Materials for Course: Flipcharts, Markers, and Sticky Notes · Materials for Course: Flipcharts,...

Time required for this course: 6 hours

Materials for Course: Flipcharts, Markers, and Sticky Notes

The goal of the Child Growth and Development course is to teach you basic principles of child growth and development. You will also learn how these principles affect children’s learning.

The six-hour course is presented in six modules.

• Module 1: Child Growth and Development Overview

• Module 2: Child Development Theories

• Module 3: Influences Affecting Child Growth and Development

• Module 4: Developmental Domains

• Module 5: Guiding Children’s Behaviors

• Module 6: Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Note to Trainer: These are the icons used in the Participant Guide as a visual reference.

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Approximate time required for this module: 45 minutes

Approximate time: 1 minute

Materials: Flipcharts, Markers, and Sticky Notes

Welcome to Module 1: Child Growth and Development Overview.

This module introduces the basic principles of child growth and development and brain development. It also includes implications for child care professionals and implications for learning.

Module 1


Goal

Participants will understand the basic principles of child growth and development and how these principles apply to children’s learning.

Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this module, you will be able to:

• Explain the difference between growth and development

• Describe each of the basic principles of child growth and development

• Provide at least one implication of a development principle as it relates to child learning

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Module 1

Approximate time: 3 minutes

Materials: Flipchart and Markers OR Sticky Notes

• Have the participants answer both questions:

• In your participant’s guide, write at least two goals or expectations for this course. The goal or expectation should reflect what you are hoping to learn by the end of the course.

• What is one question you have about the content of this course on child growth and development?

Alternative Activity:

Have students put their one question on chart paper or on a sticky note. Organize the questions by topic.

These questions will be revisited at the end of the course to ensure students leave with answers to their questions or resources of where to find answers.

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Module 1


We often hear people refer to children’s growth and development.

Are “growth” and “development” the same thing?

What does each of these terms mean?

• Growth refers to specific body changes and increases in the child’s size, such as a child’s height, weight, head circumference and body mass index. These size changes can usually be easily measured.

• Development typically refers to an increase in complexity, a change from relatively simple to more complicated. Development usually involves a progression along a continuous pathway on which the child acquires more refined knowledge, behaviors, and skills. The sequence is basically the same for all children, however, the rate varies.

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We define growth as specific body changes and increases in the child’s size.

• During the first year of an infant’s life, babies can grow 10 inches in length and triple their birth weight.

• After the first year, a baby’s growth in length slows to five inches a year for the next two years and continues from age two or three to puberty at a rate of two to three inches each year.

• A major growth spurt occurs at the time of puberty. While girls generally enter puberty between 8 and 13 years of age, boys usually enter puberty between 10 and 15 years of age.

Similarities in growth:

• Growth proceeds from the head downward and from the center of the body outward.

• Children gain control of the head and neck first, then the arms and finally the legs.

• At birth, the brain, heart, and spinal cord are fully functioning to support the infant.

• As children grow, the arm and leg muscles develop followed by the finger and toe muscles.

Differences in growth:

• Some children are taller, some shorter. Some children are smaller, while others are larger.

• These differences are completely typical. Typical growth is supported by good nutrition, adequate sleep, and regular exercise.

• Children do not grow at perfectly steady rates throughout childhood.

• Children will experience weeks or months of slightly slower growth followed by growth spurts.

• Difference in the amount of growth can be a source of self-consciousness for some children.

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It is important to help the children in your care understand that differences in growth patterns are typical. Because each child is different and special, it is important to help them understand this concept in order to develop a sense of self-acceptance.

If you detect that a child is self-conscious about her size, how would you help her work on increasing her self-acceptance?

Either individually or with a group of children, talk about how things are different but equally important and valuable. You could use the example of a litter of puppies or kittens that are different colors and sizes, both larger and smaller. While they are different, they are all special and will grow into wonderful dogs and cats. You could also use different fruits, kinds of ice cream, and finally differences in people to help the child or children understand that difference is not bad, but rather makes each person special.

If you have some concern about a growth-related issue about a child, how would you approach this issue with the parent(s)?

Share information about typical growth patterns with the parent(s). You may wish to share it with all your parents. After going over this information with the parent you could ask her if she has any questions or concerns and if she has had any discussions with the child’s doctor. If you detect that the parent has not had much interaction with a doctor and does not connect the growth information with their child, gently explain your concerns and have available local resources for medical care if the family needs that assistance. Make sure all discussions occur in a calm and confidential manner.

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Key Point: Growth is defined as specific body changes and increases in the child’s size, proceeding from the head downward and from the center of the body outward.

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The principles of child development help us understand how children are alike and the characteristics that are typical within age groups. No two children are exactly alike. However, we know that two-year-old children are more like other two-year-olds than they are like six-year-old children. We see that certain behaviors and abilities emerge during similar age ranges. It is essential for child care professionals to understand how children develop. You must be able to use this information to create programs that meet the needs of groups of children, as well as the needs of each individual child.

Key Point: Development refers to an increase in complexity; a change from relatively simple to more complicated.

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Key Point: Development usually involves a progression along a continuous sequential pathway on which the child acquires more refined knowledge, behaviors, and skills.

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Key Point: The developmental sequence is basically the same for all children; however, the rate of development varies from child to child.

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Note to Trainer: Provide an overview of the material on this slide – the material is in the participant guide in its entirety. Instruct the participants to read all of the material on their own.

There are five principles related to the progression of general development that children will typically experience.1. Developmental Sequence is Similar for All2. Development Proceeds from General to Specific3. Development is Continuous4. Development Proceeds at Different Rates5. All Areas of Development are Interrelated

Principle 1 – Developmental Sequence is Similar for All

• Children develop in relatively the same ways.

• There is a typical sequence of development that occurs as a child grows.

• While the sequence is similar, and the behaviors or skills emerge in the same order, children can take more or less time with each behavior or skill.

• They can move forward, regress for a short time, then move forward again.

• Some children may skip a behavior or skill as they move forward.

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Principle 2 – Development Proceeds from General to Specific

• Development progresses from a beginning point moving in a forward direction.

• Just as growth of an infant proceeds from the top down and from the center of the body to the limbs, development of behaviors and skills moves from general to specific.

• As children mature, their bodily changes occur in a sequential order and give children new abilities.

• As the brain and nervous system develop, a child’s thinking (cognitive) skills and motor skills improve.

• In the Physical Development Domain, an infant’s large muscles develop first and result in the ability to wave the arms and kick the legs.

• Development continues in the smaller muscles in the fingers and toes, and results in the ability of the fingers to grasp objects and the toes to help with balance when standing and walking.

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Principle 3 – Development is Continuous

• In children who develop typically, behaviors and skills they have already acquired become the basis for new behaviors and skills.

• There is continuity from one phase of development to the next.

• Children continue to add new behaviors and skills as they perfect their abilities to walk, to write or draw, and to speak. For example, speech development proceeds from gurgles and coos to chattering, then to words, then phrases, and finally, sentences. Sentences become paragraphs and stories, both oral and written.

• In order for children to write or draw, they must have developed the control of their hands and fingers to hold a crayon and pencil. Holding a pencil develops into writing and drawing.

• The continuation of development can easily be seen in children as they mature from age two to age twelve.

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Principle 4 – Development Proceeds at Different Rates

• Each child is different and the rates at which individual children develop are different.

• Although the sequences for development are usually the same for all children, the rates at which individual children reach each stage will be different.

• Some children will walk at ten months of age, while others walk at eighteen months of age.

• Development is never uniform, but it is constant.

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Principal 5 – All Areas of Development are Interrelated

• Development in children is interrelated.

• There are several examples in Principles 1 through 4 that show how the body has to grow and develop before new behaviors and skills can occur.

• These examples also demonstrate the first two of five areas of development, called domains.

• These five domains of development are Physical Development, Cognitive Development and General Knowledge, Language and Communication, Social and Emotional Development, and Approaches to Learning. Each area of development influences development in other areas.

• Each of these developmental domains can be defined by one or more characteristics. The characteristics of the Physical Development Domain involve increased physical growth and abilities.

• There are many characteristics of the Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain, and the Approaches to Learning Domain, which include thinking, planning, creating, exploring, and questioning.

• The Language and Communication Domain includes a child’s abilities to see, hear, speak, read, and write.

• The Social and Emotional Development Domain is defined by forming relationships and attachments.

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Materials: None

Have the participants develop, either individually or in small groups, one example of one of the five principles.

Alternative Activity:

Provide the following examples for the class to guess which Principle is being demonstrated.

• In the Infant Care Center this fall, you noticed four-month-old Sara roll over; a few weeks later, she began scooting. By December, six-month-old Raul had rolled over and scooted. Last week, you noted that Renae—at the age of five months—had rolled over, and you predict she will be scooting very soon. (Answer: Principle 1 – Developmental Sequence is Similar for All)

• Three-month-old Sean loves to wave his arms in the air. As you watch him, you think about the skills he will probably achieve next: first, he will grasp objects; then he will be able to hold a crayon; and someday, he will be able to write with a pencil. (Answer: Principle 2 – Development Proceeds from General to Specific)

• When LaShanda was two, you noted that she enjoyed solitary play and did not interact with other children. By the age of two and a half, LaShanda liked to play next to another child, but there was no interaction (parallel play). By the age of three, LaShanda engaged routinely in associative play and could share common materials with another child without interaction. By three and a half, she had made her first real friend and was capable of true cooperative play.

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(Answer: Principle 3 – Development is Continuous)

• Tom and Tim are twins and want to do everything together. However, Tom rode his tricycle with ease by his third birthday, but Tim was almost four before he could ride his tricycle with confidence. (Answer: Principle 4 – Development Proceeds at Different Rates)

• Pete and Al, both nearly five years old, are playing with the same puzzle. You watch as Pete tells Al, “The first piece goes here." Al says, "We both have five pieces now." Even though the activity lasts only a few minutes, you believe it is a good indicator of each boy’s current development. (Answer: Principle 5 – All Areas of Development are Interrelated)

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Ask participants to think about the daily schedule of a typical child.

