Preschool Curriculum - Which one is the best?

When choosing a preschool one of the first questions parents ask is what preschool curriculum is on offer. Since preschools are generally a place for early childhood education and is one of the foundation levels for lifelong learning, the curriculum is extremely important.

While parents place the curriculum at the forefront of their list of priorities, many if not most preschools do not. Unfortunately, many preschools create their own curriculum - a feat which takes publishers years of development and is the subject of constant academic review. Why? Well the renowned names usually costs schools in the region of $1,500 per year while a homemade curriculum costs near to nothing, if anything. Many purchase a handbook or a workbook from major names in the industry and then claim that they their curriculum is one of the best. I even went to one school who said their new program which is being advertised on local TV and radio as being a proven method of ensuring that its learners will stay off drugs later turned out to be a scam. Nonetheless, preschool owners often resort to quick fads to provide a cheap impression that some parents find acceptable.

The key differences between homemade versions and those of renowned publishers are summarized as follows:

1. Free printables and homemade versions are not academically sound - Homemade curricula have no academic basis and lack the research that justifies the learning objectives at hand. The more expensive publishers on the other hand invest heavily in academic research and have a proven rationale for every activity that is suggested;

2. Teachers come and go - Teachers with homemade versions are likely to take their work with them. If a teacher leaves, your style of teaching and in effect your entire school's curriculum goes with them;

3. Homemade versions lack quality - buying a thousand pages of pictures prepared by one person with no educational background, or very little educational experience is dangerous. Never rely on the educational beliefs of one person, let alone a person who has no educational recognition;

4. Relevance - Although activities that are blatantly outdated both in relevance and in look are still being sold on eBay, these activities are based on educational trends that no longer apply. Would you really want to teach an activity that is 20 years old?

5. Workbooks (Caveat Emptor!) - Many workbooks have titles with the words "Preschool Curriculum" inserted. Just because those words exist in the title does not mean that it offers a curriculum. A curriculum requires parents or teachers to teach, be involved and develop inquisitive minds. A join the dots book does very little from an educational point of view. If your child is gaining the majority of their preschool education from a book then it's time to change preschools!

6. Inquiry based methods - There are many philosophies in early childhood education, including some that are outdated. While these forms of education often work well at high school level, leaving the class direction to children and their inquisitive minds should not make up the entire curriculum. Children need structural educational development and expecting a child to teach themselves, while great for the teacher, is not an appropriate form of learning.

For an example of an academically focused preschool curriculum please contact the IPC for a free sample

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