These are my ideas for a new type of school curriculum. This is just an overview and the subjects, of course, would need to be taught in an age appropriate way, which I haven’t done here. Ideally, the student would pick from each subject what interested them.
Preschool
1. manners
– hygiene
– cover your mouth when sneezing
– cover your mouth when yawning
– courtesy
– say please and thank you
– don’t interrupt
– excuse me
– ask permission
– asking how are you?
– knocking first
– writing a thank you note
– bad words
– greet nicely
– sharing
– raising hands
– no hitting
– eat at the table
– cultural norms
– being on time
– privacy and personal space
– being honest
– waiting your turn
– hand washing
– cultural differences (examples)
greetings in other cultures
– bowing in japan instead of shaking hands
– embracing in latin america instead of shaking hands
– kissing cheeks in the mediterranean
please and excuse me
– smiling instead in latin america
smiling
– in asia not smiling is not rude
eye contact
– respectful to avoid eye contact in korea
2. gun safety
– pretend vs. real guns
– do not touch
– leave the area
– never play with a real gun
3. hygiene
– hands
– washing with soap and water
– when to wash hands
– germs
– respiratory
– cover your cough
– using a tissue
– food
– sanitizing surfaces
– separate raw from cooked
– cook thoroughly
– keep food at safe temperatures
– washing food
– water
– clean water vs. dirty water
– kitchen
– food storage
– cleaning up
– when to refrigerate
– bathroom
– hand washing
– taking a bath
– laundry
– putting dirty clothes in the hamper
– medical
– cleaning a cut
– disinfectant
– surfaces
– body
– washing
– brushing teeth
– washing hair
– changing clothes (dirty and clean)
– nail trimming
– sleep
– don’t touch blood
– getting a haircut
– going to the doctor/dentist
4. mental health
– activity therapy
– recreational exercise outside (hiking, tennis, etc.)
– journaling
– relaxation
– arts and crafts
– music therapy
– camping
– expressive therapy (self expression through creative expression)
(excited, tender, scared, angry, sad, happy)
– art
– dance
– drama
– role play
– writing
– film based
– poetry
– play
– sandplay
– dreamwork
– cognitive behavioral therapy
– thinking of problems and solutions
– writing self-statements to counter negative thoughts
– new opportunities to think positive thoughts
– visualizing the best part of the day
– learn to accept disappointment as part of life
– dialectical behavior therapy
– mindfulness: observe, describe, participate
– distress tolerance
– emotion regulation
– interpersonal effectiveness
– meditation
– lie comfortably
– close your eyes
– breathe naturally
– focus on breath
– notice your body
– return to your breath when your mind wanders
– do for 2-3 minutes
5. sports
6. music (listening to different styles of music)
– pitch and melody
– harmony and chords
– rhythm
– expression
– genres
– african
– asian
– avant garde
– blues
– caribbean
– country
– easy listening
– electronic
– folk
– hip hop
– jazz
– latin
– pop
– r&b soul
– rock
7. fine arts (drawing)
– materials
– graphite
– charcoal
– pastels
– marker
– pen
– ink
– technique
– holding a pencil
– shading
– line weight
– checking
– is it ever finished?
– tone
– light and dark
– form and proportion
– measuring
– dots and lines
– perspective
– artistry
– negative space
– viewing art from artists
– process
– motor function
– perception
– visual memory
8. applied arts (mixed media)
9. biology
– cell theory
– evolution
– genetics
– homeostasis
– energy
– structural
– physiological
– research
– systematic
– kingdoms
– ecological and environmental
10. languages (linguistics)
– phonetics
– phonology
– morphology
– syntax
– semantics
– pragmatics
– discourse analysis
– stylistics
– semiotics
11. writing (fiction)
– character
– plot
– setting
– theme
– style
– narrator
– point of view
– tone
– suspension of disbelief
