SIDC primarily follows the HighScope Curriculum. Adopted in September 2017 by the head teachers in the Big Tods, Preschool and Pre-K classrooms, this research-based curriculum is designed for active learners. HighScope encourages flexibility and independence while recognizing the differences between individual children.

The curriculum development at SIDC is an ongoing process,
driven by your child!

We create hands-on learning experiences and integrate ideas and skills across a variety of learning styles. The teaching staff are trained in the curriculum and have monthly coaching sessions with their Early Achiever’s Coach. Additional teachers have undergone the training program since SIDC adopted HighScope, and more are attending each year, opportunity allowing.

In addition to the HighScope Curriculum, SIDC also provides other enrichment programs that expose the children to the greater world such as Spanish language learning and local field trips.

 

History of HighScope

The director of special services in the Ypsilanti, Michigan public school district, David Weikart, became increasingly interested in the academic performance of a number of at-risk children from poor neighborhoods. He found that these students tend to do poorly on district-wide, standardized tests and also receive low scores in IQ assessments. 

Weikart brought together, and collaborated with, a committee of elementary education leaders that included Perry School's Charles Eugene Beatty, Michigan's first 

African-American principal. Known as the Perry Preschool Project (1962), members discussed possible changes to teaching methods and curriculum choices. Even though they did not expect to radically change Ypsilanti's teaching core (which mostly worked), they explored why it seemingly failed a certain population of students. 

While searching for better teaching methods and programs, Weikart (now also part of a special services committee tackling the same issue), zeroed in on programs for three- and four-year-olds. Outside the normal organization of the school district, Weikart hired four teachers and began operation of a preschool at Perry Elementary School.

Weikart and Perry School's teachers and staff chose to differ from traditional nursery school settings by designing a program that focused on a child's intellectual maturation rather than a child's social and emotional advances.

 

HighScope Principals

Active Learning

HighScope is based on the idea that children are better learners when they are actively engaged with an activity, rather than passively sitting and listening. To a large extent, this is something that we were already doing, but this lends the idea much more focus. The five essential ingredients of active learning are:

 

  • Materials

  • Manipulation

  • Choice

  • Child Thought & Language

  • Adult Scaffolding

These elements should be present throughout the child’s day, regardless of what part of the day they’re in.

 

ADULT SCAFOLDING

Adult Scaffolding is the philosophy of using discussion to build learning on to what the children are already doing. Rather than dictating an activity and deciding what the children are learning, we look for opportunities to engage the children in conversation during their activity, drawing them into new ways of looking at what they’re doing. This increases their critical thinking skills, and will help to make them better learners in the future.

 

LETTER LINKS

Intended to encourage early literacy and phonological awareness, we use labels that have an image of an object that begins with the same letter sound as the child's name. These are everywhere! From attendance boards, cubbies and chairs to being used as a tool for saving projects in progress.

Learning Environment

The philosophy behind a HighScope classroom layout is that everything is arranged into separate and distinct interest areas such as Home Center, Music, and Sensory. Each area is clearly labeled in ways that are clear to both adults and children. While the children are free to move between areas and carry materials from one to another, everything has an obvious home.

In addition, there’s an increased focus on real-world objects and materials, to allow them the ability to explore what they see at home and elsewhere. Recycled and natural materials are traded in and out frequently, so there’s often something new to discover.

 

Daily Routine

Morning Greeting / Message Boards

Before the daily schedule is underway, after all the children have arrived, each classroom gathers around a wipe-off or chalk board. Children are given information on the events of the day in both pictorial and text forms. When possible and necessary, real objects are used. The teacher then talks about what’s on the board and answers any questions the children have.

 
 

Here we have a picture of the Preschool message board for a Tuesday morning. The first section tells the children what day of the week it is, using an image and words together. The second message us the full date. The third points out that there are now rolls of tape in the art area, and the fourth tells them that they’ll be working on the auction project by putting their handprints on the big chair. Numbering the sections helps teach the children sequencing, while the mix of pictures, objects and text helps them to associate words and letters with concepts.

 
 

Work Time (Plan 》Do 》Review)

What many consider “Free Choice” we refer to it as "Work Time". In both cases, children choose which areas to play in. However, Work Time is a much more focused variant of the idea. 