Think about the daily life and experiences of a child in care and their family. Consider each of the following questions in terms of how a child experiences a typical day. Think about the involvement and participation of that child’s parent who works an 8:00 to 5:00 job, and who may have additional children in care or in elementary school.

It is important to remember that child care professionals usually get to spend much more time observing a child than do the parents. It is not unusual for a caregiver to have the first concerns about a child’s development. Caregivers can help the child’s family recognize that they should have the child screened for possible developmental delays as a first step towards getting help.

For more information about screening for developmental delays, take the Department of Children and Families’ course Behavioral Observation and Screening or Special Needs Appropriate Practices.

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Key Point: Child care professionals may spot developmental issues before the parents do, which is why it is important to understand the basic child growth and development principles.

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Why should child care professionals learn about principles of child development?

• Care and the environment can support or hinder development.

• The knowledgeable caregiver can support a child in learning new skills.

• When a child is struggling with a new skill, timely intervention can help him/her overcome a problem and “catch back up.”

• The knowledgeable caregiver can “detect” indicators of possible delays and can help get the child the assistance he/she needs.

Knowledge of child development is essential to working effectively with children. Development in young children occurs rapidly. You must recognize the existence of general stages and sequence of development, as well as the enormous variation that there are among children. Simply knowing this information is not enough. You will use this knowledge to guide your work with children and to help you make appropriate decisions about activities and expectations.

For example, by understanding Principle 1 (Developmental Sequence is Similar for All), child care professionals can determine reasonable expectations for the class, as well as for each child. By understanding Principle 4, (Development Proceeds at Different Rates), you know that all children do not learn the same way at the same time. You can avoid pressuring children to perform tasks they are not developmentally ready to master. Rather, you individualize instruction so it meets the needs of each child.

Module 1


Key Point: All of your interactions with a child have an effect on the child’s development and learning, which means it is important to be aware of what the child is learning while in your care.

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Note to Trainer: Instruct participants to review the key points in the module summary.

Module 1 Summary

Here is a summary of key points for Module 1: Child Growth and Development Overview.

• Growth is defined as specific body changes and increases in the child’s size, proceeding from the head downward and from the center of the body outward.

• Development refers to an increase in complexity; a change from relatively simple to more complicated.

• Development usually involves a progression along a continuous sequential pathway on which the child acquires more refined knowledge, behaviors, and skills.

• The developmental sequence is basically the same for all children; however, the rate of development varies from child to child.

• Child care professionals may spot developmental issues before the parents do, which is why it is important to understand the basic child growth and development principles.

• All of your interactions with a child have an effect on the child’s development and learning, which means it is important to be aware of what the child is learning while in your care.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed Module 1: Child Growth and Development Overview.

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Module 1

You have achieved this module’s learning objectives if you can:

• Explain the difference between growth and development

• Describe each of the basic principles of child growth and development

• Provide at least one implication of a developmental principle as it relates to child learning

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Materials: None

Welcome to Module 2: Child Development Theories.

This module will introduce the child development theories of Abraham Maslow, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Maria Montessori. Each of these developmental scientists formulated theories about how children learn and grow.


Goal

Participants will understand the main ideas from the child development theories of Maslow, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Montessori; and will understand the implications of these theories for children’s learning.

Learning Objectives


• Identify the theorist associated with each child development theory

• Summarize the main ideas of each child development theory

• Explain at least one implication of each child development theory as it relates to children’s learning

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In this module, the main ideas from the child development theories of Maslow, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Montessori will be presented. Each of these theories have implications for children’s learning.

Module 1 introduced the basic principles and concepts of child growth and development, and their implications for child care professionals, as well as their implications for learning as it relates to children. Module 2 will look at child development theories.

While there are many developmental scientists who have formulated theories on how children and adults develop, we will concentrate on five theorists: Abraham Maslow, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Maria Montessori.

What is a theory?

A theory is a set of facts or principles analyzed in relation to one another and used to explain phenomena.

A phenomena is a fact or behavior that can be observed.

Module 2


Abraham Maslow is known as the father of humanistic psychology. Maslow’s theory assumes that humans are more than the sum of their parts.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

• Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs.

• In a hierarchy, one set of things is dependent on the next, both of which are dependent on the next, and so on.

• Maslow’s hierarchy has five levels, is pictured as a pyramid, and goes from bottom (human need number 1) to top (human need number 5).

• Like a pyramid, the upper levels are supported by the lower levels.

• Satisfying the needs on the second level depends upon the first level needs being satisfied.

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• The first level of need is the physical, followed by comfort and safety, social, self-esteemand self-actualization.

• While working with monkeys early in his career, Maslow noticed that some needs take precedence over others. For example, when both hungry and thirsty, an individual will try to satisfy their thirst before their hunger.

• Humans can do without food for weeks, but can only do without water for a couple of days.

• Thirst is a stronger need than hunger.

• Likewise, if you are thirsty, but you could not breathe, which need is more important? The need for oxygen takes precedence over water.

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Note to Trainer: Refer participants to the chart in their Participant Guide for examples of each level.

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Individuals have the ability to foster their own development in positive ways through choice, creativity, and self-realization. All levels of need are important for overall health. The lowest-level needs are necessary for survival. Needs at the lowest levels must be met before higher-level needs can be nourished. When the lowest levels of needs are not met in children, neither are the higher ones.

What does the hierarchy of needs mean to you as a child care professional?

• Basic needs must be met first. When basic needs are not met, the child’s self-worth suffers.

• Neglect can occur at all levels, not just basic needs. All needs are important.

• Child care professionals need to be aware of the family circumstances of each child in order to understand what needs are being met at home.

Maslow’s pyramid identifies the human needs that must be fulfilled in order to reach self-actualization, and he also created a hierarchy of needs for the family. The family hierarchy of needs is very similar, and fulfillment of all family needs leads to family actualization.

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Key Point: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs includes five levels: Physical, Comfort and Safety, Social, Self-Esteem, and Self-Actualization.

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Key Point: Maslow’s theory states that an individual must have their lower-level needs met before higher-level needs can be accomplished.

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Key Point: Successfully meeting the needs at each level in the hierarchy of needs results in fulfilling the purpose and meaning of one’s life.

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• Erik Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages through which humans develop during their lifetimes.

• He assumes that humans are driven by, and are constantly trying to channel, powerful inner forces.

• Erikson describes emotional development as a series of eight stages, called conflicts, which must be “resolved” before proceeding to the next conflict.

• Since Erikson states there is never a complete resolution to these conflicts, an individual will only find themself on the continuum between resolution and non-resolution.

• According to Erikson, each conflict is best resolved during a specific stage of life; however, an individual may still move along a conflict continuum that is labeled as one for a younger person.

• For example, a grade school student may still struggle with autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which is identified as being best solved as a toddler.

• Moving successfully through these conflicts ensures that an individual becomes socially and emotionally stable.

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Note to Trainer: Refer participants to the chart in their Participant Guide for examples of each level. Concentrate on the first four stages.

Erikson’s eight stages are defined as:

• Trust vs. Mistrust (birth to 1 year) - I am all right

• Autonomy vs. Doubt/Shame (1 to 3 years) - I can make choices

• Initiative vs. Guilt (4 to 5 years) - I can do and I can make

• Industry vs. Inferiority (6 to 12 years) - I can join with others in doing and making things

• Identify vs. Identity Diffusion (adolescence) - I can be to others what I am to myself

• Intimacy vs. Isolation (later adolescence) - I can risk offering myself to another

• Generativity vs. Stagnation (adulthood) - I am concerned for others

• Integrity vs. Despair (older adult) - I can accept my life

Module 2


Encouraging trust, autonomy, initiative, and industry can resolve conflicts at each stage. If parents and caregivers fail to help resolve a conflict, children could experience mistrust, shame and doubt, guilt, and inferiority. A firm foundation of trust encourages autonomy; autonomy encourages initiative; and initiative encourages industry.

What does Erikson’s theory mean to a child care professional? How can you, as a child care professional, support a positive outcome in each of the first four conflicts?

• Create a relationship with your children that is based on trust.

• Allow your children to exercise autonomy whenever it is safe and practical.

• Guide your children to initiate activities or portions of activities whenever it is safe and practical.

• Promote the building of your children’s creativity during activities.

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Key Point: Erikson’s theory on emotional and personality development describes eight conflicts that must be resolved at stages throughout life.

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Jean Piaget was interested in learning how children develop an intellectual understanding of the world. His theory was based on the concept of cognitive structures. The word “cognitive” means “to learn.” Cognitive structures are patterns of physical or mental action that inspire acts of intelligence and correspond to stages of child development. Piaget assumes that humans take the information they receive and process it, then react to it.

According to Piaget, children develop the ability to learn in four basic stages:

• Sensorimotor: 0-2 years old

• Preoperational: 2-7 years old

• Concrete-Operational: 7-11 years old

• Formal Operations: 11 years old and older

In each of Piaget’s stages, development focuses around acquiring a different set of characteristics and abilities. Each stage represents a change from one type of thought or behavior to another, with each stage building on the one before.

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1. Sensorimotor (birth to approx. 2 years) - Children learn through sensory perception and motor activity.

2. Preoperational (2 years to 7 years) - Children are bound by what they experience directly and not by what they think. Children begin to use symbols (one thing that represents another). For example, using sand to make a cake. Children are egocentric; their thinking centers on themselves. They can’t see things from another point of view or from another perspective. For example, they do not realize that when they stand in front of the TV, no one else can see it.

3. Concrete-Operational (7 years to 11 years) - Children become more rational in their thinking. For example, realizing that Santa Claus probably doesn't exist.

4. Formal Operations (11 years and beyond) – The final stage of cognitive development, in which thinking becomes very abstract. Children think beyond the present and think about ideal situations.

