Your Child’s Development
Our academic curriculum was created to enrich your child’s development during their most important years. Because the curriculum is adapted from psychological theories on cognitive development and real life lessons learned by early childhood professionals in the field, children who attend I’m Just a Kid are likely to increase their likelihood of learning and retention. Our curriculum has four components:
A Research-Based Curriculum
Our research-based curriculum is developed through a rigorous process that uses the latest research findings and best practices in education. A reliable curriculum is consistent and dependable, ensuring that all learners have an equal opportunity to learn and achieve success. A valid curriculum accurately measures student progress and achievement and aligns with relevant standards and learning goals. The Best Practices Chart of Education provides a framework for incorporating evidence-based strategies into the curriculum to enhance student learning outcomes. By utilizing research-based, reliable, and valid curricula that incorporate the Best Practices Chart of Education, we can ensure that they are providing the best possible learning experiences for our kids.
Enroll now or Schedule a tour today! (210) 822-3016
A Clear Scope and Sequence
A well-designed curriculum provides a clear scope and sequence that takes into account the latest research in child development, and incorporates a child’s interests and essential learning objectives.
The curriculum is based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, which guides a scope of 12 overarching themes and 52 topics that are covered throughout the year. Each of these 52 topics is designed to be explored in depth over four to five weeks, ensuring that children have ample time to engage with and explore the material. This approach also allows us to cover a total of 260 subjects over the course of the year, with each topic building upon the previous one.
To support effective learning, our curriculum also follows a well-defined sequence, moving from each theme to its related topic and then to its specific subject. We teach these topics in three different languages, including Spanish, and we use baby sign language with color coding and symbols to help reinforce the learning. In addition to the core curriculum, we also use supplemental materials like Zoo-Phonics, which focuses on phonological awareness; a predictor of reading success. This approach helps ensure that our students are learning in a way that is developmentally appropriate for them through play, and also engaging and fun.
Written Lesson Plans
Written lesson plans are a critical component of effective teaching, allowing us to carefully plan and structure their lessons to achieve maximum learning outcomes. Our lesson plans are research-based and draw on Madelyn Hunter’s lesson plan cycle, which includes an introduction, content presentation, guided practice, independent practice, and closures. While these elements provide a solid framework for our lessons, each teacher is also encouraged to add their own unique style of teaching to ensure that each lesson is engaging and effective for the students.
Our lesson plans are organized into three different circles, each with its own distinct focus.
- Circle #1 is the introduction for the day, which includes a review of key concepts such as alphabetic knowledge (AK), shapes, colors, numbers, and literacy. We also include a book in English, Spanish, and sign language to help reinforce these concepts and provide a trilingual learning environment.
- Circle #2 is focused on phonological awareness, a critical predictor of reading success.
- Circle #3 is the closing of the day, providing a chance to reinforce the key concepts covered in the lesson and help ensure that students can retain and maintain what they have learned.
By structuring our lessons this way, we are able to provide a total “gestalt” learning experience that is rooted in brain research and designed to maximize learning outcomes for our students.
A Pre- and Post-Assessment
Assessments are an essential tool for us, allowing us to track student’s progress, identify areas of strength and weakness, and modify their teaching approach as needed. At our school, we utilize both pre- and post-assessments to ensure that our students are receiving the best possible education. The purpose of the pre-assessment is to gauge where a child is in their development, so that we can tailor our teaching approach to their specific needs. To achieve this, we engage in observational play with each child during their “tour” to identify where they are in their development and what they need to learn.
In contrast, the purpose of the post-assessment is to review the effectiveness of our teaching and our curriculum, so that we can make any necessary adjustments to our approach. For example, at the end of each year, we have a graduation ceremony for each class, which includes a review of the developmental benchmarks that each child has achieved. These benchmarks vary by age group, with infants focusing on walking and talking, toddlers achieving total self-sufficiency, and pre-K students learning a wide range of skills such as reading, counting to 100, understanding numeracy, and mastering fine motor skills like cutting and pencil grasp. By utilizing both pre- and post-assessments and focusing on developmental benchmarks, we are able to provide a comprehensive and effective education for all of our students.
A Research-Based Curriculum
Our research-based curriculum is developed through a rigorous process that uses the latest research findings and best practices in education. A reliable curriculum is consistent and dependable, ensuring that all learners have an equal opportunity to learn and achieve success. A valid curriculum accurately measures student progress and achievement and aligns with relevant standards and learning goals. The Best Practices Chart of Education provides a framework for incorporating evidence-based strategies into the curriculum to enhance student learning outcomes. By utilizing research-based, reliable, and valid curricula that incorporate the Best Practices Chart of Education, we can ensure that they are providing the best possible learning experiences for our kids.
Enroll now or Schedule a tour today! (210) 822-3016
Developmental Areas
Our teachers work on the following developmental areas by creating a supportive and engaging learning environment, providing appropriate materials and activities, and fostering positive relationships with each child.
- Cognitive = intellect
- Socio-emotional = interactions with others based on feelings about themselves
- Language = receptive- what they understand and expression- how they speak
- Gross motor = large muscle movement, rolling, crawling, walking, running, jumping
- Fine motor = visually tracking, grasping, releasing objects, coloring and reading
- Self-Help Skills = crying for communication, holding a bottle, feeding themselves, potty training, wiping their nose, washing hands, dressing self
Our Curriculum
Our academic curriculum was created to enrich your child’s development during their most important years. Because the curriculum is adapted from psychological theories on cognitive development and lesson plans from professional educators, children who attend I’m Just a Kid are likely to increase their likelihood of learning and retention. Our
curriculum has four components:
• A Research-Based Curriculum
• A Clear Scope and Sequence
• Written Lesson Plans
• A Pre- and Post-Assessment
Our Classrooms
It starts at the tour! We encourage you to bring your child with you so we can play together. This is part of our pre-assessment to determine where they are developmentally (across all 6 areas of growth) so we know how to teach them. Then, once enrolled, they are placed into a classroom with children who compliment their skills. And finally, the teacher targets their needs and adds their style of teaching while using our curriculum. Our teachers learn 13 positive guidance techniques because we know that each child is unique. We know that what works for one child, may be different for another child. We are always prepared.
And most importantly, we use positive guidance in all our classrooms. Positive guidance is a powerful tool in shaping children’s behavior and building their self-esteem. By focusing on rewarding appropriate behavior, children learn to associate their actions with positive outcomes, encouraging them to repeat those behaviors.
Enroll now or Schedule a tour today! (210) 822-3016
Vicki Aguirre Cox
Vicki “Ms.Vicki” Aguirre Cox has over 50 years of experience in public schools, non-profits, and institutions of higher learning.
She has taught people of all ages, from infants to adults, in all socioeconomic settings, and of all abilities. Her passion is to teach from the heart while utilizing evidence based practices. Her passion for early childhood education is rooted in the understanding that infant development creates the foundation for lifelong learning. She holds advanced graduate degrees in the areas of early childhood, special education, and leadership studies. She is a sought-after national consultant in the field of early childhood education and is published in children’s books, infant brain research, and curriculum. She resides in San Antonio.