The Creative Curriculum for infants and toddlers supplies teachers and parents with a program and plan that focus on the relationship of the child's teachers or caregiver with the children. It also stresses the family relationship, cultivating a familial and open atmosphere with young children.
The Creative Curriculum for older children, ages toddler to preschool (and up to early primary school) provides resources for teachers and caregivers to execute a program that focuses on student interest areas. The work of Jean Piaget is the inspiration for the program's focus on cognitive development, and Erik Erikson's study of socio-emotional development in children is another concentration. The program also draws on studies that have researched best learning practices for children. The result is a program that is designed to be easy to follow and practical.
The program for children in infancy to 2 years helps teachers and caregivers build open and communicative relationships with children by helping show them how to structure daily routines and novel experiences that cater to a student's natural interest. The goal of this relationship is to help inspire positive interactions with adults at a young age, giving children the needed confidence to be exploratory and delighted in the things they find and learn. The curriculum provides all of the tools to encourage a child's exploration, from the daily routine schedule, to the creation of an interactive environment, to working side-by-side with families.
The program and resources provided for the Creative Curriculum preschool level emphasize the creation of a suitable learning environment for children and on building lasting and positive relationships between children and families. The preschool level program is suited for children ages 3 to 5 years old and is built around a content-driven curriculum that promotes a child's progress through all their major developmental milestones. The program is also designed to accommodate children who speak English as a second language, have learning disabilities or are advanced learners.
The Creative Curriculum also provides resources that go beyond a child development curriculum, to focus on family childcare programs. These programs provide instruction on how supply a child with positive and thoughtful care, as well as unique experiences that engage learning and can be easily modified to keep up with a child's fluctuating interests. The program is meant for parents who wish to jump start education in their home and is designed for children from infancy to 12. Included activities are aids for planning schedules and routines for children, new activities that cultivate a love of learning and exploration for the world around them, all the while fostering respect and communication between parent and child.
Early childcare facilities are not held to the same rigorous standards of public schools that begin at the primary grade level. For this reason, it is difficult for many childcare centers to gain respect in parents' minds or distinguish themselves from other childcare facilities. The Creative Curriculum is a private but nationally recognized program with high standards and accountability that a parent can track at home on the Internet to see how facilities utilizing the curriculum are doing. The curriculum also focuses on "take away" goals, meaning that the students should have demonstrative new skills and knowledge from the program.