Creative Child Nursery

1. Introduction
Dear Parents,
We would like to thank all the parents who
gave us their feedback regarding the new educational practices
at Creative Child this year.We are so pleased that the majority
of parents are happy with the implementation of the emergent
curriculum, however, as we anticipated there are a few parents
who require more information and involvement in our new
framework.This is why we have decided to prepare this
newsletter about documentation. Documentation is without a
doubt one of the most important elements in the implemen-
tation of an emergent curriculum.The documentation reflects the
children’s learning process.The documentation helps the
educators to identify what children know about life and more
important how they encounter new situations, concepts, and
challenges. In a few words it is what and how they are learning.
Our job in that sense is to provoke, stimulate and help them to
make sense of what they are encountering. It is not about
teaching; it is about learning, and they are definitely not the
same.
We know that the change in an educational paradigm is not easy
to explain and at times, to understand. I hope to be able to inter-
pret and give more context to the educational work we have been
doing this year.The change is simple, but radical.We are applying
a real child-centered “curriculum”. How do we do that? By
following the interests and learning style of the children.What we
need is to listen, observe and follow them.This is why we take
photos, videos and notes about what they do during the day. It is
not about creating a photo album of souvenirs. It is about
interpreting the exploration, the search for answers, the wonder
of learning.
Real learning is multidisciplinary and multi-sensorial. Children
learn in a social and situational context.This is a holistic approach
where the traditional academic concepts are present but as a part
of the whole experience. It is not about learning an abstract color
or shape, a number, a letter as a pure sign or learning only music
or art. It is about a context where those concepts are applied.
What is the color of the apple? How many chairs do we need for
lunch time?Which placemat has your name?
Would you like to write a letter for mom and dad? In addition,
when the children do pretend play they create scenarios where
they apply all the knowledge they have from the world around
them. Each child might be in a different developmental stage
and what seems to be obvious to our eyes is a completely new
discovery for them.
For this issue we have selected one example of documentation
from each class to show different learning activities that are
relevant for young children. In all these cases the children
expressed their interest to the educators that they were ready
to listen to them and encourage them to continue with their
exploration.To help to appreciate the learning activity we have
interpreted the documentation using the Key Developmental
Indicators from the HighScope Curriculum. KDIs are observable
skills and knowledge that children from 0-3 and 3-5 years old
should be practicing in the preschool years. Some of the
samples are episodes and others are projects. I have attached
the KDIs for your reference.
We hope you enjoy reading these interesting learning expe-
riences where the children are the protagonists.We apologize if
you don’t see your child in the documentation that the teacher
has selected for this issue. As we have previously explained, the
learning is individual and not all children are always interested
in the same activity or project.The teachers also need to
choose the most representative photo that can illustrate the
concept of the documentation and they might not be able to
include all photos. Rest assured all our children have
participated in several learning experiences.The teachers keep
the evidence in their portfolios displayed inside the classroom.
Some of the teachers have opted to send the documentation
by email. If you have doubts about how to interpret what you
see in the documentation, do not hesitate to talk to your child’s
teacher.
I hope you really enjoy this newsletter and I am looking forward
to your feedback.
Sincerely,
Fabiola Barrios
Director
director@creativechild-doha.com
Director’s Message
May Issue 2014 | Newsletter
Creative Child Nursery School

2. The Emergent Curriculum in Early Childhood Settings by Susan Stacey 2009

3. Yellow Room
Infant section
Children aged 10 - 15 months
Key Development Indicators:
• Exploring print
• Self-help and self-awareness
• Listening and responding
• Relationship with adults and peers
Who’s there?
Children love looking at mirrors
attached to the wall while changing
diapers
The educators put wide reflective sheets on
highchairs and walls where they can see their
reflections
Linda leans
towards the
glass door
as she sees
herself
More hide and seek games with Julia
Maggie and Alia playing
Isabel looking at the mirror
Noah, Olseya, Max playing hide and seek with
the educators
Eelke playing peek-a-boo
Mirrors are fascinating things to work and play with. For children, they hold an
element of magic to them. Infants respond to their reflection in mirrors. They are
interested and devote much time and effort exploring the connections between their
bodies and their images. The educators in the infant group followed their interest and
put lots of mirrors around them. During mirror play, children communicate through
reflections to understand their sense of awareness and help them distinguish
themselves from others.
Mirror play helps foster children’s cognitive, social
and emotional development. Infants were now
introduced to new games like hide-and-seek or
peek-a-boo. These simple games are not only for
fun but also helps them learn how to focus, track
images, gaze on their own, and discover the
wonderful things a face can do.
CreativeChildNursery

