Curriculum

At Children First our goal is to provide for a well-rounded curriculum to meet the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of your child.

Daily Routine

Your child’s daily routine includes opportunities for:

Child initiated and teacher directed activities
Meals and snacks
Nap and rest time
Indoor and outdoor play

Your child’s teacher will plan activities based on curriculum themes as well as developmental levels and interests of the children in the class.

We will use the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards (TN-ELDS) to plan developmental activities to support Social-Emotional, Motor, Cognitive, and Language development. Skills and concepts will be introduced through the following areas:

Make Believe
Blocks & Puzzles
Art
Books and Language
Music and Movement
Fine Motor Activities
Water and Sand Play
Personal and Social Skills
Counting and Math
Nature

And for children ages 2 ½ to 5 years old:

Science
Cooking
Social Studies
Writing

Lesson plans will be prepared on a weekly or monthly basis. The activities for older classrooms will be more structured. For example, in a Pre K class children will be introduced to writing and letter-sound concepts. In the toddler classrooms, simple concepts will be introduced through songs, stories, and hands-on play experiences.

Personal and Social Skills

The social development of your child is important in the growth of interpersonal skills. At Children First, we will try to model and teach children to share, problem solve, and respect the feelings of others. We encourage children to care about each other and treat each other with love and kindness.

Outdoor Play

Playing outside is important to the development of your young children. Weather permitting all children will have an opportunity to play outside morning and afternoon. We will carefully take into consideration the weather conditions and temperature and make decisions for play accordingly.

Currently, the State of Tennessee Department of Human Services requires children to play outdoors when the wind chill and heat index are between 32˚ and 95˚. Please dress your child appropriately.

Nap and Rest Periods

Rest is essential to the wellbeing of your child’s development. Rest can be a nap or quiet time to relax and unwind. We have scheduled rest periods for each class.

If your child no longer takes a nap, we will have them rest with a book or other quiet activity during this time on their mat.

Holidays At Children First

We may celebrate many of the traditional holidays of our community, as well as introduce the children to traditions and celebrations from around the world.

We feel that children should be exposed to many different cultural traditions. We encourage parents to participate in helping us learn more about celebrations in their own home and from their own heritage. Monthly newsletters will inform you of upcoming special days or events. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the director.

Birthdays and Special Occasions

We welcome occasions when a child might like to share a special day with his or her friends at school. Please contact your child’s teacher to make any arrangements.

New School Year

We consider the middle of August the beginning of the school year. This is when many classroom changes take place. However, as children grow, develop, and have birthdays, we may plan to move the child to an older classroom. This will be discussed with staff members and parents to ensure the move is an appropriate and positive change for the child.