What's Wrong with a Theme???

Early childhood teachers everywhere are faced with the choice—to theme or not to theme? Themes are like worksheets; they represent a program model. I admit I used themes when I began my career in early childhood education. I thought that the theme of the week that I had chosen had to represented and visible in all areas of the classroom. Fundamentally this practice was very short sighted on a number of levels. The greatest issue that I now see, in retrospect, is that themes are teacher directed and teacher owned. Such a practice can lead to greatly restricting a child’s creativity and individuality.