Quality Rating 3: Curriculum
Instructions
To meet the requirements for Developmentally Appropriate Learning and Practice: Curriculum: DAP 4.3, you will provide a statement describing your program’s use of a curriculum that guides your lesson planning process. Your statement should describe how lesson planning is guided by:
- Healthy Beginnings and/or the Maryland Early Learning Standards; and/or
- A curriculum/curricula aligned with the Maryland Early Learning Standards
The Policy or Statement Builder provides a step-by-step guide for creating your statement.
Maryland Healthy Beginnings
Healthy Beginnings is a resource to help you nurture every child’s potential for learning and growth that begins at birth. Specifically designed for caregivers of infants and toddlers from birth through age three, Healthy Beginnings gives you information on child care and child development. The Healthy Beginnings Activity Planner offers fun and developmentally appropriate activities that build young children’s skills and promote their learning.
What does the documentation look like?
Your curriculum statement describes how you use Healthy Beginnings as a guide to plan activities and monitor the development of the infants and toddlers in your program. If you describe your curriculum and planning process in your program’s handbook, you may upload your handbook as documentation.
Maryland Early Learning Standards
Maryland’s Early Learning Standards define key aspects of development and learning that are the foundation for a child’s success in school and beyond. While individual children’s progress will vary, the standards help child care providers, prekindergarten through grade 2 teachers, and public school administrators share common goals for children’s learning and development across 8 domains: Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Health, Physical Education, Fine Arts, and Social Foundations.
What does the documentation look like?
Your documentation is a statement that explains how the Maryland’s Early Learning Standards are used to guide your lesson planning and activities. If you describe your curriculum and planning process in your program’s handbook, you may upload your handbook as documentation.
Policy or Statement Builder
Develop a Curriculum Statement that describes your program’s use of curriculum or resources to guide your lesson planning process. Once you have spent time reflecting on the questions below, you’re ready to build your Curriculum Statement.
- What curriculum do you use in your program?
- Does it address the ages of all the children enrolled?
Once you have spent time reflecting on the questions, you have the option to download and save the Curriculum template and create your statement.
Technology Tips
Download the PDF.
Save the PDF.
Print the PDF.
Edit the PDF.
Do you need more time to think about writing your Curriculum statement? Find Writers Tips and Prompts to find examples and get more guidance on creating your statement.
Where can you learn more?
- Maryland Healthy Beginnings Designed for caregivers of infants and toddlers from birth through age three, Healthy Beginnings gives you knowledge and support around child care and child development, while the Activity Planner provides fun, developmentally appropriate activities that build young children’s skills and promote all kinds of learning.
- Maryland Early Learning Standards The early learning standards define the key aspects of development and learning that are the foundation for a child’s school and life-long success.
- Early Childhood Curriculum The Maryland State Department of Education provides helpful information about curriculum choices for early childhood programs.
- Maryland Child Care Resource Network Your local Child Care Resource and Referral Center has sample copies of curriculum materials available for you to explore. These materials include curriculum guides, books, props, and assessments. Contact your resource center to arrange a visit for exploring curricula. Technical Assistance Specialists are also available to help you reflect on your program and determine which curriculum best suits your needs.