Below you will find a listing, and course description of all of the Early Childhood Education Classes in the category of Curriculum. Not all courses are offered each semester. See the official schedule for courses that are open for registration. Most of the courses are also available as customized/contract training classes for your organization. Contact the Early Childhood program for more information.
An Introduction to the Montessori Method, ECH235, hours: 4
Is the Montessori Method suited for teaching your child? This introduction to the Montessori Method will help you understand the principles behind one of today’s most popular, practical, and effective set of teaching strategies. This course is ideal for parents who home school or are considering enrolling their child in a Montessori program. This course is also suitable for caregivers and educators in broadening their curricula. Levels I-III (0.3 CEUs)
Behavior Management in School-Aged Settings, ECH021, hours: 3
Learn effective techniques and strategies for guiding children’s behavior in school-aged programs. Through class discussion, small-group work, handouts, and examining your own beliefs and attitudes toward children’s behavior, you will learn to establish and communicate rules and guidelines, build partnerships with parents, and create effective administrative policy.
Beyond Counting: Introducing Preschoolers to Math Concepts, ECH041, hours: 2
Learn how preschoolers develop math concepts and how to introduce these concepts and vocabulary to children trough play, art, music, and literature. We will plan various activities that you can implement in your program.
Caregivers and School Readiness, ECH095, hours: 4
This class will describe numerous ways that caregivers can help children prepare for entering elementary school ready to achieve and succeed. The course will provide examples of multi-modal skill building activities, including socio-emotional and large and small physical development, spoken language skills, and literacy development.
Caregiver's Guide to Nurturing the Brain, ECH019, hours: 4
As a caregiver you make important and healthy connections with infants and toddlers that promote brain development. Learn how to implement new ideas in your program using language, music, and movement, and create the right environment. Your will be building the foundation for a lifetime of learning.
CCA: Let's Get Messy with Arts and Crafts, ECH141, hours: 1.5
Little children are messy people. The gooier the fun, the better they like it ! Try out some messy media and talk about how it helps young children use their senses to understand their world. We cover a few simple safety reminders and then make a big mess. Wear your old clothes to this class.
CCA: Playing and Learning with Toys and Trucks, ECH156, hours: 1.5
They love to jump, run, and climb. They also use a variety of toys and equipment to help them understand their world. Spend time talking about simple safety reminders to consider when playing with young children, then explore how classroom materials help children to strengthen their small and large muscles. This class includes building-block play, riding toys, movement games and more. We will have a blast!
CCA: What Can I Do with Little Kids?, ECH139, hours: 1.5
Little children are interesting people. They love to explore. Their brains and bodies are growing rapidly during the early years of life. Learn what to expect from little ones at each year of life, as well as how to help them learn about their new world. Each class begins with a few simple safety reminders and then moves into activities that young children enjoy. Discuss what children learn through each type of play and how to help them expand their playtime. Little ones' need for rest, quiet play, active outdoor time, and good nutrition every day will be discussed
Children's Literature, ECH136, hours: 45
Join us for a survey of the most significant and interesting children's books and materials for preschool through elementary school with emphasis on the history and development of children's literature, including the study and evaluation of a wide range of materials.
Circle Time Fun with Little Ones, ECH151, hours: 3
What would happen if we sat in a square for circle time? What are the purposes and goals for the time(s) of the daily routine known as circle time? What are some of the “best practices” in the field of Early Childhood Development in regard to circle time? Explore these topics and enhance your classroom practice through this thought provoking session.
Creating Games for Young Children, ECH027, hours: 3
Learn to create board games, card games, puzzles, and gross motor games for children aged 3 to 6. Classroom discussion will focus on resources and age ideas, and ways to adapt them to children in your care. Learn methods for making games and how to access materials at little to no cost. In addition, you will lean about the concepts and skills children develop through game participation and preparation, how to share this information with families, and how to make the game experience successful for all.
Creative Storyboarding, ECH153, hours: 3
Stories make up the world around us. Storytellers are the most ancient literacy messengers in history. Stories help young children to organize their feelings, their lives and make connections with their experiences. This class will help teachers make language come alive through materials such as puppets, flannel board pieces and tactile picture symbols. Take storytelling to a new dimension and help children express themselves through language and exposure to classic literature. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Designing Smooth Transitions in the Classroom, ECH006, hours: 2
This course will explore how the daily schedule, daily curriculum planning and transition planning can all fit together to improve the life in the classroom for both the teacher and the children. Tools, techniques and strategies for creating a peaceful and nurturing transition will be addressed. Beginning; curriculum core competency.
Early Childhood Continuing Education, ECH026, hours: 6
This course is for those participants to enroll three-two hour courses in a one day, all of which contribute to their rectification as child care providers in Montgomery County. Topics covered will be: the Role of Observation in Family Centers and Family Day Care Homes, Applying the New Brain Research to your ECE Program, and The Child Development Approach to Discipline.
