The Forager's Approach Curriculum

The Foragers Approach Curriculum is a flexible, play-based framework that empowers educators to nurture children's development through exploration, meaningful experiences, and individualized learning pathways, all while fostering foundational skills and a love of learning.

   

      The Foragers Approach Curriculum is a developmentally responsive, play-based early learning framework created by The Bramble Patch Preschool to support children from 18 months to 3.5 years of age. Rooted in the belief that children are natural learners who thrive through exploration, storytelling, and meaningful relationships, this curriculum blends foundational skill development with the freedom of child-led discovery.

It is structured around three core branches:

  1. Where Play Begins – A focus on 14 key developmental skill areas (e.g., Fine Motor Skills, Sensory Exploration, Social-Emotional Skills), providing children with rich opportunities to build lifelong abilities through play, movement, creativity, and daily routines.

  2. Curiosity Blooms – Monthly thematic focuses that encourage seasonal, sensory-rich, and interest-based learning, helping children deepen their understanding of the world while allowing for emergent planning and age-appropriate progression.

  3. Learning Blossoms – Enriching elements that gently introduce early academic concepts (such as phonics, numbers, and sign language) through songs, poems, bilingual exposure, and playful invitations, never through rote instruction.

📘 Current Development and Implementation

We are currently in the refinement and implementation phase, ensuring that the curriculum is:

  • Authentic and effective in real-world practice at our home-based preschool before being offered as a digital resource for other educators.

  • Age-divided, with both a Toddler Focused Curriculum (18 months – 2 years) and a Preschool Focused Curriculum (2.5 – 3.5 years), each with flexible, open-ended activity suggestions and developmentally appropriate expectations.

  • Inclusive of emerging academic concepts, such as potty training readiness, pre-literacy skills, French vocabulary, and fine motor strengthening, offered as invitations for interaction rather than goals for mastery.

  • Supported by robust documentation tools, including Gather & Grow Portfolios, TeachKloud digital stories, spontaneous observations, and assessments.

This curriculum is built on the principles of Ontario’s How Does Learning Happen?, embracing responsive relationships, reflective practice, and the image of the child as capable, curious, and full of potential.

The finalized curriculum will be available as a digital download for educators, with an anticipated release in January 2026.