Jump Start

Our Jump Start curriculum at Smart Start Early Learning Center is focused on developing a strong social and emotional foundation for our youngest of learners and is characterized by a theme-based program developed from the Washington State Early Learning Development Guidelines1. We strive to practice Emergent Curriculum2 so as to create a learning environment representative of each child’s personal interests. Nursery rhymes are a core component of our curriculum and are taught incorporating the individual Multiple Intelligence3 learning styles. We implement Zoo-Phonics4 as a starting point to our classroom’s themes and ideas, but we are not limited to using only the leading early childhood learning curriculums, as we do not want to promote “canned” early learning curriculum in our program. Your child is in the driver’s seat, determining the direction we take. Their ideas, interests, and goals are always in the forefront as we create a curriculum that best fits individual needs and builds strong social, emotional, and academic foundations. To register for our Jump Start program, a child must be at least 2.5 years of age by August 31st of the enrolling school year and fully toilet-trained.

1.Washington State Early Learning Development Guidelines: A research-based resource that focuses on the early years (birth-3rd grade). Considerations in compiling Washington State Early Learning Development Guidelines include but are not limited to: early learning standards from other states; Head Start and ECEAP standards; and our state’s academic learning standards for grades K-3 in all subject areas, including the newly adopted common core standards for English Language Arts an for Mathematics.

2.Emergent Curriculum: A way of planning curriculum based on the student’s interests and passions, as the teacher fits those into that individual child’s goals. To plan an emergent curriculum requires observation, documentation, creative brainstorming, flexibility, and patience.

3.Multiple  Intelligences: Nine different styles of processing and learning information. These learning styles include: Mathematical, Linguistic, Naturalistic, Bodily/Kinetic, Musical, Spatial, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Spiritual.

4.Zoo-phonics: Literacy-based curriculum that uses bodily/kinetic (movement) learning.