Early Childhood Curriculum Essay Example for Free

Early Childhood Curriculum Essay While being in this course I have learned about the different curriculums, philosophies and theories. In this paper I will be discussing how to develop an appropriate curriculum for preschool children. This paper will include the following topics: the theories and/or philosophies of Montessori; concepts learned throughout this course, how to apply them into an early childhood classroom focusing on the understanding components to design a curriculum for a preschool classroom based on ages 3 to 5 year old children. First let’s discuss the philosophies of  both Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget. Maria Montessori ideas and beliefs are embedded throughout every early childhood program and her influence on our thinking about curriculum has been profound. She was a tireless child advocate and believed that all children deserve a proper education. Montessori insisted that through proper early education, underprivileged and cognitively impaired children could be successful if they were given a chance to learn. She was one of the first to establish a preschool for poor and mentally retarded children in Rome; these preschools were called â€Å"Casa  dei Bambini†, which translated in English as â€Å"Children’s House. † Dr. Montessori proposed that children that are at risk and the notion that society had a moral responsibility to devote resources to early child intervention. Our textbook states that. â€Å"Montessori embraced and expanded Froebel’s kindergarten concept; she felt that children were natural learners and should drive much of their own learning. She asserted that children should be grouped in multiage (2 ? to 5 years) classes to allow flexibility and opportunities for peer mentoring. Montessori developed an  extensive set of â€Å"didactic† materials and lessons designed to be attractive to children and used by teachers to teach specific concepts and skills. She adapted furniture to child size as a gesture of respect for the unique needs of early learners† (Jaruszewicz, 2012). I agree with her philosophy and theory, because children do need the freedom to learn at their own pace and not to be pressured to do what they see other children do. It is also important the classroom learning environment to be attractive so that it will draw the children to be there and learn new and exciting things. In order to use the teaching method, the teachers must be trained to work with all children and understand that no one child develops the same as another. The other philosopher that I will discuss is Jean Piaget. A contemporary of both Montessori and Dewey, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development that initiated a constructivist view of curriculum (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget conducted several experiments with young children that proved that their mental concepts are learned through trial and error experiences. Young children will continue to do  things that they have been told not to do, until the consequence of their actions has been reached. For example, when a parent tells their child not to stack the building blocks up too high or they will fall on them which could lead to them being hurt; the child continues to do that the same thing over and over again to see if what their parent said is true. Once the child has seen the building blocks fall over on them is when they have learned that they don’t need to do that. His work confirmed early learning as distinct from other developmental periods, implying, therefore,  that materials and activities for young children should reflect the idiosyncratic way in which they think and process stimuli (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget proposed that cognitive development occurs in four different stages, three of which occur during early childhood. In the sensorimotor stage, infants and toddlers process experience and begin to coordinate movement through sensory exploration. Preoperational thinking of preschoolers emerges spontaneously, as they are internally motivated to make sense of their environment by testing ideas and theories in play and  exploration with materials (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget and Montessori are the main philosophies that stood out to me in this course the most. Next I will discuss the Core knowledge preschool sequence curriculum and the areas inside it. With strong focus on challenging, but appropriate content, the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and Teacher Handbook is unique among early childhood programs. It outlines a cumulative and coherent progression of knowledge and skills in all developmental areas and integrates developmentally appropriate practices for both content and instruction. Using the core knowledge curriculum helps with creating appropriate activities that prepare the preschool age children to learn. Children are always ready to learn; as long as the teacher understands that, each child will be eager to learn in new and exciting ways. It is important for teachers to make sure that the information that they wish to teach the children in the classroom is appropriate and fun. The Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence Curriculum focuses on