4. Where is the ball?
CreativeChildNursery
The story of Tiny Observers and balls started during their school
adaptation process to the nursery environment. Being in the ball
pool distracted the children from crying.
Children extended the ball play outside the pool. It is clear that
there is a cognitive development taking place. They can hold the
ball, throw, insert, or hide it.
The latter observation inspired
the teacher and assistants to
construct a box with holes to
insert balls. Apart from the
obvious development in filling
and emptying, the game
presented a transition in Tiny
Observers relationship, moving
from solitary play to pair/group
play.
On the other hand, a new
toy was added to the piazza
(the play area): The Ball
Machine. The kids
welcomed the addition with
great pleasure especially
since it involves playing
music when a ball is
inserted.
Balls fueled countless hours of fun for toddlers and stimulated large
motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They are learning how to
bounce, catch, aim and throw, play cooperative games and even play a
few games of their own. Most children of Tiny Observers learnt how to
say “ball” and “look”. Through playing, they are also developing their
communication skills.
As Max joined their class, his
father noted that he was very
interested in light. It did not take
long for the teacher and assistants
to notice that themselves.
So, they wanted a new ball with
new features... One that once you
throw, it glows and shines. Take a
look at our magic ball:
A group picture in the ball pit
Kimonas said
“Wooow”
when he held the
ball.
Keiden holding up the
ball with pride playing
up and down
Three tiny observers playing with the ball
machine: Hanna, Keiden, Olivia
A surprise for Max
was waiting for him
while he was playing
in the kitchen: a
glowing ball.
Box with holes to insert balls
Hanna, Olivia, Kosuke and Joep
playing one game sharing space
and items
Key Developmental Indicators:
• Cognitive development
• Filling and emptying
• Playing with others
• Exploring objects
• Moving with objects
Pink Room
Infant section
Children aged 1 - 2 years

5. Blue Room
Infant section
Children aged 1 - 2 years
Key Development Indicators:
• Cognitive Development
• Identifying visual images
• Seeing from different viewpoints
• Moving with objects
• Exploring print
Reflections
On and Off
“It’s a circle!” - Sara
Arian showing the torch to Zayna
Playing with the torch
Yamen is watching
the reflections
travel to the
ceiling
“Hi” - Meme
Min putting his hand over the light while
Teresa is watching
Anton touching the
light reflection on
the door
Teresa switching the torch on
There is something alluring about light and mirrors, particularly to children. In
this activity, the teachers and the children had the chance to explore and play
with them. It also allowed the teachers to see a child's distinct aspect of curiosity
and creativity: how every light source inside the room attracted the little ones, or
how the lights looked impressive taking up a lot of space in the wall. This gave
the children inspiration to experiment with shadows and reflections, or to play
with light after the educators saw their enthusiasm.
Lights out, bring the mirrors and torches and
proceed to exploring. Children were able to
discover the wonderful things a light can make.
They knew how torches work, or how rays of light
and mirrors relate to each other.
Children manipulated the torches by making them produce different shapes on
the wall by using their hands to block some areas of it, making the torches' light
size bigger and smaller by zooming it in and out, turning them on and off or even
creating light effects inside the classroom. Children were fascinated handling the
torches, they were smiling and shouting in excitement.
Children got to play with
mirrors too, rotating and
flipping them to control
directions to where the light
will bounce in, reflecting
light in multiple
dimensions. Mirrors spread
light in the room and add
light to dark corners. They
used mirrors in different
ways to make everything
interesting.
CreativeChildNursery

6. Current research on the brain, learning and human intelligence
from a variety of disciplines, including medicine, cognitive
sciences, and education has provided information with profound
implications to education.This research is challenging and
stretches the traditional approaches to education and teaching,
particularly with regard to the ability to learn, human intelligence,
and how efficient learning occurs.
Intelligence—What Is It?
The traditional theory of intelligence has two fundamental
assumptions:
1. that human cognition is unitary; and
2. that individuals can be adequately described as having a
single, quantifiable intelligence.
The traditional theory of intelligence has helped create a mindset
or paradigm as to what "smart" or "intelligent" is, who has
potential or ability to be smart, and how we can or cannot become
smart.This has clearly influenced current educational practices. It
is still common educational practice to use the score from
standardized intelligence tests to qualify children for various
special programs. It is assumed these tests measure intelligence
accurately and meaningfully.
Current research indicates that the only limit to one's intelligence is
what the individual believes is possible and how his or her
behaviors either foster or limit his or her intelligence. Research also
indicates that intelligence is not a static structure that can be
measured and meaningfully quantified, but an open, dynamic
system that can continue to develop throughout life.Through his
work and studies, Reuven Feuerstein, an Israeli psychologist and
educator, has developed a theory of the "Modifiability of
Intelligence." He has linked the importance of how teachers,
through facilitating learning experiences, impact the quality of
learning and influence the potential intelligence of each student.
Feuerstein's educational approach focuses on the quality of
interaction between the teacher and the learner, which he calls
Mediated Learning Experiences (MLE). He has successfully
demonstrated how, through systematic and planned enrichment,
intelligence can be modified, expanded, and developed.
(Feuerstein, 1988).
Research also indicates that intelligence is
not a static structure that can be measured
and meaningfully quantified, but an open,
dynamic system that can continue to
develop throughout life.
Marian Diamond, a neuropsychologist at the University of
California-Berkeley, has discovered that the human brain can
change and improve with use. Diamond's theory of the "Plasticity
of the Brain" implies that environmental conditions, interpersonal
stimulation, and the way in which individuals think and behave
actually change the body, brain, and intelligence. (Diamond, 1988).
TheTheory of Multiple Intelligences
Supporting the new paradigm of intelligence, Howard Gardner of
Project Zero at Harvard University has determined that intelligence
is a pluralistic phenomenon, rather than a static structure with a
single type of intelligence. Gardner defines intelligence as:
• the ability to solve problems that one encounters in real life;
• the ability to generate new problems to solve
• the ability to make something or offer a service that is valued
within one's culture, in his cross-cultural exploration of the
ways in which people are intelligent
• he has identified seven distinct types of intelligences:
-Verbal/Linguistic
- Logical/Mathematical
- Musical
-Visual/Spatial
- Body/Kinesthetic
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
Our western, North American culture, for instance, favors
verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligences and tends
to undervalue others, such as body/kinesthetic intelligence.These
biases, added to the traditional theory of intelligence, have limited
our development of curricula, instructional strategies, and current
methods of assessment-including how we measure intelligence.
Recent brain/mind research and new theories of human
intelligence redirect our attention in three specific areas-first, on
the environmental conditions and messages we provide children;
second, on the kind of support and relationships we develop
between caregivers, educators, and children; and third, on the
need to match what we know about the ways kids are intelligent
and learn with teaching strategies designed to maximize the full
development of each individual child.
According to Gardner's theory, one form
of intelligence is not better than another;
they are equally valuable and viable.Yet,
he discovered that different cultures are
biased towards and against certain
types of intelligences.
By Connie Hine

