Exceed Preschool Currciulum

TEACHERS

PRESCHOOLERS ACT-UP WHEN THEY'RE BORED ... EXCEED THE BOREDOM.
Exceed Preschool Curriculum is a superior program designed to meet the needs of administrators, directors, teachers, parents, and children. Through pre-written Staff Memos, Parent Letters, detailed lesson plans, Schedules of Activities and supply lists, staff working with children now have more time to enjoy being a part of the preschool experience. Additionally, Exceed provides staff opportunities for “on the job training” through Suggestions, Teacher Helping Hand Hints, and monthly Observation Checklists. This program is so “user-friendly”, one need only read and follow the brief, suggested guidelines, “How To Use Exceed Preschool Curriculum” which is located at the beginning of each book.

A pre-written weekly Staff Memo is the teacher’s first look at the skills and activities planned for the week. It can be read in less than five minutes but provides basic information as well as Suggestions and Teacher’s Helping Hand Hints on how to enrich children’s experiences in the classroom. A supply list of extra items (not included on the Basic Supply List) is also provided. At the beginning of each month, the themes for each week and suggested field trips are provided to further expand the learning environment. A monthly Observation Checklist includes age-appropriate skills from the developmental areas of language, cognitive, fine motor, gross motor, self-help, and socialization. This provides teachers with a guideline for observing children’s progress. It is suggested that a copy be made for each child and that on-going observations be checked off as noted by the teacher. The Observation Checklist may also be used as a resource during parent/teacher conferences for objective discussion of a child’s progress.

Pre-written daily lesson plans include morning and afternoon supply lists, activities for each of the focal areas including circle time, language/literacy, math, center time, language, music, and art. Colorful symbols are placed within the titles of focal areas to help teachers quickly reference specific areas of the lesson plan. Skills introduced are age-appropriate and presented in sequence, if needed, for clarity. Transition suggestions presented between activities provide classroom management techniques that allow children the opportunity to feel in control of their environment. They are able to move smoothly from one activity to another with very little guidance. If transitions are not established, children may react negatively to an atmosphere of disorganization where their safety could be jeopardized. Teacher Helping Hand Hints, Teacher Observations, Suggestions for various ways to implement activities are also included in the lesson plans as a continuation of “on-the-job training” for staff. The Naptime Teacher Preparations section allows staff an opportunity to prepare additional materials needed for the following day’s lesson plans. Exceed plans only for the school day, and is organized, as well as structured, to meet this criteria.

Exceed Preschool Curriculum is a year-round preschool program, thus, a fifth week is needed at some point during a three-month period. The fifth week lesson plans are written so that they may be used at the end of any month during the current quarter.

NO WORRY
Using Exceed Preschool Curriculum's lesson plans, teachers always have a detailed, planned schedule and appropriate activities for each day of the week. A daily supply list offers suggested items that are often already on the classroom supply shelf. Teachers spend more time working with the children as this program has eliminated the need for staff planning time. In addition, substitute lesson plans are no longer needed if the teacher is absent from the classroom. Exceed allows for stability and consistency in the classroom regardless of changes made in staff scheduling.

AGE SPECIFIC
Exceed provides individual programs for both the three year old and four year old child. The three year old half-day program provides youngsters an opportunity to expand their vocabulary, begin letter recognition, review colors and shapes, follow directions, share, take turns, and experience other socialization skills in a group setting. The four year old full-day curriculum introduces an extensive language/literacy program including letter recognition, beginning sounds of letters, rhyming words and in the spring, "I Can Read Words" or sight words. A Writing Focus is added during the summer months giving youngsters an extra boost in expanding their readiness skills for entry into kindergarten. Three year old and four year old children work on different levels in social settings. Exceed specifically addresses three year old skills and concepts in the three year old curriculum and four year old skills and concepts in the four year old program.

THE PARENTS
Exceed's pre-written weekly Parent Letter is the parent's first look at the skills and activities for the coming week. It can be read in less than five minutes and provides parents with ways they can participate in their children's preschool experience without actually being in the classroom. This includes bringing additional supplies for added interest in the monthly themes, parent observations, and suggested questions to ask children about their daily activities. Parent Observations are included as some skills may be observed during daily home routines. It is suggested a copy of the Parent Letter be made for each parent and placed in a designated location easily noticeable when entering and leaving the classroom. A pre-written Schedule of Activities is additional information available to parents on a daily basis. Staff may want to post it in a location accessible to adults entering the classroom or make a copy for each parent. Many states require information about the center/school's educational program to be posted in a highly visible and frequently used area of the facility.

GO WITH THE FLOW
Exceed includes transitions within the daily lesson plans. Transitions are an important part of classroom management. If teachers do not know how to effectively transition children from one activity to another, chaos often becomes evident in the classroom. With Exceed, a transition is included after each activity to help teachers manage their classrooms as well as allow children an opportunity to feel a sense of control in their environment.

RESEARCH
From local to international levels, leaders in education, science, medicine, government, and business have acknowledged the value – indeed, the imperative – in adopting and implementing early childhood education and development initiatives for all preschool aged children, especially three- and four-year-olds.

In the U.S., this movement has received recognition and support at the highest levels of government, through Good Start, Grow Smart: The Bush Administration's Early Childhood Initiative. Good Start, Grow Smart makes clear that "there is a strong connection between the development a child undergoes early in life and the level of success that the child will experience later in life."

Internationally, the World Bank has funded extensive research on the links between proactive early childhood education, and its essential role in enabling developing nations to establish tangible, sustainable advances in their social, political, and economic stability.

Exceed Preschool Curriculums were designed and developed by highly educated professionals with lifelong practical classroom experience, and then classroom tested in diverse settings, based on the knowledge that:

Development of the human brain begins soon after conception
Learning begins at birth and, if properly supported, continues throughout life
The optimal environment for maximizing the potential of a child's brain is in a combination of settings that includes the home, and in more diverse environments such as quality day care, pre-kindergarten early childhood education settings, and programs such as Head Start

The most effective preschool curriculum should:

Be based on a judicious combination of the relevant, available research, and practical classroom experiences

Be suitable for teachers with all levels of experience, education, and training
Provide a clear and consistent format that ensures appropriate transitions from one activity to the next
Utilize appropriate educational materials already in the classroom that are familiar to the teacher in implementing the curriculum that has been selected

Be highly intuitive for the teacher and quickly integrated into the flow of daily activities in the classroom
Effectively prepare young children to enter the next phase in their learning – whether in a public or private setting – with a smooth transition and all of the necessary knowledge to exceed.

Complete research available upon request.

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Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

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