five different areas: Social Skills, Early Literacy skills in reading and writing, Mathematics, Science and Visual Arts. It is important for children to learn how to interact with other children their age early in their lives to develop their social skills. One of the many things I love about Montessori is that Montessori teachers see the whole child-developmentally, academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. There is a myth out there that says simply placing children in the same room and having them do activities helps them develop social skills. I disagree. Developing social skills needs to be a value in the classroom as well as modeled by the teachers/adults who are around  the children. Using manners, demonstrating what Montessori called Grace and Courtesy and always being respectful of the child are key ingredients to helping a child develop social skills. There are several ways to help expand children’s social skills. The activity that would be used to develop social skills would be to have the children sit in a circle on the floor, pass an object around each child to take turns telling the class something about them. Whether it is there name, favorite color, parents name, how many sibling they may have, etc. When are playing together in  the classroom they learn to take turns, shared things and playing with others in general helps them develop social skills. The development of language in early childhood classrooms is an umbrella for the Montessori curriculum. The teachers and parents consider activities on the shelves of the Language area as the heart of actual language learning. The techniques used in a Montessori classroom are different when it comes to teaching language and literacy. Teachers, parents, and administrators need to recognize communication as the foundation for the meaningful  development of language concepts and skills. Effective communication depends on authentic relationships between communicative partners. Teachers have the responsibility (actually, the opportunity) to develop and expand learning relationships with young children. This is truly the ultimate opportunity to make a difference. Seen in this light, conversations with young children on the playground, during field trips, on the way to the bathroom, in the midst of conflict resolution, during lessons, and countless other times create the context for the development of language skills. Relationships of trust are built between children and teachers and among peers. Classroom work further contributes to language concept and skill development within this context of meaningful communication. It is important to talk children especially infants constantly, so they can develop a strong sense of vocabulary. Children catch on to everything that they may hear. So it is definitely important to be cautious what language you use around children. Printed materials and images are strongly important in an early childhood classroom. These materials make the classroom attractive to  children as well as make them want to learn about what those images and books mean. Phonemic awareness is part of a balanced literacy program, and can be developed in several ways during shared reading and shared writing. Shared reading and shared writing typically occur during the language arts time block, but may also occur during content-area learning. On to my favorite subject any grade level or age is mathematics. In an early childhood classroom, teaching young children mathematics somewhat easy and in some cases not so much. Getting children ages three to four year olds to learn their numbers and one to one  correspondence can be a challenge, but it requires patience to teach the children the meaning of number awareness. Provide children with authentic, hands-on learning experiences-DO NOT USE WORKSHEETS. In preschool you should play to the childrens natural curiosities and look to your students interest to guide lesson planning. You are setting up children for a lifetime of learning and you should create excitement around what you. Also, the more hands on the activity is, the more learning styles you are engaging, and the more the child enjoys it the more they will  learn and retain! Create activities that children are actively involved in learning something new, such as how to count and recognize numbers. Numbers are not the only thing that children can learn that is related to mathematics. Shapes are how to perceive and recognize them are important as well. Teaching children about shapes and how many sides each one has involves numbers as well. Mathematics and Language go together because you are using vocabulary words to decide the shapes, numbers, etc. In conclusion, this paper touched on some important factors to help develop a  developmentally appropriate curriculum for preschool/pre-K age children. It is important to provide activities for young children and make sure the environment is a positive, warm and inviting one that children will want to come to school and learn new things. In this paper I discussed the standards for each core knowledge area to develop an appropriate curriculum for young children. References Jaruszewicz, C. (2012). Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. In C. Jaruszewicz, Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.

