The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum Assessment System Allen Brook Preschool

The Creative Curriculum
Developmental Continuum
Assessment System
Allen Brook Preschool
Patricia Casey, ECSE
Act 62
• As part of the Preschool Act 62 an assessment
tool is required to be used by publically
funded preschools.
• The Creative Curriculum assessment was
chosen to be used in all of Chittenden County.
• Allen Brook teachers received training in using
the assessment in June 2009.
Theory and Research Behind
The Creative Curriculum
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Maslow: Basic Needs and Learning
Erikson: The Emotions of Learning
Piaget: Logical Thinking and Reasoning
Vygotsky: Social Interaction and Learning
Gardner: Multiple Intelligences
Smilansky: The Role of Children’s Play in
Learning
Theory and Research
The Learning
Environment
How Children
Develop and
Learn
The Family’s
Role
What Children
Learn
The Teacher’s
Role
Linking Curriculum and Assessment
Ongoing
Process
Collecting
Facts
Reporting
on
Children’s
Progress
Analyzing
and
Evaluating
Facts
Planning
for Each
Child and
the Group
Looking at Objectives on a Continuum
• It breaks down each objective so teachers can
have realistic expectations as they plan.
• It helps teachers observe and plan for all
children.
• It is strengths-based
• It reveals a wealth of information to share
with families
Four Areas of Development
Socialemotional
Physical
Cognitive
Language
Social-Emotional Development
• Social-emotional readiness is critical to a
successful kindergarten transition, early
school success, and even later
accomplishments in the workplace
• Characteristics include: confidence, friendly
nature, can develop good relationships with
peers, persists at challenging tasks, able to
effectively communicate emotions, able to
listen and be attentive
Goals Areas
Sense of Self
• How children feel accepted and valued by the people
who are most important to them.
Responsibility of Self and Others
• Developing responsibility, independence, and selfdirection and following rules and routines.
Pro-social Behavior
• Traits that will help children get along in the world,
such as empathy, sharing, and taking turns.
Physical Development
• Physical skills are important in their own right
and for future tasks in reading, writing,
scientific explorations, and math, as well as
for the development of self-confidence .
Movement wakes up the brain!
• Opportunities to move skillfully, manipulate
objects, balance and control their bodies, and
refine small muscle skills
Goal Areas
Gross Motor
Development
Fine Motor
Development
(Big Muscles)
(Small muscles)
Cognitive Development
• Cognitive and thinking skills are embedded
within literacy, math, science, social studies,
the arts and technology
• In the early childhood years, children are not
only learning knowledge, skills and concepts,
but also acquiring the “learn to learn” skills
that are so important for future learning.
Goal Areas
Learning and
Problem Solving
• Being thoughtful about
how they use
information, resources,
and materials
• Curiosity, persistence,
applying knowledge,
making predictions
Logical Thinking
• Making sense of
information
• Compare, contrast, sort,
classify, count, measure,
recognize patterns
Representation and
Symbolic Thinking
• How to use symbols
• Symbols stand for things
such as objects, people
• Representational
drawing and graphing
Language Development
• Children who have rich language and literacy
experiences in preschool are more likely to
develop strong language and literacy skills
• The skills of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing develop interdependently in children
Goal Areas
Listening and Speaking
• Expressing oneself, vocabulary, understanding
oral speech of others, participating in a
conversation, using language to solve problems
Reading and Writing
• Handling books, understanding the purpose of
print and how it works, story comprehension
What to Expect
• 3 Progress Checkpoints
– October, January and May
– Parent Conference
– Child Progress and Planning Report
Thank you for sharing your
children with us everyday.