Rationale

Early childhood is an ideal time to begin teaching about basic health and safety. Children begin to adopt healthy (or unhealthy) behaviors very early. By including health and safety themes as part of the early childhood curriculum, we can help young children be safer and healthier both in early childhood and later in life.

Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum

The curriculum is intended to teach 3- to 5-year-olds basic health and safety concepts through activities in the regular early childhood curriculum. The activities in our lessons incorporate all areas of the early childhood classroom, including science, art, math, dramatic play, music, language arts, outdoor play, and large group.

The curriculum was designed to be developmentally appropriate for 3- to 5-year-olds. We designed the curriculum to:

• Use hands-on, concrete learning activities.
• Integrate health and safety into children's daily learning experiences.
• Be flexible and easy for teachers to implement.
• Incorporate different learning centers in all areas of the early childhood classroom.
• Strengthen new skills through practice.
• Intentionally involve families in children's learning.

Hands-on Curriculum Units

The curriculum currently includes six curriculum units that can be incorporated into the early childhood curriculum. The curriculum units are as follows:

• Basic Safety teaches young children simple ways to protect themselves from unintentional injury.
• Emergencies familiarizes children with what to expect in various types of emergencies, including fires and medical emergencies.
• Going to the Doctor prepares young children for routine doctor visits and check-ups.
• My Healthy Body teaches healthy habits, such as hand washing, eating well, physical activity, sleep, and good hygiene.
• Terrific Teeth helps children learn how to care for their teeth and what to expect at a routine visit to the dentist.
• Eat Healthy, Be Active teaches children about the importance of good nutrition, physical activity, stretching, and drinking water as ways to keep themselves healthy.

Pilot-tested with Young Children

All activities in each curriculum unit have been pilot-tested with young children. Based on our observations and on teacher feedback, the activities were enjoyable and effective in engaging children in learning. We appreciate the teachers, children, and families of the Head Start and pre-kindergarten classrooms at the McPhaul Child Development Center for their help in piloting the curriculum.

Trainer's Guide

The Trainer's Guide to Teaching Basic Health and Safety in the Early Childhood Classroom is also part of the curriculum. The Trainer's Guide includes a detailed training plan for teaching the curriculum to early childhood teachers, along with copy-ready handout masters, homework activities, and support materials that can be used in training early childhood professionals. The training plan includes 12 hours of in-class instruction time and 3 hours of out-of-class homework.