Outline your program based on the children's developmental stages. Create the daily material in the curriculum with developmental growth in mind. Write a plan that meets the needs of each individual age group. The cognitive levels of infants and toddlers are not the same as that of preschoolers. Know the general development capability of each group.
Base your curriculum on first providing care for the children, second on learning. The majority of day care programs focus on providing supervised care for kids under school age. Supervised playtime teaches children about social interaction and sharing. Overly focusing your design on learning may unnecessarily stress your teachers and young children who are continually developing their cognitive skills, according to "Should Our Daycare Have a Set Curriculum?" on TheLaborofLove.com.
Start with basic learning skills. Teach the children basic skills such as learning the alphabet and one-to-one correspondence with letters, numbers and counting in chronological order, and learning colors and shapes. Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom by Judy Herr contains a wealth of activities to keep children engaged.
Create a curriculum based on fun as well as education. Sesame Street, a popular public-television program that teaches young children, thrives because it makes learning fun. Singing, dancing, puppet-play, dressup and other activities incorporate fun while teaching children basic skills.
Plan a daily routine. Each activity that is planned for each day should include playful interaction between the classmates and with their teachers. A large group activity is a good way to incorporate this. Through music, storytelling and circle time, explore dramatic play, science center, math, blocks and art activities. The Complete Book of Activities, Games, Stories, Props, Recipes, and Dances by Jackie Silberg provides a wealth of curriculum ideas.