The First Theme

There is something I find intuitive about thematic curriculum.  I love how all subject areas can be integrated into one interesting theme that also promotes deep knowledge in a particular domain or content area. 

I will write about the history and theory behind thematic curriculum soon, but I want to dive right in sans backround with a pilot theme to get my feet wet and return to what started my interest in children's learning in the first place - TEACHING preschoolers.  Lucky for me, I have a child who just turned three.  So my first task was  to pick the theme to start with.

So how should one choose a theme?  My particular philosophy dictates that we should turn to the children to determine what the theme should be.  In a classroom, one would look to where the children gravitate - what center or what kinds of stories they like and what interests they have and choose a broad theme that all children can benefit from and will find something of interest within.  Some teachers choose the themes based on their interests, which is also a viable method since comfort with the content area is important, and teacher enthusiasm is high, BUT since my philosophy is child centered, again, we start with the child's interest.  In the classroom, this type of child-led approach comes from the Reggio Emilia Approach, which among other things, focuses on the interest of the children.  Keeping the theme structured,  so that it makes logical sense to the children and so that new knowledge can build on prior knowledge, and yet flexible to follow the interests and needs of the children is a delicate balance, yet crucial to maintain for content knowledge growth.  As I develop the curriculum, I think that I will take an activity plan approach, mapping out the activities that will allow exploration into the various content areas and completing a chart to make sure that over the course of the unit, I am balancing out activities in all the developmental and pre-academic domains. 

My advantage (and the advantage of any SAHP seeking to enrich his/her child's knowledge) is that I know my own child's interests really well and don't have to balance out his needs with anyone else. While I would've loved to delve into an ecological or recycling or plants theme, this just isn't (sadly) where RJ's primary interests lie.  He prefers things that give off the very exhaust that his eco-friendly mommy despises...race cars and old rusty tow trucks.  Yes, he has an absolute fixation on the Disney/Pixar movie, Cars.  So, Transportation is logical first theme.  I also like this theme for preschoolers in general because it has the potential for a variety of spin-offs into other themes.  For example, if RJ were really interested in the composition of roads, we could spin-off into a mini theme on construction vehicles; or an interest in spacecraft could launch a theme about Outer Space.  Even an interest in boats could launch an Ocean Theme. 

The next step...planning the concepts I will cover in the theme.