We are a four-star rated center committed to helping children further develop and build on the foundations of life.  The Good Shepherd Day School has been providing services to our community for some fifty years. 

The philosophy behind our curriculum is that young children learn best by being INTERACTIVE.  "Learning" requires active thinking and experimenting which stimulates a child to find out how things work and to better understand more about the world in which we live. 

We utilize the Creative Curriculum, a nationally recognized program from which we plan activities, organize the environment of the class room, select toys and materials, plan the daily schedule, and converse with the children.  This curriculum is designed to give your child a successful start in school. 

Creative Curriculum Origins
Creative curriculum rests on a firm foundation of research and responds to new requirements for addressing academic content. The approach from its beginnings has been developed based on the theories and research that inform decision making in the early childhood field. The works of Piaget, Maslow, Erikson, Smilansky, Vygotsky, and Gardner are all implemented in creative curriculum. Creative Curriculum helps children acquire social competence and the skills they need to succeed as learners.

Teachers Role in Creative Curriculum
The Creative Curriculum approach takes a look at the teacher and helps them observe children more purposefully. Through these observations, the teacher is able to comprise a plan which can be administered to the individual or to the whole group. The Creative Curriculum approach enables teachers to integrate content learning and bring it into everyday experiences.

Creative Curriculum Framework
The Creative Curriculum framework is composed of five components. Each of these five components is applied to 11 areas that have already been definied. These five components:

• How Children Develop and Learn
• The Learning Enviornment
• What Children Learn
• The Teacher's Role
• The Family's Role

Creative Curriculum Cont.

What is developmentally appropriate practice?
Does Creative Curriculum use these practices?

In the past 75 years, research has provided a great deal of information about childhood as a separate and distinct stage of life with its own characteristics. The application of this body of knowledge to teaching is called developmentally appropriate practice. Developmentally appropriate practice provides children with opportunities to learn and practice newly acquired skills. It offers the context of a community where children are safe and valued, where their physical needs are met, and where they feel psychologically secure (Bredekamp & Copple 1997, pp.14-15).

Developmentally appropriate practice means teaching in ways that match the way children develop and learn as set forth by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The Creative Curriculum Module shows you how to implement developmentally appropriate practices in your classroom. Creative Curriculum highlights the important balance between applying a general knowledge of child development with the particular knowledge a teacher gains by forming a relationship with each child and family. Creative Curriculum describes each subject area and shows how to teach it in ways that support children's academic progress while respecting the way they grow and develop. Creative Curriculum encourages children to experiment, explore, and pursue their own interests.

Good Shepherd is committed to providing quality and excellence. We believe that your child through creative curriculum principles will be able to develop the necessary skills needed to successfully transition into kindergarten.

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