Early Literacy and You, ECH096, hours: 3
This course will focus on helping students provide environments that encourage children to develop listening, speaking and reading skills. Emphasis will be on reading aloud and leading children to love books and learning. Learn to assist children in increasing their reading and writing literacy, by building a strong foundation that is essential to learning. This is designed for early childcare providers who work with children from young preschool to school age. Beginning: curriculum core competency.
Effective Observation; Assessing Children’s Skills & Abilities and Setting Goals to Meet Individual Needs, ECH249, hours; 3
Observing children, their interactions with adults and peers, recording these objectively, and planning the program based on this information are the keys to a successful early childhood education. This session will provide techniques for effective observation to assess children's skill development, to evaluate the learning environments, to identify which techniques to apply to individual situations, and how to then use this information to plan a dynamic program. (0.3 CEUs)
Emerging Literacy: Road from Babbling to Reading, ECH008, hours: 3
Learn how to provide environments that encourage children to develop listening, speaking, and reading skills. Acquire new strategies for reading aloud to and with children as they learn to love books and learning. Plan follow-up activities and offer props to enhance children's enjoyment and understanding of books from infancy through preschool.
Everybody Plays, Everybody Wins: Gross Motor Play Experiences, ECH176, hours: 3
Learn non-competitive gross motor games and activities which build physical strength and awareness, language skills, release energy, and support peer’s cooperation.
Everyday Science for the Inquiring Young Mind, ECH018, hours: 3
This course is designed for students who work with young children to explore the process of scientific inquiry. Childcare teachers will be introduced to tools and practice to integrate scientific inquiry into all areas of the classroom.
Family Child Care Pre-Service Module Two, ECH166, hours: 4
This course is designed as an introduction to the basic concepts of child development for family child care providers. Topics include the milestones of growth and development birth through 13 years, basic beliefs of leading child theorists, and insights into learning differences among children. (Child Development)
Guiding Children’s Behavior in School Age Care, ECH086, hours: 4
This course focuses on effective technique for guiding children’s behavior in school age programs. After a short review of the ages and stages of children in school-aged care, students will discuss how this influences children’s behavior. The instructor will lead discussions, facilitate small group work and provide handouts to guide reflections on beliefs and attitudes regarding children’s behavior and misbehavior and to introduce new strategies for students to use.
How to Design the Early Childhood Learning Environment and Daily Activity Schedule, ECH183, hours: 3
Young children respond to their environment. A thoughtful arrangement of the physical environment and daily schedule can assist the children in transitioning through their day successfully and calmly. Children are secure when there is a planned and predictable routine to move through each day. This class provides practical direction to implementing a developmentally appropriate setting which nurtures cognitive and social growth for young children in center based early learning settings.
Infant and Toddler Development and Curriculum Planning, ECH092, hours: 45
Learn the theory and practice of caring for infants and toddlers in a group setting. Topics include significance of the early years; learning and development in infants and toddlers; appropriate activities and interactions; and the health, safety, and nutritional needs of infants and toddlers.
Learning about Anti-Bias Curricula for Early Childhood Educational Programs, ECH090, hours: 6
This six hour workshop will focus on the components needed to integrate an anti-bias curriculum into your early childhood program. Participants will learn why anti-bias curriculum is essential to an early learning classroom, examine elements of diversity, develop proactive teaching strategies and reflect on personal perspectives that influence our teaching
Learning by Discovery: Science for Preschoolers, ECH193, hours: 3
Children learn best by touching, smelling, constructing, and observing. Preschool teachers and early childhod care providers will explore teaching strategies that impart information about the natural world and the properties of matter through developmentally appropriate activities and experimentation. This class will provide you with the opportunity to introduce preschoolers to scientific constructs. Levels II - V (0.3 CEUs)
Learning is Not a One-Size Fits All Proposition I, ECH045, hours: 4
Learning is a lifetime pursuit. We are all "works in progress." There are many domains and styles of learning. Explore the myths and realities that comprise the foundations of traditional academic success. Should a grade point average be the most important focus of the educational system? Academic success may mean defining your own goals and discovering your own path to intellectual and personal empowerment.
Learning is Not a One-Size Fits All Proposition II, ECH046, hours: 4
Learn more about using the educational system to gain skills, perspectives, and experiences that will help you define yourself and make the most of your educational development process. Gain insight into how you view academic success and how that affects the young children and families that you teach and influence daily. Prerequisite: Learning is Not a One-Size Fits All Proposition I.
Linking Multicultural Literature and Art: A Hands-on Approach, ECH047 , hours: 4
Teachers and child care providers will examine and analyze five different multicultural books to help teach young children about cultures. Five separate art projects will made during class. These activities support the multicultural story lines and bring the stories to life for children.