7. Environmental Strategies to Support
Multiple Intelligences
Because circle time and whole group instruction activities dictate
that we do the same thing with all or most of the children at the
same time, these activities are among the least effective strategies
for meeting the diverse needs and intelligences of young children.
Group activities often favor a teacher's strengths while meeting
the strengths of only a few of the children.
The most significant modification we can make to meet diverse
needs is to reduce the use of circle time and replace it by
incorporating and using well-planned learning stations or centers
where children can spend most of their day. Learning stations are
temporary activity locations where materials are put out and later
put away, usually by an adult. Learning centers are permanent
locations, visually and spatially defined areas, ideally three-sided,
where materials are organized by subject and available for children
to select independently.
Conclusion
Howard Gardner'sTheory of Multiple Intelligences honors and
promotes the development of all seven avenues of intelligence
in young children.This approach provides a framework to
identify how children learn; to build on their strongest assets; to
help them become more intelligent by exposing them to a
variety of ways of learning; to better individualize for their
interests and needs; and to use teaching strategies that make
learning more efficient, successful, and enjoyable for all
children.We can foster meaningful learning experiences by
using multiple teaching tools and strategies and by building
positive, supportive relationships with children.
Through environments that offer a variety of stimulating,
hands-on materials that children individually select, and by
creating learning centers that provide natural opportunities to
move, be active, and fully engaged in either solo or small group
experiences, we better serve and meet the needs of more
children.
Connie Hine is an educational consultant, professional speaker, trainer,
and author of EngagingYoung Learners:TheTeacher's Role in Early
Childhood Classrooms. Read the complete article at :
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx
?ArticleID=251
By Connie Hine

8. Key Development Indicators:
• Listening and understanding speech
• Role playing & moving with objects
• Exploring and identifying
CreativeChildNursery
All the fish
are swimming in
the water
The children always watch the fish tank displayed in the
piazza. They are excited to see the fish move around the
water. So, the educators decided to talk about animals that
live underwater and explore other things that can be found
in the ocean.
They watched videos about the ocean and later on the
children took different sea animals and waved them in
front of the screen with an ocean background pretending
that they were swimming in the water.
The teachers along with the
children also explored coral
reefs. Children painted shells
which they used in the
constructive play with clay,
and did shell drawing.
The children and
the educators
sang “1,2,3,4,5
once I caught a
fish alive” & “All
the fish are
swimming in the
water”
Cute Discoverers
Toddlers section
Children aged 2 -3 years
Dillon, Elis, and Jayden painted attentively. Norah drew a straight line by a frame while Lara &
Jayden used them as necklaces
“Green fish, orange fish” Jayden pretending Ako tracing the
-Lachlan he’s hearing the sound dolphin on the paper
from the shell and said and said “fish”
“Hi”
They had a one big jar
with lots of small fish
hanging which looked
like an aquarium
to the children.

