By the end of this introduction, you should be able to:
Summarize the developmental characteristics of preschoolers
Explain what learning foundations are
Describe the purpose of the curriculum frameworks
Discuss the role of the Desired Results Developmental Profile
Identify the domains that we categorize curriculum into for the purpose of learning about planning and implementing it
What Preschoolers are Like
In order to plan for children it is vital to begin with one aspect of developmentally appropriate practice, which relates to the developmental characteristics of children based on their age. Here are some representations of what children are like at each age in the preschool years. You can find more developmental milestones in Appendix E.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): What Preschoolers are Like.
You will notice that consideration for the other two aspects of developmentally appropriate practice which are also critical to our work, understanding individual children and seeing children in the context of their families and larger culture, are included throughout each domain based chapter.
Using the California Preschool Learning Foundations, California Preschool Curriculum Framework, and Desired Results Developmental Profile
The following six chapters on planning curriculum for preschools have been compiled using the California Preschool Learning Foundations and the Preschool Curriculum Frameworks. These well-researched documents published by the California Department of Education can be used along with the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP), to support implementing the curriculum planning process with young children.
Each of these resources fulfills an important role in the curriculum planning process:
The Foundations are what we want children to learn and develop.
The Curriculum Framework outline how teachers can support this learning and development.
And the Desired Results Developmental Profile is a tool to assess children’s learning and development and to inform programming.
California Preschool Learning Foundations
The foundations describe competencies—knowledge and skills—that most children can be expected to exhibit in a high quality program as they complete their first or second year of preschool. In other words, the foundations are destination points of learning that, with appropriate support, children move toward and often reach during the preschool years.
The foundations are designed to promote understanding of young children’s development of knowledge and skills and to help with considering appropriate ways to support children’s learning. In essence, the foundations serve as a cornerstone for educating practitioners about children’s learning and development. The foundations are designed to be used in combination with other sources of information: formal educational course work on early learning and development, information on individual differences, including those related to disabilities, knowledge about the contribution of cultural and linguistic experiences to early development, and English-language development, insights from children’s families, and the practical experiences of preschool teachers and program directors.
The support needed to attain the competencies varies from child to child. Many children learn simply by participating in high-quality preschool programs. Such programs offer children environments and experiences that encourage active playful exploration and experimentation. With play as an integral part of the curriculum, high-quality programs include purposeful teaching to help children gain knowledge and skills.
The foundations are at the heart of the California Department of Education’s (CDE) approach to promoting preschool learning. Teachers use best practices, curricular strategies, and instructional techniques that assist children in learning the knowledge and skills described in the preschool learning foundations. The “how-to’s” of teaching young children include setting up environments, supporting children’s self-initiated play, selecting appropriate materials, and planning and implementing teacher-guided learning activities.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): The materials for this shelf were carefully chosen and displayed to invite children to explore. Image by Jennifer Paris is licensed under CC-BY-4.0
Two major considerations underlie the “how-tos” of teaching. First, teachers can effectively foster early learning by thoughtfully considering the preschool learning foundations as they plan environments and activities. And second, during every step in the planning for young children’s learning, teachers have an opportunity to tap into the prominent role of play. Teachers can best support young children by both encouraging the rich learning that occurs in children’s self-initiated play and by introducing purposeful instructional activities that playfully engage preschoolers in learning.
Professional development is a key component of early care and education in fostering preschool learning. The foundations can become a unifying element for both preservice and in-service professional development. Preschool program directors and teachers can use the foundations to facilitate curriculum planning and implementation. At the center of the CDE’s evolving system for supporting young children during the preschool years, the foundations are designed to help teachers be intentional and focus their efforts on the knowledge and skills that all young children need to acquire for success in preschool and early elementary school—and throughout life.
Making Connections
Here’s an example of a learning foundation from the Music strand of the Visual and Performing Arts Domain.
At around 48 months children:
3.3 Improvise vocally and instrumentally
This foundation will be connected to the CA Preschool Curriculum Framework and the Desired Results Developmental Profile 2015 later in this introduction.
California Preschool Curriculum Framework
Young children enter preschool with a sense of wonder and a love of learning. They have an insatiable appetite for knowledge when they have learning experiences that are engaging and enjoyable. Positive experiences in which children can make choices and explore help them feel competent and confident. How can we offer them engaging and enjoyable learning experiences that fuel their intellectual engines and build their confidence? How can we connect children’s fascination with learning in every domain and make the most of their time in preschool? With these questions in mind, the California Department of Education (CDE) developed the curriculum framework for preschool programs, which include any early childhood setting where three- to five-year-old children receive education and care.
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Some of the most engaging play is sensory-based. What might these children be learning here?
This curriculum framework provides an overall approach for teachers to support children’s learning through environments and experiences that are:
developmentally appropriate
reflective of thoughtful observation and intentional planning
individually and culturally meaningful
inclusive of children with disabilities or other special needs.
The framework presents ways of setting up environments, encouraging and building upon children’s self-initiated play, selecting appropriate materials, and planning and implementing teacher-guided learning activities. As preschool teachers plan learning environments and experiences, the foundations provide the background information to:
understand children’s developing knowledge and skills
consider appropriate ways to support children’s learning and development.
