Although my degree happens to be in Early Childhood Education, I am not a fan of using curricula for preschoolers. I prefer preschool to be a time of play and snuggling together reading beautiful picture books. If I were to promote a preschool product, it would be one that reflected this philosophy. Ideal Curriculum is one that reflects more of a "pre school" methodology and would be a better fit in a day care setting.
Available in print or as a download, this program includes monthly kits covering Literacy, Science/Social Studies, Math and Calendar. Daily lesson plans are provided, along with pages to print, e-books to read, and mp3's of music for sing alongs. I received Month One for review which covers topics such as Letter Names, Listening Skills, Name Recognition, Print, Transportation, Rote Counting, and Time.
Their stated vision is as follows; "Our mission is to help every child be successful at learning. 95% of all children will not pick up academic skills on their own. They need instruction and guidance.". This is the root of my trouble with recommending this curriculum. I firmly believe that if children are provided with the tools and the resources needed, they will learn. Yes, we need to be there to guide and to teach, but much of the best learning occurs as the child is allowed to discover and problem solve on his own.
Ideal Curriculum is available for $526 for the year (units may be purchased individually as well). I rarely comment on price but this seems quite pricey for this age group. Personally, I would recommend building a library of quality books and educational toys over purchasing a preschool curriculum.
*Disclosure: Ideal Curriculum Month One was provided at no cost, for review purposes. To read more reviews of this product, please see the TOS Crew site.*
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