Make and Take Literacy, ECH146, hours: 3
This class will provide students with a basic set of materials to assist them in supporting literacy development in young children. The class is appropriate to family child care providers as well as parents and center-based teachers. The goal is to assist teachers to understand and implement activities that promote alphabet letter recognition. The instructional emphasis will be placed on the use of everyday experiences and symbols to help children identify and acquire written and print language developmental skills.
Make and Take Math, ECH142, hours: 3
Numbers and mathematical concepts are all around us in our daily lives. It is easy to design fun, educational games to help young children understand their world through number symbols and observation skills. This “hands-on” workshop provides basic strategies for discovering and teaching practical math to preschool children. Students will make some games to take with them into their classrooms.
Make and Take Science, ECH143, hours: 3
The scientific world is mystical and magical. This hands-on session will spark your creative nature as you create activities to excite young children through simple experimentation. Students will leave with new ideas and homemade materials.
Managing Multi Age Groupings in Child Care Settings, ECH228, hours:6
Teachers who work with a variety of different aged children face unique challenges. How can teachers prepare themselves to effectively manage the environment and programming to meet the needs of each child? This class covers age-appropriate activities for infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children. Discussion will include safety concerns, open-ended projects to engage children of various ages, and basic developmental milestones. Levels I-V (0.6 CEUs)
Music and Movement for Young Children, ECH104 , hours: 3
Music and movement assist children in understanding and managing spatial concepts, and can bring out the creative artist in the shy child. This class offers strategies for enlivening classroom and outdoor activities by using instrumental and vocal recordings, fingerplays, dancing, and role playing. Props such as scarves, hats, puppets, musical instruments, and dress-up clothes provide a little extra imagination boost for children of all ages. Be ready to move in this class.
Nurturing the Artistic Baby, ECH194, hours: 4
Infants and toddlers learn through the use of all their senses. Young children are stimulated by new sounds, sights, scents, and touch, and their artistic development should include experiences with a wide varitey of tactile media. This course examines the value of multi-media in the growth and development of the very youngest children. Learn how to introduce infants and toddlers to special activities involving their senses. Levels I-III (0.4 CEUs)
OneUp: Module 2 Caregiving as Curriculum/ Play as Curriculum, ECH109, hours: 05
The interactions of the caregiver and the infants and toddlers in his/her care form the basis of the daily curricula for child care settings for our youngest children. These concepts are explored and delineated in this session.
Planning Curricula for Childcare, ECH084, hours: 45
This course is designed to satisfy the second 45 hours of the 90 hour requirement for classroom instruction to prepare individuals to act as senior staff in child development programs licensed by the Maryland State office of Child Care Licensing. This course emphasizes activities, methods of instruction, and materials appropriate to the areas of curriculum in an early childhood educational program. Attention is given to enhancing effective staff and parent communication, and utilizing community resources to benefit families and children through the involvement of the larger community.
Pre-requisite: ECH098, Child Growth and Development.
Power of Play, ECH091,hours: 9
Play is the essential building block in developing curriculum for early childhood programs. In this interactive workshop, you will review theories about the role of play and identify the types and stages of children's play. Experience the joys of play in order to deepen the appreciation and understanding of the play process. Learn strategies to facilitate and support the play of young children.
Project Approach to Curriculum Planning, ECH031, hours: 3
The project approach emphasizes long-range planning and developing extensive connections among the different areas in the classroom. Learn how to support your children’s involvement in developmentally appropriate play through investigation and discovery.
Providing the Best of Both Worlds , ECH037, hours: 3
Using free resources, you can incorporate a learning curriculum for children ages six weeks to five years into your daily-weekly schedule. With comprehensive evaluation tools, you will be able to enhance the quality of your service and answer parent's common question: "What is my child learning with you?"
Rainy Day Fun With Little Ones, ECH148, hours: 3
It’s been raining for days and the children have had too much “inside time.” How can you help them expend the pent up energy inherent to our little ones natures? Make a tent, make an obstacle course, make a mobile, play hide and seek…just do something, fast, before the lid blows! This class provides teachers with a “magic box” just for rainy days.
The Reggio Emilia Approach to Learning, ECH232, hours: 9
The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. The program is based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum. In the Reggio approach, the teacher is considered a co-learner and collaborator with the child and not just an instructor. Teachers’ long-term commitment to enhancing their understanding of children, forms the basis of the Reggio Emilia approach. Reggio staff is provided with extensive staff development opportunities, with goals determined by the teachers themselves. Teacher autonomy is evident in the absence of teacher manuals, curriculum guides, or achievement tests. Teachers become skilled observers of children in order to inform their curriculum planning and implementation. Levels III-V (0.9 CEUs)
Role of Observation in Centers and Family Day Care Homes, ECH012, hours: 2
Students are introduced to the value of observing and recording the behavior of young children in order to enhance the program planning in center-based programs and family day care homes.
