May 06th, 2025

​What is emergent curriculum and how is it implemented in the classroom environment
Emergent curriculum is curricular activity that emerges naturally.  It is not planned.  At our school we have the opportunity to take advantage of emergent curriculum throughout the year both indoors and out.  Some examples are:

• The snowstorm that covers our farm with a fresh white coat (we do not close for snow!) We can explore what the animals are doing and what we need to do for them in order to keep them comfortable.  We build a snowman and cover it with food for the wild animals as their food sources have been covered with snow.  How is the snow affecting our plants. What can we find to slide down the hill on.
• When working with the concept of random vs patterns we run out and “catch” raindrops on painted paper so we can figure out whether they fall in a pattern or fall randomly.
• When our bearded dragon starts to shed we bring out the microscope and look at his skin which leads the children to get hair from many of the animals on the farm to compare under the microscope.

There is a great deal of power in emergent curriculum as it gives the children the opportunity to expand their learning in a way that is meaningful to them. They make the discoveries and use the information to expand their learning.