THEMES

Thematic elements are used based on the time of the year and the children’s interests.  Themes are an undergarment to our play based curriculum.  The materials are rotated based on themes, for example, during our fall theme, our sensory table may have a pumpkin with the top cut off, fall leaves or corn that needs to be shucked.

When children become interested in something specific, the teacher can maximize their curiosity by creating their entire curriculum around it.  The classroom may change in appearance based on the theme.  One day we are police officers monitoring our city, and the next day we are dogs and cat crawling around our owner’s home!

Themes also help guide discussions.  When the children see a book of strange underwater animals, they want answers on why God made them that way.  Using research, discussion and experiments, the children learn why.

Some examples of theme found in our center include, but are by no means limited to:

• Community Helpers
  
• Pets
  
• Under the Sea
  
• Sand and the Desert
  
• Plants
  
• Insects
  
• Ice Cream
  
• Dinosaurs
  
• Circus
  
• Families
  
• Bears
  
• Shapes
  
• Five Senses
  
• Self-Concepts
  
• Apples and Worms