Too few pre-K classrooms provide opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary learning.

The Connect4Learning curriculum follows a rigorous scope and sequence that brings math and science to the forefront of learning, to support the development of ten comprehensive thinking processes critical to children's cognitive development. These processes are: 

• Cooperating 

• Comparing and Classifying 

• Communicating and Representing 

• Reasoning and Problem Solving 

• Observing 

• Using Tools Strategically 

• Making Sense 

• Persisting, Attending, and Self-Regulation 

• Curiosity 

• Creating, Imaging, and Innovating 

This curriculum also includes daily activities that promote language and literacy development and strategies to enhance social-emotional skills. Connect4Learning is a rich curriculum that supports all types of learners and their instructional needs. To learn more about the Units of Study included in Connect4Learning, review this page on the website. 

To learn more about the scope and sequence of Connect4Learning and how this curriculum supports all areas of child development, read this article.  

Observational studies have found that a full-day, literacy-based curriculum may include as little as 58 seconds of mathematics instruction per day. The Connect4Learning approach begins with a sequence of math and science topics and integrates language, literacy, and social-emotional skills as natural components of each lesson.

Connect4Learning makes teaching science and math concepts easy by introducing them as fun, natural components of classroom explorations! Rather than focusing on teacher-directed instruction or isolated activities, Connect4Learning helps children make practical connections among all four domains of learning by using a project-based approach to classroom instruction with plenty of time allotted for free play.

Instead of teaching letters in the traditional letter of the week format, Connect4Learning weaves language throughout the curriculum and addresses a range of literacy skills in developmentally appropriate ways through an approach called authentic literacy. Authentic literacy means children engage in reading and writing experiences like those they will encounter outside of the classroom. 

For example: with adult support, children will write invitations for classroom events or read through instructions for how to make snacks for snack time. Authentic literacy instills a deep understanding of print and how we use it. Through these activities, children learn to engage with the print they see around them daily. 

Each Connect4Learning unit allows children to work together toward a larger goal while learning key concepts across multiple domains of learning. For example, the Growing Our Garden curriculum unit addresses learning across multiple domains and culminates in a collaborative project.

Math: measuring growth, creating a mural from shapes

Science: growing plants, raising worms, and learning where food comes from

Literacy: reading informational texts and classic stories about gardens, keeping a science journal, and writing invitations to a garden party

Social-Emotional: working together and collaborating to grow a garden

Throughout the Connect4Learning curriculum, teachers are encouraged to consistently ask children, "How do you know?" This process promotes deep mathematics, science, and literacy thinking and supports social-emotional development.

Research shows children naturally explore and engage with content areas such as math and science during play. The Connect4Learning curriculum takes this knowledge to heart—providing children with numerous opportunities to learn and make connections through free play. Each experience is valued and intended to make the other richer, rather than competing for time in a daily schedule.

Connect4Learning encourages a strong classroom community by focusing on the most important school connections: among the child and peers, teachers, and the school. Children learn classroom routines and begin to learn the social-emotional skills needed to be with a group, make friends, and work together.

Other curriculum programs set limits on the mathematics and science concepts that pre-kindergarten children should learn and know. Connect4Learning doesn't abide by that same philosophy.

By increasing the emphasis on math- and science-focused skill development, pilot programs using Connect4Learning have seen improvement in children's performance across all four domains of learning.

Effective family engagement is an important part of Connect4Learning. The curriculum includes special events to invite families into the classroom, so children can share what they are learning and experiencing in your program.

Connect4Learning's Online Portal is a valuable communication tool for families to use to keep track of children's progress. When families have up-to-date knowledge of what their children are exploring at school, they are more likely to continue the learning at home.

When you purchase Connect4Learning, you will receive a curriculum kit that consists of unit manuals, assessment tools, classroom visuals, learning center materials, trade books, and more. The English version of Connect4Learning requires an investment of approximately $3000 per classroom kit. The Spanish version, which includes additional trade books and classroom visuals to support dual languages, requires an investment of approximately $3300 per classroom kit.  

Along with your kit, you can choose from either a one-, four-, or eight-year subscription to our online portal. Teachers can also use this online portal to record formative assessment observations digitally, upload samples of children's work over the course of the school year, and to encourage family participation in lessons and activities. 
 
It may take time to implement a new curriculum and see student results. We recommend subscribing to either a four-year or eight-year Connect4Learning online portal subscription in the beginning so that you have enough time to implement the new material, evaluate student performance, and determine if this curriculum meets your expectations and goals. The four- and eight-year subscriptions also come with a slight price adjustment and may be a more affordable option for your district in the long run. 
 
No matter which online portal subscription you purchase, you must replenish your consumable products annually. 

To learn more about the inclusions of both the English and Spanish Connect4Learning kits, the online portal, and Connect4Learning implementation training, read this article.