Our Curriculum and Assessments
Iowa Early Learning Standards as a base for curriculum writing
Story Book believes child led activities are the best way to engage children in learning so we create our own curriculum that varies each year. Story Book chooses projects based on children’s interest as it aligns with the Iowa Early Learning Standards. For more detailed information, see the following link: https://iowaccrr.org/resources/files/BGP/702%20IELSs2.pdf
Children are nurtured in an environment that does not place limits on their creativity or enforce time restrictions. This flexible framework is believed to promote brain development by encouraging children to collaborate with each other to solve challenges as they arise throughout their project.
The goal is for children to become engaged in their own learning while educators serve as guides rather than instructors. There are no right or wrong answers in project development, which encourages children to take risks and embrace learning through creative thought.
Infant and Toddler Curriculum
Working on key skills throughout the Iowa Early Learning Standards is top priority. This whole-child approach to learning includes social–emotional, cognitive, language, motor skill, and academic development through meaningful interactions in the classroom. Children are met at their own developmental levels, and teachers plan activities to help children grow, learn, and explore.
Preschool and School Age Curriculum
In our preschool and school age classrooms children follow a project approach with the Iowa Early Learning Standards as their foundation. They will pick a topic to study based on their interests. The children will fully immerse in that topic. There will be many opportunities to explore through literature, art activities, dramatic play, print materials, block play, math and science exploration, writing, and sensory activities.
During breaks and summer months, school age children are brought into the learning as well, and activities are adjusted to meet individual children at their current levels and encourage further learning and development.
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Developmental Screenings
We utilize the Ages and Stages (ASQ) age appropriate milestone checklist as an entrance evaluation to be completed by parents upon the child’s enrollment and at the beginning of each school year. The ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE are used with all infant, toddler, and preschool children entering the program. Within the child’s first 60 days, the infant, toddler, and preschool teachers will all also complete the ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE for each child and then annually thereafter along with families. Staff will score and evaluate the findings from both the parental screening and their own to determine if additional evaluation and/or intervention strategies are needed. Findings will be discussed with parents at their fall parent/teacher conference or sooner if there are immediate concerns. They will then work with families to move forward and develop a plan for the child.
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Our school-age children use the Ages and Stages publication from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach upon enrollment in our program. Parents and staff both complete the screening tool within the first 60 days of the beginning of the school year and repeat this process annually. Designed for parents and caregivers, this publication addresses the physical, mental, and social, and emotional development of 5 year olds, 6- to 8-year-olds, and 9-10 year olds. Tips for interacting with children as they grow and lists of age-appropriate toys and books are also included. Findings are shared with parents at fall conferences or sooner if there is an area of immediate concern.
Assessments
Teaching staff at Story Book Childcare and Preschool use observations to collect data on all enrolled children from infants through school agers. This data and our assessment tools help staff determine children’s strengths as well as areas where they may need additional support. For example, if a child scores well above age level in math skills, their teachers may find some more challenging activities to keep them engaged while others in the class are working on another skill.
Throughout the school year, the infant teachers utilize Infant and Toddler Developmental Checklists from Children’s Learning Institute in addition to the Iowa Early Learning Standards to track milestones with children ages 2 months to 23 months. The checklists are divided into age ranges and areas of development: Language, Social-Emotional, Cognitive, Early Literacy, Physical Health & Motor Development. Staff observe children at play and throughout the day to note and track their learning and development. They meet with parents for conferences (2 times per year) to discuss what they have observed as well as any questions or concerns the child’s family may have. The teachers use these observations to further plan for the child’s play and learning.
Our toddler and preschool teachers utilize Iowa Early Learning Standard Assessments to collect and evaluate children’s progress on a daily basis. The information collected through the teachers’ observations and assessments is discussed during conferences (2 times per year) as well as any questions or concerns the child’s family may have. The teacher takes the observations and is able to set up age appropriate activities for the children to help them achieve a new learning goal.
For our school age children, we use the upper end of Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG) to collect data and evaluate progress that we see while they are at Story Book. Since our time with the school agers is limited to before and after school, their assessments aren’t as thorough as the younger children, so we work closely with families to help determine strengths and areas for improvement. Conferences for this age group are optional but encouraged twice a year or more frequently if a need arises.