The Power of Pyramid Projects

The world is big and chaotic and there is much to learn... so how can we best help children make sense of it all? We know that the brain is primed to discover regularities and structure in the environment. When the environment offers structure, the child's brain is activated and the child learns to discover patterns.

Once the brain discovers structures and patterns, it uses this information to find new structures and patterns at increasingly complex levels. Therefore, the better we structure the learning environment for children, the higher the level at which they can learn new information. For this process to be most effective, children must play an active role so they can learn to create their own structures while becoming less and less dependent on adults.

Pyramid projects provide teachers with the framework to structure children's learning, move them towards independence, and maximize their capacity to learn throughout their many cycles of development.

Comprehensive Long-Term Learning Structure

Pyramid offers Project Books for three-year-olds, four-year-olds and five-year-olds. Each separate age group contains 12 comprehensive projects on topics that connect across these groups as well as a sequential developmental line integrating all learning domains.

This ensures continuity for both short and long-term cycles of learning and allows teachers to collaborate during the planning and implementation of projects. Projects typically last 3-4 weeks but are sensitively tuned to the interest level of the children.

Pyramid projects are designed in a long-term cycle that takes place over a period of three years. Children learn and re-learn at increasingly higher levels as they re-encounter familiar concepts and skills. For example, in the project that focuses on the season of Autumn and the children's development of Temporal Orientation there are three levels of learning over the long-term cycle:

What You'll Find Inside Each Project Book

The Learning Framework

A synopsis of the concepts, skills, and objectives that create
the learning framework for each project.

Pyramid projects are comprehensive and easy to use for the novice teacher as well as the expert teacher. They are also flexible enough to allow you to change existing activities, substitute new activities, or create a whole new topic that emerges from the authentic interests of the children. The important thing is to follow the learning framework when designing new activities in order to capitalize on the full power of Pyramid to optimize children's development. Each project is built around one dominant developmental domain in which all of the Whole Group Exploration and Small Group Processing activities are focused. Throughout the rest of the project all other developmental domains are integrated to create a holistic approach to learning.

Optimizing Children's Development through their Own Initiative

Suggestions for "seeding" the environment to entice children to take
initiative in each learning center.

During center time children make choices that involve play and initiative learning. Initiative learning activities have specific objectives and are designed to be attractive and stimulating to entice children's curiosity about how things work. Children retain the initiative as they work with these activities. Pyramid teachers enhance children's feelings of competence by offering strategic support based on each child's level of development, degree of independence, and amount of motivation. Both play and initiative learning activities are added throughout the project to keep centers interesting.

Optimizing Children's Development through the Teacher's Initiative

ODBD - A powerful four-step process that intentionally drives children's learning to higher levels of understanding and complexity.

The four steps are Orientation (starting with the familiar and building excitement for the learning ahead), Demonstration (active learning of new concepts and skills through hands-on, sensory experiences), Broadening (connecting to personal experiences and comparing and contrasting relevant characteristics), and Deepening (applying learning to new situations through abstraction, problem-solving, and flexible thinking). Pyramid teachers will use these steps during Whole Group Exploration and Small Group Processing.

Whole Group Exploration - Short, intentional activities that promote development of specific skills and concepts related to the main learning domain of the project.

Helping children take distance from the here and now is one of the central goals of the Pyramid curriculum. Taking distance propels children through the short-term learning cycles that are part of the Dynamic System Theory. Repeating the various project topics throughout the preschool years supports the long-term cycles of the Dynamic System Theory. Together, these short-term and long-term learning cycles move children to higher levels of thinking and learning. The Pyramid curriculum offers a powerful, four-step process for helping children take distance.

The ODBD steps are integrated into the activities of the projects and help children move from things that are present, familiar, and safe to things that are not present, must be imagined and take place in the past or in the future. Teachers start close to the children and gradually take more distance. Within each project the teacher plans Group Exploration activities that move children through the four-step distancing process.

Each of the four steps lasts about one week. Teachers encourage children to participate in the Group Exploration experiences by planning interesting, challenging activities, and by being enthusiastic while introducing them to the group. Children should be allowed to sit where they are most comfortable, while being respectful of the needs of other children to see what is taking place.

Children who are not interested in joining the group can choose to work independently, as long as they are respectful of the needs of the larger group. Group Exploration is kept lively and is timed to the attention levels of the children.

Small Group Processing - Activities for small groups and individual children that further develop the skills introduced in the project. During Small Group Processing teachers individualize learning plans for each child by including developmentally sequenced activities that meet the needs of individuals and small groups of children. In order to enrich the learning experience teachers plan small group activities that allow children to process the skills and concepts learned during Whole Group Exploration.

These activities allow children time to work things out for themselves as they are introduced to new skills and concepts. They are able to work in small groups or alone, with the teacher available to challenge and support their learning.

Sometimes children choose these activities and sometimes teachers request participation by certain children. In this way teachers can individualize and assess children's learning.

Promoting Parent Partnerships through Authentic Involvement

A newsletter: The Pyramid Project Post

The newsletter template allows teachers to keep parents informed about upcoming projects and ways they can be involved at home and at school. Pyramid Projects promote strong connections between home and school.