CURRICULUM

The 4K curriculum is based on Creative Curriculum which aligns with the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards.  Each 4K classroom has developed specific activities and experiences that meet these standards and those of the Mosinee School District.  The curriculum will be closely monitored to ensure that all 4K children are receiving the best programing possible.

         Guiding Principles:

1.      All children are capable and competent.

2.      A child’s early learning and development is multidimensional.

3.      Expectations for children must be guided by knowledge of child growth and development.

4.      Children are individuals who develop at various rates.

5.      Children are members of cultural groups that share developmental patterns.

6.      Children exhibit a range of skills and competencies within any area of development.

7.      Children learn through play and the active exploration of their environment.

8.      Parents are children’s primary and most important caregivers and educators.

Wisconsin Early Learning Standards:

1.      Health and Physical Development- This includes knowledge and activities that promote healthy living, safety, fitness and nutrition.  Coordination, balance, large and small muscle control and the use of all senses are emphasized to improve learning.

2.      Social and Emotional Development- This includes children’s feelings about themselves and others, their ability to form relationships, interest in and skills needed to maintain positive relationships with adults and children, ability to understand the perspective and feelings of others and skills needed to succeed in a group setting.  Children’s early relationships are the foundation for social and emotional competence and cognitive development.

3.      Language Development and Communication- This refers to children’s developing ability to convey and interpret meaning.  This is reflected in their progress in listening and understanding, speaking and communication, and early literacy.

4.      Approaches to Learning- This recognizes that children approach learning in different ways and emphasizes the development of positive attitudes and dispositions to acquire information.  It is inclusive of a child’s curiosity about the world and openness to new tasks and challenges; initiative, staying on task and paying attention; imagination and invention; and cognitive skills.

5.      Cognition and General Knowledge- This recognizes children’s search for meaning as the basis for intellectual development.  It focuses on children’s curiosity about the world and their developing ability to acquire, organize, and use information in increasingly complex ways to satisfy that curiosity.  Children are engaged in and appreciate the arts to express ideas and feelings.  Primary components include mathematics and logical thinking, scientific thinking and problem-solving, and understanding social studies.

ASSESSMENT

All children are individual learners, growing at different rates through the stages of development.  Creative Curriculum provides an observation-based assessment tool that provides to the teacher a picture of the progress each child is making, as well as areas that may need more support.  These assessments are completed twice a year in order to monitor the children’s growth.