Those Of You Who Do Curriculum..(Sorry Kinda Long..)

[Childminder]

NAFCC just endorsed a curriculum called Gee Whiz that might be interesting to check into for those of you that are looking for something. it has a $12 a month fee and you print off what you need or want.

Those of you that like the play based curriculum, check out HighScope. It is world renown and what most head start programs use, at least in Michigan. Also if you are in Michigan most R&R Associations and Great Start Trainings are promoting the classes for free.

I am combining both.

[melilley]

I am an FCC and have been going back and forth on whether to purchase a curriculum or not and have been researching the different curriculum's that are available. I have decided that I am not going to purchase a curriculum, but do my own. Here, you don't really get paid more for doing one and to me, everything that you said from purchasing to planning to implementing and everything in between is not worth it. And also, my families all said that they chose me because I am not a preschool and they like the fact that we don't just do preschool activities all day, that we actually do things according to what the children like and it's more of a home atmosphere.
With that said, I am mostly play based, but some activities are minimumally (sp?) led by me. I do have some structure because I believe children need some structure. I also have a schedule, but if something goes over, we don't immediately stop to do the next thing.

I do have circle and this is my "preschool" part of the day-which is only 15-20 minutes. In circle we:
Have a weekly theme and have Fun Friday's, usually corresponding to the theme.
Have a letter, color, and shape of the week
Count to 20
Read books
Sing songs
My children are all 2.5 and under and usually they will sit at first, but then they go off and do something, but I continue to do circle. I have had parents of children remark on how their child just started counting at home, and the child rarely will sit in circle. They do get things even if it seems that they aren't listening!

We do art a few times a week, sometimes it corresponds with the theme, sometimes not. And my art is usually process art. Sometimes I will cut out a shape, but they glue, paint, etc. things where they want them to be.

We also work on self help skills, which to me, are so vital for kids to practice/learn!

Other than that, we play and learn through our play. I observe some of the time and I interact some of the time.

Anyways, with all that said, IMO, I don't think that to run a great ffc you need to have a curriculum that is made for you. I think that you can make your own, specific to your group, and it can be just as good, or even better than some of them out there! I'm not saying that some of the curriculum that you can buy is bad, but I don't think you really need it, especially if you want to run a fcc that isn't labeled a preschool per say.

Some parents are looking for a preschool environment, and some for a more home-like environment. It's possible to mix the two, but you are always going to have parents who want one or the other. You can't please everyone.

[MarinaVanessa]

I am wondering since we have had several threads and posts about teaching and doing curriculum. Of those providers who buy or plan a curriculum that you follow on pretty routine daily schedule, do you get paid more than the going rate for your area?

I ask because I have been in this business for some time now and every year I plan a curriculum, pay loads of money for it, spend an enormous amount of my time outside of my regular hours sorting, buying, planning and organizing my curriculum and I am seriously starting to rethink the entire point of doing all this. I advertise as a "pre-school" like others do thinking that parents are looking for all the 1,2,3's and ABC's classroom type learning and I really feel as though 99.9% of my current parents are really only looking for a loving, caring, safe environment for their child. They aren't all that concerned about the "schooling" part of it because they all know their kid will get it in Kindy or they will learn from their parents and sibs or they will possibly even pull their child from daycare and put them in an actual "preschool" center as a pp vented about.

We have a good supply of venting on here in regards to parents not caring what craft items and projects their child did during the day and leaving most correspondence and daily notes in the cubby untouched. So I am wondering what the point of doing a preschool curriculum with dck's is when we, as providers, are collectively just trying to get the parents all to pay on time, remember our house rules, drop off/pick up on time, respect us and support us as we assist their child in learning developmentally appropriate skills such as toilet training, eating healthy foods, napping quietly and using self-help skills.

Another poster got me thinking about how tough it is to fit all this stuff into one day and I have to say, why are we trying? If we are not licensed to teach pre-school and are licensed as family childcare providers, why are we all trying so hard to do so much more?

I would think in this crazy, two parent working long hours, too many extra curricular activities and all world, kids would benefit much more (and have less challenging behaviors) if we only focused on the basic necessities and just played with them. No scheduled craft time, no strict routines to follow...just on the floor, hands-on fun stuff....lots of love and nurturing. No stress over trying to get Timmy to figure out why a "b" and a "d" are not the same.....