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How can child care professionals use the information from Piaget’s theory?

• Knowledge of the four stages helps you understand how babies and children may perceive their environment.

• It also helps you understand why children make thinking “mistakes.”

• Discovery learning and supporting the developing interests of children are two primary instructional techniques that are based on Piaget’s theory.

• Adults should challenge children’s abilities, but not present material that is too far beyond the children’s level.

• Children should be exposed to a wide variety of concrete experiences—such as use of manipulatives, field trips, and working in groups—to help them learn.

• It is wise to keep in mind a child’s stage of cognitive development when planning developmentally appropriate learning activities.

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Key Point: Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development explain how children interact with their environment to construct knowledge.

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Key Point: Each of Piaget’s stages represents a change from one type of thought or behavior to another and builds on the stage before.

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Lev Vygotsky developed the social development theory of learning. Vygotsky theorized that social and cultural interactions are the primary sources of learning and behavior.

The social development learning model states that culture is the main determiner of cognitive development. Every child develops in the context of a culture. A child’s learning development is affected by the culture, including the family environment, in which he/she is raised. Social interaction leads to continuous step-by-step changes in children’s learning and behavior. These changes can vary greatly from culture to culture.

Some of the major ideas in Vygotsky’s theory include:

• Children acquire knowledge through culture.

• Culture teaches children what to think and how to think.

• Children learn through problem-solving experiences shared with a knowledgeable adult or peer. Initially, the person interacting with the child assumes more responsibility for guiding the learning. As the child learns, the responsibility is gradually transferred to him/her. This is an instructional technique called scaffolding.

• A difference exists between what a child can do on his/her own and what he/she can do with the help of a knowledgeable adult or peer. A child can perform a task under adult guidance, or with peer collaboration, that he/she could not achieve alone. Vygotsky called this the Zone of Proximal Development and claimed that learning occurred in this zone. In summary, Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the culture in which they interact.

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How can child care professionals use the information from Vygotsky’s theory?

• Caregivers can develop learning environments where children play an active role in their own education, as well as the education of their peers. The adult collaborates with children in order to create meaning in ways that children can make their own.

• The environment is set up so children can work together in collaborative groups in a community of learners. Likewise, the learning materials have to support and encourage interaction and collaboration among children.

• Scaffolding and reciprocal teaching are teaching strategies that access the Zone of Proximal Development, the area where Vygotsky says learning takes place.

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How can child care professionals use the information from Vygotsky’s theory?

• When using scaffolding, the adult provides children with the opportunity to extend their current skills and knowledge.

• Reciprocal teaching encourages a conversation between children and the adult. This conversation leads to children going beyond answering questions. It leads to the adult and children taking turns leading small group discussions. Reciprocal teaching is best understood as a dialogue between the child care professional and the child, in which participants take turns taking on the role of the teacher.

• Caregivers should foster communication so the group talks their way through the learning material with frequent stops to ensure understanding.

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Vygotsky’s process has four main strategies for success. They are:

• Generating a question for understanding

• Clarifying that they are understanding what they are reading

• Stopping to predict from clues what they think will happen in the learning material

• Summarizing what they have learned

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Key Point: Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development focuses on the connections between people and the culture in which they interact.

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Maria Montessori believed that children should be able to work independently in a clean, beautiful, and organized environment filled with child-sized materials, and caregivers who help children understand order and responsibility.

“Montessori’s theories about children have influenced the way all early childhood programs are structured today.”

Mooney, Carol Garhart. Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky. 2nd ed. St. Paul: Redleaf Press, 2000.

A few of the key ideas of Maria Montessori’s theories:

• Emphasis is placed on the preparation of the learning environment. This includes the space children use; and the furnishings, materials, children, and adults who occupy the environment.

• The learning environment should be beautiful and orderly. This allows children to learn about order from the learning environment.

• Furniture, tools, materials, and toys should be child-sized.

• Children learn best by having sensory experiences.

• Children should be provided with tools that work.

• Materials should be organized and accessible to children. They should be allowed to find what they need and return it when finished.

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How can you implement the theories of Montessori in your child care environment?

• Create an environment that is full of beauty and order.

• Provide child-sized furniture and materials.

• Allow children to access the materials they need, and help them learn to return those materials to where they belong when they are finished.

• Provide opportunities for sensory experiences.

By creating an environment that allows children to function at a developmentally appropriate level, caregivers are allowing children to use their abilities to foster their own self-esteem. When children are able to select their own materials they develop the notion that they are in control; and are able to make their own decisions and express their own opinions. This means that instead of storing art supplies away and retrieving them before an art activity, a caregiver might store the art supplies on low shelves with clearly labeled locations. This allows children to not only select which colors or materials they would like to work with, but to also return them when they are finished. Caregivers should use this opportunity to include children in maintaining order in the learning environment, since they are as much a part of the activity as they are the clean up afterwards. Children can also help beautify the environment by picking flowers or creating decorations for the learning environments as part of daily activities.

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Key Point: Maria Montessori’s theory focuses on the child’s independence in order to engage them in a developmentally appropriate learning environment so they can advance their developmental skills.

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As a caregiver, you serve a critical role in the development of young children that can impact all stages of life, including stages that progress into adulthood. It is extremely important, especially when working with infants and young children, that the impression you have on them is as positive and supportive as possible.

John Bowlby’s research indicated that infants and young children need attentive, responsive adults in order to develop into well-adjusted individuals through the following stages of their lives, including adulthood. Failure to provide these experiences for children may lead to mental health problems later in life. As a caregiver, it is one of your most important responsibilities to ensure that all children in care feel loved and attended to.

“When we support infants’ attachment to the significant adults in their lives, we support their emerging confidence in themselves and their ability to get what they need from the people around them.” This means that caregivers have an important role in the development of the children they care for. Since they are in a position to spend large amounts of time with developing children, they can provide each child with a foundation for their confidence and self-esteem later in life by fulfilling their needs during their early stages.Mooney, Carol Garhart. Theories of Attachment: An Introduction to Bowlby, Ainsworth, Gerber, Brazelton, Kennell, and Klaus. 1st ed. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2010.

Further, child care professionals are in a unique position to soothe and comfort infants during times when their parents and caregivers are experiencing stress. When parents and caregivers are exhausted by work, or stressed by being new parents, caregivers can play an important role in calming a child because, “it’s easier for babies to rest in unexhausted arms—which might explain the baby’s tendency not to cry when Grandma or the provider holds her.”Mooney, Carol Garhart. Theories of Attachment: An Introduction to Bowlby, Ainsworth, Gerber, Brazelton, Kennell, and Klaus. 1st ed. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2010.

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All of these factors lead to an important conclusion; that caregivers have the opportunity to form very significant bonds with children. This caregiver-child bond creates the foundation for the child’s self-esteem and prevents potential mental health issues later in life.

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Key Point: Children who are able to form close relationships with adults during their early years develop a good sense of self-esteem and have a smaller chance of developing mental health problems later in life.

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Module 2 Summary

Here is a summary of key points for Module 2: Child Development Theories.

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs includes five levels: Physical, Comfort and Safety, Social, Self-Esteem, and Self-Actualization.

• Maslow’s theory states that an individual must have their lower-level needs met before higher-level needs can be accomplished.

• Successfully meeting the needs at each level in the hierarchy of needs results in fulfilling the purpose and meaning of one’s life.

• Erikson’s theory on emotional and personality development describes eight conflicts that must be resolved at stages throughout life.

• Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development explain how children interact with their environment to construct knowledge.

• Each of Piaget’s stages represents a change from one type of thought or behavior to another and builds on the stage before.

• Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development focuses on the connections between people and the culture in which they interact.

• Maria Montessori’s theory focuses on the child’s independence in order to engage them in a developmentally appropriate learning environment so they can advance their developmental skills.

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• Children who are able to form close relationships with adults during their early years develop a good sense of self-esteem and have a smaller chance of developing mental health problems later in life.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed Module 2: Child Development Theories.


• Identify the theorist associated with each child development theory

• Summarize the main ideas of each child development theory

• Explain at least one implication of each child development theory as it relates to children’s learning

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Materials:

Welcome to Module 3: Influences Affecting Child Growth and Development.

This module will introduce a variety of topics related to influences that affect growth and development in children. Brain development, heredity, health, wellness, developmental obstacles, and the importance of routines will all be discussed throughout this module.


Goal

Participants will recognize the roles of heredity, health, wellness, developmental obstacles, and the importance of routines and their effects on a child’s growth and development.

Learning Objectives


• Describe characteristics that influence child growth and development

• Explain how child care professionals can support children with developmental disabilities

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Knowledge of child development is essential to effectively work with children.

Since we know that children develop at different rates, it is important to understand the various influences that have an effect on the way children develop. These include internal factors, such as heredity and health status; and external factors, such as environment, which has a great influence on a child’s development. As a caregiver, it is important to be knowledgeable on these subjects in order to recognize a child who is not yet showing the behaviors that are expected at a certain age. Such a child may be in need of professional help, such as speech therapy, vision correction, physical therapy, or hearing aids. Being knowledgeable about typical child development serves to guide your work with children and aid you in making appropriate decisions about activities and expectations for the children in your care.

Key Point: Being knowledgeable about typical child development, as well as the factors that affect development, allows you to tailor the activities and expectations for the children in your care.

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Materials: None

One of the most influential experiences in childhood is books. Learning to love to read sets the stage for lifetime learning. Think about a book that you loved when you were a child. Take a moment to write down the title of the book and what you enjoyed about it.

It is easy to see the impact that a single book can have on a child. This is merely one influence on a child’s development. Throughout this module, we will explore a few more influences that affect the way children grow and develop throughout their childhood.

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There are approximately 100 billion brain cells at birth, but there is minimal “wiring” between them. This wiring connection between nerve cells is called a synapse.

Synaptic connections are being formed throughout the brain during life.

