Indigenous Early Childhood Education Teaching Resources

The purpose of this curriculum is not to provide early childhood teachers a comprehensive, daily lesson plan or even a weekly plan.  It is a framework that reflects a philosophy relating to how we, as adults, and children learn.  The framework includes nine units that can be used in a nine or 12-month cycle.  Each teacher or school may want to modify unit length to meet their needs.  For each unit a sample legend story and teaching model is presented.

The guide is designed to be multicultural. By that, we mean that the framework can be used as a model in a variety of cultural settings.  The traditional Indian approach of first learning about oneself, and then gradually the rest of the world, is the basic success model.

American Indian Legends are used as the center of the curriculum web because we feel the use of the oral tradition will build good listening and speaking skills, good reading motivation, and will also transmit in a culture manner traditional knowledge to our children.  At least one primary legend is offered as a sample for each unit.  Teachers using this guide will want to add their own stories and legends, build curriculum webs, and enhance and enrich each unit.  In this way, each unit suggested topics can be more fully explored, and the curriculum can be made unique and responsive to each culturally diverse community using it.

The framework was developed in an intertribal urban setting.  Therefore, inclusions represent a wide variety of tribes.  Additional stories and legends for the units can be gathered from tribes in the corresponding regional area and/or local culture.