I went to a "NO TV" childcare in December and my dck's have been playing in ways I did not know they could so I am seriously thinking about just having a "Basics Only" childcare. I don't get paid any more than the regular going rate and all the families I have enrolled in the last few years are only looking for someone they can trust who will put her kids needs (the basic ones) ahead of her own. No one has been looking for a teacher or a tutor. I still will have all the activities and supplies I always have had but it will be up to them when and how they play with them. dck #1 might paint at 9:00 am while dck #2 might not paint until 3:00 pm. No structured activity...do what you want when you want. Just meals and nap/rest time on schedule.

Two rules will apply;
1. Play nicely/respectfully.
2. Pickup after yourself.

Learning will still be part of our day, just in a completely non-structured, non-routine, stress-free manner.

I always wanted to be licensed to run an actual preschool, but I am not. I am a licensed FAMILY CHILD CARE provider. I do not get paid any more than the regular going rate set by our county. I feel this will be less stressful and eliminate my need for the curriculum drama I go through every year.

Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this....

For me, I find that in my area the majority of parents look for an educational child care arrangement unless they have family to help them with child care. In my city we definitely see a difference in child care cost when an educational approach is offered vs when it's not.

In my city all daycare centers offer some type of educational program (preschool, Montessori etc) and their rates start at $130/week for half day programs ( Mon-Fri 9am-1pm) not including yearly registration fees. Full day programs cost more (around $200-$230/week). Before/after school costs are around $70/week.

FCC programs that have some sort of preschool program cost around $160-$175/week for full-time care. I plan my own preschool program and charge on the lower end of this scale ($165/week) but I don't a lot of worksheets or crafts. I do free art, free play etc. in a relaxed way but it's planned and with a purpose.

Each month we work on certain things and have themes and even though I plan each day most of the activities are pretty much what we'd be playing with even if I didn't do "preschool". For example, this month we are working on the letter A, the colors red and green, the circle, the number 1 and our community helper is the police officer. Today we painted with red and green paint, are having apples (red and green, apples are circles) at each meal, made red apple scented play dough which I encouraged the children to roll up into snakes to look like the number 1, our dramatic play area has police officer props and costumes, our library has books relating to what we are learning etc. For me planning the month the first time takes time but I will save my plans and reuse them next year or I will plan next year a little differently and keep both years worth of plans to reuse them and rotate them each year.

Other FCC that don't offer preschool charge around $100-$125/week depending on their location. That's considerable less than what I can charge and I don't offer a full-blown "preschool" program.

I also find that even many FCC offer preschool many of our clients prefer to send their children to "real preschool" anyway. I have a 3yo DCG that comes to me before and after preschool even though I offer an educational approach because her parents were looking for child care that supported learning in a more relaxed way. I see more and more of this.

Here where I live if I didn't advertise myself as educational or as having some sort of preschool program I wouldn't get much interest and especially not for what I charge even though it's a fair deal.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

Well, I feel like I am still on summer break right now I fully planned to have a plan for this week .. but well, it is hot out so water play afternoons have been in effect. We have been reading lots because I got like 40 books from scholastic right before I left for vacation. Counting, singing, welcoming back our friends. I feel like since I got the twins (after Christmas...) I haven't gotten a thing done! They tear things off the walls and board so I haven't been doing elaborate boards.
I do enjoy a good theme, so do the kids... hopefully, next week will bring that I just feel like it takes me all day just to get the necessities, like pottying done! I keep thinking the twins will stop dumping and settle in one of these days... I love them, they are just a handful! They can never be unsupervised for a moment! They are 2 1/2.
Right now I have just turned 4 yr old, two almost 3 yr olds, 2 1/2 twins, and 1 1/2 yr old. I also have another almost 4 yr old and another 1 1/2 yr old that rotate days. So I always have to be aware of items that 1 1/2 yr olds shouldn't have and twins will put in their mouths. They are still very fixated on everything going in their mouths!! Which means that things that I would love to just "have out" can't be out.
OK done with my vent.
Blackcat, I can see where your heading My compromise is that when I can I sneak in elements of "preschool" with older ones. So some mornings I will have 4 yr old and almost 3 yr old girl and we will work on a "project" or play a game, or file folders. Or if they are the last ones here I will do something "special" with them. I keep things handy I am working on making felt pizza parts so I can set up a pizza shop but there again probably not when the twins are here... but they don't get here until 10:30 most days.

