Curriculum
The Creative Curriculum®
KCAA provides children with high-quality, systematic, research-based curricula. The Creative Curriculum® is used in all classes. It meets both the Hawaii Preschool Content Standards and the Hawaii Early Learning and Development Standards, and prepares children for future school success. All of our classroom staff receives specialized training in curriculum to help ensure the successful implementation of the program.
A main component of The Creative Curriculum® is the Teaching Strategies GOLD® Objectives for Development and Learning: Birth through Kindergarten, which shows the sequence of steps children take as they master skills in all areas of development. The teachers use a modified version of this tool to complete a comprehensive assessment of each child’s development 2 times a year (for more information on assessment see page 4). The information about your child, gained from this assessment, will be shared with you during Parent-Teacher Conferences which are formally held twice a year (for more information on Parent-Teacher Conferences see page 7).
The Creative Curriculum® for Infants, Toddler & Twos (used in our 2-year-old classes) focuses on the importance of developing trusting relationships between the teachers, children, and families. With these relationships as the framework, teachers guide children through important daily routines and play, providing them with a variety of activities that support their individual growth in four main developmental areas: social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language.
The Creative Curriculum for Preschool® System (the next stage of this curriculum for children in our 3-year-old, 3s/4s (as applicable), and Pre-K classes) combines both teacher-directed and child-initiated learning through play. Research says that preschool children learn best through 6-8 week-long project-based investigations, or studies, which enable children to use scientific inquiry skills to actively explore topics that interest them and are relevant to their lives. The studies provide clear direction for the teachers to address content in literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology, yet never lose sight of the primary importance of social-emotional development in children’s learning.
This curriculum features resources which provide teachers with a variety of additional planning tools to help them design meaningful lessons for your child during the in-depth 6-8 week studies. Over the course of the school year, starting with Beginning the Year, these are the topics your child will investigate:
3-year-old Classroom Studies:
— Balls; Clothes; Trees; Buildings; Boxes; & Music;
3s/4s Classroom Studies (as applicable):
— Pets; Bread; Roads; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; & Exercise
Pre-K Classroom Studies:
— Insects; Sand; Simple Machines; Tubes and Tunnels; Signs; & Getting Ready for Kindergarten
This comprehensive curriculum addresses all of the important areas of learning: social-emotional development, oral language and vocabulary, emergent writing, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, physical development, and technology. The curriculum allows children many opportunities to explore their own interests while also providing explicit teacher-directed instruction in early language, reading and math skills. There is also a range of activities for you and your child to enjoy together. Through this approach of teaching and learning, children leave the KCAA Pre-K classes prepared to enter kindergarten ready to succeed.