The Open Arms Curriculum: Components

I. The Open Arms Curriculum Guide

The Open Arms Curriculum will consist of five fundamental components. The first of these is the Open Arms Curriculum Guide, of which this document will be a part. This Guide will present a Christian philosophy and approach to life and learning that forms the foundation for the entire curriculum, and for the very existence of a Christian child development ministry. This is presented from an exclusively Lutheran perspective and comes out of a tradition of Lutheran education that began in the days of the Reformation and continues with the rise of Lutheran schools, from the earliest days of our country’s history to the present day.

The Open Arms Curriculum Guide relates to every aspect of child growth and development, and is based on God’s Word to us, the Bible. From that base, it also addresses a second purpose for the conduct of a child development ministry by a congregation. This is the opportunity to minister to unchurched families in the community with the message of God’s love. This aspect is not always addressed in the curricula currently available.

When we speak of Open Arms, we refer in the broadest sense to the open arms of our Savior Jesus Christ. His arms were extended on the cross to enfold all mankind in God’s mercy and grace, and to restore us fully to all the peace, the power, and the potential of life with God. Then the Savior’s arms were extended in blessing as He rose from earth to His place at the right hand of the Father. At His ascension, those open arms signified His hope and His command that we should disciple all nations, teaching and baptizing them, that they too might come to join Him and us in the blessings of life with God, here on earth and then in His eternal presence.

The Open Arms Curriculum Guide is designed to provide every early childhood program with the resources to help a director and a curriculum specialist lead an entire staff to grow in their understanding of God’s grace, and to develop the learning environment which will assure that children are growing along with them. The depth and the riches of God’s love, God’s wisdom and power, and God’s creative and redemptive purpose are without limit. As we explore them together, may they always lead to praise and thanksgiving, and to the fullness of life with God.

To this end, we pray with the Apostle Paul:

¹⁷And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.  ¹⁸And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  ¹⁹May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19

II. The Creative Curriculum®

A second component of the Open Arms Curriculum is The Creative Curriculum®, produced by Teaching Strategies, Inc. This curriculum appeared first in the late 1970s, and has been constantly revised and updated, based both upon existing research in child growth and development as well as upon a wealth of experience and practical use in the classroom.

As a secular approach to child development curriculum, The Creative Curriculum® is comprehensive in every respect. The following features are especially noteworthy:

• It covers ages 0 to 5, and presents a philosophy of child development with an approach to planning that undergirds a child development program at every level.
• It includes thorough background and guidance for directors and teaching staff in the primary areas of child growth and development, and also in the chief learning content areas.
• It incorporates a highly refined and supremely practical program of observation, tracking, and guidance for child growth and development at these age levels.  This program is offered as a paper record, a computer-based approach, or a web-based system that simplifies the planning for the caregiver and keeps the parent fully informed about the child’s growth and accomplishments.

The Creative Curriculum® is unexcelled in what it provides for a child development program. Therefore it serves as a key component of the Open Arms Curriculum when implemented under the vision and goals of that curriculum by trained and qualified Christian teachers.

III. A Library of Plans and Activities

The third component of the Open Arms Curriculum will be a web-based repository of activities and weekly plans available to the Curriculum Specialist and teaching staff of centers affiliated with the Open Arms Institute. The Creative Curriculum® provides one such repository which, though purely secular, is filled with practical ideas and plans, easily accessible by teachers or aides.

In addition, the Open Arms Curriculum will also provide a repository of Word-based plans and materials. These materials will have been prepared and used by the finest teachers in selected centers. They will be categorized by theme, by age level, by area of child growth and development, and by content area to simplify search and selection. They will be downloadable or printable from the screen for ready use by a teacher, and will contain ample notations explaining their use.

IV. A Program of Observation, Assessment, and Guidance for Spiritual Growth

Just as The Creative Curriculum® includes a program for the observation, assessment, and reporting of children’s growth and development in the secular realms, the Open Arms Curriculum will include a form of assessment for their spiritual growth and development. While faith itself is impossible to measure, it is possible to observe the fruits of faith in the child’s daily behavior and expressions. Respect for and attention to God’s Word can be observed, as can interest and participation in the prayer life of the group. And just as adults can give witness to their faith by words and deeds, so also can even the youngest children as they grow to acquire communication skills along with their growing faith.

A teacher can observe these evidences of faith, note their presence or absence, and apply the observations to the planning of activities which will guide children’s growth in their life with God.

V. A Training Program for Curriculum Specialists and Teachers

The fifth component of the Open Arms Curriculum will be a training program for Curriculum Specialists and teachers. This training enables a center to raise the quality of its program over time, regardless of the initial capabilities of the teachers or the turnover in staffing which is a common part of any child development program.

Both the Open Arms Curriculum Guide and The Creative Curriculum® are developed so that they offer nearly an open-ended opportunity for center staff to grow in their own relationship with God and in their competence as teachers and caregivers. A good teacher, first of all, never learns all there is to know about the challenging yet exciting process of teaching and learning. Then because each child is unique and is gifted with unique talents and interests, the search for the best strategies of guidance and encouragement always presents new avenues to explore.

The training component of the Open Arms Curriculum is essential, therefore, to assure that a child development center using the Open Arms Curriculum embarks and continues upon a path of ever higher quality of care and guidance for children and for families. It raises the level of competence among the staff even while it multiplies the learning opportunities and effectiveness of the classroom setting.