Thematic/Integrated curriculum is an educational approach that prepares children for lifelong learning. There is a strong belief among those who support curriculum integration that schools must look at education as a process for developing abilities required by life in the twenty-first century, rather than discrete, departmentalized subject matter. Thus, bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It views learning and teaching in a holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive. In general, integrated curriculum or interdisciplinary curriculum includes:

• Students see relationships among ideas and concepts as they plan and experience a theme-based inquiry.
• Relationships between in- and out-of-school topics become obvious to students.
• Communication processes become authentic as students engage in thematically based learning activities.
• Students are encouraged to share ideas. As they listen to one another, their personal bases of ideas are expanded.
• Respect and cooperation among peers are expanded through interaction.
• Students become more responsible for, and engaged in, their own learning.
• The teacher assumes the role of facilitator rather than information dispenser.
• A sense of community develops as cooperatively designed student activities are created.
• Many grouping patterns naturally emerge.
• Assessment is authentic, continuous, and related to learning endeavors.

e-themes applies the tools of technology:

Now that technology has become a part of our everyday life in education, we need to begin viewing it as a tool, not as a separate part of the curriculum.  We believe that technology can be used to enhance learning through skill building software.

While this can be a part of our approach to integration, it is only the first step.  As the integration of technology becomes more and more a part of what we are expected to accomplish in the classroom, we as teachers must become more creative in the ways that we include it into our daily routine.  As we become more comfortable with our own level of ability and knowledge base, we will be more likely to impart that "wisdom" onto our students.  We are firm believers that technology cannot replace books, or paper and pencil.  It is a tool that is used merely to enhance and extend the curriculum already in place.

With the integration of internet technology, e-themes allows parents to participate in children’s learning environment at home.

Yale Child Study Center says out of every 1,000 preschoolers are expelled each year.

Could the reason be all about making preschool more about academics than about socialization and constructive play? Preschools feel the pressure to pump up the academic portion of their programs to better prepare students for kindergarten. For many, though, the push comes too young and the result is frustration and inappropriate behavior.

The Importance Of Exposing Children to Nature

In the not-so-distant past, kids ruled the country's woods and valleys -- running in packs, building secret forts and treehouses, hunting frogs and fish, playing hide-and-seek behind tall grasses. But in the last 30 years, children of the digital age have become increasingly alienated from the natural world, with disastrous implications, not only for their physical fitness, but also for their long-term mental and spiritual heath.

Sensationalist media coverage and paranoid parents have literally "scared children straight out of the woods and fields," while promoting a litigious culture of fear that favors "safe" regimented sports over imaginative play. Well-meaning elementary school curricula may teach students everything there is to know about the Amazon rain forest's endangered species, but do little to encourage kids' personal relationship with the world outside their own doors. And advances in technology, while opening up a wealth of "virtual" experiences to the young, have made it easier and easier for children to spend less time outside.