Alexandra De La Cruz’s Profile

This course is an in­tro­duc­tion to the the­o­ries, meth­ods and ma­te­ri­als of cur­ricu­lum plan­ning in early child­hood ed­u­ca­tion (Preschool – Grade 2), with an em­pha­sis on pro­vid­ing de­vel­op­men­tally and cul­tur­ally ap­pro­pri­ate learn­ing en­vi­ron­ments and ex­pe­ri­ences that en­cour­age cre­ativ­ity in young chil­dren. The fol­low­ing top­ics are ex­plored in depth: the in­tel­lec­tual and emo­tional im­por­tance of fos­ter­ing cre­ativ­ity, the role of play in learn­ing, the de­sign of ef­fec­tive arts-based learn­ing en­vi­ron­ments; the role of vi­sual arts, music, move­ment and lan­guage arts/emer­gent lit­er­acy in de­vel­op­ing chil­dren?s cog­ni­tive, so­cial-emo­tional, phys­i­cal, lan­guage and self-help skills. Course work in­cludes work­shops in plan­ning and im­ple­ment­ing cre­ative arts ex­pe­ri­ences for young chil­dren.

This course is an introduction to the theories, methods and materials of curriculum planning in early childhood education (Preschool – Grade 2), with an emphasis on providing developmentally and culturally appropriate learning environments and experiences that encourage creativity in young children. The following topics are explored in depth: the intellectual and emotional importance of fostering creativity, the role of play in learning, the design of effective arts-based learning environments; the role of visual arts, music, movement and language arts/emergent literacy in developing children?s cognitive, social-emotional, physical, language and self-help skills. Course work includes workshops in planning and implementing creative arts experiences for young children.