Early on, these new pathways are simple, vulnerable, and growing rapidly.

Later, the brain begins to surround the synapse with a kind of insulation that offers some protection to the connections.

Messages between synapses are sent electrochemically.

The chemicals involved seem to be specialized and indicate pleasure, pain, or alarm.

Stimulation and experience determine what synaptic connections are initially formed.

Stimuli that are encountered early and often, as well as the child’s successful responses, get “wired” into the brain.

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Practice and repetition help determine the strength and durability of a connection. The saying “use it or lose it” applies to brain development.

Much of a baby’s early repertoire of responses is exercised at random. Responses that seem to bring about a pleasurable outcome are tried again. Responses that seem ineffective are eventually abandoned. Some synaptic pathways are strengthened and others are disused and shut down.

There are times in a child’s growth that are referred to as “developmental windows.” These are certain periods of time when children are especially receptive to their surroundings and interactions with other people. These periods of time are tied to brain development and readiness for learning that will directly affect the achievement of developmental milestones. For example, language skills depend on hearing other people speak. If there is not adequate verbal stimulation in the first years of life, language skills—especially grammar and pronunciation—are negatively affected. This is critically important for young children, since the window of opportunity for learning language skills begins to close around five years old and greatly diminishes around puberty.

There is a lot going on in the brain between birth and age three. The brain of a newborn baby will undergo an incredible amount of growth and change. At birth, the brain stem and spinal cord are developed and control vital bodily functions, such as breathing and heartbeat; they also control the kicking, crying, sleeping, and feeding that are characteristic of infants. The rest of the brain will undergo considerable development as the infant grows; the growth is influenced by the baby’s environment and experiences.

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Just as your muscles need to be exercised to keep them strong, your brain also needs a workout to ensure it is performing at its full potential. The simple Brain Gym exercises below are based on the work of Dr. Hannaford.

In her book Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head, Dr. Hannaford states that our bodies are very much a part of all our learning. Learning is not an isolated “brain” function. Every nerve and cell in the body is a network contributing to our intelligence and our learning capability. The following Brain Gym exercises implement the ideas developed in Smart Movesand can be used quickly in any child care environment. They can be used before and during any learning activity. They are surprisingly simple, but very effective.

Brain Buttons

This exercise helps improve blood flow to the brain to “switch on” the entire brain before learning begins. The increased blood flow helps improve concentration skills required for learning.

• Position one hand so there is as wide a space as possible between the thumb and index finger.

• Place the index finger and thumb of this hand into the slight indentations below the collarbone on each side of the sternum. Press lightly in a pulsing manner.

• At the same time, put the other hand over the navel area of the stomach.

• Gently press on these points for about two minutes.

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Cross Crawl

This exercise helps coordinate the right and left sides of the brain by exercising the information flow between the two sides. It is useful for learning beginning skills; as well as spelling, writing, listening, reading, and comprehension.

• Stand or sit.

• Put the right hand across the body to the left knee as you raise it, and then do the same thing for the left hand on the right knee, as if you were marching.

• Continue this motion for about two minutes.

Hook-Up

This works well for nervousness before a special event, such as speaking in front of the class. Any situation that will cause nervousness calls for a few “hook-ups” to calm the mind and improve concentration.

• Stand or sit. Cross the right leg over the left at the ankles.

• Take your right wrist and cross it over the left wrist, then link up the fingers so the right wrist is on top.

• Bend the elbows out and gently turn the fingers in towards the body until they rest on the sternum (breastbone) in the center of the chest. Stay in this position.

• Keep the ankles crossed and the wrists crossed, then breathe evenly in this position for a few minutes. You will be noticeably calmer after that time.

Drink Water

The human brain is composed mostly of water. This means that staying hydrated is paramount to ensuring high brain performance. Encouraging children to drink water during the day helps them stay hydrated. Drinking water is very important before any stressful situation; we tend to perspire under stress or when actively playing or exercising. Dehydration can negatively affect concentration. Ensuring that children stay hydrated is especially important when children experience stress due to learning new concepts, taking tests, or facing deadlines.

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Key Point: Using physical activities, such as Brain Gym, helps stimulate the brain to ensure it is alert and receptive to absorbing new information and concepts.

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What is Heredity?

Heredity is the passing down of genetic characteristics from parents to their children. It influences a child through the inheritance of physical characteristics and temperament from birth parents at the time of conception.

Hereditary factors can help or hinder a child’s development. Hereditary factors may place certain limitations on a child, but they may also provide great capabilities. Some children inherit characteristics that help their development, such as ability with language and strong bones. Others inherit characteristics that can hinder development, such as health conditions; while some inherited characteristics have no influence on development, such as eye and hair color.

Temperament

Temperament describes the emotional response of a child, and heredity imparts temperament in a child. Children experiencing the same situation may react completely differently from one another. While one child may react quietly, another may react intensely. Some children are considered to be shy, while others are much bolder. Temperament is given to a child through their genetic makeup as part of their heredity. It is reflected in the consistent behaviors exhibited by a child as they encounter similar situations repeatedly.

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Temperament and Personality

Temperament is different from personality. Temperament is a prevailing or dominant quality that characterizes a person, such as emotional or fussy. Personality is the totality of a person’s attitudes, interests, behavioral patterns, emotional responses, social roles, and individual traits that endure over a long time. A child’s temperament can influence certain aspects of personality. The temperament of a quiet, sensitive child may lead them towards solitary sports, reflective reading, and a career where they work alone. The preference of their activities and careers is a reflection of their personality interests. While a child’s temperament may stay the same, they can become more outgoing as they learn to trust and work with others, which is a reflection of their developing personality.

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Key Point: Heredity is the blend of physical and temperamental characteristics inherited by a child from the birth parents, which affect their personality and may have positive or negative influences on a child.

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Heredity refers to the genes that are passed from the parents to the child when the child is conceived. A child’s heredity has an effect on their development. Early experiences in the environment also affect brain structure. Together, these help determine the child’s brain growth and potential. Children are a product of their genetics and their experiences. “Nature” refers to their genetics, and “nurture” refers to their environment and experiences. Both nature and nurture determine how children develop.

Negative experiences create one set of connections in the brain and positive experiences create a different set. An infant who is often picked up and cuddled and “coo-ed to” might learn to call attention to himself/herself when he/she wants to be comforted. A different infant who is essentially ignored might learn that he/she cannot count on his/her caregiver to meet his/her needs.

What types of activities and interactions with children have an effect on their development and learning?

• How you diaper, feed, and put them to sleep

• The way you greet children and the way you comfort them

• The amount of space the child has to play in, and the ambient lighting

• The songs you sing

• The toys you provide

• The meals you serve

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• Your attitude and cheerfulness

These things, and more, all have an effect on the development of a child’s brain and their ability to socialize and learn.

Since you do not have any influence over a child’s heredity, you can only have an environmental influence on a child’s development.

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Key Point: Everything you do in the child care setting has an effect on the children’s development and learning.

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Materials: None

Reflect back on all of the children you have worked with in your career as a child care professional. Consider the effects of heredity and environment on those children, and how those two factors have affected their successes and failures.

Think about the opportunities you have to make a positive environmental impact on the lives of the children in your care, based on the children’s heredity factors.

Create a list of ways that you can continue to make a positive impact on children by nurturing their development and being a positive environmental influence on them. Be sure to implement these activities and behaviors, which nurture the positive developmental growth of children in care on a daily basis.

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NutritionMaintaining good nutrition, ample amounts of exercise opportunities, involvement in physical activities, and predictable daily routines are all necessary to ensure that children’s bodies are physically healthy. As a caregiver, this means ensuring that children are being fed ample amounts of nutritious foods and snacks while in care, and also ensuring that they are drinking plenty of water.

• Child care facilities must have a food and nutrition policy.• All food must be properly stored and handled, and be free from spoilage and

contamination.• The Choose MyPlate Campaign by the United States Department of

Agriculture has a wealth of information about planning appropriate meals and snacks.

• Inspect the food a child brings for lunch or snacks to ensure it is consistent with the food and nutrition policy of your program.

• Talk to parents about their child’s food preferences and any food allergies they may have.

• Create a weekly menu and share it with parents to keep them informed about the foods and snacks being served.

• Informing parents daily about the foods and snacks their child ate helps them meet their child’s nutritional needs with the meals served at home.

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Physical Activity

Children, like adults, need sufficient physical activity to ensure that they are strong, healthy, and happy. Physical activity not only contributes to physical well-being, but also to emotional health and stability. Physical activities such as sports, games, exercises, and workouts can help everyone—including children—to keep their bodies strong and their minds relaxed. When performed on a daily basis, regular physical activity can help their heart, lungs, bones, muscles, and circulation system develop; as well as help children focus on their learning activities.

• Be sure to allow plenty of time in the daily schedule for indoor and outdoor physical activities.

• Ensure an appropriate environment is available that can accommodate physical play and activities.

• Provide materials that facilitate physical activities, such as sports balls, jump ropes, and playground equipment.

• Encourage children to engage in physical games with each other; for example, leap frog, catch, and tag.

• Always maintain close supervision of children at play to ensure safety and prevent injuries.

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Daily Physical RoutinesHaving a daily routine that includes physical activities is a great way to plan time for children to engage in physical play and get the exercise they need. By having a daily routine that involves both indoor and outdoor opportunities for physical play and exercise, children can become excited in anticipation of running, jumping rope, and playing with their friends. Including opportunities for indoor and outdoor physical play helps children remain focused during quiet learning activities. This predictability in the daily schedule also helps children to stay focused during quieter activities, such as story time and art activities, because they know when they will be given the opportunity to play.

For more information about the importance of nutrition and physical activity in ensuring proper growth and development in children, take the Department of Children and Families’ course Health, Safety, and Nutrition or Obesity Prevention and Healthy Lifestyles.

For more information about getting children moving, visit the Let’s Move website.

