The Creative CurriculumDevelopmental Continuum

Assessment System

Allen Brook PreschoolPatricia Casey, ECSE

Act 62

• As part of the Preschool Act 62 an assessment tool is required to be used by publically funded preschools.

• The Creative Curriculum assessment was chosen to be used in all of Chittenden County.

• Allen Brook teachers received training in using the assessment in June 2009.

Theory and Research BehindThe Creative Curriculum

• Maslow: Basic Needs and Learning• Erikson: The Emotions of Learning• Piaget: Logical Thinking and Reasoning• Vygotsky: Social Interaction and Learning• Gardner: Multiple Intelligences• Smilansky: The Role of Children’s Play in

Learning

Theory and Research

The Learning Environment

What Children Learn

The Teacher’s Role

The Family’s Role

How Children Develop and

Learn

Linking Curriculum and Assessment

Collecting Facts

Analyzing and Evaluating Facts

Planning for Each Child and

the Group

Reporting on Children’s Progress

Ongoing Process

Looking at Objectives on a Continuum

• It breaks down each objective so teachers can have realistic expectations as they plan.

• It helps teachers observe and plan for all children.

• It is strengths-based• It reveals a wealth of information to share

with families

Four Areas of Development

Social-emotional Physical

LanguageCognitive

Social-Emotional Development

• Social-emotional readiness is critical to a successful kindergarten transition, early school success, and even later accomplishments in the workplace

• Characteristics include: confidence, friendly nature, can develop good relationships with peers, persists at challenging tasks, able to effectively communicate emotions, able to listen and be attentive

Goals Areas

Sense of Self

• How children feel accepted and valued by the people who are most important to them.

Responsibility of Self and Others

• Developing responsibility, independence, and self-direction and following rules and routines.

Pro-social Behavior

• Traits that will help children get along in the world, such as empathy, sharing, and taking turns.

Physical Development

• Physical skills are important in their own right and for future tasks in reading, writing, scientific explorations, and math, as well as for the development of self-confidence . Movement wakes up the brain!

• Opportunities to move skillfully, manipulate objects, balance and control their bodies, and refine small muscle skills

Goal Areas

Fine Motor Developm

ent(Small

muscles)

Cognitive Development

• Cognitive and thinking skills are embedded within literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts and technology

• In the early childhood years, children are not only learning knowledge, skills and concepts, but also acquiring the “learn to learn” skills that are so important for future learning.

Goal Areas

Learning and Problem Solving• Being thoughtful

about how they use information, resources, and materials

• Curiosity, persistence, applying knowledge, making predictions

Logical Thinking• Making sense of

information• Compare, contrast,

sort, classify, count, measure, recognize patterns

Representation and Symbolic Thinking• How to use symbols• Symbols stand for

things such as objects, people

• Representational drawing and graphing

Language Development

• Children who have rich language and literacy experiences in preschool are more likely to develop strong language and literacy skills

• The skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing develop interdependently in children

Goal Areas

Listening and Speaking

• Expressing oneself, vocabulary, understanding oral speech of others, participating in a conversation, using language to solve problems

Reading and Writing

• Handling books, understanding the purpose of print and how it works, story comprehension

What to Expect

• 3 Progress Checkpoints

– October, January and May

– Parent Conference

– Child Progress and Planning Report

Thank you for sharing your children with us everyday.