An outdoor classroom lets children learn by doing and by examining the world around them. Rather than looking at pictures of birds, ladybugs and flowers, they can experience nature firsthand. Teachers can take children to a park or pavilion where they'll absorb their surroundings and then can answer questions about nature. The outdoors gives teachers and students readily available resources for children to draw on and create stories with the same learning objectives of a school classroom setting. A garden allows children to use vegetables and fruits for a grocery store setting; flower gardens can educate students about horticulture; teachers can create an outdoor theater so children can learn about eating healthy.
Music classes for children using emergent curriculum can focus on children learning new songs each week where they sing, dance and even play instruments. Rather than children just singing a song, students become involved in a number musical activities. Teachers should leave instruments in the music portion of the room and allow children to pick up whatever interests them while encouraging other children to dance and create movements to words and phrases. In addition to learning songs, children develop marching and rhythmical skills and are allowed to be creative. Teachers may choose the music based on holidays and the outside environment (such as weather) to incorporate other skills and allow children to discover new interests.
Since emergent curriculum works with topics and themes children discuss, taking a cultural topic such as Chinese New Year and applying it across the curriculum works best to achieve maximum learning potential. Children can draw dragons, learn how to make Chinese food, study costumes and dress, and explore art. Teachers can help children paint artwork with chopsticks, make lanterns and expose them to Chinese music and dance and do dramatic interpretations. Using blocks, children can create a "Great Wall of China." Teachers can also incorporate other cultures such as Italian, where children can make art projects with uncooked pasta, and Polish, where students learn about dancing a polka.
Students learning how to write and how to address their thoughts and feelings on paper begin the process early. Emergent curriculum allows children to naturally discover what interests them, so leaving paper along with pencils, crayons and markers on a table gives them the opportunity to explore. Even before children begin to write, they draw pictures to interpret stories through drawing. Educators can give students prompts such as weather to get children to draw a rainy day, snowy weather or their favorite things to do at the beach. This process allows children to put on paper their thoughts and feelings, even if not in written form.