The curriculum for Little and Teeny Red Schoolhouse was developed by Jessica Rutherford (owner), and based on research on developmentally appropriate activities for each age group. The day is set up to be a balance of teacher directed and child directed activities, as well as active and sitting activities, to best meet each child’s needs.
Every week there is a theme at Little Red, and all other areas are centered around that theme, including art projects, literacy, centers, music class and story time. In addition, we also have a letter of the week, which is a fun way to introduce letters to our little ones. We decorate that letter with something that starts with it (alligator A’s, for example), bring home buckets and fill them with things that starts with that letter, and eat snack that starts with that letter. Also, many of our centers and art projects relate to the letter of the week. The kids love it!

The schedules for each group are predictable for the kids, and they always know what to expect out of each day. In addition, most kids only have at most 2 teachers per week to allow for consistency of care. Our teachers really bond and connect with each individual child! Instead of one large group with 2-3 teachers, we have one small group (6-8 kids) with one teacher. This allows for less conflict and leads to a reduction in challenging behavior. It also allows for more one on one contact.

A big part of our curriculum is the social/emotional piece, which is essential in early childhood education. At Little Red we follow the Pyramid Model, which is based on a positive behavioral approach embedded into our curriculum. We strive to use at least 5 positives to 1 negative, and tell children what they should do instead of what they shouldn’t do. Enforcing our expectations and safe rules while guiding the kids to make good choices and solve their own problems has led to an amazing transformation at our school! We have a social skill of the week, and are constantly present to lead the kids in problem solving and using their words. When we are ahead of the challenging behavior that can arise with this age group, we find that we can do more to avoid this behavior up front instead of “putting out fires” all day. It’s great to be so positive all day long!
For more information on the Pyramid Model, please see the link on the Parent Resources section. It’s well worth your time!


One other important curriculum note is that we are certified to take children with special needs who are on IEP’s, and these kids can receive their therapy at Little Red! This means we have outside experts in our school working with kids on Speech therapy, Physical therapy, Occupational therapy, and more! It is so rewarding to be able to help kids with all types of needs, and is also great to see the other kids learn that not all kids learn the same way.

Through all of these special programs, Little and Teeny Red are full of caring and nurturing above all else! We take pride in the fact that we really connect with all of the kids and families that go through our program, and this connection is what makes our school a truly special place.