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Key Point: Maintaining a healthy body through proper nutrition and exercise is essential for children’s most favorable growth and development.

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Unfortunately, not every child is born completely free of health problems or developmental delays. Problems such as these can inhibit the growth and development of an otherwise typically developing child. This can result in either physical inabilities, developmental delays in typical progress, or both. Learning to overcome these obstacles is a life-long challenge for some children, and as a caregiver, you are in a unique position to help them develop the attitude and skills required to overcome or adapt to these types of challenges.

• A child in good health has a better opportunity to grow with fewer developmental challenges than an unhealthy child.

• The higher the number of illnesses, accidents, injuries, and diseases that affect a child, the more likely it is that the child will encounter a developmental delay.

• Health status has a critical influence on the growth and development of a child beginning in the pre-natal period.

• Factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, and race also seem to affect the health of children.

• Being healthy generally happens when a child eats well, gets plenty of physical activity and exercise, and maintains a healthy weight.

• Developing healthy behaviors early in childhood helps children maintain a healthy lifestyle through adulthood.

• Healthy behaviors that should be encouraged in young children include establishing appropriate sleep and nap periods, understanding and following rules and expectations, exhibiting appropriate behaviors and responses to discipline, showing respect to peers and adults, and practicing good oral and physical hygiene.

• If a child is healthy, their body works well; they feel good; appear happy; and can do many things they want to do, like run, learn, have fun, and play with friends.

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Key Point: Health status is one of the largest contributing factors that affect a child’s ability to grow and develop at a typical rate.

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Childhood obesity is a growing concern for parents and caregivers, as it can lead to a variety of health problems later in life. Obese children can develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, as well as social discrimination. Helping children to establish healthy eating habits and exercise routines allows children to more easily maintain healthy lifestyle trends throughout adulthood.

• While some children may have medical conditions that result in weight gain or loss, the majority of weight gain is the result of too many calories and too little exercise.

• Overexposure to marketing of candy, sodas, and fast food has resulted in children who have inaccurate interpretations of healthy food choices.

• Due to busy schedules, inaccurate nutritional perceptions, and other socioeconomic factors, some parents struggle with providing well-balanced meals for their children.

• Increased access to technology, such as television programming, video games, movies, and computers, can distract children from engaging in appropriate amounts of physical activities and exercise.

There are several practices you can use to assist overweight children. This includes avoiding the technique of using food or candy as a reward, or to encourage behavior. Encouraging children to eat when they are not hungry or to “clean their plate” is an outdated practice; allow children to eat as much or as little as they like. Always have healthy foods, snacks, and drinks available to children. Educate children about healthy food choices. Provide plenty of opportunities for both indoor and outdoor physical activities. Share information with parents about healthy nutritional practices and the importance of daily physical exercise. Discuss possible changes and improvements that parents could make at home.

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Key Point: Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that leads to a variety of serious health complications.

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Materials: None

For each statement, have the participants identify whether it positively affects a child’s physical development, or negatively impacts their chances for optimal growth.

1. Plenty of time in the daily schedule for indoor and outdoor physical activities (Positive Impact)

2. Materials that facilitate physical activities, such as sports balls, jump ropes, and playground equipment (Positive Impact)

3. Using a daily routine that encourages children to engage in physical play (Positive Impact)

4. Maintaining a healthy body through proper nutrition and exercise (Positive Impact)

5. Nap periods that are short and insufficient (Negative Impact)

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Materials: None

For each statement, have the participants identify whether it positively affects a child’s physical development, or negatively impacts their chances for optimal growth.

6. Health effects, such as illnesses, accidents, injuries, and diseases (Negative Impact)

7. Eating plenty of calories and limiting daily physical activities (Negative Impact)

8. Overexposure to quiet activities, such as television programming, video games, movies, and computers (Negative Impact)

9. Sharing information with parents about healthy nutritional practices and the importance of daily physical exercise (Positive Impact)

10.Overexposure to candy, soda, and fast food (Negative Impact)

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Social Interactions

Social interactions form the basis of our need for belonging, acceptance, and self-esteem. Interacting with peers helps children learn about themselves and others while they establish that they belong as part of a larger group. Interactions with parents and adults help children to learn appropriate behaviors and expectations, which forms the basis for adapting to societal norms.

• Social interactions with family, peers, adults, caregivers, and neighbors have an influence on a child’s behavior and personality.

• As discussed in Module 2, child development theorist Lev Vygotsky theorized that social and cultural interactions are the primary sources of learning and behavior.

• You can use the child care environment to arrange gatherings with parents and family members.

• Field trips to a fire station, police department, or hospital are opportunities for children to safely engage with adults performing in a professional capacity, which exposes children to the behaviors that will eventually be expected of them.

• Opportunities for dramatic play foster children’s imaginations and encourage role playing expected behaviors.

Promoting Social Interaction

As a caregiver, it is one of your responsibilities to ensure that children are provided with opportunities for social interaction and growth. Creating situations for children to engage with others, including adults and peers, should be a daily goal of any effective caregiver. Design

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activities that foster social interactions. Social activities should provide opportunities for children to learn appropriate behaviors, engage in entertaining and satisfying experiences, and foster self-esteem and a sense of belonging.

• Guided interactions are essential to helping children develop positive peer relationships.

• Encouraging cooperative play teaches children to take turns, to have positive interactions, and to share with and be polite to others.

• Pairing children with others who share common interests helps form bonds and establish self-esteem.

• Children who experience positive interactions during cooperative play will eventually begin to share toys and engage with others without prompting or guidance from adults and caregivers.

• Maintain close supervision during social interactions and cooperative play to monitor children’s progress towards social growth.

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Key Point: Experiencing positive social interactions with both adults and peers establishes the foundation for feelings of acceptance, belonging, and self-esteem.

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Social Interaction and Children with Disabilities

Children with disabilities may sometimes have an increased difficulty engaging in social interactions with their peers. Because of a perceived difference, whether physical or mental, the peers of a child with a disability may be reluctant or shy about engaging in social interactions with them. Be sure to remain aware of opportunities to encourage children with disabilities to be involved in activities and interactions with their peers whenever possible.

• Preschool children with disabilities have a potential risk of challenges in the development of social skills and peer interactions.

• Including children with disabilities in a group with typical peers is not sufficient for building social skills, facilitating emotional development, and promoting interactions.

• You can assist all children in developing socially by analyzing the nature of the toys or play activities; including children at varying developmental levels; teaching the children with disabilities to make eye contact, smile, take turns, and share; and teaching the typically-developing peers to initiate and maintain social interactions with the students with disabilities.

• Ensure that there are a variety of activities children with disabilities can participate in.

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Materials: Scenario Cards

Think about how you would respond to the scenario before revealing an example of a possible caregiver response.

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As a child care provider, you should always be on the lookout for signs of developmental delays and be aware of appropriate methods of dealing with children experiencing developmental delays.

Child caregivers are in a unique position to use their knowledge about the principles of child growth and development to spot a child who is not yet showing the skills and behaviors that are typical of a certain age range. If a child is developmentally delayed, it is important to continue to help the child develop as much as possible in the area in which they are delayed.

Developmentally appropriate practice for the individual child may differ from what is expected for the child’s age. Be sure to include the child in all activities in which he/she can safely participate. Increased supervision or attention may be required to ensure safety and well-being. Such a child may also be in need of professional help—for example—speech therapy, vision correction, physical therapy, or hearing aids. It is important to remember that you should not diagnose children. If you have any concerns regarding the growth and development of a child, the concerns should be presented to the appropriate individuals or agencies.

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Key Point: The typical skills and behaviors for children of a certain age range may not be possible for some children who are developmentally delayed.

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Developmental obstacles vary widely but all affect development. Impairment resulting from prenatal problems, trauma during birth, accidents, illnesses, or diseases that damage the body or mind may disturb or delay normal development. The nutritional status of the mother during prenatal development is vital to the health of the developing child. The child’s nutritional intake is also especially important during the early years while rapid growth is occurring and while bones and muscles are maturing.

Other external influences can also affect development. Certain circumstances, such as having parents who cannot read or who do not talk frequently with their children; or living in homes where English is not spoken, may affect the learning opportunities of a child and the child’s ability to relate to others. Also, the quantity and nutritional value of food consumed affects the child’s development throughout life.

A child with a developmental obstacle may experience slowed development. Children with multiple developmental challenges, such as poor eyesight, poor motor control and language impairment, may progress more slowly than a child with only one of these developmental obstacles. Overcoming or reducing the effect of developmental obstacles requires teamwork between the child, parents, and the child care professional. Such teamwork can promote more typical development.

A child’s family can have an impact on their health status in a variety of ways:

• There are a number of health issues the family controls, such as serving healthy meals,

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frequency of doctor visits and getting the necessary immunizations.

• Parental responsibility begins with good pre-natal care. Unfortunately, some children are victims of bad choices made by parents.

• One of the more devastating examples of how health status influences child development is the effect of alcohol on the developing child.

• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) result in a variety of mental and physical defects that develop in unborn babies when the mother drinks too much alcohol during pregnancy.

• Growth, skeletal, facial, organ and central nervous system abnormalities can be symptoms of FASDs.

• A baby born with FASDs may be seriously disabled and require a lifetime of special care.

Additional Information

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

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As a child care professional, it is likely you will not only work with children who have a developmental delay, but also some who have a developmental disability. Child care professionals who have a basic understanding of some common developmental disabilities may be better prepared to support these children and the other children in the program.

A developmental disability is a chronic condition that is diagnosed in childhood and substantially limits major life activities in adulthood. A developmental disability is not the same thing as a developmental delay. A developmental delay occurs when a child acquires skills and/or learns at a slower pace than typical children the same age. Developmental delays in childhood do not cause substantial restrictions or limitations, as developmental disabilities do. Appropriate support in the first three years of life is called early intervention; and the sooner intervention services begin, the better.

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What should a child care professional do if they suspect a child has an undiagnosed developmental disability?