[Angelsj]

I also struggle with the fact that I am 12 credits shy of graduating with my Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education and I have to say I am having alot of internal conflict about some of the things they are teaching now days. I agree whole heartedly with the knowledge I have gained about cognitive and physical development...it is some of the methods they are teaching in other areas that I am having issues with. Like the whole necessity of a full 'school' curriculum for toddler's and pre-schoolers.....(this is kind of like the thread that got heated a while back about the actual long term benefits of schooling the under 5's group.)

I am finding myself concerned for the same reason. I have only three credits left (an internship class) and looking at the requirements for that, I am a little concerned. It really does seem they are pushing curriculum for younger and younger kids. Between that and the new "Parent aware" stuff, I feel like I am being pressed to do "something" even with the tiniest.

That has never been me. I let them help cook, teach them to put on their shoes, turn the underwear right side out, and be nice to their friends. I let them smell the spices and taste the pickle juice and use the colored chalk to paint their friends face (assuming it is ok with the friend.)
They leave here exhausted and smiling and "played hard" dirty, and return clean and ready to go with play clothes.
I am with you all the way, but I do feel some concern that we are a dying breed (though this thread gives me hope.)

[snbauser]

I do a mixture but because I want to only enroll 3 and 4 year olds, I do have to run a "preschool" in order to get parents to enroll. And in our state, if you have 4 y/o's and want to be more than 3 stars on the rating scale, you have to use Creative Curriculum which I do anyway. But true Creative Curriculum is child led, child centered with minimal teacher input. The environment is arranged to allow the children to explore and learn. I have tons of theme boxes and we rotate through based on what the children are interested in.

I change out items in the classroom based on what skills the children need to focus on. I have boxes of puzzles and rotate them based on what we are talking about so that they lead to further discussions. Books are rotated regularly, manipulatives, sensory table, science center, etc. are all rotated. The art center is open all of the time and there are a ton of materials for them. But I also will change what is available based on what we are learning. For example we are talking about the color green right now so the paints available last week was only regular green, light green, and dark green. This week I took the greens out and put in blue and yellow. I didn't need to say anything because the first person who used the art center said that the greens were gone but look I can make green when I mixed the blue and yellow. So through discovery, they figured it out.

I also tell parents at the interview that learning letters, shapes, colors, numbers, etc are all great for Kindergarten but what Kindergarten teachers really want to see are social skills and self help skills. We work on a lot of self help skills. Children are allowed to struggle and learn to put their shoes on before we go outside. I don't intervene unless asked and even then I don't do it for them, I walk them through the process and assist. The children are expected to learn to use their manners and say please and thank you, to take turns, to share, and to be polite and respectful of the other children as well as the adults. They are expected to clean up after themselves and most usually do it readily. They serve themselves at lunch time and use their manners at the table. They learn to sit on the carpet criss cross applesauce with their hands in their baskets when we need to like the times we come together as a group. They need to be able to sit without rolling around and having their hands and feet on each other. These are all important "preschool" skills that take time to master and are part of what we work on.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

Oh and Blackcat if I had land I would so do the whole "outdoor" childcare!! If we could just live in the woods all day I would so be there!

[misslori50]

I completely agree with you. I cant imagine trying to run my childcare with so many structured activities. When do they get to just play and be kids. My son is 11 and when he was small we rarely did much formal teaching. He learned to read by (age 4) music and videos. I believe they learn so much better if they are let explore on their own. Sure plan fun things but dont put so much stress on trying to be the perfect provider. Love the kids and give them a wonderful place to explore on their own

[SSWonders]

I myself have wondered the same thing many times. It seems that no matter how hard I have worked providing/planning "curriculum", parents pull their kids to send them to preschool around 3 years of age anyway. What I have found for myself is that using a curriculum of sorts makes things more fun and interesting for the kids which makes me feel better about the care I am providing. Another biggie is that it keeps things fresh for me. After 24+ years I need something to hold my interest as well and bring some variety to the days. I do use a curriculum kit but I pick and choose what we do from it. I don't stress about trying to get everything done everyday.

[KIDZRMYBIZ]

Please does anybody know of a good Preschool curriculum that is cheap and has everything...a theme colors numbers letters recipes and games?? Please help me!!!

Pammy, thanks for joining the NE group! I used Carol's Affordable Curriculum one year. It was the only time I purchased a ready-made curriculum. It's substantially cheaper than anything else out there, and pretty cute, too. A few things I thought were a little dorky, but the kids liked them! What's awesome about it is that ALL MATERIALS are included (no printing-ink is so expensive!). So, I liked it. Can get it even cheaper per kid if you partner up with a provider friend to increase the number you order.

