"primary teacher;" to promote children's overall development, to provide children with
safe environments.) 3. How are parents involved in the development of the program
philosophy and goals for Early Childhood Services? How is information passed along as
new families enter the program? (Is there a parent committee that specifically focuses on
Early Childhood Services in the program? Are there materials that describe early
childhood services and an orientation available to new parents?) 4. How are goals for
children developed? (Is information from screening, assessment, and ongoing
observations of children's development used to formulate goals? Are parents included in
the selection of goals to be addressed?) 5. How do staff members gather feedback from
parents on their impression of the experiences during home visits or through notes or
conversations before, during, or after center-based experiences? How are changes made
to the services based on the child's and parents' reactions? The Head Start Program
Performance Standards define curriculum as a written plan that includes:
Goals for children's development and learning;
Experiences through which they will achieve the goals;
Roles for staff and parents to help children to achieve these goals; and
Materials needed to support the implementation of a curriculum.
The plan must also be based on the Program Performance Standards and sound
Child Development Principles.

e) Waldorf: a humanistic approached to pedagogy based on the educational

philosophy of the Austrian philopsher Rudolf Steiner, the founder of
anthroposophy.
Year founded/started: 1919
Proponent: Rudolf Steiner
Area of Focus: Distraction free-education. The children will start with basic movements
and tools and ultimately build larger rojects on their own like a four-legged stool.
Waldorfs approach caters to paying attention to learning, instincts and the world
tough skills to teach in the distracted era of texting, friending and tweeting. Waldorf or
Rudolf Steiner education is based on an anthroposophical view and understanding of the
human being, that is, as a being of body, soul and spirit. The education mirrors the basic
stages of a child's development from childhood to adulthood, which in general reflects
the development of humanity through history from our origin, far back in past times up to
the present. The central focus for the Waldorf teacher is the development of that essence
in every person that is independent of external appearance, by instilling in his/her pupils
an understanding of and appreciation for their background and place in the world, not
primarily as members of any specific nation, ethnic group or race, but as members of
humanity and world citizens. Thus, the Waldorf kindergarten cultivates and works in
support of the pre-school child's deep, inborn natural attitude, belief and trust in and basic
reverence for the world as an interesting and good place to live in. The goal of Waldorf
or Rudolf Steiner education is to enable students as fully as possible to choose and, in
freedom, to realize their individual path through life as adults. While anthroposophy
forms the philosophical and theoretical basis of the teaching methods used in Waldorf
schools and is reflected in the attitudes of many Waldorf teachers and in the general
structuring and orientation of Waldorf education during the different stages of
development, anthroposophy is not taught as such to the students in the overwhelming
majority of Waldorf schools world wide.
Philosophy it followed: Waldorf or Rudolf Steiner education is a unique form of
education from preschool through high school, which is based on the view that the human
being is a being of body, soul and spirit. The specific methods used in Waldorf schools
come from the view that the child develops through a number of basic stages from
childhood to adulthood. The Waldorf curriculum is specifically designed to work with the
child through these stages of development. Anthroposophy holds that the human being is
fundamentally a spiritual being and that all human beings deserve respect as the
embodiment of their spiritual nature. This view is carried into Waldorf education as
striving to develop in each child their innate talents and abilities. Waldorf schools operate
in a non-discriminatory way, without regard to race, gender, ethnicity, religion or national
origin.
Role of the teacher: Education is a cultural affair. Waldorf schools pursue a holistic,
child-centered ideal; to maintain and engender creative capacities within children. It does
this via art -not that the goal is to be an art school, but to permeate the curriculum with