A child care professional’s role in the intervention process is to recognize the signs of the most prevalent developmental disabilities; ensure families are aware of intervention services; and provide individualized, compassionate, and developmentally appropriate care at the child care program.

It is important to remember that child care professionals should never try to diagnose children or attempt to treat or remedy a developmental disability on their own.

Caregivers should, however, learn to recognize the characteristics of some of the most prevalent disabilities so they can make referrals appropriately in accordance with their child care program’s policies and procedures.

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There are two developmental disabilities that you should be sure to remain knowledgeable about:

Autism spectrum disorder – a group of brain-based neurological disorders characterized by social impairments and communication difficulties; as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, such as rocking back and forth, twirling or spinning, and flapping or waving of arms. The characteristics of Autism can present in a variety of ways, combinations, and degrees in individual children.

Down syndrome – a genetic disorder that results in a number of physical characteristics and intellectual impairments. Children with Down syndrome may have flattened facial features and a small mouth and ears. They might have broad hands, a single crease in their palms, and short fingers. A child born with Down syndrome always has intellectual impairments, with varying degrees of severity from mild to profound.

Additional Resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more information about

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Down Syndrome

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When child care programs fully support children with developmental disabilities, they are said to be inclusive. Inclusion means to ensure that all children are involved in activities. In 1975, Congress passed a federal law, Public Law 94-142, which requires inclusion of children with delays or disabilities. Research tells us this has many benefits. It can speed up development, result in fewer children being retained in later grades, and improve the quality of family relationships.

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a federal law that “prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life”. The ADA requires child care programs to comply with specific accessibility guidelines to support children with developmental disabilities.

"Search ADA.gov." Introduction to the ADA. Accessed January 11, 2016. http://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm.

Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 sent a clear message that children and adults with disabilities are entitled to the same rights and privileges that others enjoy, meaning that children with disabilities are legally entitled to equal access to community-based child care settings.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Achieving inclusion may require special training for staff members; enhanced learning

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opportunities for children; or adaptive or modified materials, toys, and equipment. Another federal law that you should be familiar with is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA. It ensures that children with disabilities ages 3 to 21 receive a free and appropriate public education and that early intervention services are provided to eligible infants and toddlers. Written plans are developed for children who are receiving services described by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and child care programs may be called upon to support a child’s plan.

In order for a program to be truly inclusive, its staff must fulfill some specific roles and responsibilities. After ensuring that children’s basic physical needs are met and making sure they are safe at all times, the most important responsibility of the child care professional when including children with developmental disabilities, is to ensure the learning environment is nurturing and accepting. Additionally, child care professionals use Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP); establish a routine and schedule; foster friendships; nurture language development; facilitate imaginative play; and assist families in meeting their children’s needs.


• Americans with Disabilities Act

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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When working with children, we need to remember that each child develops at a different rate of speed. Sometimes, what we see in a certain child is not slower development, but rather a signal that the child is having a problem. The lists in the participant’s guide help professionals identify areas of concern when a child is having problems.

For more information about working with children with special needs, take the Department of Children and Families’ courses Special Needs Appropriate Practices and Supporting Children with Developmental Disabilities.

Key Point: Children with disabilities are legally entitled to equal access to community-based child care settings.

Additional Resource

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a “Learn the Signs. Act Early” section of the website dedicated to understanding milestones so professionals can learn the signs and act early.

Note to Trainer: Instruct the participants to read all of the material on their own.

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Possible Signs of Concern

Possible Physical Disabilities:

• Difficulty with large motor activities, such as climbing stairs, crawling, and riding a tricycle

• Frequently walking into or bumping into things

• Shows a lack of energy

• Difficulty with activities such as building a tower of blocks

Possible Visual Problems:

• Difficulty in seeing distant things clearly

• Holds toys or books very close to eyes

• Rubs eyes frequently

• Blinking eyes often when doing work

Possible Hearing Problems:

• Poor speech, omits sounds, loud voice

• Does not understand directions

• Does not answer when called

• Trouble paying attention in large group activities

• Often gives the wrong answers to questions

• Avoids playing with other children

• Becomes tired early in the day

Possible Speech or Language Problems:

• No speech by age two

• Does not use two- or three-word sentences by age three

• Difficulty understanding after age three

• Stutters after age five

• Has poor voice quality

• Problems understanding what is said

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Possible Learning Problems:

• Unable to follow directions because they cannot remember what was said

• Frequently bumping into things or knocking things over

• Unable to see differences in size, shape, and color

• Cannot remember what is seen or heard

• Cannot tell the difference between sounds and textures

Possible Attention Problems:

• Acts very quickly without thinking about consequences

• Very short attention span

• Cannot complete task

• Switches from one task to another

• Easily distracted by another situation

• Unable to return to original task

• Excessive movement

• Constant motion, even when classroom is quiet

Adapted from Miami-Dade College (South Campus) Child Care Training Program

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Materials: None

Think about how you might address the special needs of each of the following children with special needs.

1. A child who is physically-challenged/A child who wears leg braces (Sample Answer: Ensure learning centers have ample space for movement.)

2. A child who is socially-challenged/A child who has autism (Sample Answer: Reduce the number of transitions throughout the day.)

3. A child who is shy or emotionally-challenged (Sample Answer: Ensure the environment feels safe for the child.)

4. A child who is gifted (Sample Answer: Provide activities that are slightly challenging to the child.)

5. A child who is mentally-challenged (Sample Answer: Provide activities to increase development without causing frustration.)

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Children with special needs can be accommodated in a child care environment with the help of assistive technologies and additional training of the staff.

What are some questions child care professionals need to ask themselves, or the family regarding the child with special needs?

• What information can you share about the disability?

• What accommodations do you make at home?

• What are your biggest worries, as a parent?

• What specialized equipment or devices will we need to accommodate?

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Key Point: Overcoming or reducing the effect of developmental obstacles requires teamwork between the child, parents, and the child care professional.

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Another way to support children with developmental disabilities is by knowing how to properly guide their behavior. The best way to guide the behavior of children with developmental disabilities is to use positive behavior supports while providing developmentally appropriate individualized care. A positive behavior support “is a framework or approach for assisting school personnel in adopting and organizing evidence-based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all students.”

"Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports - OSEP." PBIS FAQs. Accessed January 11, 2016. https://www.pbis.org/school/swpbis-for-beginners/pbis-faqs.

Prevention, redirection, and positive reinforcement are three types of positive behavior supports.

Prevention is a strategy that stops challenging behaviors before they begin, and it is the primary method child care professionals use to encourage children to discard these behaviors.

Redirection is a strategy that is used to guide children’s behavior by recognizing challenging behavior at its earliest stages and taking steps to stop it from escalating.

Positive reinforcement is a strategy in which desired behaviors are rewarded so that the child is encouraged to repeat them.

Additional Resource

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports

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Materials: None

Scenario 1

Kierra is a toddler who has learned how to scribble with a crayon from her big sister. She can stand on her tiptoes. When she starts to sing the “ABC” song, she usually winds up with lines from “Twinkle-twinkle Little Star.” She has become pretty good at following simple instructions. She gets frustrated when she has trouble doing something. Only about half of what she says is understandable by strangers and many of her words are a mixture of Spanish and English.

• Bilingual or Spanish speaking home

• Could have uneven temper

Scenario 2

Julie, a preschool child, does not sleep at naptime anymore. She is very friendly and adores her older sister. She likes playing with dolls and changing their clothes. She has started to admonish the younger children, reminding them of “the rules.” She does not yet reliably count to ten, getting scrambled with random “teens.”

• Even temperament

Scenario 3

Teddy, a toddler, can stand and can walk while holding onto an adult’s fingers. He recognizes and responds to his own name about half of the time, but cannot hear well. He can babble, but

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has not yet said his first really intelligible word. He gets very focused when he plays with blocks and cups. He is still drinking from a bottle, and does not yet have the hang of a sippy-cup.

• Special needs (hearing loss)

• Delayed (still on bottle)

Scenario 4

Tina, a toddler, will look at you when you talk to her and she can ask for something by pointing and saying “please.” She has a vocabulary of about twelve words that are clearly understandable. She gets anxious for a little while when one of her parents drops her off in the morning. She gets frequent stomachaches. She can pull herself up on furniture and can take a step or two before sitting down. She can pull off her hat, but not her socks.

• Above age range in vocabulary

• Some health issues

• Anxious temperament

Scenario 5

Three-year-old Vaughn has a large vocabulary and talks almost non-stop. He really enjoys being your “helper.” He asks many questions. He likes to play tag, but changes the rules on the spot to his own advantage. He can write his name, but uses a lot of space. He can remove his own clothes and put on his pajamas. He can brush his teeth without help. If offered a piece of candy, he will request that his younger brother receive a piece too.

• On target or above for his age group

• May have lots of language interactions at home

Scenario 6

Jose´, a preschool child, usually prefers to play with the other boys, rather than the girls. He knows his left from his right, and can tie his own shoelaces. He tattles on other kids. He can balance on one foot, and can ride a bicycle without training wheels. He likes knock-knock jokes, and knows days of the week and months of the year.

• Advanced for his age group

• Has had adult support

• Talented athletically

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A routine is a predictable sequence of steps or activities that are performed to complete a task. A routine is based on the children’s developmental level and skills, and helps them feel secure and comfortable by letting them know what to expect.

• All children need routines that are safe and predictable.

• A predictable schedule helps children know what is expected of them.

• Display daily routines where children can see them, and use pictures to illustrate activities for younger children who cannot read.

• Balance the daily routine with opportunities for both physical activities and quiet activities.

Establishing a predictable schedule and a familiar set of routines helps children feel a sense of:

• Security and self-esteem (“My needs will be met.” “I am worthy of this person’s attention.”)

• Time and space (“Toys go here.” “This is when we have a snack.”)

• Independence and competence (“I can do this by myself.”)

