Investigating Preschool Curriculum Materials

12:00AM / Monday, August 07, 2006

Special meetings focused on pre-school curriculum materials have been scheduled for child care providers beginning August 9.

North Adams - Child Care of the Berkshires, Inc. and the Northern Berkshire Community Partnership for Children (CPC) have teamed up to host a series of meetings that review preschool curriculum materials this summer.

These special meetings are being held in an effort to expand child care providers' opportunities to provide high quality early childhood programming, one of the state-funded CPC's goals.

Noon-time presentations have been scheduled for early education teachers and directors (public school, private center or family child care/home based setting) so that participants can examine different curriculum kits and learning activities designed for preschool children.

Curriculum kits often cost upwards of several hundred dollars. The Community Partnership has purchased a number of sample kits and has hired facilitators familiar with these models to lead group discussions about the benefits (and weaknesses) of each instructional approach. These sessions offer teachers and
administrators a chance to preview the instructional materials before
deciding on a purchase.

The criteria used in the hands-on exploration include: ease of implementation, developmental appropriateness, quality of
the materials, compliance with Massachusetts early learning standards and guidelines, cost, and whether or not there are supplemental materials, for example, tools for writing progress reports.

The sessions are also designed to provide child care professionals the opportunity to discuss the curriculum content and learning approaches with colleagues in the community.

Already, a number of child care center directors have met to review the "Mother Goose Program" produced by the Vermont Center for the Book, which focuses on literature and accompanying explorations for young children. Upcoming sessions will examine the "Creative Curriculum" developed by Teaching Strategies and the High/Scope Active Learning Model.

Marya LaRoche, the CPC Coordinator, welcomes any interested early education and care provider to attend the mid-day sessions from 12:30-2:00pm in the upstairs conference room of Child Care of the Berkshires, 210 State Street, in North Adams.

The next two sessions will be held on August 9th and August
16th. Please call Claire at 664-4615 to register. A light lunch will be provided or participants can bring a bag lunch.

A repeat of the "Mother Goose" Curriculum Review will also be offered in the evening, on August 16th from 6:00-8:00pm. All early care and education directors, teachers, assistants, and aides and family child care providers are welcome to attend. A light dinner will be served. Please call to register for this session as well.

This project is made possible through a grant from the Northern Berkshire Community Partnership for Children, which is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.