9. Happy Helpers
Toddler section
Children aged 2 -3 years
Key Development Indicators:
• Social and emotional development
• Group participation
• Exploring objects filling/emptying
• Relationships with adults and peers
CreativeChildNursery
Caring for living things
Caring for living things was the focus of the following
projects: bean experiment and bird feeders. The
educators did a variety of plant-related activities: they
brought a real plant to the classroom so the students
could see and touch it; they did a bean experiment that
involves putting wet cotton balls inside a Ziploc bag
with beans and waiting for them to sprout; looked at
books that showed different kinds of plants, flowers, and
herbs; and started a garden outside.
These activities allowed them to work on
many different important areas of development.
The discussions of caring for the plants empha-
sized empathy and caring. The bean experiment
involved a lot of listening and responding. The teacher
explained what they were going to do and how the
experiment works. The students actively listened and
repeated some of the relevant vocabulary following the
steps described. These activities also fostered
socialization since there were many opportunities for the
students to interact with each other and the adults in the
room.
Here they are talking about parts of the
plant and what they require to live.
Chloe (left) and Caleb (right) working on the bean experiment. Here we can see the beans in
action. Sprout, beans, sprout!
Herbs ready to grow!
Break out your magnifying
glass and try to find the bird in
this photo!
To make the bird feeders,
they used empty water
and milk bottles, dry
sticks, string, and bird
food. The students were
repeating relevant
vocabulary as they were
making the feeders.
The finished bird feeders hanging on the back porch.
Children have seen a few birds
coming to the windows in
their classroom. The children
got very excited and showed a
lot of interest, so the educators
decided to plan activities
around things that have to do
with birds. They made bird
feeders together as a class
hoping that soon the birds
would come again and let the
children have a better look at
them.

10. Gardening project
CreativeChildNursery
Aesthetic awareness refers to a heightened sensitivity to the
beauty around us. Because the natural world is filled with
beautiful sights, sounds, and textures, it's the perfect resource for the
development of aesthetics in young children. Toddlerss learn much through
their senses. Outside there are many different and wonderful things for them to
see (animals, birds, and green leafy plants), to hear (the wind rustling through
the leaves, a robin's song), to smell (fragrant flowers and the rain-soaked
ground,) to touch (a fuzzy caterpillar or the bark of a tree), and even to taste
(newly fallen snow or a raindrop on the tongue).While playing outdoors,
children found a garden box with plants and flowers. They sat beside the box,
looked, touched and picked the flowers. Every time they play outdoors children
are observing and gathering flowers. So the educators in the class decided to
conduct a gardening project.
Garden pot, soil, shovel, seeds, and water... these are the
things we need in planting.
Children were excited to do planting.
Clement shared his watering can in the
class.
After a week of planting, the
seeds grew into plants.
“My pink flower” - Alissabeth
These are the children’s pots.
Parents and children brought
plants and flowers to share in
the class.
Children said, “Flowers, flowers!”
Key Developmental Indicators:
• Self-help
• Group participation
• Listening and responding
• Exploring objects
• Physical activity
Dynamic Explorers
Toddlers section
Children aged 2 -3 years

11. Drumming
CreativeChildNursery
Infancy and early childhood are prime times to capitalize
on children’s innate musical spontaneity and to encourage
their natural inclinations to sing, move, and play with sound.
Young children engage in music as an exploratory activity, one
that is interactive, social, creative, and joyful.
When young children have a rich musical environment along with
appropriate guidance from adults, they can learn, for example, to
imitate and with increasing precision, distinguish among rhythm
and tone patterns (Gordon 1997).
After snack time, Angus was at the large blocks
corner and he started standing the blocks up and
decided to start using them as drums. He called
out for Ms D and said, “Look, look what I’m
doing!” Then the rest of the children started to join the fun one by one using the wooden
blocks as drums. Angus was the one with the original idea, and the rest of the children
followed his beat.
They are having so much fun! Other children
pick up some shakers and ribbons to join in!
Maurizio, Tamim, Angus, Sebastian, Adelina, Nikki, Camille and Ciara all joined in the fun!
Aidan and Angus pretending
to perform together, Aidan
singing while Angus is
playing a trumpet!
Angus and Adam
drumming and singing
together the “All the fish
are swimming in the
water” song
Omar decided to
join with his own
instrument!
Curious Creators
Toddlers section
Children aged 2 -3 years
Key Development Indicators:
• Creative arts (listening/responding to music)
• Sounds and vocal pitch
Sidra joined and she
went to get the
bright colourful
scarves.
“Twinkle, twinkle!”
-Maurizio
“Where did you get
these drums, Ms. D?”
- Angus

