Curriculum
Flower Early Learning Centre serving children ages 24 months
through three years. We have a broad curriculum implemented in
an environment that promotes social and emotional growth, skills of
independence, cultural diversity, problem solving, and most
importantly, a love of learning that are supported by The Early
Childhood Curriculum Framework - Aistear and Siolta.
Within a safe and loving atmosphere, our materials and curriculum
are based on developmentally appropriate needs of the children in
our centre. Cultural diversity is present though books, puzzles,
dolls, diversity among the children and diversity among the staff.
Below is an outline of our daily routine. Please note that between
8:15 and 10:00 we do a great deal of reading and often offer table
activities such as puzzles, drawing or playdough.
Within this schedule the children are offered a great variety of
learning opportunities. The toys and materials offered vary from day
to day and throughout each day. The children learn how to follow a
routine and to act as responsible and caring members of a
community (e.g. the children participate in clean-up time once or
twice daily). As the children grow and develop we encourage the
development of their skills of independence. For infants, this means
learning to fall asleep independently, self feeding, and, when old
enough, being able to sit and play with toys for a few moments.
Older toddlers learn to put on and take off shoes and outerwear,
use the potty, get in and out of chairs and other furniture, etc.
Problem solving skills are developed at every turn. In our
playground this ranges from motor planning to cooperative play.
Young toddlers learn how to climb, get in and out of toy cars, the
sandbox and an assortment of riding vehicles. In groups, the
children are supported in using their emerging language skills to
negotiate turn-taking, take roles in imaginary play and in creating
rules of made-up games. Indoors, the toys available to the children
consistently present problem solving opportunities. These include
but are not limited to bristle blocks, stacking pegboards, magnet
blocks, Duplo blocks, shape sorters, stacking toys, puzzles of
increasing levels of difficulty, ball mazes and bead mazes.
Our philosophy is that children at this particular age learn best
through play and interest, we let children to choose their own
subject such as the ocean or transport and then the teachers
develop the topics to a wider activities such as arts, getting the right
books and materials that’s relate to the child preferred subject. We
use books and other materials to teach colours, shapes, counting,
sorting and letter and number recognition. We also cover these
curriculum areas through circle time and song activities. We
continually discuss colour, form and texture through our art
activities, as well as at mealtime.
Activities that present opportunities to teach science and
knowledge include cooking, playdough, sand and water play, ball
mazes, and blocks. Of course, many of the books in our library
present opportunities for teaching science. Examples are Planting a
Rainbow, by Lois Elhert, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle,
Dinosaur, Dinosaur and Bones, Bones, Bones by Byron Barton,
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Leonni. These books are
sometimes paired with other activities such as planting seeds and
following their growth, playing with toy dinosaurs, or exploring
colour with paint or food colouring.
Books are used to support many of our curriculum goals. They
present not only science, but examples of and opportunities for
problem solving, exposure to other cultures, emerging math and
literacy skills, and perhaps most important of all ‚ a love of books.
Flower Childcare | Clonskeagh