Integrated Curriculum

Blending learning areas to foster creativity, connection, and deeper understanding

Theoretical Foundations

Several influential theories support integrated curriculum design in early childhood:

• Dewey’s experiential learning theory argues that children learn best through active engagement in real-life tasks that cross disciplinary boundaries.

• Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory supports curriculum integration by emphasising social interaction, language, and shared learning as central to development.

• Malaguzzi’s Reggio Emilia approach advocates for projects (or “progettazione”) that are child-led, inquiry-based, and emergent—reflecting children’s natural questions and interests across learning domains.

Together, these theories provide a strong foundation for planning experiences that honour children’s voices, creativity, and holistic development.

Theoretical Foundations

The integrated curriculum approach is underpinned by several influential theories. Dewey (1938) argued that curriculum should connect with children’s lives and experiences, supporting learning through inquiry and problem-solving. Vygotsky (1978) emphasized the social construction of knowledge and the importance of learning through shared dialogue within meaningful contexts. Malaguzzi’s Reggio Emilia philosophy views children as capable and curious learners, and supports project-based, interdisciplinary investigations driven by children’s interests (Tijnagel-Schoenaker, 2018). These perspectives affirm that integrated learning not only promotes academic skills but nurtures relationships, creativity, and democratic participation.

Materials and Teaching Approaches

An integrated curriculum invites educators to be intentional in designing environments and experiences that foster cross-disciplinary exploration. Suggested resources and strategies include:

These practices promote connections between content areas and help children construct knowledge across disciplines (Beane, 1997).

Integrated Experiences by Age Group

Infants (0–2 Years)

• Sensory Storytime
  Educators read tactile books like That's Not My Puppy, while offering textured materials (e.g., fur, fabric, foil) to engage infants in storytelling through multiple senses. This integrates language, sensory exploration, and emotional development, supporting creative meaning-making through touch and sound (Gonzalez-Mena, 2019).

• Nature Basket Exploration
  Infants explore a basket filled with safe natural items—leaves, seed pods, pinecones—while listening to soft background sounds of nature. This promotes cognitive development, sensory integration, and early science concepts like texture, sound, and weight (Curtis & Carter, 2013).

Toddlers (2–3 Years)

• Market Play Corner
  Toddlers engage in imaginative shopping with toy fruits, empty cartons, and price tags. Educators scaffold numeracy by naming quantities and money while also encouraging social language and problem-solving. This combines mathematics, language, and dramatic play, nurturing creativity through real-world scenarios (Ailwood et al., 2016).

• Mud Kitchen Cooking
  Using bowls, ladles, herbs, and soil, toddlers pretend to cook, pour, and serve meals. This supports science exploration, gross motor skills, and imaginative expression, especially when educators ask reflective questions like “What happens if you add water?” (Tijnagel-Schoenaker, 2018).

Preschoolers (3–5 Years)

• Our Bug World Project
  Children investigate insects in the garden, document them with drawings, and use measuring tapes to record sizes. The activity integrates science, art, numeracy, and language, promoting inquiry, observation, and expressive thinking through a project-based lens (Edwards et al., 2012).

• Build a Story Map
  Using a large piece of butcher paper, preschoolers draw or collage a setting from a favourite story (e.g., We’re Going on a Bear Hunt), incorporating geography, art, storytelling, and spatial awareness. This nurtures symbolic thinking and creativity (MacNaughton & Williams, 2009).

School Age (6–8 Years)

• Design Your Dream Community
  Students use boxes, paper, and loose parts to create models of buildings, parks, and roads. They explain their ideas in writing or orally. This integrates civics, mathematics, art, and English, promoting design thinking, collaboration, and urban awareness (Drake & Reid, 2020).

• Rainforest Rescue Project
  Children explore the topic of rainforest deforestation through books, videos, and discussion. They then make group art and write persuasive letters to raise awareness. It has integrated environmental science, art, literacy, and ethics, thereby enabling learners to communicate creative solutions to world problems (Edwards et al., 2012).