12. The following descriptions can be helpful to identify basic personal
characteristics, traits, behaviors, and preferences for each of the seven
intelligences. Remember, we are all intelligent to varying degrees in all seven
ways. Each person has a unique profile.You may be very strong in one or two
intelligences, medium in a few, and perhaps weak or empty (not yet filled) in
one or two. Consequently, you may have four or five intelligences that are
equally developed and two that are less developed.The important thing is to
identify and build on one's strengths to modify and increase the less
developed intelligences in ourselves and in children.
1)Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence—"The Writer/Orator/Attorney"
People with high verbal/linguistic intelligence love words.They prefer to
process information through words and language versus pictures.They may
prefer oral or written methods, or excel in both. Additional characteristics
include the following:
• Sensitive to the meaning, order, and sound of words
• Uses varied language
• Avid talkers; good speakers
• Likes to explain, convince, and persuade through words
• Enjoys and excels at word games
• Enjoys listening to, telling, and reading stories
• Enjoys rhymes and poetry
• Has good memory recall for names and dates
2) Logical/Mathematical Intelligence—"The Scientist/Philosopher"
People with high logical/mathematical intelligence create order out of chaos
by analyzing, grouping, and categorizing.They recognize relationships,
connections, and patterns more easily than people with less logical
intelligence. Additional characteristics include the following:
• Ability to handle long chains of reasoning
• Likes reasons for doing things
• Possesses good inductive and deductive reasoning
• Quick to learn equivalencies
• Asks "why" and "how" questions
• Solves problems rapidly
• Likes to predict, analyze, and theorize
• Enjoys dealing with abstraction
• Strong at math and problem solving skills
• Sequential thinker
• Enjoys board games and games with rules
3) Musical Intelligence—"The Entertainer/Musician"
People with high musical intelligence learn best through sound, rhythm, and
music.These people learn better when music is playing and through musical
metaphors. Additional characteristics include the following:
• Ability to perceive pitch, tone, and rhythmic pattern
• Well developed auditory sense and discrimination
• Ability to create, organize rhythmically, and compose music
• Picks up and creates melodies/rhythm easily
• Remembers songs easily
• Ability to sing or play instruments
• Sensitive and drawn to sounds
• Possesses "schemas" for hearing music
• Constantly humming, tapping, and singing
4)Visual/Spatial Intelligence—"The Architect/Engineer/ Sculptor"
People with high visual intelligence process information best using pictures,
visuals, and imagery.They have a sense of direction and an ability to think and
plan in three dimensions. Additional characteristics include the following:
• Ability to create complex mental images
• Active imagination
• Ability to find their way mentally and physically around environment
• Ability to see the physical world accurately and translate it into new
forms
• Ability to see things in relationship to others
• Ability to use "mind maps"
• Uses imagery and guided visualizations
• Likes visual support-video, pictures, photos, charts, posters
• Organizes space, objects, and areas
• Enjoys designing and decorating
5) Body/Kinesthetic Intelligence—"The Athlete/ Dancer/Actor/Surgeon"
People with high kinesthetic intelligence process information through their
bodies-through muscle, sensation, and movement.Their bodies are their
avenue to learning and understanding any content or subject and is also
their preferred form of self-expression. Additional characteristics include the
following:
• A fine-tuned ability to use the body and handle objects (fine and gross
motor)
• Ability to express emotions through bodily movement
• Enjoys physical movement and dance
• Constant movement-likes to get up and move around
• Commitment to comfort
• Uses body to accomplish a task
• Experiences a strong mind/body connection
• Expands awareness through the body
• Experiences a total physical response
• Often good at creative drama
6) Interpersonal Intelligence—"The Counselor/Minister/Teacher"
People with high interpersonal intelligence process information through
relatedness to others.They are "people" people. It is in relationship to and
with other people that they best understand themselves and the world.
Additional characteristics include the following:
• Ability to notice and discern subtleties among others, such as moods,
temperaments, and feelings
• Discerns underlying intentions, behavior, and perspectives
• Easily makes friends and enjoys the company of others
• Ability to get into the perspective of another
• Responds to verbal and nonverbal communications-facial cues and
body movements
• Recognizes and empathizes with others' feelings
• Ability to negotiate and handle conflict resolution
• Works cooperatively in a group
• Works well with a diverse group of people
• Good communication skills
• Loves to talk and influence
7) Intrapersonal Intelligence—"The Poet/Efficiency Expert"
People with high intrapersonal intelligence have a strong sense of
themselves, their wants, and needs.They are self reflective and in touch
with themselves.They may be the nonconformist individuals who march to
their own drummer. Additional characteristics include the following:
• Well developed sense of self
• Awareness and expression of different feelings
• Self reflection and mindfulness
• Ability to think about thinking (i.e., metacognition)
• Transpersonal sense of self. Asks big questions—"Why are we here?"
and "What happens when we die?"
• Often is a daydreamer
• Often writes introspectively including prose, poetry, or journal writing
• Excellent self planners and good at goal setting
• Enjoys solitude and likes to think alone
• Good understanding of strengths and weaknesses
• Enjoys self discovery
By Connie Hine