[My3cents]

I am wondering since we have had several threads and posts about teaching and doing curriculum. Of those providers who buy or plan a curriculum that you follow on pretty routine daily schedule, do you get paid more than the going rate for your area?

I ask because I have been in this business for some time now and every year I plan a curriculum, pay loads of money for it, spend an enormous amount of my time outside of my regular hours sorting, buying, planning and organizing my curriculum and I am seriously starting to rethink the entire point of doing all this. I advertise as a "pre-school" like others do thinking that parents are looking for all the 1,2,3's and ABC's classroom type learning and I really feel as though 99.9% of my current parents are really only looking for a loving, caring, safe environment for their child. They aren't all that concerned about the "schooling" part of it because they all know their kid will get it in Kindy or they will learn from their parents and sibs or they will possibly even pull their child from daycare and put them in an actual "preschool" center as a pp vented about.

We have a good supply of venting on here in regards to parents not caring what craft items and projects their child did during the day and leaving most correspondence and daily notes in the cubby untouched. So I am wondering what the point of doing a preschool curriculum with dck's is when we, as providers, are collectively just trying to get the parents all to pay on time, remember our house rules, drop off/pick up on time, respect us and support us as we assist their child in learning developmentally appropriate skills such as toilet training, eating healthy foods, napping quietly and using self-help skills.

Another poster got me thinking about how tough it is to fit all this stuff into one day and I have to say, why are we trying? If we are not licensed to teach pre-school and are licensed as family childcare providers, why are we all trying so hard to do so much more?

I would think in this crazy, two parent working long hours, too many extra curricular activities and all world, kids would benefit much more (and have less challenging behaviors) if we only focused on the basic necessities and just played with them. No scheduled craft time, no strict routines to follow...just on the floor, hands-on fun stuff....lots of love and nurturing. No stress over trying to get Timmy to figure out why a "b" and a "d" are not the same.....

I went to a "NO TV" childcare in December and my dck's have been playing in ways I did not know they could so I am seriously thinking about just having a "Basics Only" childcare. I don't get paid any more than the regular going rate and all the families I have enrolled in the last few years are only looking for someone they can trust who will put her kids needs (the basic ones) ahead of her own. No one has been looking for a teacher or a tutor. I still will have all the activities and supplies I always have had but it will be up to them when and how they play with them. dck #1 might paint at 9:00 am while dck #2 might not paint until 3:00 pm. No structured activity...do what you want when you want. Just meals and nap/rest time on schedule.

Two rules will apply;
1. Play nicely/respectfully.
2. Pickup after yourself.

Learning will still be part of our day, just in a completely non-structured, non-routine, stress-free manner.

I always wanted to be licensed to run an actual preschool, but I am not. I am a licensed FAMILY CHILD CARE provider. I do not get paid any more than the regular going rate set by our county. I feel this will be less stressful and eliminate my need for the curriculum drama I go through every year.

Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this....

I do a preschool program with my kids for several reasons....

I do it to add excitement to our day
give us something to talk about
I believe parents do want and value this in childcare. I don't charge extra and pay for it out of my pocket. My rates are what I feel are fair.
I don't take on a big group of kids to make tons of money
I like the small group care that brings a sense of family away from family or extended family, security for the kids
I do what works for the day and look for a balance.
I believe in exposing kids to many experiences. Is the two year old going to understand everything about the Letter "C" No, they might only understand the concept of C is a letter, or C is the first letter of a friends name, or C and Cat look good together. It's exposure. Parents are so busy when they get home, they don't read to the kids or expose them to much anything except the TV and anything that equates to my kid is so cute.
I feel play is vital and if we are having a great play day we go with that.
I believe all kids learn differently and exposing them is key to learning opportunities. I believe basic skills are all high priority. Learning self control skills is key to a great start with kindergarten and that sets them up for years of schooling. Teachers want to see kids coming into K ready to learn, that can do basic skills, academics is the least of importance, they want to see kids that can listen, follow simple directions, get along with peers. I feel if you teach a bit of that in small scale setting doing some of what they will be asked to do for K they will be ahead of the game and eager to learn.