The ways in which routines are carried out, as well as the actual content of the routines, have a tremendous impact on children by letting them know what to expect. During daily routines, children learn many things not necessarily related to the specific lessons of the routines. For example, through routines, children develop cognitive and language skills.

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Key Point: A routine is a predictable sequence of steps or activities that are performed to complete a task.

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Developmental Level and Skills

Caregiving routines should be based on the child’s developmental level and skills. Here are some things to keep in mind about routines:

• Routines for older infants and toddlers should take into account the child’s efforts to become independent.

• Toddlers are quickly learning to do things for themselves, such as feed themselves, wash their hands, and pull up their pants.

• Try to let them do as many things as they can by themselves.

• Toddlers can be quite cooperative one minute, then running from you the next. As a result, routines should be carried out in a way that is open and flexible, yet there is a predictable sequence to the routine.

• In any routine, making a smooth transition from one activity to the next can help minimize the stress.

• Let children know what will be happening next with statements such as, “In a few minutes, we are going to stop and I am going to change your diaper.” This helps children feel safe and secure.

• Routines are built on daily activities like feeding, toileting, and dressing.

Key Point: A routine should be based on children’s developmental level and skills and help them feel secure and comfortable by letting them know what to expect.

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Whether at the beginning, when children are being bottle- or breast-fed, or later when children have developed the ability to feed themselves, feeding children becomes a major part of a caregiver’s day. By understanding the feeding activity of children at various ages, you can develop feeding routines that help children know what to expect at mealtime and snack time.

Infants:

• Young infants should always be held for feeding.

• Most infants will be bottle fed by caregivers, regardless of whether the bottle contains breast milk or formula.

• New foods should be introduced gradually, one at a time.

Young Toddlers:

• Most toddlers can communicate when they are hungry and when they have had enough.

• They may be able to sit for feedings.

• Young toddlers may begin to drink from cups, as well as bottles; and they like to practice using the spoon as you feed them.

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Older Toddlers:

• Older toddlers are ready for a wider range of foods.

• They continue to eat cereal, fruits, and vegetables, adding other foods to create more of a variety.

• Through feeding themselves finger food and using bowls and spoons, they are developing greater coordination and independence.

Preschoolers:

• Children’s appetites diminish as they grow more slowly.

• They have become more independent and often assert their wills by rejecting foods offered to them.

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When beginning toilet training, it is important to consider readiness signals, and also to remember that a child should not be experiencing a stressful situation when toilet training is started. Stressful situations may include weaning from the breast or bottle, the birth of a new baby in the family, or changes in child care arrangements. Four to six weeks after the stressful situation should pass before beginning toilet training.

Older Toddlers:

• Most children have the muscle control to regulate themselves between eighteen months and three years of age.

• Children with disabilities may not have this ability until a later age.

• Certain medical problems may delay or prohibit a child from developing the muscle control needed for self-regulation.

More important than chronological age is the level of readiness. There are a number of readiness signals that caregivers should look for that will make training easier and faster:

• Excitement over learning to walk and run

• Able to sit down and play quietly for about five minutes

• Able to help dress and undress self (as long as the process does not involve complicated

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unbuttoning or untying)

• Shows imitative behavior

• Wants to put toys and other possessions where they belong

• Able to understand and follow simple directions

• Takes pride in accomplishments

• Has bowel movements at regular times every day

• Bowel movements are well formed

• Able to remain dry for about two hours at a time

• Able to urinate a good amount at one time

• Aware of the process of elimination

• Has a name for urine and bowel movement

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Dressing and undressing are good opportunities for one-on-one interaction that help make the caregiver-child relationship a special one.

Young Infants:

• Dressing and undressing a young infant can be rather frustrating.

• Their hands and elbows stick out at strange angles and catch in sleeves.

• They become more cooperative partners and dressing/undressing becomes much easier.

Young Toddlers:

• Dressing and undressing the young toddler can be quite tricky.

• They often do not want to stand still and may even try to get away.

• They are likely to be more cooperative with undressing than with dressing.

• Young toddlers can usually push arms through armholes and legs through pants.

• They can untie shoes and pull off socks.

• Tying, buttoning, and snapping comes much later. You can help the process by providing dolls with easy-to-handle clothes; and button boards or frames with a variety of fasteners, such as buttons, snaps, or zippers.

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Older Toddlers:

• Older toddlers have improved dressing skills and some children may be able to dress themselves, if the clothes are simple and large enough.

• Most children, however, still need help. Again, remember that independence and autonomy are an issue at this age, and children should be allowed to make choices if possible. For example, you could ask, “Do you want to wear the red shirt or the blue one?”

Preschoolers:

• Can usually dress and undress without assistance.

• Are able to zip a coat and button a shirt.

• Can usually tie shoes with some coaching.

• Are able to brush teeth and comb hair without assistance.

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There are many influences on a child’s growth and development. Recognition of the importance of all experiences in a child’s life heightens our appreciation of the attention we must pay to each child and the effect of those influences on development. Education is an additive process. The attention we pay to planning in each of these areas will ensure that we have reduced as many negative factors for the children in our care as possible. It is critical that we plan to positively support the growth and development of each child. Child care professionals often spend more “awake” time observing a child than do their parents. You may spot areas of concern before the parents.

Key Point: Knowledge of developmental stages and influences on a child is crucial in making your decisions as a child care professional.

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Module 3 Summary

Here is a summary of key points for Module 3: Influences Affecting Child Growth and Development.

• Being knowledgeable about typical child development, as well as the factors that affect development, allows you to tailor the activities and expectations for the children in your care.

• Using physical activities, such as Brain Gym, helps stimulate the brain to ensure it is alert and receptive to absorbing new information and concepts.

• Heredity is the blend of physical and temperamental characteristics inherited by a child from the birth parents, which affect their personality and may have positive or negative influences on a child.

• Everything you do in the child care setting has an effect on the children’s development and learning.

• Maintaining a healthy body through proper nutrition and exercise is essential for children’s most favorable growth and development.

• Health status is one of the largest contributing factors that affect a child’s ability to grow and develop at a typical rate.

• Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that leads to a variety of serious health complications.

• Experiencing positive social interactions with both adults and peers establishes the foundation

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for feelings of acceptance, belonging, and self-esteem.

• The typical skills and behaviors for children of a certain age range may not be possible for some children who are developmentally delayed.

• Children with disabilities are legally entitled to equal access to community-based child care settings.

• Overcoming or reducing the effect of developmental obstacles requires teamwork between the child, parents, and the child care professional.

• A routine is a predictable sequence of steps or activities that are performed to complete a task.

• A routine should be based on children’s developmental level and skills and help them feel secure and comfortable by letting them know what to expect.

• Knowledge of developmental stages and influences on a child is crucial in making your decisions as a child care professional.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed Module 3: Influences Affecting Child Growth and Development.


• Describe characteristics that influence child growth and development

• Explain how child care professionals can support children with developmental disabilities

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Materials:

Welcome to Module 4: Developmental Domains.

This module will introduce the five developmental domains as they relate to children from birth through school age.

Note to Trainer: Encourage students to review the domain charts found in the appendix.


Goal

Participants will understand the typical growth, behavior, or skill expectancies in each developmental domain.

Learning Objectives


• Summarize the developmental domains

• Categorize age ranges and the typical growth, behavior, or skill expectancies in the developmental domains

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The time in a child’s life from birth until they enter school is a time of remarkable growth. A few important things to remember are:

• Young children are developing in all the domains simultaneously.

• Each domain is equally important to the growth and development of a child.

• Not only are the developmental domains equally important, but they are also interwoven.

• Rapid physical growth leads to increased and more refined motor development.

• Early brain development research states that social and emotional development, and cognitive development, are interdependent in the development of intellect.

• Physical development—and social and emotional development—must be supported by caring adults, if a child’s intellectual abilities and learning are to be maximized.

• It is essential that the child care environment sustains a child’s curiosity, creativity, evolving language and communication skills, and growing knowledge about the world.

As you watch Audrey, Bianca, and Luke put puzzles together, you notice them using the skills you have taught them, such as looking carefully at the picture, pointing out curved and straight edges of the pieces, tracing shapes and edges with their fingers, and looking for corners. You also notice a few additional things:

• Audrey is working on a ten-piece puzzle and is turning puzzle pieces several ways to find the right fit.

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• Bianca is attempting a twenty-five-piece puzzle with great success.

• Luke can put a wooden puzzle together when the shape fits in the corresponding cutout, especially if each piece has little handles.

• All three children are busy and happy as they complete their puzzles.

• It is obvious that each child is functioning at a different level in their skills at solving these puzzles.

• Are any of the children developmentally delayed? Could any of the children be advanced? Are they all on target with the typical motor skills of three year olds?

You cannot answer these questions with this thumbnail observation alone. You need to more fully understand what is typical for this age group and the continuum of skills needed for puzzle solving.

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As a child care professional, you have the responsibility of choosing learning strategies that are both age appropriate and challenging. You must have an understanding of typical behaviors and abilities of children at certain ages, and be knowledgeable about what children should know and be able to do from birth through school age.

As a knowledgeable child care professional, you can support a child in learning new skills. When a child is struggling with a new skill, timely intervention can help them overcome a problem and catch back up.

A knowledgeable child care professional can detect indicators of problems and possible delays, and can help get the child the assistance he/she needs. Caregivers usually spend more time observing a child than the parents do. It is not unusual for a caregiver to have the first concerns about a child’s development. Caregivers can help the child’s family recognize that they should have the child screened for possible developmental delays, as a first step towards getting help. The care provided and the environment you establish can support or hinder the development of the children in care.

Key Point: A child care professional who is knowledgeable about typical behaviors and abilities of children can support learning new skills and detect problems.

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Children’s development progresses at irregular intervals, with progress periodically starting and stopping. It is quite normal for there to be variation in the patterns and timing of growth and development, rather than a smooth progression.