13. The Art of
Friendship
CreativeChildNursery
When Ms. Zeina started teaching in January the
little ones were still content playing with anyone
and everyone. By March they began forming
opinions not only about their favorite books and
toys, but also about their favorite people. They
actively communicated their decisions about
who they wanted and didn’t want to play with.
On the one hand, it was magical to watch
genuine friendships develop, yet on the other
hand, it was heartbreaking to watch some
children deal with blunt rejection. The educators
decided that it was time to start understanding
and practicing kindness. The project “The Art of
Friendship” developed out of a need they
observed in the group.
Since empathy is a very visceral concept,
acquiring it requires activities that engage
growth on an emotional level. One of the
teacher’s strategies was to activate empathy via
collaboration. If students are given enough
opportunity to work side-by-side, they begin to
communicate; more possibilities are present for
free exchange of ideas and feelings, and
understanding your partner becomes imperative
for achieving the activity’s objectives. Beyond
understanding comes the very difficult but
wonderful task of respecting an idea that differs
from theirs.
The children were randomly paired up with a “Sock Buddy”
during Large Group Time through different activities like:
Their Favorite Things
Children chose one of their
classmate’s pictures and were
encouraged to describe them out
of context.
“I choose Nasser. He’s not here
anymore. He loved to cut and
glue. He always wanted scissors.”
-Mazen
Bargaining with Art
Sock buddies were
instructed to cut the same
piece of paper. This helped
develop verbal and
non-verbal communication
skills and conflict
resolution.
“I want to make
a door” - Mazen
“Okay, I’m cutting
here.” -Louis
A Friend in Mommy
After observing that most children wanted their
necklace for Mommy, they decided to dedicate a
whole gluing activity to making a flower for
her too.
“This is for my mommy. I will buy her a big
yellow Lamborghini. I love her so much.”
- Huzayfa
“Annabel
you want to
clean
it two
times?”
- Karim
“Drew
how do I
squeeze
it?”
- Khloe
Me and My Sock Buddy
Each group would have to
accept their new partner and
spend the rest of the day
getting to know them.
“I am with Annabel!” - Alfred
“Who has the stripes?” - Drew
Love in Labor
Sock-buddies paired up to clean
their socks at the end of the week.
Weather was perfect and socks
were ready for a nice scrubbing. It
encouraged the children to enjoy
cleaning, help each other, do it
properly as opposed inadvertently
making a mess, and to empathize
with those who constantly clean
up after them.
I’ll Make You Pretty
The children were given a length of
yarn, some cut up straws, and the
instruction to adorn their sock-buddy
with a necklace.
“I’m giving it to my Mommy
and my Daddy and my
brother and
my sister.”
-Mary
“This is for Haya
Mermaid.” - Alfred
Key Developmental Indicators:
• Group participation & fine motor skills
• Relationship with adults and peers
• Social and emotional development
Independent Inventors
Preschool section
Children aged 3 - 4 years

14. CreativeChildNursery
Mystery Makers
Preschool section
Children aged 3 - 4 years
Key Development Indicators:
• Initiative, planning & engagement
• Problem solving
• Use of resources
• Cooperative play
• Language
• Pretend play
Our Little Engineers
“ I will pass the
bridge” - Sebastian
“ Wait I will fix it first.
Gregory help me
please.”
- Joseph
“ I am under this one.. I will
hide and play with the
blocks. It is like a house”
- Hala
“Nasser, look there is hammer
and screw. What do you want
to build?” - Rania
“I need to fix it. It is
broken. Then I will fix
the house” - Marcus
“I will put the sand
inside the drill” - Lydia
Animals Castle
Done by: Joseph and
Analeigh with the help of
Gregorio, Sebastian, and
Antoine
“Let’s build the house for the
animals and people.” - Joseph
“I will put this up” - Gregory
“I will give this to you so the
castle will not fall down.”
- Joseph
“I am fixing these for the house.”
- Gregory
“ We are doing a nice place
for the animals to live. This
is to decorate their house
and be colorful. It is very
nice and the animals will be
happy” -Analeigh
As part of the Emergent Curriculum, the educators focus on the children’s interests
and initiatives. One of the centers in the classroom that is very interesting for
children is the block area. This is one of the episodes where the children pretended
and created their own game using different open-ended materials available in the
classroom.
The blocks center is a very important part of any early childhood classroom. When
children build with blocks, they learn about mathematical concepts such as size,
shape, number, and quantity. They become aware of scientific principles such as the
force of gravity and the functioning of simple machines such as levers and inclined
planes. They learn to think, plan, and problem-solve as their structures take form.
This center has special appeal for children whose intelligences are strong in the
visual/spatial, logical/mathematical, and bodily/kinesthetic areas.

15. CreativeChildNursery
Fantastic Designers
Preschool section
Children aged 3 - 4 years
Key Development Indicators:
• Use of resources/reflection
• Drawing conclusion
• Pretend play & experimenting
• Fine motor skills
• Observing, communicating ideas
mommy
butterfly
baby
butterfly
“butterfly is
flying and flying
on flowers to
sit”
caterpillar
chrysalis
egg of butterfly
leaf
food for
the caterpillar
flowers
I love
butterflies
“See my butterfly is
flying through the
light table” -Celia
“I want my butterfly to
fly away” -Yassin
“In the blue sky orange
butterfly, orange butterfly
fly fly fly” -Tae
“My butterfly needs to eat
nectar from flowers to fly
away” -Layla
“I have mommy, daddy and baby
butterflies. Mommy and baby
butterflies are flying and daddy
butterfly is laying down on the bed at
home. Mommy butterfly is looking for
the food. There is fire and they will
cook marshmallow in the fire. There
are also rocks so butterflies will go
there to sleep.” -Daniel
“My tiny butterfly can
fly see Layla” -Celia (left)
“Mine too..” -Layla (right)
What do you know about
butterflies?
The Butterflies Project started with the story book,
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. The children showed real
interest through the many questions that came to their
minds after the story:
What the butterflies look like?
How do they fly?
What do they eat?
So the educators decided to initiate an investigation in the
classroom.
At the beginning of the project, some children were invited
to draw what they knew about butterflies. The teacher
continued bringing more books and video clips for their
research. Children had the opportunity to express their
learning process throughout different art media. During
one activity where they were making butterflies with
plastic bags, tempera paint, and pipe cleaners, the children
decided to go to the Dark Room to see (on the light table)
the color of the butterflies they made. While doing so Celia
said that she wanted her butterfly to fly away.
That opened a new investigation…
"How do you think you can make
your butterfly fly?”, the teacher
asked. Children came up with the
idea of using a piece of cord. The
teacher provided the materials and
the children successfully made the
butterflies fly away. The children
continue with their investigation.
Children drew pictures of how
they thought the butterflies
looked like and where they live.
Others also drew pictures of what
they learned about butterflies by
the end of our project.
Luckily, they found a real butterfly
in the garden that allowed them to
validate their theories and
consolidate their knowledge about
the butterflies.
“The butterfly doesn’t have food.
It needs to eat nectar from flowers.
It needs to go out so that it can eat food. It
has huge eyes and
four wings and six legs.
I think it’s a boy. It is cute” -Ethan
mommy
butterfly
daddy
butterfly
baby
butterfly