artistic activity. This means that all Waldorf educators must be artists; that all their
teaching activity, regardless of subject taught, is filled with living artistry. The teachers
present a variety of subjects to the children. Each subject forms a different organ of
perception and mode of consciousness within the children. Within the classes the actual
activity of teaching and learning occurs. The results or effect of the teaching and learning
forms within the students what we might characterize as a living educational body,
which then goes out with the children into the world.
Principles of the Curriculum: Rudolf Steiner was very interested in the spiritual
dimension of the education process and developed many ideas for educating children and
adults that incorporated it. Waldorf schools emphasize the teaching of the whole child
head, hands, and heart. This is the way Steiner envisioned such education when he
planned his school: Insightful people are today calling for some form of education and
instruction directed not merely to the cultivation of one-sided knowledge, but also to
abilities; education directed not merely to the cultivation of intellectual faculties, but also
to the strengthening of the will....but it is impossible to develop the will (and that
healthiness of feeling on which it rests) unless one develops the insights that awaken the
energetic impulses of will and feeling. A mistake often made...is not that people instill too
many concepts into young minds, but that the kind of concepts they cultivate are devoid
of all driving life force. This dedication to teaching the whole childhead, hands, and
heartappeals to many teachers and parents. Waldorf education, like the other programs
we have discussed, operates on a number of essential principles: a) Anthroposophy - the
study of the wisdom of man, is a basic principle of Waldorf education. It is derived from
the Greek: anthros man and sophia wisdom. It offered a step-by-step guide for
spiritual research. Anthroposophical thinking, could permit one to gain a new
understanding of the human beingbody and spirit. It is Anthroposophy is a personal
path of inner spiritual work that is embraced by Waldorf teachers; it is not tied to any
particular religious tradition; b) Respect for Development - Waldorf education is based
squarely on respect for childrens processes of development and their developmental
stages. Individual childrens development determines how and when Waldorf teachers
introduce curriculum topics. Respecting childrens development and the ways they learn
is an essential foundation of all early childhood programs; c) Eurythmy - art of
movement, which makes speech and music visible through action and gesture and
enables children to develop a sense of harmony and balance. Thus, as they learn reading,
they are also becoming the letters through physical gestures. Every soundspeech or
musiccan be interpreted through gesture and body movement; for example, in learning
the letter o, children form the letter with their arms while saying the sound for o. In the
main-lesson books that are the childrens textbooks, crayoned pictures of mountains and
trees metamorphose into letters M and T, and form drawings of circles and polygons that
become the precursor to cursive writing. Mental imagery for geometrical designs
supports the fine-motor skills of young children. Rhythm is an important component of
all these activities. Rhythm (i.e., order or pattern in time) permeates the entire school day
as well as the school year, which unfolds around celebrating festivals drawn from
different religions and cultures; d) Nurturing Imagination - Folk and fairy tales, fables,
and legends are integrated throughout the Waldorf curriculum. These enable children to
explore the traditions of many cultures, thus supporting a multicultural approach to

education. They also enrich the imaginative life of the young child and promote free
thinking and creativity.
f) Reggio Emilia, an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary school.
Year founded/started: 1970
Proponent: Loris Malaguzzi
Area of Focus: The aim of this approach is teaching how to make them useful in
everyday life. The program is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and
community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment
based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum.
Philosophy it followed: The keyword of this method is foster education, from the tender
age, promoting the best possible integration among childrens. In this approach, there is a
belief that children have rights and should be given opportunities to develop their
potential. Children are believed knowledge bearers, so they are encouraged to share
their thoughts and ideas about everything they could meet or do during the day. The
Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles: a) Children must
have some control over the direction of their learning; b) Children must be able to learn
through experiences of touching, moving, listening, and observing; c) Children have a
relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be
allowed to explore; d) Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express
themselves.
Role of the teacher: The role of teacher is a caretaker, not a leader. They have a
constructionist view when teaching at the schools. In this way the teacher does not spoon
feed the children knowledge, but helps the children create their own knowledge. Reggio
Emilia teacher does the following: a) The teacher is more of a guide then a leader. The
student is in charge of the direction they want to go and the teacher only enables the child
to explore the way they wish to explore. The role of a teacher allows a child to interact
easily between the classroom, home and the community. They have to inform the parents
about what the child is learning. The teacher has to be creative with the projects the
children are working on; in order for the students to explore in ways they want. The
teacher has to be organized with the classroom and material in order to help the students
achieve what they want to achieve. The teacher must make the classroom accessible to all
students and make accommodations for the ones who need it. A teacher has to be the
spark that inspires the children in the classroom. Above all, the teacher must help the
students solve their problems and provide the least stressful environment possible.
Educators have to make children aware that respect for their similar is important because
everyone is a legal subject and part of a group. Teacher dont lock their view on
children, the pedagogue or the learning process. The world and its people are always
changing and thats why they are against set programs and methods. The teacher's role
within the Reggio Emilia approach is complex. Working as co-teachers, the role of the
teacher is first and foremost to be that of a learner alongside the children. The teacher is a

