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The education program at Head Start is designed to meet each child's individual needs regardless of their developmental skill level. Every child receives a variety of learning experiences to foster intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth. Within the first 45 days of school, your child will receive a developmental screening called Brigance and a social/emotional screening. These screenings help teachers and parents determine the childs strengths as well as identify goals for growth.
The Early Childhood Curriculum is used as a guideline when planning an appropriate environment complete with a variety of learning opportunities for your children.
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
Butte Head Start uses the Creative Curriculum as a guide to help plan for our children.
When you visit your child's classroom, you will see a room full of children playing. Children at this age learn through play. The activities we plan for children help them explore the world around them by using all of their senses.
We plan the classroom and outdoor areas very carefully. We create distinct interest areas such as: writing, blocks, dramatic play, table toys, art, water play, cooking, music and movement, books and outdoor time. We use child size equipment, and put items at the children's level. The daily schedule supports our goals for the children. All of the learning is done in fun, exciting and creative ways to encourage your children to learn and experiment.
Play is a powerful natural behavior. Play is child's work, Through play a child learns to:
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Figure out how thing work and solve problems
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Talk and share ideas
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Build strength and control of their bodies
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Develop and express imagination and creativity
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Learn about themselves, others and the world
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Express feelings and energy in healthy ways
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Increase ability to concentrate
THE GOAL OF OUR CURRICULUM
The most important goal of our Early Childhood Curriculum is to help children become enthusiastic learners. This means encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts. Our goal is to help children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive learners. Were teaching them how to learn, not just in preschool, but also all through their lives. Were allowing them to learn at their own pace and in the ways that are best for them. Were giving them good habits and attitudes, particularly, a positive sense of themselves, which will make a difference throughout their lives.
MEASURING OUTCOMES
Our curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development.
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SOCIAL: to help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends, and feel they are a part of the group. |
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EMOTIONAL: to help children experience pride and self-confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life. |
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COGNITIVE: to help children become confident learners by letting them try out their own ideas and experience success, and by helping them acquire learning skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and use words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings. |
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PHYSICAL: to help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do. |
The activities we plan for children, the way we organize the environment, select toys and materials, plan the daily schedule, and talk with children, are all designed to accomplish the goals of our curriculum and give your child a successful start in school.
Ongoing Child Developmental Assessments:
Teachers complete the Creative Curriculum Child Developmental Assessment for each child three times a year. The results of this developmental assessment are discussed with parents and child goals are determined. Parents are requested to work with their child at home, with our "At Home Activities" to build on what the teachers do in the classroom.
Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment
(DECA)
What Is the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA)
The DECA is a tool used to focus on three protective factors; attachment, self-control, and initiative, which are closely related to social and emotional development. The DECA also looks at the child's use of specific challenging behaviors. The teacher and a family member complete a DECA Record Form to review the child's use of skills and behaviors related to resilience. DECA results are summarized in individual and classroom profiles that are used to plan strategies to encourage children's social and emotional strengths.
What is Social Development
Social development involves learning how to have positive relationships with other people. Preschool children learn to share, cooperate, take turns, compromise, and negotiate so they play and get along with each other. Social skills that are developed in early childhood will support children in their school, work, family, and community lives.
Learning to form and value friendships is a key part of social development.
What is Emotional Development
Emotional development is closely related to social development. It refers to children's feelings about themselves, the people in their lives, and the environment in which they live. Children with a strong sense of self and high self-esteem are likely to value relationships with others.
What are Resilience and Protective Factors
They have resilience, "the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change."' Something within these people lets them "bounce back" when faced with problems that others could not overcome. They know how to
address problems, recover quickly, and move on. Researchers who study resilience call these inner strengths protective factors. Protective factors can help children cope with stress and have successful lives.
TALKING ABOUT TOUCHING
A Person Safety Curriculum
The Talking About Touching Personal Safety Curriculum helps children develop skills that will help keep them safe from dangerous abusive situations. Children also learn to ask for help when they need it.
The lessons are presented in the children's classroom. The lessons included: Learning Car Safety, Learning Traffic Safety, Learning Fire Safety, Gun Safety, Getting Found, Saying No and Telling, Asking First Going with Someone, Asking First Accepting Gifts, Getting and Giving Safe Touches, Dealing with Unsafe Touches, Saying No to Unwanted Touches, Learning the Touching Rule, and Using the Touching Rule.
Parents receive information about how they can help their child learn and practice safety rules. Parents are encouraged to call the Head Start Family Service Advocates if they have questions or concerns regarding this program. Children enrolled in the Full Day/Full Year Program, as well as the Head Start Center classrooms receive the Talking About Touching Personal Safety Training.
Conscious Discipline
We are now using Conscious Discipline as a supplement to our Creative Curriculum program as a classroom social development program that is based on brain research, child development and effective educational practices. It creates positive environments and through everyday events it teaches children self-control, conflict resolution, character development, and positive social skills. This is a comprehensive emotional intelligence curriculum by Dr. Becky Bailey. At various times of the year we offer staff training opportunities and parenting sessions to extend this program to all aspects of our Head Start Program. Feel free to call 723-4078 for further information. These trainings focus on building the 7 Basic Skills of Conscious Discipline: *Composure, *Encouragement, *Assertiveness, *Choices, *Positive Intent, *Empathy, and *Consequences.
I Am Moving, I Am Learning
The IMIL (I am Moving, I am Learning) program is a research based approach to addressing childhood obesity in Head Start children. The pilot program began in 2005 by the Region III Office of the Administration for children and Families. The goals for the IMIL program are to: (1) increase the amount of time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activities (MVPA) during the daily routine to meet national guidelines for physical activity; (2) improve the quality of structured movement activities taught by teachers and adults; and (3) improve healthy food choices for children and their families every day.
Here at your Head Start, we are proud to announce that we have been taking the proactive approach to this issue for years. Our teaching staff implements movement in their classrooms as part of the daily routine. In addition, other staff members participate in these activities by teaching and encouraging the students to be active and using large motor skills whenever possible.
Healthy eating choices are also a high priority within the program. To encourage families to eat better, we work hard to become good role models in the choices we make when serving snacks or meals during parent and family special events.
Kelly Bear Preschool Drug Prevention Program
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Geared toward the four and five year old classrooms.
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Will help children identify their feelings and behaviors.
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To identify what is good for our bodies.
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To learn about Good Deeds.
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Help children make positive choices.
National head start s.t.e.p. - Language and literacy
A major focus has been placed on child centered activities to encourage language and literacy growth. Areas of study include; hearing and recognizing sounds; alphabet recognition; drawing and writing; story telling and re-telling, to name a few. Children will be exposed to a variety of language and literacy experiences throughout the year.
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