Success for All: Curiosity Corner and Kindercorner
The Success for All (SFA) approach was developed in 1986 by faculty members at Johns Hopkins University as an effort to engage the entire school community in curriculum that meets the needs of its children. SFA is the most prescriptive of the approaches discussed so far, and teachers are expected to adhere to the curriculum in their daily practice. Teachers, families, and the external community work together to promote comprehensive supports from preschool through high school, with a focused curriculum targeted to early childhood, elementary, and middle/high school students. The early childhood components are known as Curiosity Corner (3- and 4-year-olds) and Kindercorner (kindergarten).
Curiosity Corner
Curiosity Corner is used across the country in a variety of settings, mostly in programs serving low-income children. Curiosity Corner emphasizes language and literacy within a comprehensive curriculum that addresses physical, social, and emotional development and math, science, social studies as well as the visual and performing arts. It includes thirty-eight weekly thematic units complete with teaching guides and detailed daily plans, children’s books, manipulative materials, and games for each unit. The suggested daily routine includes times and activities for Greetings and Readings, Clues and Questions, Rhyme Time, Learning Labs, Story Tree, Outside and Gross Motor Play, Snack, and Question/Reflection, all related to the weekly theme.
Kindercorner
The Kindercorner curriculum uses the same approach as the Curiosity Corner but extends thematic units to two weeks in length. During the second half of the school year, teachers introduce KinderRoots, a supplemental reading program.