Child Care Curriculum

As a child care provider, you will need to develop a child care curriculum that is educational, stimulating, entertaining, and inviting. Sounds easy, right? Actually, it is not as bad as it sounds because kids love to be engaged in so many different activities so the possibilities are truly endless.

Your child care curriculum needs to be age appropriate. If you care for children of different ages, you will want to make sure that your curriculum will meet the educational needs of all age groups. For example, music is a great way to reach all age groups. Infants won't be able to count to 10 after hearing Ten Little Indians, but preschoolers will be able to understand the counting process and all age groups will enjoy hearing the music and the melody.

A good way to involve mixed groups of children in your child care curriculum is to include activities that any age child will find stimulating and appealing. These types of activities include dramatic play for developing imagination and creative thinking skills, blocks for stacking, sorting, and counting, art which allows children to explore their own creativity, sand and water, books, cooking which teaches children about science and measurement, music and movement, and outdoor play to keep children active and healthy.

Your child care curriculum should contain a variety of activities in which children can learn letters, numbers, sounds, writing, etc. through different modes that will allow them to use gross motor skills, fine motor skills, concrete thinking, abstract thinking, and social skills. For example, children can practice writing using pencil and paper, a paintbrush and paint, or simply using their finger to trace the letter through salt on a plate.

You will want to maintain a regular daily schedule that incorporates your child care curriculum. Children work best when they know what to expect and know what is expected of them throughout the day. This habitual routine should not become monotonous as you will be providing different activities each day that will keep the children engaged and excited about what they have to look forward to each day.

Below, you will find many printables and activity ideas that can be used in your child care curriculum. These printables and activity ideas include themes related to letters, numbers, shapes, and patterns, colors, opposites, and feelings. Feel free to use them in any capactiy. I will continue to add to this list so check back often to see what is new!