The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is based on 38 objectives for development and learning. These objectives are fully aligned with the Early Learning Framework and state early learning standards.
It is also one of the approved curriculums for our contracts with the Early Learning Coalition and the Strong Minds network.
The Creative Curriculum focuses on these five areas of development:

• Social 

• Emotional 

• Cognitive 

• Language 

• Physical 

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Bible Curriculum
Our desire at The Appleseed is to see every child give their heart to Jesus Christ. We want them to know how precious they are and how much he loves them. The Preschool Post Bible Curriculum uses stories, songs and activities to help young children relate biblical principles to their everyday life.

The Environment
Each classroom is set up with learning centers to include:

• Housekeeping 

• Block Play 

• Science 

• Manipulative Play 

• Art 

These learning centers allow free choice of activity during Center Time in the daily schedule. 

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Our Philosophy About How Children Learn 
We believe…. 
Play is purposeful and when children play they learn about themselves, their environment, and the world around them. Play helps children build the skills necessary for critical thinking and problem solving which makes them feel good about their ability to learn. As they play, children learn important social skills to work cooperatively with others. Language skills develop as children engage in conversation with one another. Play enhances creativity. 

• encourages language and helps children develop skills for reading and writing. Play in early childhood lays the foundation for success in school. 

• young children learn best by active exploration and experimentation of a wide variety of developmentally appropriate materials in an organized environment. 

• children learn by using their five senses of touch, taste, smell and feel. Activities that involve the use of these senses make learning fun, exciting, and memorable. 

• that when children reach, grasp, crawl, run, balance and climb that they are developing important physical skills. 

• positive play experiences develop a positive emotional well-being for children. When children feel safe, secure, and successful they develop a positive self-image. 

• play has a critical role in the development of young children. 

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What is Conscious Discipline? 
Created by Dr. Becky Bailey, an internationally renowned expert in child developmental psychology, Conscious Discipline® is built on the premise of developing discipline within children rather than applying discipline to them. 
The Conscious Discipline process applies equally to parents, child care givers, educators, and patient caregivers.
Teachers use the latest brain research to break out of the instinctive habit of disciplining children the same way you were disciplined as a child. 
Conscious Discipline is the only program that integrates classroom management with social-emotional learning, uses everyday events as part of a school's curriculum, and addresses the adult as well as the child. 
The Conscious Discipline program has been named a national model for character education by the Florida State Legislature. It has also been proven to reduce aggression by 64% while increasing reading scores by 18%; in fact, Conscious Discipline classrooms score significantly higher in statewide reading comprehension, writing, and math tests. 
The method's School Family™ concept, part of the third pyramid stage, defines three essential ingredients for a school's success: 

• Increasing the willingness to learn by creating a sense of belonging 

• Boosting impulse control internally: a much more effective approach than an external system of punishment and rewards 

• Helping children develop and apply sustained attention by reducing stress and encouraging contributions in a caring atmosphere

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Educational Curriculum

At The Appleseed we use Frog Street and The Creative Curriculum. It is based on 38 learning objectives the following five areas of development: social/emotional, language, physical and cognitive. 
How children learn 

• young children learn best by active exploration and experimentation of a wide variety of developmentally appropriate materials in an organized environment. 

• children learn by using their five senses of touch, taste, smell and feel. Activities that involve the use of these senses make learning fun, exciting, and memorable. 

• when children reach, grasp, crawl, run, balance and climb that they are developing important physical skills. 

• positive play experiences develop a positive emotional well-being for children. When children feel safe, secure, and successful they develop a positive self-esteem. 

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Chapel 

Every Thursday is Chapel Day at The Appleseed. All the classes gather together to sing, dance and learn more about the bible and Jesus. 

Conscious Discipline 
Conscious Discipline is a whole-school solution for social-emotional learning, discipline, self-regulation and classroom management. The strategies and structures transform school culture into a safe haven of cooperation, constructive problem solving and academic success. www.consciousdiscipline.com 

The Environment 
Each of our classrooms are set up with learning centers to include, housekeeping, block play, science, math, art, and manipulative play. These learning centers allow free choice of activity during the daily schedule. 
Transitioning from home to school to teacher and child to student is a very important part of beginning a school day. Kids and teachers all come into the classroom in different brain states. It is necessary to spend a few minutes getting everyone on the same page, connected, and ready to learn. This can be short and sweet, but must contain all of the below components to be effective: 

Brain Smart Start 
Children and teachers come into the classroom in different brain states in the morning. To get everyone on the same page, connected and ready to learn, we begin our mornings with the Brain Smart Start. 
This is a very important component of the Conscious Discipline program and involves four activities; an activity to unite, and activity to connect, and activity to commit, and an activity to disengage stress. . 

Small Group Time 
Small group usually takes place during free choice or center time. The teacher will set up an activity for a small group of 3 or 4 children where she is able to work on skills such as, counting, number and letter recognition, sequencing, sorting, and writing. This also allows teachers time to get to know their students better and evaluate their skills for individual planning. 

Brain Development and the young child 

We know how important the early years are to brain development. A child's brain undergoes an amazing period of development from birth to three, producing more than a million neural connections every second. The experiences a child has during this period will shape the architecture of their brain and build the connections that allow the child to develop lifelong skills like problem-solving, communication, self-control, and relationship building. 

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