Engineering education for the pre-college years is a developing academic discipline that emanates from the need to understand and improve the ways that engineers are formally educated. To date, there are no curricula available that incorporate engineering at a preschool level. The focus of this study is on the development of an early engineering…

A developmentally appropriate curriculum should be an integral part of the written education and early childhood development services plan for every Head Start Program. Curriculum implementation is an ongoing process that includes developing a plan, orientating staff and families to the framework and its components, and providing continuous…

This practicum paper describes a fantasy play program designed for 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers with Barbie dolls that could be used as a tool in regularly scheduled center play activity. Because of strong biases held by teachers against commercial toys, children were not afforded the ability to experiment with these tools, or discover the role…

The term curriculum model refers to a conceptual framework and organizational structure for decision making about educational priorities, administrative policies, instructional methods, and evaluation criteria. This digest discusses the role of curriculum models in early childhood education. Following a discussion of the origin of early childhood…

The field of early childhood education has long been marked by intense controversy concerning appropriate curriculum and teaching methods and goals. This paper explores some implications of the traditional dichotomies of the field and suggests that while there are many reasons to resist the side that advocates formal academic instruction, it does…

Provides guidance in facilitating teaching transitions between preschoolers and infants and toddlers. Discusses developmentally appropriate changes in the areas of relating to children, relating to parents, relating to co-workers, group dynamics, curriculum, routines and transitions, director support and supervision, and most important…

Describes the day-to-day implementation of a project involving the creation and operation of a city made with wooden blocks in a kindergarten classroom. By acting out the "Roxaboxen" story, children improved their reading, writing, and calculation skills. They learned from personal experience that living in a society involves…

From the academic--or instructivist--perspective, the young child is seen as dependent on adults' instruction in the academic knowledge and skills necessary for a good start for later academic achievement. This perspective is in direct contrast to the active and interactive curriculum assumed by proponents of the constructivist approach. This…

Presents a case study of a fourth-year kindergarten teacher who has altered her teaching from academic to more developmentally appropriate ways and now attempts to incorporate new curriculum expectations. Examines how her teaching practice evolved, her approach to new curriculum expectations, and what tensions, worries, successes and concerns…

Explores the learning opportunities cooking activities can provide in a kindergarten classroom. Language arts, math, science, fine-motor skills, art, health, music, and social studies are some of the curriculum areas that can benefit from these kind of activities. Cooking also is explored as an opportunity for parent involvement, where parent and…

The curriculum presented in this bulletin is a response to a definite need frequently expressed by kindergarten teachers, primary teachers, and school men. The work of the different grades has been fairly standardized as to subject matter and method, and is usually outlined quite definitely for the guidance of teachers in the course of study. But…