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The 4K curriculum is based on the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards. Each 4K
Program has developed specific activities and experiences that are aligned with these standards
and with the district kindergarten expectations. These are closely monitored by the school
district.
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.
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