Developmental Preschool Curriculum

  • In Big Day for PreK, each day is organized around three Big Experiences (Whole-Group, Circle Time, and Story Time lessons) that provide an anchor for conversation, play, and learning. Carefully selected activities ground the entire class in a common Big Experience. 

    Big Experiences provide integrated learning opportunities and introduce children to new vocabulary, concepts, and skills. Big Day for PreK provides intentional instruction in all learning domains: 

    • Social-Emotional Development
    • Oral Language and Vocabulary
    • Emergent Reading
    • Emergent Writing
    • Mathematics
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • Fine Arts
    • Physical Development
    • Technology
    Daily small-group instruction provides multiple opportunities for children to be actively involved in learning, developing skills with teacher modeling, guidance, immediate feedback, and support. Small group lessons focus on the most predictive skills: phonological awareness, alphabet recognition, and mathematics. 
     
    Each theme offers weekly activities for learning centers that extend the content from the Big Experiences. In Big Day for PreK, all learning centers are intentional, purposeful, and fun! Suggestions for materials, writing connections, and conversation support are provided for each center. 
     
    Big Day for PreK is organized into eight engaging and child-friendly themes. As the year progresses, the themes in this early-learning program broaden, and children begin to understand more about the world around them. The flexible content allows prekindergarten teachers to incorporate their own favorite themes into the classroom.
     
    Oral language is at the heart of Big Day for PreK instruction. Teacher supports for generating meaningful conversations encourage oral language and vocabulary development throughout the day.

    Big Day for PreK provides opportunities for children to hear language modeled and use language in rich and varied contexts. A wealth of materials and strategies included in Big Day for PreK help teachers promote development of the most important language skills: 
    • Listening Comprehension
    • Speaking and Conversation
    • Sentence Structure
    • Oral Vocabulary 

    Program materials support teachers in their efforts to elicit responses from children, engage children in conversations, and to build oral language and vocabulary in all parts of the day.