  • We start with Planning, when the children tell us what they intend to do, what area they will be in, what materials they’ll use, and whatever other information they can come up with. 

  • During Work Time, the children carry out their plan, with some focused adult supervision (more on that next). 

  • Finally, there’s a Recall period, in which the children talk about how they carried out their plan. 

All of this is intended to elevate the child’s ability to project into the near future, and to reflect on their experiences.

THE 3 RULES

We don’t harm ourselves.
We don’t harm others.
We don’t harm the materials.

With all this freedom, the first thing adults become concerned about is children running wild, destroying materials, and hurting one another. To deal with this, these are only three limits placed on their play. So while materials can be used in great varieties of ways, and combined in any way they can think of, we can’t hit people with the frying pan, or paint the stuffed animals. These three rules cover almost any behavior we wish to avoid.

Small Group Time

This dedicated time is when the class splits into two groups and does more of a guided project. While the project is planned, there is still freedom in how the children choose to use the materials presented. As in the Work Time period, the teacher takes a supportive approach, engaging the children in discussion of what they’re doing. These activities will likely appear on our calendars, although subject to change, as we tailor them to the children’s interests.

Large Group Time

This is an all-class activity that focuses on gross motor and large movement. We might perform the actions in a song or a book, and often use props like bean bags, instruments, or bubbles. Children are encouraged to come up with their own ways to interact with the props, and everybody moves along with the suggestions.

 

Conflict Resolution

The HighScope philosophy of conflict resolution involves six steps, and a certain amount of patience.

 

1. Approach calmly, stopping any hurtful actions

  • Place yourself between the children, on their level
  • Use a calm voice and gentle touch
  • Remain neutral rather than taking sides

2. Acknowledge children’s feelings

  • “You look really upset”
  • Let children know you need to hold any object in question

3. Gather information

  • "What’s the problem?”

4. Restate the problem

  • “So the problem is…”

5. Ask for ideas for solutions and choose one together

  • “What can we do to solve this problem?”
  • Encourage childern to think of a solution

6. Be prepared to give follow-up support

  • "You solved the problem!”
  • Stay near the children

Assisting the children in identifying the problem and finding a solution for themselves will build the tools they’ll need to deal with more complex problems later in life.

 
 

Obviously, this approach is heavily weighted towards children on the more verbal end, like those in the preschool and pre-k classrooms. But it is possible to scale back the approach for use with toddlers as well. In the younger classrooms we focus slightly less on having them reach a conclusion for themselves, while still leading them through the steps of getting to it.

 

Praise vs. Encouragement

The HighScope system values encouragement over praise. The difference between the two may not be immediately obvious. Praise involves always telling the children things like “good job” and “that’s a beautiful picture”, and complimenting their appearance and clothing. This is what we’ve been told to do for years. Unfortunately, research is showing that this is not pumping up children’s self-esteem as intended, but can actually have the opposite effect. It can make children less confident in their own judgment, and produce a need for constant reinforcement, rather than an ability to evaluate their own work. It makes them more dependent on adults for approval, and discourages risk-taking and problem-solving skills.

Try It Out!

We encourage parents to try this strategy out at home. We do warn you it can be tough to switch gears from the praise so many of us default to.
In the end however, by switching from praise to encouragement, we believe that we can create more self-confident and self-motivated learners.

Instead, at SIDC Kids we are continually moving towards encouragement strategies. This involves drawing the child into conversation about what they’re doing using open-ended divergent questions. We acknowledge the children’s work and ideas by making specific descriptive comments like “I see that you’ve used a lot of blue and yellow in your painting” and “You’ve made a house for your dogs”, or ask them for more details about their project. We try to avoid placing value judgments on their work, and encourage them to evaluate it for themselves. We might ask them what they like about what they’ve done. This helps to promote self-esteem by expressing a belief in their abilities, and an acceptance of who they are and what they do, whatever it is. It will help them to self-assess their work later in life, rather than looking to others for validation, and feel pride in their own accomplishments.

We want to put particular emphasis on how this relates to girls. We have a tendency to fall back on telling girls how pretty they are, and how nice their clothes look. This focus on their appearance can have long-term effects that cause them to put undue value on how they look, rather than what they can accomplish. This is a really hard habit to break for many, including some teachers, but we feel that it’s going to be an important factor in building the children’s confidence in a positive direction.