In essence, curriculum planning should offer children learning opportunities that are attuned to their developing abilities and their interests and should be connected with their experiences at home and in their communities.
In the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s accreditation criteria, it is stated that a curriculum includes the goals for the knowledge and skills to be acquired by children and the plans for learning experiences through which such knowledge and skills will be acquired. A preschool curriculum typically defines a sequence of integrated experiences, interactions, and activities to help young children reach specific learning goals. A curriculum framework provides general guidance on planning learning environments and experiences for young children. Thus, as a curriculum framework, this document provides:
principles for supporting young children’s learning
an overview of key components of curriculum planning for young children, including observation, documentation, and reflection
descriptions of routines, environments, and materials that engage children in learning
sample strategies for building on children’s knowledge, skills, and interests
Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): This teacher is engaging in a planned activity with a small group of children.
Eight principles have guided the development of this curriculum framework. Grounded in early childhood research and practice, the following eight principles emphasize offering young children individually, culturally, and linguistically responsive learning experiences and environments:
Family and community partnerships create meaningful connections.
Individualization of learning includes all children.
Responsiveness to culture and language supports children’s learning.
Time for reflection and planning enhances teaching.
The concepts and strategies described in the preschool curriculum framework require thoughtful planning and implementation. They are grounded in evidence-based practices that have evolved in the early childhood education field over decades. The ability to apply a broad understanding of early learning and development in the preschool setting takes time and experience. With appropriate professional development, preschool program administrators and teachers can use the curriculum framework to guide their planning and implementation of environments and experiences that allow all young children to prosper during the preschool years.
Making Connections
How do teachers use the Curriculum Frameworks to support children’s development of the foundations? Here are some takeaways from the Curriculum Framework in Visual and Performing Arts domain that will support the example foundation “Improvise vocally and instrumentally” mentioned before:
A guiding principle:
Children make their own meaning. Original, imaginative expression is a natural occurrence when children engage in the arts that is scaffolded by adults in an appropriate environment.
A basic needs for the environment and materials:
It is important that music not be limited to prerecorded songs. Music is an active process. Music may be a little more demanding of specialized materials. A variety of rhythm instruments, such as wooden blocks, bongo drums, or hollow, hardwood boxes, can be used by children; little instruction is necessary. When these materials are not available, clapping hands and stomping feet can keep rhythm. Other musical instruments that may extend this collection include recorder-like wind instruments, shakers, stringed plucking devices, and so on.
Teachers can support music foundations by:
[Providing] music areas where children can experience instruments or musical activities as individuals or in a small group.
Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP)
The Desired Results Developmental Profile (2015) is a developmental continuum from early infancy to kindergarten entry. It is a formative assessment instrument developed by the California Department of Education for young children and their families used to inform curricular decisions and program development. It was designed to improve the quality of programs and services provided to young children who are enrolled in child care outside the home.
Key Features of the DRDP 2015
It is administered in natural settings through teacher observations, family observations, and examples of children’s work. Ongoing documentation of children’s knowledge and skills in everyday environments is a recommended practice for early childhood assessment. It is completed by the teacher who best knows the child.
“[It] is written to facilitate observation during the developmentally age-appropriate play-based and instructional activities that are typical in high-quality programs.”
It represents a full continuum of development from early infancy up to kindergarten entry. It has two views: the Infant/Toddler view for use with children in infant/toddler programs, and the Preschool View, for children in preschool programs.
It is designed for use with all children from early infancy up to kindergarten entry, including children with special needs.
It is aligned with all volumes of the California’s Infant/Toddler and Preschool Learning and Development Foundations, the Common Core Standards, and the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework.
It takes into consideration the specific cultural and linguistic characteristics of California’s diverse population of young children, with specific consideration for children who are young dual language learners (see section below).
It was developed with the goal of ensuring that all children have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. To enable access to the assessment for diverse populations, the principles of Universal Design were followed. It is embedded into program activities, not contrived activities.
Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Teachers can use opportunities like this group time to observe children’s development as part of the assessment process.
The DRDP will be further explored in Chapter 17 on Documentation and Assessment.
Making Connections
And to close the loop on these three resources, here is a measure in the Desired Results Developmental Profile (2015) Visual and Performing Arts domain that assesses where a child is currently at developmentally in relation to the example foundation, “Improvise vocally and instrumentally”:
VPA 2: Music – Child expresses and creates by making musical sounds, with increasing intentionality and complexity.
Dividing Development and Curriculum Into Domain
We know that children certainly do not develop in isolated domains (as the images earlier in this introduction might lead you to assume). Their development is holistic and the domains are interrelated. What happens in one domain or area influences and/or is influenced by what happens in other domains or areas. We also know that learning is integrated and that curriculum should reflect that. Children do not just learn about one curriculum area or domain. A spontaneous or planned experience will touch on numerous curriculum areas.
Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Domains of Development
But to make these domains easier to explore we study them separately, while keeping in mind that they are interconnected and interrelated.
The Preschool Learning Foundations and Curriculum Frameworks are divided into nine domains. Our book will feature these as eight separate chapters. This table summarizes how these are related.
