Curriculum: Required Projects
Year 1
January Theme: Discovering the Arctic
Required Project: Construct a play ice structure within your common space. Children should
be involved in the construction and decoration of the piece. You may choose to any type of
structure…(igloo, glacier, etc) Use this space to go on ice adventures…and play dress up in
warm clothing. You should elaborate on this throughout the month by adding the snowmen
and other projects to decorate your common area into an Arctic Iceland.
February Theme: Safety!
Required Project: Bring an interactive field trip to your school with relevancy about early
childhood safety. Ask the visitor to wear their uniform so they children can easily identify
them. Be sure to take pictures. It is likely you will be able to find these resources for free or a
very nominal charge. Please choose at least one (do several if you can) of the guest
appearances below:
*Have firefighters visit the school- they could show their equipment, dogs or truck and speak
with the children about fire safety.
*Have a seat belt safety check at pickup time; but be sure to give parents a friendly reminder.
It would be optional for them to participate.
*Invite an animated creature or animal in your community to visit the classes and discuss
safety.
*Invite police officers to visit about stranger danger
*Invite a physician to speak to the children about avoiding accidents.
*Invent some other great program that encourages and teaches early childhood safety.
March Theme: Rainforest and Desert Enrichment!
Required Project: Host a parent gathering toward the end of the Rainforest unit (middle of the
month), either inside or outside of business hours. Use this opportunity to demonstrate to
parents how much their children have learned in the unit. Have a fun Rain Stick dance to jungle
music, identify plants and animals from the region (maybe dress up or act out animal
behaviors), play I spy with binoculars the children made and ask parents to wear the safari hats.
Take this idea and personalize it to your location and your children. Make it a unique and
memorable experience for parents and children. This is also a great marketing tool as it quickly
spreads positive word of mouth within your community.
April Theme: Dinosaur Discovery
Required Project: Have an Easter egg hunt at your school (during or after hours). Parents
should be invited to attend and even encouraged to participate in hosting the event. Use your
school playground or indoor space to hide and hunt for both Easter eggs and pretend dinosaur
eggs (mixed in). Use this opportunity to display to parents the facts children have learned
about the theme by having children give a short verbal review to the attending families. Let
them leave impressed!
May Theme: Creepy Crawlies
Required Project: Make a bug display in a common area that shows how much the children
are learning on the topic. Some ideas include….an ant farm, a glassed over peg board of
different dead bug species, or even an art display of bugs the children have worked on. Put
enough effort into the project to build a lasting impression with children and their families. You
may combine multiple ideas into one display as long as it appears cohesive and well organized.
June Theme: Spectacular Space!
Required Project: Decorate a common space of the building to be in outer space (black sky,
stars, rocket ship) and use this space to go on pretend adventures. And/or turn your
playground equipment into an elaborate rocket ship. Facilitate new adventures on the
playground every day.
July Theme: Journey Across America!
Required Project: Design a large American map and chart your journey across America. Add a
scrapbook of photos of children having fun in these projects along the way. Display this or
alternating scrapbooks throughout the year (front desk, coffee table, or shelf)
August Theme: All About Me/ Families
Required Project: All About Me Tree (6 ft minimum)
One center wide project should be completed (not one for each classroom). This project should
be kept or hung in a central location (your lobby or main hallway). Each child in the facility
must get involved including infants. The tree may be made from any type of material.
Children should make an individual branch with leaves detailing items important in their life.
For example, photos, handprints, pieces of their art work, etc. Allow teachers to be creative,
but their items need to be primarily made and influenced by the children.
To correlate with Unit 2 “Family Roots” you should add roots to the tree, explaining the
importance of a trees roots and how that is similar to family support. Other ideas for finishing
the tree include: adding flowers onto tree with a picture of the family on each, constructing a
family of bugs, or build a bird nest. Your tree should be very unique to your program and
families.
Note: August Curriculum repeats for years one and two. It is a great introductory curriculum
for new students to become familiar with one another, to build each individual child’s selfesteem, and to promote a positive self-image, and to welcome differences in one another. It is
worth repeating annually.
September Theme: Community Helpers
Required Project: Create a locker room/or other such display of community helper uniforms.
Some items should be real; others should be made by the children. Try to have influence from
several different community helpers, especially those who have visited the program. The
uniforms need to be displayed in a clean and professional way.
October Theme: Fall Harvest
Required Project: Create a maize using primarily corn stalks and hay bales. Make sure to
include items created or influenced by the children inside or surrounding the project. The
maize should be constructed on the playground. Be creative with the construction of the maize
to include fun windows, dead ends, and a fun exit room (example: teepee). The space should
be fun and manageable to accommodate all ages within the program. Toward the end of the
month host a fall harvest party for families to enjoy the maize (costumes optional).
November Theme: Giving Back!
Required Project: Host a fun humane society drive for a local animal shelter of your choice.
Find creative ways to get the children involved and to display the progress of your event. Write
a press release and mail to local newspapers, television stations, and radio; attempting to gain
exposure of your programs event. Keep families and children informed of the outcomes and
impact through photos, testimonials from the charity, etc. Collect the items (food, leashes,
toys, bones, grooming items, and blankets) and display it in an organized and tactful manner in
your lobby area.
December Theme: Winter Wonderland!
Required Project: Practice for and perform the Polar Express Theatrical Program at your winter
family event. All children must be given the opportunity to participate. You should be creative
and allow child influence with the costumes and décor of the Program.