We receive a lot of questions about our themes and how we select the activity schedule each year. In this post we talk about how we create and update our themes. First, let’s talk about the benefits of using themes in early childhood education in general.
Theme-based learning:
by Judy Mullican
More and more states are now publishing standards for early childhood programs. These lists are often long and may look intimidating! But when you dig deeper, most often you will find that the standards just put into words the good practices that you have been using for years.
by Judy Mullican
Loose parts is a term that we often see in early childhood articles these days. While that specific term may not have always been in use, the idea behind it is not new. Loose parts are objects that children can move around and combine or arrange in many different ways. While many people prefer to use natural materials as loose parts, manmade materials can also work very well. Some popular loose parts include rocks, shells, twigs, leaves, cardboard tubes, jar lids, boxes, bits of ribbon, and more. Any materials that are intriguing to children and offer many possibilities for play will work.