16. Approaches to Learning
• Initiative: Children express initiative.
• Problem solving: Children solve problems encountered
in exploration and play.
• Self-help: Children do things for themselves.
Social and Emotional Development
• Distinguishing self and others: Children distinguish
themselves from others.
• Attachment: Children form an attachment to a primary
caregiver.
• Relationships with adults: Children build relationships with
other adults.
•Relationships with peers: Children build relationships with
peers.
• Emotions: Children express emotions.
• Empathy: Children show empathy toward the feelings and
needs of others.
• Playing with others: Children play with others.
• Group participation: Children participate in group routines.
Physical Development and Health
• Moving parts of the body: Children move parts of the body
(turning head, grasping, kicking).
• Moving the whole body: Children move the whole body
(rolling, crawling, cruising, walking, running, balancing).
• Moving with objects: Children move with objects.
• Steady beat: Children feel and experience steady beat.
• Food education: Children talk about and choose healthy
food options, enjoy and share meals together in school.
Communication, Language, and Literacy
• Listening and responding: Children listen and respond.
• Nonverbal communication: Children communicate
nonverbally.
•Two-way communication: Children participate in two-way
communication.
• Speaking: Children speak.
• Exploring print: Children explore picture books and
magazines.
• Enjoying language: Children enjoy stories, rhymes, and
songs.
Cognitive Development
• Exploring objects: Children explore objects with their hands,
feet, mouth, eyes, ears, and nose.
• Object permanence: Children discover object permanence.
• Exploring same and different: Children explore and notice how
things are the same or different.
• Exploring more: Children experience "more."
• One-to-one correspondence: Children experience one-to-one
correspondence.
• Number: Children experience the number of things.
• Locating objects: Children explore and notice the location of
objects.
• Filling and emptying: Children fill and empty, put in and take
out.
•Taking apart and putting together: Children take things apart
and fit them together.
• Seeing from different viewpoints: Children observe people and
things from various perspectives.
• Anticipating events: Children anticipate familiar events.
•Time intervals: Children notice the beginning and ending of
time intervals.
• Speed: Children experience "fast" and "slow."
• Cause and effect: Children repeat an action to make something
happen again, experience cause and effect.
Creative Arts
• Imitating and pretending: Children imitate and pretend.
• Exploring art materials: Children explore building and art
materials.
• Identifying visual images: Children respond to and identify
pictures and photographs.
• Listening to music: Children listen to music.
• Responding to music: Children respond to music.
• Sounds: Children explore and imitate sounds.
•Vocal pitch: Children explore vocal pitch sounds.
Creative Child Nursery Curriculum Content
Children from 0 to 3 years old
In the HighScope Curriculum, the learning content is organized in areas of
development guided by the key developmental indicators (KDIs) that meet all state
standards in the USA. Each KDI is linked to one of the dimensions of school readiness,
and each is a statement that identifies an observable child behavior reflecting
knowledge and skills in those areas.

