Pittsburgh, PA Preschool
ABC's For Children
ABC’s For Children
Preschool & Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines
- You will receive a personal account to creative curriculum where you can access: checkpoints, observations, planning, emails and more
- Each Parent receives an account with photo bucket to receive weekly photo albums uploaded to Photobucket of their child and their classroom
- The following curriculum is offered the substantial portion of the day, which is 3 hours
40 minute
- 50% of materials rotated monthly
- Sand & Water tables are offered daily
Language and Reasoning Examples (Daily)
Books and Pictures:
-A wide selection of books that are accessible include:
1. Fantasy
2. Fact
3. Nature/Science
4. Different races and cultures
5. Abilities
-Additional materials (in addition to books) used daily:
1. accessible stories or songs
2. listening center
3. flannel board stories
4. picture card games such as lotto,etc.
5. puppets for children’s use
-Organized reading center where books are easily accessible and there is a suitable place for reading, such as a small table and chairs, a rug or cushions or
other soft seating.
-Books and language materials are rotated meaning added or exchanged in order to keep children interested in books
Encouraging Children to Communicate: Some Examples (Daily)
-Materials that encourage communication
1. toy telephone
2. puppets
3. dramatic play materials like dolls, housekeeping toys & other props that encourage children to act out roles, talking to one another and toys
4. small figures and animals
5. flannel board pieces
6. language board games
-Materials are accessible in a variety of interest centers
-Staff balance listening and talking appropriately-more staff talk with younger children and more staff listening with older children
-Appropriate occasions to link speech to print in a daily setting.
1. when a child finishes a project, a teacher ask them to tell about it
2. writing notes to parents dictated by child
3. children help write and post reminders for the classroom
4. creating charts that record the main points in a group discussion
Using Language to Develop Reasoning Skills (Daily)
-Teaching concepts:
1. same/different
2. classifying
3. sequencing
4. one to one correspondence
5. spatial relationships
6. cause and effect
-Materials that stimulate reasoning**
1. sequencing cards
2. matching games
3. balance scales with things to weigh
4. objects for counting & sorting
5. number/object matching puzzles
More Examples (Daily)
-Staff encourages children to explain their reasoning by listening to the child’s explanation. This allows the staff to know how much the child understands about
the concept.
-Staff is observed using how and why questions frequently with older preschoolers and simpler questions with younger children. “What comes first, putting on
your socks or shoes?”
Informal Use of Language Examples (Daily)
-Many staff-child conversations – should be observed during free play and routines
-Staff are observed talking to children and adding information about things children ask about or express interest in
-Staff adds detail, new, more exact words to build on ideas children are expressing
-Staff are observed having individual conversations with most children
-Staff ask children questions to encourage them to give longer and more complex answers.
Fine Motor Examples (Daily)
- Small building toys
- Art materials
- Manipulatives
- Puzzles
Art Examples (Daily)
-Art materials accessible and offered throughout the day
-Three-dimensional art at least 1 time per week
-Art activities are related to other classroom activities.
Music & Movement Examples (Daily)
-Musical instruments and music to listen to with extensive content
-Group songs, sung by teachers and children
-Instruments are available indoors and outdoors
-Advanced experiences that help extend understanding:
- How music is created
- How to distinguish the major characteristics of music
- Music to a song displayed so children can see what different notes look like
-Encourage creativity by allowing instruments to be played different ways, encouraging different dances to a song, having children make up their own songs, free use of instruments to experiment with sounds.
Blocks Examples (Daily)
-Block area should allow room for at least 3 children to balance, build and create structures independently.
-Accessories include people, various animals, cars, trucks and road signs. Accessories should be rotated and include items related to the theme.
-Blocks and accessories are organized according to the type.
-Types of blocks have different characteristics such as weight, size, texture, forms and shapes.
-Blocks are available indoors and outdoors.
Sand/Water (Daily)
-Offered indoors and outdoors
-Different activities are offered to give children broader experience
-Staff provide a variety of materials and toys in Sand and Water Tables and rotate weekly.
Social Studies & Dramatic Play Examples (Daily)
-Children are provided varied learning opportunities that foster positive identity and emerging sense of self and others
-Children are offered opportunities to become part of the classroom community to feel accepted and gain a sense of belonging
-Children are provided varied opportunities and materials to build their understanding of diversity in culture, family structure, ability, age, and gender in a
non-stereotypical ways.
-Children are provided opportunities and materials to explore social roles in the family and workplace through play
-Children are provided varied opportunities and materials to learn about the community in which they live
-Children have varied opportunities to engage in discussions about fairness, friendship, responsibility, authority, and differences.
-Children are provided varied opportunities and materials to learn about physical characteristics of their local environment as a foundation for learning geography.
-Children are provided varied opportunities and materials to learn how people affect their environment in positive (e.g. recycling) and negative (e.g. polluting) ways.
-Children are provided varied opportunities and materials that allow them to contribute to the well-being of their classroom and the community, including care for the social and physical environments in which they live.
-Children are provided opportunities and materials that build a foundation for understanding economic concepts (e.g. playing restaurant, managing a store, and identifying and exchanging money.)
-Kindergarteners are provided opportunities and materials that help them link learning about their hometown, their state, the United States and their country of origin to previous learning, as a foundation for learning geography, history, and social studies.
