Big Hugs Curriculum
All Ages
Big Hugs Childcare’s curriculum is based on children learning through planned, purposeful, play-based activities. These activities allow children to become confident learners, exploring and investigating through valuable first hand experiences. The preschool program provides a print rich environment, integration of all disciplines, hands on learning, and discovery of social and educational core concepts. The youngest children in our Infant and Toddler Program are given the opportunity to grow and develop while enjoying a happy stimulating school environment. At Big Hugs, we believe that the end depends on the beginning and we plan on creating a strong foundation.
At the heart of the Big Hugs approach to early childhood education is The Creative Curriculum©, the country's leading scientifically based, comprehensive curriculum for programs serving children from birth to age 12.
We believe our curriculum should be integrated with high-quality assessment, professional development, and family connection resources to create a well-rounded program that addresses the needs of early childhood education professionals, children, and their families.
The Creative Curriculum© helps us plan and implement a developmentally appropriate program that promotes children's social-emotional development and learning in the core areas of literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies.
It combines the latest research and the freshest ideas into a forward-thinking approach to learning--one that honors creativity and respects the role that teachers play in making learning exciting and relevant for every child in their classrooms.
The Creative Curriculum© unique approach is designed to inspire teachers, to help them create a high-quality learning environment and, most of all, to support their important efforts as they open doors to successful learning.
With The Creative Curriculum©, our program can put together a complete system that promotes positive outcomes for all children, including English-language learners, children with disabilities, and advanced learners.
The Creative Curriculum©, is based on five fundamental principles. The Creative Curriculum©, guides practice and helps us understand the reasons for intentionally setting up and operating programs in particular ways. The principles include:
- Positive interactions and relationships with adults provide a critical foundation for successful learning.
- Social-emotional competence is a significant factor in school success.
- Constructive, purposeful play supports essential learning.
- The physical environment affects the type and quality of learning interaction.
- Teacher-family partnership promotes development and learning.
The physical environment of our classrooms has a profound effect on individual children, the group as a whole, and the teachers. We want to provide a physical setting that is safe, attractive, comfortable, and well designed to help children engage in the activities we offer each child. The Creative Curriculum©, includes interest areas, which are ideal for children to explore, make things, experiment, and pursue their interests. The Creative Curriculum©, classroom has defined interest areas for dramatic play, block building, toys and games, art, looking at books and writing, sand and water play, and discovery table, cooking activities, musical instruments, and computers.
Our Daily Lesson Plans
The Creative Curriculum's© daily lesson plans are created based on "studies". These studies are hands-on, project-based investigations of topics that are relevant to children's everyday experiences. Each study last approximately four to six weeks (depending on the topic). Click here to see a sample of the Ball Study.
Our study topics include:
- Beginning the Year
- Trees
- Clothes
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Roads
- Simple Machines
- Music Making
- Sand
- Buildings
- Getting Ready for Kindergarten
- Insects
- Tubes and Tunnels
- Pets
- Signs
- Balls
- Bread
- Excercise
- Boxes
Throughout the investigation into each of these different topics, we focus on all areas of development including, social emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, math, science and technology, social studies, and the arts.
Our preschool lesson plans for these studies are generated through a computer based program - Teaching Strategies Gold Plus. Each daily lesson plan is based on the children's developmental needs in the classroom. Our teachers continually observe and enter documentation on children's development.
Our teachers complete checkpoints (or, assessments) four times a year. The preschool lesson plans are created based on where children are developmentally at each of these checkpoints. This ensures that our daily lesson plans are tailored for the individual needs of our students, your children.
Our Programs