The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Early Childhood Curriculum Project was developed to offer resources to nonpublic early care and education programs to support preschool age children. This project provides guidance to child care and other nonpublic early childhood programs about curricular resources for three, four and five year-olds that are MSDE recommended because they are aligned with the State’s prekindergarten and kindergarten curricular frameworks, also known as the Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR)/Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC). For three year-olds, the recommended list of resources aligns with Maryland’s Guidelines for Healthy Child Development and Care for Young Children. All recommended curricular resources are also aligned with the pedagogy standards of the guidelines of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

For more information about the State-recommended curricular resources follow these links:

    • Press Release (January 23, 2008) -
      State-Recommended Infants and Toddlers
      Curricula - Click Here

    • Press Release (June 18, 2007) - State-
       Recommended Comprehensive Curricula
       Matrix (Ages 3, 4, 5)  Click Here

    • Questions and Answers: Early Childhood
        Curriculum Project (Infants & Toddlers and
       Comprehensive - Ages 3, 4, 5)  Click Here

     • Guidelines for Early Childhood
        Curriculum - Infants & Toddlers and
       Comprehensive (Ages 3, 4, 5)  Click Here

    • State-Recommended Comprehensive
        Curricula Matrix (Ages 3, 4, 5)  Click Here

    • State-Recommended Infants and
        Toddlers Curricular Resources Matrix - 
       Click Here

     • Guidelines for Content-Area Specific
        Curricula (Ages 3, 4, 5)  Click Here

     • Content-Area Specific Curricula Matrix
      (Ages 3, 4, 5)  Click Here


    • Individually Developed Curricula
      UNDER REVISION – The next evaluation phase
      for Individually Developed Comprehensive
      Curricula (Ages 3, 4, 5) and Individually
      Developed Infants & Toddlers Curricula will be
      in spring 2010. Watch this site for the
      announcement of submission dates and new
      alignment templates reflecting pending
      revisions.