Soft Stories, Bringing Literature to Life, ECH122, hours: 3
This class will offer creative suggestions to manage small group circle times, by utilizing props and puppets, big books, flannel board materials puppets to support language and literature development. Methods of using tape recorded books (with and without headphones) by children along with the story book will be discussed. Dramatic play and taking on roles of the characters in children's’ story books will be demonstrated. Making individual books using a variety of multi-media materials will be a part of this class. The traditional classic children’s stories, fairy tales and finger plays will be examined. The class will introduce methods for providing a “print rich” environment and extending and integrating literacy activities into the various learning centers in the childcare classroom.
Squishy, Squashy, Squirmy Science, ECH118, hours: 6
“Hands-On” science is the focus of these classes for preschool teachers and early childhood care providers. Textures, multi-media and experimental activities form the foundation of the sessions designed to delight and stimulate sensory awareness. Students will explore teaching strategies to impart information about the natural world and the properties of matter. This course will offer a variety of developmentally appropriate activities to engender independent experimentation and extended knowledge in areas of the physical and biological sciences. Children learn best by touching, smelling, constructing and observing. These classes provide students with the opportunity to introduce preschoolers to science constructs.
Stones and Cones Creative Math and Literacy Fun , ECH152 , hours: 6
Teachers don’t need expensive or commercially produced items to teach basic fundamental numeracy and literacy concepts. Students play with stones and cones to discover the variety of educational opportunities available in everyday materials.
Successful Activities for Young Children in Home and Center Child Care, ECH001, hours: 12
Planning is an ongoing, repetitive cycle that uses information about the progress of individual children and the group and the effectiveness of experiences, interactions and materials. This course is designed to assist the preschool child caregiver in identifying all the elements required for successful planning of daily activities for young children in both home and center settings. Techniques for addressing the needs of both groups and individuals will be included in the training. Participants will learn strategies to observe children in order to plan appropriate programs.
Take the Mystery Out of Montessori, ECH204, 3 hours
Participants will gain an understanding of the principles behind the Montessori Method through an overview of the classroom environment and an introduction to its most popular materials. For parents and educators of children aged two to six. Levels I-II. (0.3 CEUs)
Teaching Math Through Movement: One at a Time, ECH120 , hours: 6
The world of mathematics is abstract and takes time to understand. Basic mathematics such as single digit numbers can be taught throughout the early childhood years. This class presents the foundations of kinesthetic and tactile activities that can be applied to the manipulation of single digit numbers. Topics include an introduction to the underlying principles, examples and demonstrations of kinesthetic and tactile learning activities in teaching mathematical concepts to young children. Classroom strategies will be presented, intended to facilitate the teaching and learning of single digit numbers' shapes and meaning. Adding numbers and calculating sums are fun and interesting activities for children. This workshop presents kinesthetic and tactile activities that are used in teaching addition of single digit numbers.
Teaching Math Through Movement: What's the Sum, ECH126, hours: 6
The world of mathematics is abstract and takes time to understand. Basic mathematics such as single digit numbers can be taught throughout the early childhood years. This class presents the foundations of kinesthetic and tactile activities that can be applied to the manipulation of single digit numbers. Topics include an introduction to the underlying principles, examples and demonstrations of kinesthetic and tactile learning activities in teaching mathematical concepts to young children. Classroom strategies will be presented, intended to facilitate the teaching and learning of single digit numbers' shapes and meaning. Adding numbers and calculating sums are fun and interesting activities for children. This workshop presents kinesthetic and tactile activities that are used in teaching addition of single digit numbers.
The 3 R’s: Design your Learning Center to Include Mathematics & Literacy, ECH144, hours: 6
Teachers are pressured to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to young children at early ages. There is a tendency to make math and language skills out of the natural play settings, and introduce them as a standalone learning goals. This class re-integrates numeracy and literacy concepts into the entire learning environment in fun, practical ways. Learn to include menu’s and order receipts into the dramatic playhouse as well as maps and measuring tools into the block area. This class will offer many useful strategies to teaching the 3 R’s to young children
The Six Core Strengths All Kids Need to Succeed, ECH192, hours: 6
Learn the six core strengths children need to develop in order to live peacefully -- and what adults can do to develop those strengths in children. Based on the work of Dr. Bruce Perry, and internationally recognized authority on children in crisis. All levels. (0.6 CEUs).
The Importance of Open/Ended Art Projects, ECH005, hours: 2
Explore the importance of creativity and imagination within a developmentally appropriate program for young children. Discussions will focus on open-ended art projects as a major tool for learning and promoting self-esteem, and how to integrate projects into your curriculum.