Curriculum & Pedagogy

The Clinton Early Center offers a Reggio Emilia approach through the Creative Curriculum®. Our play-based curriculum puts focus on active learning experiences where play and learning are indistinguishable.

“The Reggio Emilia Approach and The Creative Curriculum are both founded on the idea that children are capable of driving their own learning and benefit most from supportive teachers who listen to children’s voices and observe their interests to curate learning environments and projects that follow the children’s lead. This strong alignment of core values means that teachers who use The Creative Curriculum often incorporate Reggio Emilia Approach values into their plans, learning environment, and daily interactions with children and families”.

More information can be found HERE.

Such values are:

- Environment as the Third Teacher

- Project-Based Learning

- 100 Languages 

- Collaboration as a critical component

- Documentation of Children’s Learning

All activities are carefully planned and implemented by our highly experienced and knowledgeable staff, and support children’s development and learning in all areas of development.

Such activities: 

• are age appropriate, 

• foster curiosity, 

• promote investigation and discovery as a way of learning, 

• promote positive relationships with teachers and peers. 

• develop readiness skills needed for kindergarten.

We stand by NAEYC’s definition of Developmentally Appropriate Practices: 

“NAEYC defines “developmentally appropriate practice” as methods that promote each child’s optimal development and learning through a strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the multiple assets all young children bring to the early learning program as unique individuals and as members of families and communities. Building on each child’s strengths—and taking care to not harm any aspect of each child’s physical, cognitive, social, or emotional well-being—educators design and implement learning environments to help all children achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas. Developmentally appropriate practice recognizes and supports each individual as a valued member of the learning community.”

From the very beginning, children at the CELC will be developing skills in all main areas of development: 

• Social-emotional

• Physical (fine and gross motor)

• Language

• Cognitive

They will also develop skills in:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Science and Technology

• Social Studies

• The Arts

• English Language Acquisition

Useful and interesting articles: 

· 5 Reggio Emilia Approach Values Reflected in a Creative Curriculum Classroom - Teaching Strategies 

· DAP: Defining Developmentally Appropriate Practice | NAEYC

· Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent Curriculum in Relationship-Driven Learning Environments | NAEYC

The Hundred Languages of Children, probably the most well-known aspect of the Reggio Emilia Approach, is the belief that children use many, many ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity. There are one hundred different ways of thinking, of discovering, of learning (see video below).

The Creative Curriculum® philosophy is that young children learn best by doing. The Creative Curriculum® is built on theories of development in young children that all children learn through active exploration of their environment. The environment plays a critical role in learning. The goal of the Creative Curriculum® is to help children become independent, self-confident, curious, and enthusiastic learners by actively exploring their environment. 

The curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development: Social-Emotional, Cognitive, Physical, and Language. The planned activities and lessons, the organization of the environment, the selection of the materials, the carefully executed schedule, and positive interactions with the children are all designed to ensure your child's success. 

The Creative Curriculum® allows teachers to integrate learning in literacy, math, science, social studies and the arts throughout the day. It also gives the teacher a wide range of teaching strategies from child-initiated learning to teacher-directed approaches to best respond to children's learning styles, strengths, and interests. The staff builds the curriculum for their children around the environment using ten different interest areas:

• Dramatic                        
• Play Blocks                     
• Manipulatives 
• Art                                     
• Sensory                           
• Library 
• Music & Movement       
• Cooking                
• Outdoors 
• Discovery 

Our infant and toddler teachers focus on five routines and eight experiences to create a rich learning environment for our youngest students.

The five routines are: 

• Hellos and Good-byes                
• Diapering and Toileting
• Eating and Mealtimes 
• Sleeping and Naptime 
• Getting Dressed 

The eight experiences are:

• Playing with Toys 
• Imitating and Pretending 
• Enjoying Stories and Books
• Connecting with Music and Movement 
• Creating with Art 
• Tasting and Preparing Food 
• Exploring with Sand and Water 
• Going Outdoors 

The richer the environments, the more real opportunities there are for children to learn by interacting with materials and people. The teacher's role is to create an environment that invites the children to observe, to be active, to make choices, and to experiment.