Chaucers Parody To Courtly Love Essay -- English Literature Chaucer E

Chaucer's Parody To Courtly Love After the Knight tells his story, the Miller insists very rudely to tell his tale. Chaucer uses the aspect of courtly love which is found in the Knights tale and makes a parody of it; He uses the Miller?s character to mock the Knights idea of courtly love. Miller describes the heroine of his story Alison, as a wife of an older man and also an infidel. She?s compared to a ?wezele? sly and cunning. The description of Alison clearly indicates that she is very different from an innocent girl from courtly love stories instead she?s well aware of her husbands jealousy and wears elaborate cloths to show off her beauty. ?Of col-blak silk, withinne and eek withoute? Alison shows off that she?s rich by wearing the most expensive fabric of silk at the time, again this adds to the opposite side of courtly love romances in which the girl would not show off but in fact stay unaware of such matters as the character of Emily in the Knights tale. Miller then uses two male Characters who show great admiration for Alison but unlike the love ...

Adventure Time Essay

Have you ever gazed upon one of Salvador Dali’s surreal paintings, and it left you in a bewildered state? You’ve pondered what he was trying to display, or perhaps you were left wondering, is there a story behind this? Well, I am here today to tell you of such a story. See, we live in a time where people tend to take things much too seriously, far too often. When the world seems to erase happiness from one’s life, there lays Adventure Time, shimmering in the horizon in all its pastel glory. It is a beacon of happiness, joy, abnormality, and an escape route for all those trapped in a calloused hand of disappointment. The show may appear to disguise itself as a children’s program, but I can tell you confidently, that it provides material for more than one target audience. There’s a reason why high school and college students enjoy watching Pixar films or shows from their youth, and Pendleton Ward, the show’s creator, really hits home with a cartoon that may well be the most creative, and entertaining TV program of it’s kind. This is a fine example of the phrase â€Å"do not judge a book by its cover†, because underneath Adventure Time’s amazing array of bright and colorful characters, lies a subtext that involves a very large portion of dark and rather bizarre moments. This world that you are diving into and sharing with these characters is not as â€Å"sugar coated† as it leads you to believe. Adventure Time is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, where The Great Mushroom War wiped out it’s inhabitants, leaving one human child alive. Which brings us to our stories main protagonist, Finn the Human, who was raised by a family of elasticated, shape-shifting dogs. Jake the dog, Finn’s brother and best pal, joins Finn on his Adventures of saving princesses from the evil Ice King, exposing themselves to constant dangers while they protect the kingdom of living candy from horrifying terrors. Although it sometimes may be weird yet amusing, like when our heroes place themselves inside the stomach of a giant to prevent the bears that are partying within from being digested and melted by lava, Adventure Time can become serious when the characters portray real emotion. A cartoon needs more than just mind-blowing implications to entertain an older audience. In more recent episodes, it was shown that the main antagonist of the show, was once a human antiquarian (someone who studies ancient artifacts), who discovered a cursed crown sometime before the Nuclear fallout. When he placed it on to make his fiancee laugh, he blacked out and started experiencing horrifying visions. When he came to, something happened that drove his fiancee away. This later connects to why he steals princesses, to fill the gap in his heart from when his own princess left him. Also, our hero is in love with a princess made entirely out of bubblegum, but cannot be with her due to the fact that she is 18 and he is 13, causing him emotional stress. He later falls in love with a princess made out of flames, who is highly unstable when she is angry. Finn has a hard time being with her because she burns him whenever he tries to hold her. I’m sure some of you may connect with the feeling of wanting someone, but something prevents you from being with that person or simply, the person has no feelings for you. This show is stacked to the brim with moments like these. Not only is there an emotional intelligence to balance the show’s oddness, but there is a very artistic and poetic vibe behind the story. There are numerous musical numbers, and remember able quotes that make you think. A couple of my personal favorite quotes from the show are: â€Å"In the dark recesses of the mind, a disease known as FEAR feasts upon the souls of those who cannot overcome its power†¦ And so fear forces deep within the soul of a hero. Conquered†¦ at least, for now. † â€Å"I am the true coward. Hiding from sincere expressions like a vampire in the nude who hides from the light. Thank you brave hero. I was freed from bottle jail, but my new prison is shame. † Can we pull back the veil of static and reach in to the source of all being? Behind this curtain of patterns, this random pattern generator. So clever. Right here in every home, watching us from a one-sided mirror. † When a cartoon is able to be demented and touch the heart at the same time, I believe it is a show for everyone to enjoy. So grab your friends, and experience many different lands, with Jake the Dog and Finn the Human, a show where the fun never ends, it’s Adventure Time. Adventure Time Essay Adventure Time (originally titled Adventure Time with Finn & Jake[2]) is an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada), a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. Along the way, they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch), The Ice King (voiced by Tom Kenny), and Marceline the Vampire Queen (voiced by Olivia Olson). The series is based on a short produced for Frederator’s Nicktoons Network animation incubator series Random! Cartoons. After the short became a viral hit on the internet, Cartoon Network picked it up for a full-length series that previewed on March 11, 2010, and officially premiered on April 5, 2010. The series, which is heavily inspired by the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons as well as video games, is produced via hand-drawn animation. Episodes are created through the process of storyboarding, and a single episode takes roughly nine months to complete. The Adventure Time cast records their lines together in group recordings as opposed to different recording sessions with each voice actor, and the series also regularly employs guest actors and actresses for minor and recurring characters. Each Adventure Time episode is about eleven minutes in length; pairs of episodes are often telecast in order to fill a half-hour program time slot. The series has completed four seasons of twenty-six episodes each, and is currently on its fifth, which debuted on November 12, 2012. Ever since its debut, Adventure Time has been a ratings success for Cartoon Network. As of March 2012, the show is viewed by approximately 2 to 3 million viewers per week. The show has received positive reviews from critics and has developed a cult following among teenagers and adults, many of whom are attracted due to the series’ animation, stories and characters. Adventure Time has also been nominated for five Annie Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Critics’ Choice Television Awards, and a Sundance Film Festival Award, among others. In 2013, the series won a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award for the episode â€Å"Card Wars†. In addition, the series has also produced various clothing and merchandise, video games, comic books, and DVD compilations.

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