Learning Themes

Every week or two weeks we have a new "learning theme." These are things that children are interested in as well as themes that are applicable to their lives. I use these learning themes as a jumping off point for all the other activities we do, the activities in the learning centers are tied in to the theme. I have found that children can learn, for example about math or language, through any number of activities; and by creating a theme that children are interested in, and having activities that support that theme, the children are even more excited about learning.

In setting learning goals and objectives I often use the Utah State Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines, which are basically a set of skills in multiple areas such as social, math, language etc., that the state feels preschoolers should be working towards.

I also work to provide activities and experiences that children may not regularly have at home. For example, how often does a 4 year old get to paint with a wire whisk or step in buckets of shaving cream or sand just to see how it feels? Maybe not everyday! So, conversely, I also try to avoid those activities that I know children will be able to have lots of experiences with at home; for example television or movies, coloring books, and even computers.

Examples of past "Learning Themes"

• Ocean Life
• Farm
• Dinosaurs
• Bugs
• Pretend
• Families
• 5 senses
• My body

And so many more!!