Early childhood education is traditionally defined as any education taking place before the primary grades of first through third grades in elementary school. It encompasses all education from birth to first grade, but usually the term is used to refer to the more formalized nursery or preschool environments and kindergartens. These classroom environments have different emphases from developmental to academic. The most appropriate type of educational structure for children this age focuses on their individual level of development and their individual interests; therefore most academic classrooms are inappropriate because of their emphasis on seat work and teacher directed learning. The best available curriculum for teachers of this age group is found in a book called The Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood, by Diane Trister Dodge and Laura J. Colker. The Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive, child development-based curriculum that allows teachers to set-up an effective learning environment for preschool and kindergarten classrooms. It is based on child development theories, it is easy to use, practical and flexible in its approach to teaching, and allows each child to proceed on the path of learning at the child's own pace.
The first portion of the book, "Setting the Stage," gives the reader some the theoretical foundation of Dodge and Colkers' philosophy of education for children this age. The authors draw on Piaget, Erikson, and Maslow by name but also reference many other child development, and play theories without giving the theorists credit either because the theories have become common domain or because the theories are generally accepted as common sense.
The Creative Curriculum integrates many child development theories and theories of play. Eric Erikson's theories provide the basis for the curriculum's social and emotional underpinnings. Erikson defined eight stages of socio-emotional growth from infa...