Builds on "modern research data" that "focus attention on the child's exposure to learning opportunities, calling into question simplistic conceptualizations of developmentally appropriate practice that do not recognize the newly understood competencies of very young children... Parents, teachers, and caregivers promote development when they create learning experiences that build on and extend the child's competence — experiences that are challenging, but within reach."
(page 5)

"...Children build new learning on what they have already learned... A specific, explicit sequence of skills and knowledge, like the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence, allows teachers, parents, and other caregivers to guide a young child's development in an apprentice-like fashion, taking into account a child's particular competencies so as to offer the experiences that most closely match his or her present level, while providing the stepping stones to higher levels of competence and understanding.  The child's current skills and knowledge become the starting place for new experiences and instruction, rather than a limitation or restriction." 
(page 3)

"Cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development are complementary, mutually supportive areas of growth all requiring active attention during the preschool years." 
(page 7)

"The Preschool Sequence is intended to guide the planning of experiences and activities for preschool children by offering a coherent progression of skills in the following areas:  Physical Well-Being and Motor Development, Social and Emotional Development, Approaches to Learning, Language, Knowledge Acquisition and Cognitive Development." 
(page 1)

"...children who attend well-planned, high quality early childhood programs in which curriculum aims are specified and integrated across domains tend to learn more and are better prepared to master the complex demands of learning... [Such programs provide] a broad base of experience in domain-specific knowledge (for example, in mathematics or science)..., more extensive language development — such as rich vocabulary and listening comprehension..., and expose them to a variety of classroom structures, thought processes and discourse patterns... with a mix of whole group, small group, and individual group interactions with teachers... and such mental strategies as categorizing, memorizing, reasoning, and metacognition." 
(pages 7-8)

"The Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence is distinguished by its specificity... It is explicitly designed to present a coherent sequence of skills and knowledge that build cumulatively year by year in the following areas:  mathematics and number sense, orientation in time and space, scientific reasoning and physical world, music, visual arts, oral language, nursery rhymes, poems, fingerplays and songs, storybook reading and storytelling, emerging literacy skills, work habits, autonomy and social skills, and movement and coordination... The most effective teachers understand that they have a wide-ranging continuum of teaching approaches from which to choose... [They understand that] sometimes, it may be most effective and appropriate to present a concept or skill in a small group, planned and directed by the teacher, while at other times children need to explore and discover on their own. 
(pages 3, 10)

"Key concepts involved in each domain of preschool learning (e.g., representational systems in early literacy, the concept of quantity in mathematics, causation in the physical world) must go hand in hand with information and skill acquisition (e.g., identifying numbers and letters and acquiring information about the natural world.)" 
(page 10)

Excerpt from the Preschool Sequence, Mathematical Reasoning and Number Sense:

"In the context of experiences with concrete objects and then with pictures, the child is asked to recognize similarities and differences, classify objects and shapes, recognize and create patterns, and make comparisons among objects, using simple measurement skills.  He or she is also asked to quantify objects and to count and demonstrate a basic understanding of addition and subtraction as "putting together" and "taking away.  In each instance, the child is asked to move from the concrete experience to representing knowledge symbolically using mathematical language, such as 'more than,' 'less than,' ... [and so on]." 
(page 62)

Note: See each domain in the Preschool Sequence for specific examples in each content area.

"Curricula that encourage children to reflect, predict, question, and hypothesize (examples:  How many will there be after two numbers are added?  What happens next in the story?  Will it sink or float?) set them on a course for effective, engaged learning." 
(page 10)

Sample objectives from the Preschool Sequence:

• "With the assistance of an adult, as needed, organize and plan what is needed to carry out a project or task: materials, tools, process (what steps and what techniques)." (page 23)
• "Answer 'what will happen if...' questions."  (page 34)
• "Identify outcomes (what happened) and possible causes."  (page 34)
• "Predict events in a story, i.e., what will happen next?"  (page 49)
• "Provide a story ending consistent with other given story events."  (page 49)
• "Using concrete objects, continue a given pattern of five objects in which one property is alternated." 
  (page 64)

[Effective emergent literacy curricula focus on] book and print awareness, ... functions of print, ... knowledge of narrative, ... letter and early word recognition, ... and listening comprehension." 
(pages 191-194)

Sample goals from the Preschool Sequence:

• "Demonstrate an awareness of book and print organization." 
  (page 50)
• "Develop an awareness of print in everyday surroundings and its many uses."  (page 54)
• "Develop a notion of 'story schema.'"  (page 49)
• "Develop an awareness of the structure of print (letters and words)."  (page 56)
• "Develop phonemic awareness."  (page 57)
• "Listen to stories read aloud."  (page 48)

Number Worlds by Griffin & Case

The 2-day Core Knowledge Preschool math training module and materials incorporate the Number Worlds program by Griffin & Case.

ScienceStartT by Lucia French et. al.

The 2-day Core Knowledge Preschool science training module was developed by the principal ScienceStartT author, Lucia French.

"The professional development of teachers is related to the quality of early childhood programs, and program quality predicts developmental outcomes for children." 
(page 9)

Comprehensive teacher training available; ten 2-day training modules address each domain of the Preschool Sequence.

"Perhaps the most significant change to take place in early childhood assessment in recent years concerns the linking of assessment with instruction... Assessment and teaching are inseparable processes." 
(page 241)

A 2-day training module and materials focus on the relationship between assessment and instruction — "Planning and Teaching at Each Child's Level: Assessment and Scaffolding."

Eager to Learn cites the Core Knowledge Preschool program as one of "three well-known programs... that have clearly articulated goals ... The Core Knowledge Foundation advocates a curriculum designed to immerse preschoolers in a clearly sequential set of experiences that will ensure their 'cultural literacy.'  At the preschool level of Core Knowledge, the children follow a curriculum that addresses five dimensions of readiness: 

1. physical well-being and motor development, movement and coordination;
2. language development, oral language, nursery rhymes, poems, fingerplays and songs, storybook reading and storytelling, emerging literacy skills in reading and writing;
3. social and emotional development, autonomy and social skills;
4. approaches to learning, work habits; and
5. knowledge acquisition and cognitive development, mathematical reasoning and number sense, orientation in time and space, scientific reasoning and the physical world, music, visual arts."  (pages 183-184)

back to top

1. Readers are encouraged to refer to the complete Eager to Learn, edited by Bowman, B., S. Donovan, and S. Burns.
2. Readers are encouraged to refer to the complete Preschool Sequence.  Charlottesville, VA:  Core Knowledge Foundation, 2000, 1997.