Research-based, interdisciplinary curriculum for early childhood education.
Connect4Learning uses an interdisciplinary approach to address growing concerns that the majority of preschool instructional time is devoted to literacy at the expense of other content areas, particularly math and science.
Curriculum Units
Unit 1
Connecting with School and Friends
Unit 2
Our Environment
Unit 3
How Structures Are Built
Unit 4
Exploring Museums
Unit 5
Growing Our Garden
Unit 6
How We've Grown
Unit 1: Connecting with School and Friends builds the most important school connections: among the child and peers, teachers, and the school. They engage in hands-on science explorations in the senses and hear and perhaps even use rich vocabulary in context. They explore high-quality children’s literature as they learn how print is used and begin to understand how to work with books. Children learn classroom routines, how to use materials, and social-emotional skills, including how to be with a group, make friends, and work together. They explore mathematics manipulatives, learning foundational ideas and skills through play.
Unit 2: Our Environment begins close to school and home with investigations of the outdoors. Then, the focus of the unit shifts to the more exotic environment of the coral reef. Lessons, activities, and books support this focus as children explore the components within an environment; the resources that come from an environment; and how animals, plants, and earth features are connected.
Unit 3: How Structures Are Built focuses on how structures and tools work and how to make or do things. Children explore the form and function of objects through observations, simple experiments, games, and activities. In particular, they explore how objects move and investigate their shapes and uses. They spend time reading and writing procedural texts that tell someone how to make or do something.
Unit 4: Exploring Museums centers on museums and collections—what they are, what they contain, and how they work. In particular, this unit focuses on two areas of study: paleontology and medieval times. Books, texts, and activities help the children develop knowledge in both areas and knowledge about museums in general. Children create exhibits, collections, signs, and captions for the culminating project—a class museum!
Unit 5: Growing Our Garden explores growth and change over time by investigating gardens and the living things within them. Children learn about what plants need to grow, what creatures live in and benefit gardens, and how people rely on gardens for food. The books and lessons focus on learning information from and creating expository texts.
Unit 6: How We've Grown offers the children an opportunity to look back over the year and recognize how much they have learned and developed. They revisit some of their favorite books, games, and activities and look forward to what comes next—kindergarten! A culminating celebration showcases a class video yearbook.
I love the interdisciplinary nature of the units. My students are highly engaged because everything they do is connected and has a clear purpose.”— Laura Castillo
ECE Teacher, DU Learning Lab
Kits
Connect4Learning also includes all of the specific items required to implement the curriculum, including both classroom materials and a book collection. Each kit contains more than 100 items and features dozens of custom-made pieces unique to the curriculum.
Math Games
Connect4Learning includes a series of computer learning activities designed to address learning trajectories in mathematics and to solidify classroom learning. Through practice and repetition of early mathematics concepts, these games help children foster deeper conceptual thinking and develop competence in key skills, such as counting and sorting. Each game corresponds to a given unit and lessons within the curriculum. The difficulty of each game increases as children's abilities progress.
Handbooks
Connect4Learning also features a teacher's handbook to support the daily implementation of the curriculum and to ensure that each learning experience follows educational best practices. The handbook offers guidance to enhance teachers' understanding of learning trajectories and specific teaching techniques as well as suggestions for daily routines and transitions, play experiences, and more.
Assessment
Connect4Learning incorporates formative assessment as a regular part of daily Small Group lessons, where teachers interact one-on-one with children and are able to closely observe each child. Small group lessons with literacy learning objectives use the literacy formative assessment sheet, rather than a lesson-specific worksheet.
Online Portal
Lesson Planner
Plan, organize, and customize your daily schedule
Teacher/Class Profile
Create a digital teacher and classroom portfolio to store and add student data and records
Resource Hub
Add, download, and print curriculum resources
Family Portal
Allow families to track children's progress and identify how best to support their learning
Online Learning Modules
Each unit-specific module provides teachers support related to new concepts introduced as well as continuing activities.
Customer Support
Access to customer service and support
Have more questions about Connect4Learning?
We’d be happy to chat with you.