I did my own preschool program last year and it was a ton of work prepping and putting together. I loved every minute of it. This year I wanted to simplify a bit and went with a bought Curriculum MGT. I am loving it. It has every day laid out for me, shows what the kids are learning, subjects covered etc... and gives me enough to pick and choose what will work for the day with my kids. If I do it all, great. If I don't. I don't fret. I would like to say that I am a balance of child led and adult led. If my projects don't look like the sample, no biggie. We cover a lot, learn new songs, look forward to little surprises, like what is going to happen today for an activity. I was the same way when I did my own program. Some kids want more, some kids need less. I go with the flow and am able to do this with a small group.

I am not a teacher with a degree but I am an awesome preschool teacher! I don't advertise as a preschool. I do more because I want to do more. I want my days to be full of opportunities and experiences. I want something to look forward to doing with my kiddo's, other then just play- we do play and we do that well too. Loving, caring, safe is top priority and a given here. I like a little structure, because true life is not one free for all, all day. I really strive for a good balance. I know when I am off balance and need to revamp and that is when I look outside the box again and start again. I love what I do and that is why I do it.

Best- Hope this helps you BC-

[My3cents]

I do a mixture but because I want to only enroll 3 and 4 year olds, I do have to run a "preschool" in order to get parents to enroll. And in our state, if you have 4 y/o's and want to be more than 3 stars on the rating scale, you have to use Creative Curriculum which I do anyway. But true Creative Curriculum is child led, child centered with minimal teacher input. The environment is arranged to allow the children to explore and learn. I have tons of theme boxes and we rotate through based on what the children are interested in.

I change out items in the classroom based on what skills the children need to focus on. I have boxes of puzzles and rotate them based on what we are talking about so that they lead to further discussions. Books are rotated regularly, manipulatives, sensory table, science center, etc. are all rotated. The art center is open all of the time and there are a ton of materials for them. But I also will change what is available based on what we are learning. For example we are talking about the color green right now so the paints available last week was only regular green, light green, and dark green. This week I took the greens out and put in blue and yellow. I didn't need to say anything because the first person who used the art center said that the greens were gone but look I can make green when I mixed the blue and yellow. So through discovery, they figured it out.

I also tell parents at the interview that learning letters, shapes, colors, numbers, etc are all great for Kindergarten but what Kindergarten teachers really want to see are social skills and self help skills. We work on a lot of self help skills. Children are allowed to struggle and learn to put their shoes on before we go outside. I don't intervene unless asked and even then I don't do it for them, I walk them through the process and assist. The children are expected to learn to use their manners and say please and thank you, to take turns, to share, and to be polite and respectful of the other children as well as the adults. They are expected to clean up after themselves and most usually do it readily. They serve themselves at lunch time and use their manners at the table. They learn to sit on the carpet criss cross applesauce with their hands in their baskets when we need to like the times we come together as a group. They need to be able to sit without rolling around and having their hands and feet on each other. These are all important "preschool" skills that take time to master and are part of what we work on.

you sound a lot like me- What works for you in the sitting department of not rolling around keeping hands and feet to themselves. I have a hard time with this. Need some ideas to foster this growth-

[My3cents]

My State (who pays me nothing, offers no insurance or benefits, btw) says I have to meet "early learning standards". These books are a couple hundred pages each with HUGE posters I am supposed to hang around my HOME.

I am being bullied to offer "curriculum" (paid for by me and trademarked by whomever the state recommends).

Wonder what their cut of the profits are?? :confused:

I like

I don't agree with all the bull poo they try to throw down our throats as being the right way and only way of doing things.

I am a great preschool teacher with out a degree. I teach basic skills and throw a bunch of learning ops, and experiences in there.

I like being my own boss! That is why I have my own business. I don't want to be bossed around by someone that sat in a meeting deciding what the right way is of doing something when you can do something about ten different ways and get the same results and have patience learned in getting there.

[Unregistered]

Why? Mainly because the state is pushing the preschool down our throats, star ratings that are linked to subsidized payments, quality score ratings, parents being brainwashed into educational chide care, and I'm not tallking early childhood development, they want a full blown curriculum by the minute even for 3 month old children. And they still send them to centers by the age of 2, that is mostly the trend in California .

[blandino]

I am at the same point. I am stressed to the point of tears and overload trying to make everything perfect and fit everything into our schedule. And I always feel like I am failing.

The kids certainly don't have a great time when I am that stressed, and I definitely don't.

At bare minimum I am going to ease up my schedule so I and the kids are happier.