Dandelion Environment: Curriculum Spotlight

Dandelion interests and curriculum include:

Cooking

In the Dandelion environment, we explore concepts such as taste, smell, and texture while cooking a wide variety of foods. The children learn about all of the steps of food preparation including harvesting, washing, cutting and prepping, and cooking. These explorations encourage children to develop fine motor skills, explore cause and effect, and learn all about their own bodies and personal food preferences. The Dandelions have helped to make smoothies with seasonal fruit, vegetable stir fries, and a variety of breads and muffins. 

Gardening

The Dandelion love to explore the natural world around them by digging with spades, watering, planting seeds, and harvesting fruit and vegetables. The Dandelions are also fascinated with the chickens in the Children's School Community Garden. They feed and water the chickens, collect their eggs, and enjoy observing what the chickens like to eat. Dandelions are especially interested in the many creatures that live beneath the soil often searching for bugs and worms to hold and explore. These curriculum opportunities encourage knowledge of the natural world, fine and gross motor movement development, patience and persistence.

Building

 One of the Dandelions' favorite areas in the classroom is the construction zone.they build with a wide variety of materials ranging from legos and beads to large, wooden blocks, pieces of fabric, and found natural materials. These activities help children to develop cognitive skills such as quantity, balance, shape, and size. They also encourage communication and social interaction with peers as children must work together to create large or elaborate constructions. 

Home and School Connections

• Cook and eat with your Dandelion. Ask them what new foods they would like to try and actively involve them in the preparation process.
• Provide your Dandelion with a small space to grow plants at home. Help your child to take on the responsibility of watering and caring for plants. Discuss the changes you observe.
• Provide ample, open-ended materials for your children to build with. Encourage them to try out different techniques and work through frustrations if their structures fall.

Main Areas of Development; California Infant Toddler Early Learning Foundations and Desired Results Developmental Profile 

From the California Infant Toddler Learning Foundations

• "Children can talk about their own wants and feelings and those of other people, describe familiar routines, participate in coordinated episodes of pretend play with peers, and interact with adults in more complex ways" (p. 33).
• "Children use a number of ways to solve problems: physically trying out possible solutions before finding out what works; using objects as tools; watching someone else solve the problem and then applying the same solution; or gesturing or vocalizing to someone else for help" (p. 69).