teacher-researcher, a resource and guide as she/he lends expertise to. Within such a
teacher-researcher role, educators carefully listen, observe, and document children's work
and the growth of community in their classroom and are to provoke, co-construct, and
stimulate thinking, and children's collaboration with peers. Teachers are committed to
reflection about their own teaching and learning.
Principles of the Curriculum: The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children
puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share
with their environment at the center of its philosophy. The foundation of the Reggio
Emilia approach lies in its unique view of the child. In this approach, there is a belief that
children have rights and should be given opportunities to develop their potential.
Influenced by this belief, the child is beheld as beautiful, powerful, competent, creative,
curious, and full of potential and ambitious desires. The child is also viewed as being an
active constructor of knowledge. Rather than being seen as the target of instruction,
children are seen as having the active role of an apprentice. This role also extends to that
of a researcher. Much of the instruction at Reggio Emilia schools takes place in the form
of projects where they have opportunities to explore, observe, hypothesize, question, and
discuss to clarify their understanding. Children are also viewed as social beings and a
focus is made on the child in relation to other children, the family, the teachers, and the
community rather than on each child in isolation. Instead of following a set agenda, the
Reggio Emilia approach encourages teachers to let a childs interests guide the curricula.
Teachers are trained to recognize a childs interests and create on-going projects that
stimulate a childs curiosity.

1. If you are to establish your own preschool, which curriculum model would you adopt? Why?

Operating a preschool program since SY 2000, it is deepest goal to address the particular
characteristic of the preschooler as an explore. Our school has to explore all possible curriculums
that will help our preschool learners. As an educator I have to do everything to get ready for this
very great adventure. Based on my readings, I would like to choose Reggio Emilia approach,
because it encourages exploration and focuses on the importance of community and selfexpression. Open-ended and child-led, students learn through art, projects, and activities that
reflect their ideas and interests.

2. Analyze the different curriculum above. What similarities do you find common in these
models?
Similarities:

A Shared Vision. They share a similar commitment to high-quality early education that changes
the lives of early childhood learners and families.

HighScope - The HighScope Curriculum uses a carefully designed approach called active
participatory learning. Children learn actively by having hands-on experiences with their
surroundings, and learning is supported through consistent daily routines and well-organized
classrooms. HighScope takes an academic slant with planned experiences in the basic subjects of
math, reading, and science. It is based on past and current child development research. This
curriculum, which can be found in a lot of community-based programs, such as the local church
or YMCA, revolves around a concept of active participatory learning, holding that children
learn best through hands-on experiences with people, materials, events, and ideas.

Bank Street - This developmental approach is based on the educational philosophy of John
Dewy. The focus of Bank Street preschools is on a child's mental, social, emotional, and physical
growth. In these programs, the child is an active learner and gains knowledge about the world
through experience. Students set the learning pace, and the teacher serves as a guide.
Comparable to play-based learning, the Bank Street approach teaches lessons through hands-on
activities, such as building blocks, puzzles, clay, and dramatic play. Advocates hold a childcentered philosophy and believe that children are active learners, explorers, experimenters and
artists and benefit from a diverse curriculum. The system stresses the importance of materials in
the classroom and views the teacher as a facilitator of learning. This method aims to help
children make sense of the world around them by studying multiple aspects of social studies.

Montessori - This approach, is child-centered, with teachers serving as guides. In the Montessori school,
play is a childs work and children learn at their own pace. There are special Montessori toys called
manipulatives that are self-corrective; this means that a child knows if they assembled a puzzle correctly,
for example, based on the toy fitting together, not because someone showed the child how to do it. In
Montessori programs its really the teachers job to help the kids find their way into the materials, a lot of
which look like puzzles that engage the child at this level. Kid work at whatever level they are working
at. The focus on letting children learn at their own pace also affects how classrooms are arranged, with
children ages three, four and five all being in the same room. Children generally have the same teacher
for those three years, allowing close teacher-student relationships to develop. The mixed-age aspect also
encourages older children to help the younger children, which helps build their self-esteem.

Waldorf - Teachers must be Waldorf certified. This play-based approach is characterized by a predictable
structure, providing children with a dependable routine, such as certain days of the week for set activities

like baking or gardening, as well as mixed-age classrooms with the same teacher for multiple years. There
is an emphasis on creative learning, reading, singing, acting Its great for kids who want that
predictability, but there is creativity there. There is also an emphasis on cooperation, and the setting
generally appears like a homewarm and friendly, with wooden toys and natural materials. What stands
out about Waldorf is its stance against traditional grading systems and exclusion of media in the
curriculum. Waldorf does not include media (computers, videos or electronics of any kind) and also does
not involve academics, which means no homework, tests, handouts or even desks. Children are
introduced to formal reading skills in the first grade. The programs are all-weather and children spend a
lot of time outdoors.

