At the Campbell Child & Family Center, we use the Creative Curriculum® from Teaching Strategies, Inc. as the framework for teachers to plan and implement an exciting variety of activities, projects, and key experiences in literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology. It features goals and objectives linked directly to a valid and reliable assessment instrument, the Teaching Strategies GOLDTM. Using Teaching Strategies GOLDTM, teachers conduct ongoing informal observations and assessments on each child. These tools allow teachers to use the children's interest and needs as the main framework for their lesson planning.

Within each classroom, specific curriculum units will be developed that address the learning needs of all children. Teachers adhere to state and national standards for developmental learning objectives for preschoolers, and individually document the progress of your child through ongoing portfolio assessment. If you have questions about your child’s classroom learning experience, please talk to your child’s teachers. If you have concerns about your child’s development, please let us know and we can help refer your child for assessment.

The Creative Curriculum® for Infants & Toddlers provides a comprehensive framework that emphasizes that relationships between caregivers/teachers and children and their families form the basis of curriculum for very young children. The Creative Curriculum® for Early Childhood describes and demonstrates how to plan a developmentally appropriate program focusing on ten well-organized interest areas. Its underlying philosophy draws from Jean Piaget's work on cognitive development, Erik Erikson's stages of socio-emotional development, and accepted theories of how children learn best. The approach is practical, easy-to-understand, and immediately applicable to a variety of settings.

When your child enters the Campbell Child & Family Center, a "portfolio" is created.
The Portfolio is a collection of your child's "work" as well as the periodic Teaching Strategies GOLDTM assessments. The portfolio becomes a scrapbook of his/her development throughout his Campbell Center experience. Every entry is dated. This binder follows your child as he/she advances to the next class. It is the basis for parent conferences and is accessible to you at any time. Parents are encouraged to add to the content!

Some examples of the Portfolio content are:

  • Samples of drawings and "writing", including "dictated" descriptions
  • Samples of cutting skills
  • Photographs of creations such as block and Lego structures, clay moldings
  • Photographs of your child playing in a variety of settings and with different friends….or maybe that one special friend that will become a friend for life!
  • Anecdotal notes made by teachers as they observe and record behavior
  • Assessments from the Teaching Strategies GOLDTM
  • Audio tapes of "interviews" with your child, or just talking or singing.

Incredible Years

The Incredible Years Curriculum training is an exciting opportunity for all the staff to become more knowledgeable in classroom management strategies and promoting supportive teacher-parent communication networks. It has been found that children in classrooms with teachers who received this training experienced improved relationships with peers and are more cooperative with teachers. Additionally, teachers who participated in this training were found to use more praise and be more nurturing, consistent, and confident. Teachers will have ongoing program support over the next two years to include coaching, monitoring results, and ensuring the long term success of the program. Children of preschool age will participate in classroom and small group activities to build skills in problem solving, emotional competence, empathy, anger management, and friendship development.

Description of Curriculum

The Incredible Years, an award-winning parent training, teacher training, and child social skills curriculum (Dinosaur School), has been selected by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as an “exemplary” best practice program. The Incredible Years is designed specifically for children in the classroom. With the help of child-size puppets, children learn to get along with others, solve problems, control anger and express feelings. The program also provides parents with weekly, facilitated discussion groups where they learn to increase nurturing parenting skills while decreasing their children’s oppositional behaviors.

The Parent Training aspect is designed for parents with children up to age eight. It is focused on strengthening parent competencies and encouraging parent/child relationships. The program increases parent communication, limit-setting, problem-solving and anger management skills.

Teacher Training

The teacher training intervention provides an exciting opportunity for teachers to become more knowledgeable in classroom management strategies and promote supportive teacher-parent communication networks. It has been found that children in classrooms with teachers who received this training experienced improved relationships with peers and are more cooperative with teachers. Additionally, teachers who participated in this training were found to use more praise and be more nurturing, consistent, and confident. Children of pre-school age participate in classroom and small group activities to build skills in problem solving, emotional competence, empathy, anger management, and friendship development.

Through Dinosaur School, children experience growth and learning in their social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development. The curriculum instills conflict management and problem solving skills in children ages 3 to 5. The use of puppets Dina, Wally and Molly contribute to the success of Dinosaur School.