Remember that Lou Bega song a while back? “A little bit of Monica in my life; A little bit of Erica by my side”

That’s what a good preschool curriculum should be like. A little Montessori on the shelves; A little bit of Reggio every day. Here’s why and how to adapt your classroom and your approaches to an eclectic but still developmentally appropriate system.

Why? – Because stuff happens and life changes and a preschool teacher must be flexible enough emotionally and professionally to meet the varying needs of the community and families; the class she has been given this year; and each individual little learner in that class. Know your neighborhood and families so that your plans meet their needs and expectations. Know your group as a whole – (some years you get five runners, five criers, and five who’ve never been out of their homes; some years you get a couple of readers, a few block builders who NEVER leave the Block area, and ten girls who ALL want to wear the Disney princess shoes at the same time) – so you can find a way to reach them as a group. Know each child so you can prepare for his interests, upsets, habits, and learning styles. That’s the job.

How? – First, get your program bigwigs to approve your sneaking in a few aspects of other curricula. Assure them that any changes you make will be complementary to your program’s philosophy, principles, standards, and educational goals (I call them Strength Expectations).

Then, go online or to the library and study a variety of early education curricula and approaches. Here are the ones I’d look into. They’re the ones I have ‘stolen from’ to create my unpublished Frankenstein approach called the Lakemont curriculum.

Take a drive down Bank Street – Pure DAP. Know your Child Development and observe each child at work to determine his needs. Teach Herbie Blockbuilder to do math while he builds and encourage the Disney princesses to make their own gowns from butcher paper and glitter.

Get Creative with Trister Dodge – If you need a clear system of goals and specificity of Centers, use the Creative Curriculum. It balances teacher-led with child-initiated experiences, designates 10 learning areas and offers a thorough system for assessment.

Get a View of High Scope – Organize your day around the Plan-Do-Review system. Have an appreciation for ACTIVE involvement within a structured routine. Many children thrive on this! It designates 8 Content Areas and 58 Key Development Indicators, so it is clear in its goals and expectations. Many Head Start programs are High Scopers.

Come See Kamii-Devries – Sometimes mixed age groups work well. K-D provides learning experiences through child-guided games in small and whole group situations. It suggests letting the “kids make the rules” as they play and it is not afraid of a bit of developmental competition. If you like Piaget, you’ll like Kamii-Devries.

Let me stop there and take this up in Mambo Number 5 (Part Two).