Hi!  I’m Marcy Hemminger and I am passionate and dedicated to helping teachers and directors! 

Feel my experience ~ over 30 years wearing teacher & director hats
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     I am proud & pleased to help with the Head Start Domains!
 

“Setting the Stage for Learning” supports

Head Start’s Domain Elements!

Language Development:

• Listening and Understanding: This preschool curriculum system provides teachers with both lessons and activities to offer children the opportunities for conversation, stories, songs and poems.
• Speaking and Communicating: Interaction is a key component in “Setting the Stage for Learning” which provides opportunities to develop skills for receptive and expressive communication.

Literacy:

• Phonological Awareness: “Setting the Stage for Learning” integrates phonemic skills throughout the language arts activity cards and lessons. Pulling away from the “letter-of-the-week” format that so many preschool and child care centers utilize, “Setting the Stage for Learning” believes that letter sounds and patterns need to be emphasized every day in many ways and with a variety of letters and words.
• Book Knowledge and Appreciation: “Setting the Stage for Learning” is literature rich! Even many art projects, songs and science activities begin by reading books. Language arts lessons include retelling through dramatization and writing and more.
• Print Awareness: “Setting the Stage for Learning” pulls it all together by encouraging teachers to use books, real-life literature such as newspapers, nonfiction text, maps and more, and encourages the development of print awareness through dictated writing and picture association.
• Early Writing: “Setting the Stage for Learning” supports early preschool writing through both guided lessons and independent center exploration.  Each thematic unit offers ideas for stocking this center with authentic print and opportunities for the children to experiment with writing and writing tools.
• Alphabet Knowledge: Partnering with Phonological Awareness, “Setting the Stage for Learning” believes that preschool children need to build on the letters and letter sounds that they know each and every day using both functional and fun words together!

Mathematics:

• Number & Operations: “Setting the Stage for Learning” is rich with preschool mathematics! Each thematic unit has 8 to 16 specialized math activities and lessons and reminds teachers to implement them regularly so that the skills become familiar and imbedded.
• Geometry & Spatial Sense: This area of learning is developed throughout the entire curriculum system, from activities and lessons, to games and learning centers. Even science and social studies activities promote spatial awareness in the use of maps and murals.
• Patterns & Measurement: “Setting the Stage for Learning” offers cooking and snack ideas with each theme to introduce and teach measuring on a regular and ongoing basis beyond the math lessons. Understanding relationships to form patterns is promoted throughout this preschool curriculum resource system.

Science:

• Scientific Skills & Methods: “Setting the Stage for Learning” believes that developing the science inquiry skills are the cornerstone to educational success.  Teaching one to ask questions and then find solutions enables everyone the ability to find and gain information.  Each thematic unit also provides preschool science lessons and activities to promote these skills and methods.
• Scientific Knowledge: “Setting the Stage for Learning” offers ideas for creating an “Exploration Table” with each thematic unit to offer the preschool children opportunities to gain knowledge and experience with the world around them.

Creative Arts:

• Art: Each theme ensures that the preschool children have a variety of formats to express their artistic skill and development through arts and craft projects and lessons. Some are teacher-guided, but many are child-initiated, and most have open-ended outcomes to promote that natural creativity within each child.
• Movement: “Setting the Stage for Learning” gives many outlets for the consistent implementation of movement. From the organized preschool games to dances and Fingerplays - all provided in this unique curriculum resource system.
• Dramatic Play: “Setting the Stage for Learning” encourages the development of dramatic play skills using the learning center approach. Ideas are provided for helping preschool children re-enact real life drama in the housekeeping center or through the retelling and dramatization in language activities.

Social & Emotional Development:

• Self-Concept: Thematic units such as “Me and My Family” help to reinforce key components of “self” and how children fit in with society. The open-ended format of many of the activities in “Setting the Stage for Learning” build self-concept since they provide opportunities for each child to feel successful and able to contribute no matter what their developmental age.
• Self-Control: “Setting the Stage for Learning” offers many opportunities for preschool children to practice and utilize self-control; from center rotation to science and social studies activities and lessons. Teachers are encouraged to model and teach ways to wait their turn, use materials responsibly and the cause and effect of their actions.
• Cooperation: “Setting the Stage for Learning” believes that children often work best when in cooperative learning environments.  Problem-solving skills and activities are imbedded throughout this preschool curriculum system to build these skills.
• Social Relationships: Just like with cooperation, “Setting the Stage for Learning” understands that by building cooperation, one develops social relationships. Activities and lessons are provided to promote peer relationships.
• Knowledge of Families & Communities: Each theme in “Setting the Stage for Learning” is rich with activities and lessons developing an awareness of family and/or community. 8 to 16 social studies lesson choices are included too!

Approaches to Learning:

• Initiative & Curiosity: “Setting the Stage for Learning” firmly believes that preschool children need chances to explore and investigate the world around them.  Whether it is within the classroom or in the community, “Setting the Stage for Learning” suggests ways to let children guide the learning.
• Engagement & Persistence: Teachers today often complain that preschool children are not able to sustain attention and stay focused through activities.  “Setting the Stage for Learning” believes that much of that may be due to the way that we teach and introduce topics.  Changing activities too quickly keeps learning superficial. “Setting the Stage for Learning” encourages repetition and changing the duration of themes to help children get more deeply involved and engaged with information and materials.
• Reasoning & Problem-Solving: Strongly connected with science, mathematics and social studies, “Setting the Stage for Learning” believes that all three of these cognitive areas are necessary and tied together to promote reasoning and problem-solving skills. 

Physical Health & Development:

• Fine Motor Skills:“Setting the Stage for Learning” helps teachers help preschool children develop these skills through activities and lessons in arts and crafts, language, mathematic, Fingerplays, and more! Both structured and unstructured learning environments are filled with ways to develop these skills.
• Gross Motor Skills: Each thematic unit provides lesson ideas for games and Fingerplays and songs which are designed to develop preschool children’s gross motor skills. 
• Health Status & Practices: In this area, “Setting the Stage for Learning” promotes health and fitness through its games as well as it cooking and snack activities.  Both work together to teach preschool children the benefits from eating right and exercising - in a developmentally appropriate way.

Contact me to today for your solutions! 
540-882-3395 or 703-727-7306