Journeys in Emergent Curriculum with Preschoolers

What's In This Kit?
As teachers, we can expend a lot of energy getting children interested in what we want to teach. Or, we can figure out what children are interested in and use those interests as a foundation for planning learning experiences. This article and kit explore the idea of emergent curriculum and how it can lead to increased child engagement and deeper learning. Teachers will gain skills and knowledge as to how to plan curriculum based on children's interests. This training program contains the following components:

• Training research, models, benchmarks
• Preparation and implementation steps
• Handouts
• The article “Men’s Hats and Red Shoes” by Lois Ingellis
• References and resources
• Training Certificate for Learner �" Certificate of Attendance and Participation

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audiences for this training kit are beginning, intermediate, and advanced Learners who are working with young children (birth through 8 years).

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is estimated at 1.0 hour. Implementation and actual training time is 3.0 hours, which includes 1.5 hours of Face-to-Face Training and 1.5 hours of Independent Study and an Applied Activity Project. There is a Bonus Activity in the Group Instruction Face-to-Face Training, which can add as much as 1.0 hour to the training time.

Training Outcomes:

After completing this training, Learners will be able to:

• understand what is meant by “emergent curriculum.”
• learn the Circle of Inquiry and how it can be used to plan emergent curriculum.
• build experiences and classroom environments using the Circle of Inquiry.

These training outcomes address the following American standards:

• National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria (2005). (www. naeyc.org).
• Teachers provide children opportunities to develop the classroom community through participation in decision making about classroom rules, plans, and activities. (1.D.02)
• Materials and equipment used to implement the curriculum reflect the lives of children and families as well as the diversity found in society. (2.A.08)
• Materials and equipment are rotated to reflect changing curriculum and accommodate new interests and skill levels. (2.A.08i)


• National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs, National Association of Child Care Professionals (2005). (www. naccp.org).
• Unplanned teaching opportunities are recognized and used by teachers to extend children’s interests. (D5)
• Materials are selected to advance the goals of the lesson plan and build on children’s knowledge and skills. (D9)

Note: Downloadable PDFs are only available for download in pdf format. Directions for downloading follow immediately after purchase.