Our Program
Our emergent curriculum develops from exploring ideas that are socially relevant, intellectually engaging and personally meaningful to children. It is an idea that captures the interest and imagination of the children and is process driven as it connects learning with real life experiences and prior learning. Our curriculum is viewed as a child-initiated and educator framed process in which educators are flexible to children’s needs and learning. It is a co-constructed and negotiated process in which educators and children have a voice that is valued.
Our curriculum has a strong theoretical background and a planning cycle based on reflective practice. This approach allows educators to respond to observations and conversations with children, build upon their strengths and scaffold their learning and understanding. Educators have the professional knowledge required to plan for and extend children’s learning and development towards the learning outcomes.
Our emergent curriculum is intentional in its nature with teaching being responsive to both children and the learning outcomes. To us, intentional teaching is purposeful, thoughtful and deliberate and offers rich opportunities to actively promote children’s learning and knowledge building through both planned and spontaneous experiences. Our curriculum is constantly developing and dynamic and evolves from “daily life” experiences.
Our emergent curriculum builds upon the theories of the recognised theorists in the field of early childhood: the work of Dewey, Piaget and Vygotsky (Stacey, 2008). The practices we embed in our programming make visible the work of these theorists. Furth more, this curriculum enables children’s learning and educators’ thinking to be made visible through varied forms. School.