17. Approaches to Learning
• Initiative: Children demonstrate initiative as they explore their
world.
• Planning: Children make plans and follow through on their
intentions.
• Engagement: Children focus on activities that interest them.
• Problem solving: Children solve problems encountered in play.
• Use of resources: Children gather information and formulate ideas
about their world.
• Reflection: Children reflect on their experiences.
Social and Emotional Development
• Self-identity: children have a positive self-identity.
• Sense of competence: children feel they are competent.
• Emotions: Children recognize, label, and regulate their feelings.
• Empathy: Children demonstrate empathy toward others.
• Community: Children participate in the community of the
classroom.
• Building relationships: Children build relationships with other
children and adults.
• Cooperative play: Children engage in cooperative play.
Moral development: Children develop an internal sense of right and
wrong.
• Conflict resolution: Children resolve social conflicts.
• Decision-making: Children participate in making classroom
decisions.
Physical Development and Health
• Gross-motor skills: Children demonstrate strength, flexibility,
balance and timing in using their large muscles.
• Fine-motor skills: Children demonstrate dexterity and hand-eye
coordination in using their small muscles.
• Body awareness: Children know about their bodies and how to
navigate them in space.
• Personal care: Children carry out personal care routines on their
own.
• Healthy behavior: Children engage in healthy practices.
• Food education: Children talk about and choose healthy food
options, enjoy and share meals together in school.
Language Development and Emergent Literacy
• Multilingual awareness: Children acquire and use different
languages in school and at home.
• Comprehension: Children understand language(s).
• Speaking: Children express themselves using language(s).
• Vocabulary: Children understand and use a variety of words and
phrases.
• For non-native speakers: Children understand and use basic words
and phrases.
• Phonological awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken
language.
• Alphabetic knowledge: Children know some letter names and some
letter sound associations.
• Concepts about print: Children understand that written language
conveys messages. Children demonstrate knowledge about
environmental print. (e.g. signs, newspapers and magazines, lists,
menus, packaging).
• Book knowledge: Children demonstrate knowledge about books.
(e.g. they hold a book upright and face-forward, read it front to back
and differentiate text and pictures).
• Pre-Writing: Children make scribbles or strings of random letters
with no spaces. Children write letters, usually those in their own
names.
• Pre-reading: Children pretend reading as they turn pages of books,
invent story using pictures and their memory of the story.
Mathematics
• Number words and symbols: Children recognize numbers from 1-10.
• Counting: Children count things. They understand that the last
number counted tells “how many”.
• Part-whole relationships: Children combine and separate quantities
of objects.
• Shapes: Children identify, name and describe shapes.
• Spatial awareness: Children recognize spatial relationships among
people and objects. They use position, direction and distance words
to describe actions and the location of objects in their environment.
• Measuring: Children measure to describe, compare, and order
things. (i.e. length, volume, weight; some/different, bigger/smaller,
more/less; shortest/longest).
• Unit: Children understand and use the concept of unit. They
measure using unconventional (e.g. block, shoe) and conventional
(e.g., ruler) measuring tools.
• Patterns: Children identify, describe, copy, complete and create
patterns.
Creative Arts
• Art: Children express and represent what they observe, think,
imagine, and feel through two-and three-dimensional art.
• Music: Children express and represent what they observe, think,
imagine, and feel through music.
• Movement: Children express and represent what they observe,
think, imagine, and feel through movement.
• Pretend play: Children express and represent what they observe,
think, imagine, and feel through pretend play.
• Appreciating the arts: Children appreciate the creative arts.
Science andTechnology
• Observing: Children observe the materials and processes in their
environment.
• Classifying: Children classify materials, actions, people, and events.
• Experimenting: Children experiment to test their ideas.
• Predicting: Children predict what they expect will happen.
• Drawing conclusions: Children draw conclusions based on their
experiences and observations.
• Communicating ideas: Children communicate their ideas about the
characteristics of things and how they work.
• Natural and physical world: Children gather knowledge about the
natural and physical world.
•Tools and technology: Children explore and use tools and
technology.
Social Studies
• Diversity: Children understand that people have diverse
characteristics, interests, and abilities.
• Community roles: Children recognize that people have different
roles and functions in the community.
• Geography: Children recognize and interpret features and locations
in their environment.
• History: Children understand past, present, and future.
• Citizenship and Identity: Children know their country of origin, their
nationalities.They share their heritage.
Creative Child Preschool Curriculum Content
Children from 3 to 5 years old

18. Yellow Room
Teacher: Ameera Fuentes Aguasan
Assistants: RoselieTeologo &Vanessa Mendoza
Blue Room
Teacher: Cinta Sanchez
Assistants: Joy Baralin & Ma. Fatima Hernandez
Pink Room
Teacher: Manel Miaadi
Assistants: Funmi Adebayo & Muskan Dangi
Cute Discoverers
Teacher: Ray Qiu
Assistants:Thelma Rodriguez & Fe Palad
Happy Helpers
Teacher: Aymara Baquero
Assistants: Rona Miclat & Evangeline Gonzalez
Dynamic Explorers
Teacher: Ma Lisa Capila
Assistants: Halimat Makinde & Lea Dela Cruz
Curious Creators
Teacher: Diana Randall
Assistants: Monaira Ara & Cyril Andaya
Independent Inventors
Teacher: Zeina Hamady
Assistants: Joanna Fernandez &Vilma Borejon
Mystery Makers
Teacher: Hayat El-Siss
Assistants: Monalisa Baltazar & Felmary Noneza
Fantastic Designers
Teacher: Arife Bilgin
Assistants: Mary AnnVirtudazo & LeniToledana
Support Staff:
Aileen De la Cruz (Preschool) – Library and supplies
Jannie Hernandez (Nursery) – Documentation Center
Hamed Rasheed - Security Guard
Ida Rahmouni -Morning Cleaner
Fatima Beyassine – FrenchTeacher
Marilyn Hall – School Nurse
Kimberly Astillo (Nido) - Nurse Assistant
AdministrativeTeam:
Fabiola Barrios - Director
Josephine Cerillo - Educational Coordinator
Mira El Dessouky - Administrative Assistant
Sofia Bach- Registrar
ThisissuewaseditedbyJannieRoseHernandez
September 2013- June 2014