Reggio Emilia - The overall philosophy is that kids are really encouraged to explore. The teachers are
there to help them explore. Reggio Emilia schools are known for a project-based approach, which many
preschool programs have borrowed. In a project-based curriculum, lessons are based on the interest of the
students. If children playing outside encounter a flower and start to ask the teacher questions about how it
grows, instead of directly answering the questions, the teacher encourages the group to find out together.
The class may then build a garden and learn all that entails, while acquiring other important premath,
prereading concepts. Another example would be setting up a restaurant in the classroom based on the
classs interest in playing in the kitchen. As Wana explains, projects become child-originated and
teacher-framed. Reggio Emilia programs are also known for documenting what children do, taking
photos, making videos, writing observations. Then children and teachers can review what theyve done
throughout the year.

4) The first years of life are important because what happens in early childhood can
matter in a lifetime. Explain this K-12 tagline which particularly refers to kindergarten.

Early childhood is a critical time. These early, formative years serve as the foundation for all
of lifes later endeavors. If, as a society, we fail to meet the needs of our young children, it is not
just the children who suffer. We as a society suffer as well. Their success is our success. In early
childhood, extreme poverty, abuse, or neglect can weaken developing brain architecture and
permanently set the bodys stress response system on high alert. Providing stable, responsive,
nurturing relationships in the earliest years of life can prevent or even reverse the damaging
effects of early life stress, with lifelong benefits for learning, behavior, and health. The focus of
the K+12 program of providing supportive and positive conditions for early childhood
development is more effective and less costly than attempting to address the consequences of
early adversity later. The K+12 program identifies and supports children and families who are
most at risk for experiencing toxic stress as early as possible will reduce or avoid the need for
more costly and less effective remediation and support programs down the road. The K+12
policies, are directed toward early care and education, child protective services, adult mental
health, family economic supports, and many other areas, can promote the safe, supportive

environments and stable, caring relationships that children need. Toxic stress experienced early
in life and common precipitants of toxic stresssuch as poverty, abuse or neglect, parental
substance abuse or mental illness, and exposure to violencecan have a cumulative toll on an
individuals physical and mental health. The more adverse experiences in childhood, the greater
the likelihood of developmental delays and other problems. Toddlers who have secure, trusting
relationships with parents or non-parent caregivers experience minimal stress hormone activation
when frightened by a strange event, and those who have insecure relationships experience a
significant activation of the stress response system. Providing supportive, responsive
relationships as early in life as possible can prevent or reverse the damaging effects of toxic
stress.
Including Kindergarten in the basic education program points out that readiness falls along a
continuum throughout childhood and the school years, rather than at any single point in time.
Readiness is a process, with many phases, rather than a singular event, or switch. The negative
effects of poverty are pervasive, cumulative, and increase with age. Children who are raised in
poverty show a negative impact even when they are born healthy and free of medical problems.
They tend to show gradual declines in mental, motor, and socio-emotional development; they
have poorer quality relationships with their caregivers; and they are more likely to exhibit
anxious attachment. In preschool, they are more likely to have problems getting along with other
children and functioning on their own. By the time they start school they are more likely to need
special education services and as they progress through school they are more likely to be held
back. Children growing up in poverty are, as a rule, exposed to more risk factors than children
growing up in middle-income households. The environment of poverty is characterized by
exposure to cumulative, adverse, physical and social stressors. The housing is noisier, more
crowded, and of lower quality. People living in poverty experience elevated levels of family
turmoil, greater child-family separation, and higher levels of violence.
The K+12 program of the Department of Education is a perfect program, to make sure
children enter kindergarten ready and eager to learn. Early Childhood Development Programs
are a good start for many children. The impact of early intervention is long-lasting, especially
when there is follow-up throughout the elementary school years. The early childhood years are
critically important: The stronger the foundation built in the first few years of life, the greater the
likelihood of long-term success and happiness. Poverty has an insidious and pervasive impact on
this development, weaving through many areas of the childs life: It limits their access to
developmental stimulation and heightens their exposure to stressin their physical as well as
their psychological environment. It carries a cost for society as well. Early intervention can help.
Research has found two strategies that are particularly effective: home visiting, to educate
parents; and high-quality early childcare and education. When these two strategies are bundled
and child and family support extends through the elementary school years, long-term success is
even more likely. The earlier the intervention begins, the more likely it is to be effective and the
greater the return on investment.