There are many different commercially available curricula for early childhood centers. These include some fairly well-known programs such as HighScope and Creative Curriculum. The HighScope early childhood organization is an internationally recognized provider of curricula for young children. This curricula includes specialized programs for infant-toddler care, preschoolers, movement, music and early literacy with a foundation in hands-on learning activities. When early childhood centers decide to purchase and use this curricula they receive an entire educational system including content areas for topics and ages, teaching practices, a training model and assessment tools for the age group. Likewise, the Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive program for young children, from infant age and up. This curriculum includes a learning system for creating developmentally appropriate content in schools and centers.
Some early childhood centers may choose to create their own curriculum. This type of curriculum may be loosely based on a commercially available system or may be entirely self-made. Educational administrators, teachers and other school staff may all contribute to the decision-making process when trying to decide what should, and should not, be included. Specific learning content areas such as mathematics, pre-literacy, science, the arts and social studies are key components of any curriculum and would typically be included in a self- or school-created version. Additionally, a school-made curriculum may start off with a philosophical basis or be grounded in an early childhood/child development theory.
Many states in the country have early learning or pre-kindergarten learning standards. These standards help to shape early childhood instruction and provide goals and/or objectives for children's learning in schools and centers. Although it is not mandatory for centers to follow or adhere to these standards, a curriculum that centers on this type of guideline may benefit the children in terms of overall learning and development. State standards vary by region and typically include curricular content areas such as mathematics, science, English language, the arts and social studies. Standards may also include social and emotional goals, physical education and cultural or community practices. Schools may create or purchase a standards-based curriculum.
Any early childhood curriculum should focus on specific areas for learning and development. Although these may vary slightly between different types or methods, most put a high priority on the basic developmental domains. Developmental domains include social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth. Some of these can be further divided into sub-areas such as fine motor or gross/large motor skills. In contrast to a developmentally driven curriculum, some centers may choose a more academic type of curriculum. This may focus on learning centers such as the discovery center, pretend play or reading, or look more like a curriculum for older students including science, math and social studies.