Development is uneven, as children do not progress in all skills at the same time; a child grows and learns as a whole, not in pieces. Skills such as sitting up, grasping, or walking are examples of increasing maturation. These skills—for example—involve muscle strength and coordination that, in turn, are influenced by things such as nutrition and opportunities to practice.

We cannot really compare children and know exactly how they will mature. Each child is unique. However, we need to examine what children need to know and should be able to do at each age. This sequence of predictable steps along a developmental pathway is common to the majority of children. There are several influences that work together to make each child special and different from all others. Together, these influences account for the individual variations you see across the age ranges.

The age ranges in the charts we will study are as follows:

• Birth to 8 Months

• 8 to 18 Months

• 18 to 24 Months

• 24 to 36 Months

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• 3-Year-Olds

• 4-Year-Olds

• 5-Year-Olds

• School Age (6 through 12 Years Old)

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The five domains—Physical Development, Social and Emotional Development, Approaches to Learning, Language and Communication, and Cognitive Development and General Knowledge—all blend to form the basis of a child’s personality. Each area of development influences growth in other areas. This progress is best seen by categorizing predictable growth, behavior, and skills into domains, which are groups of similar and interdependent expectancies necessary for maturation. The five areas of a child’s development include the following domains:

• The Physical Development Domain refers to typical growth patterns, changes in weight and height, general health and safety, visual perception, and hearing. It refers to a child’s ability to move around and control various body parts. Examples include abilities such as grasping, rolling over, sitting up, hopping on one foot, writing, and using tools for tasks.

• The Social and Emotional Development Domain is a broad area that focuses on self-esteem, how children feel about themselves, and their relationships with others. It refers to children’s individual behaviors and responses regarding play and work activities, attachments to parents and caregivers, relationships with siblings and friends, and prosocial behaviors.

• The Approaches to Learning Domain refers to a child’s eagerness to learn. It includes curiosity, persistence, creative problem solving, and the ability to create and complete long-term projects.

• The Language and Communication Domain refers to the child’s ability to communicate with others. It involves a child’s ability to see, hear, speak, read, write, and construct an

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understanding of things around them.

• The Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain refers to a child’s intellectual or mental abilities. It involves exploration, discovery, concept and memory formation, problem solving, and creative expression. It includes knowledge of mathematics, scientific thinking, awareness of social studies, and the arts.

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The developmental domain charts we are using contain a lot of information. Look at how the charts are constructed. Turn to the Physical Development Domain chart, Birth to 36 Months and Age 3 to School Age, in the appendix. Notice that the first column is labeled “Characteristic.” It is a summary statement common to the items in that row.

For example, “Sitting with support,” “Rolling over back to front,” and “Teething,” are the typical growth, behavior, or skill expectancies found in infants from birth to 8 months. These expectancies are summarized by the “Characteristic” statement, “Shows characteristics of appropriate health and development.”

Now look across the top of each column, where the age ranges of children are shown.

The charts cover children’s ages, birth to 12 years old. The age range represents a period of months or years, rather than an exact point in time when typical expectancies will be achieved. Generally, the information presented in the charts should be interpreted as occurring at the approximate mid-point within the range of months or years. Under each age column are the typical growth, behavior, or skill expectancies within each characteristic at the given age range.

These domain charts are guides – they should never be used as a checklist, they are a guideline. Remember, it is the sequence of growth and development, not the age that is the important factor in evaluating a child’s progress. The developmental domain charts for all five domains are set up in the exact same format.

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• You are expected, however, to study these charts carefully because they contain information that is critical to you, as a child care professional.

• You must know what to expect from all of the children in your care, regardless of if their development seems typical, or indicates developmental delays or special needs.

• This information is at the very core of your decisions about setting up your child care environment, designing the curriculum and learning strategies, and assisting parents in evaluating their children’s progress.

For more information, take the Florida Department of Education, Office of Early Learning’s courses, Early Learning Standards (Birth – 5), which is available atCareer Level, Director Level, and Novice Level.

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Why might you see the same expectancy in more than one age group? For example, “staying awake except during rest periods” is found under ages three to school age.

The ability is important at any age; loss of the ability can indicate a problem; it is an ability that can get more defined, or be performed independently, as the child ages.

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Key Point: Knowing the typical growth, behavior, and skill expectancies of children across their age range is paramount for caregivers when designing an appropriate learning environment, creating curriculum and learning strategies, and assisting parents in evaluating children’s progress.


Developmental Domains:

Florida Department of Education

Developmental Milestone Charts:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institutes of Health

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The Physical Development Domain refers to a child’s physical health and development. It involves typical growth patterns, motor development, changes in weight and height, general health, visual perception, hearing, and any other area related to a child’s physical well-being.

The first year of a child’s life involves some of the most rapid changes that will take place during their lifetime. For example:

• Reflexes control most of a newborn child’s movements, while an eight-month-old may already be pulling up on furniture and taking his/her first deliberate steps.

• A newborn does very little at first. Most of his movements are reflexive, that is, they occur automatically.

• Each infant is born with a set of reflexes that allow response to the environment, even before he/she has had a chance to learn.

• Most of these reflexes begin to disappear after a few months.

Motor development is a large and important part of the Physical Development Domain. It refers to a child’s ability to move around and control various body parts. Examples include actions, such as grasping, rolling over, sitting up, hopping on one foot, writing, and using tools. Instruction in and practice of motor skills are effective only after the appropriate physical development has occurred. For example, the muscles in the hands and fingers need to be developed before the fine motor skill of grasping can occur.

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• The principles of motor development, maturation, and learning apply to all aspects of gross motor and fine motor skills.

• We generally recognize that locomotor movements, which involve going from one place to another, are gross motor skills.

• Manipulative movements, such as the use of the hands and fingers, require many small muscle movements and are an example of fine motor skills.

• Rates of growth and maturation vary among individuals and are genetically determined.

• Children learn the specifics of each motor skill once their bodies are sufficiently mature. Once the final stage for each gross motor or fine motor skill is learned, children continue to refine the movement and increase in power and strength.

• By observation, they may incorporate elements of style they see exhibited by skilled peers.

It is important to remember that children grow and develop at individual rates. You may find that some children are able to do more with their bodies at an earlier age than others. You may also notice a great variance within an individual child between areas of physical development.

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Key Point: The Physical Development Domain refers to a child’s physical health and development.

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Physical Development: Infants and Toddlers

You can see that children change a great deal during the first few years of life. In order for a child care professional to be completely effective, you must understand where the child is developmentally and be able to respond to that level.

Note to the Trainer: Refer participants to the Physical Development Domain Chart while reviewing the information presented here.

From birth to 8 months, infants use their hands as their first toys by sucking on fingers, reaching out for objects, and grasping rattles and soft toys.

• In the early years of development, discovery and exploration take center stage.

• During the first few months, a child begins to gain control over parts of the body.

• Motor development begins at the head and works its way down. This means that an infant will develop control of the head before he/she learns to control the hands. Also, use of the hands and arms will develop before use of the legs.

• Typically, a newborn infant has some control over the head. Infants may be able to turn their heads from side to side, and within a few weeks, may be able to raise their heads and look around.

• At this young toddler stage, children are very busy exploring and investigating their environment. This newfound mobility has opened up a new world for the young toddler.

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• At 8 to 18 months, children move from beginning to crawl, to standing while holding on, to climbing up and down stairs with assistance, and eventually, walking with or without assistance.

• Children can sit, crawl, and walk independently.

• They also are expanding their repertoire of skills and competencies to include activities such as drinking from a cup, grasping small objects with their thumbs and forefingers, and washing their hands.

• During this stage, it is very important to support a child’s sense that “I can do it.” It is also important that you focus on a positive aspect of this stage: increasing independence.

At the older toddler stage, ages 18 to 36 months:

• Children become more confident when they can wash and dry their own hands, feed themselves without help, and ride a tricycle.

• The “I can do it myself” stage manifests itself in dressing themselves without assistance, going up and down stairs independently, and engaging in simple conversations.

• It is important for you, as a child care professional, to support the independence needs of the older toddlers, even when you could do it much faster.

• It is your responsibility to make sure that the child care environment safely supports older toddlers’ exploration.

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Physical Development: Preschoolers and School-Agers

Preschool children can do many things independently. This is a time for the exuberance of jumping, running, hopping and bike riding. They become better listeners and can understand and explain the importance of avoiding common dangers, such as sharp knives and playing with fire. They still need child care professionals to stay close and help with difficult tasks; and they often want to help with chores, such as setting the table or cleaning up messy projects. Although it takes time and energy to show them how to do a new job, it is worth the effort.

School-Age children continue to act more independently each year. They assume responsibility for their personal care and hygiene most of the time. They can read and transcribe information from a variety of sources and are capable of describing their needs to others. At this age, they can understand the necessity of using helmets and protective sports gear, and will warn others about potential dangers in the environment. As a child care professional, you want to provide carefully structured opportunities to foster this growing independence. One way to do this is to pair the older children with younger children as mentors or teachers.

As a child care professional, you should choose activities that train children to improve their physical development and motor skills. The more practice a child gets in a typical growth, behavior, or skill expectancy; the more refined and precise the child can become in his/her performance of that skill.

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Can you find other examples of maturing skills using objects that cross over at least two age ranges?

• Running

• Throwing a ball

• Getting dressed

• Washing hands

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Key Point: As children progress, it is important to choose activities that foster their physical growth and promote independence.

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The development of motor skills, both gross and fine, are important to the overall physical development of a child.

Gross motor skills involve the development of large muscles, such as those found in the arms and legs. Gross motor skills include running, throwing, jumping, and climbing.

Fine motor skills involve the development of small muscles, such as those found in the fingers, lips, and toes. Fine motor skills include grasping, writing, and eating.

Developing strength and coordination to improve gross motor skills, such as running and jumping, are just as important to a child’s development as fine motor skills, such as writing and manipulating small objects are. These motor skills are crucial to a child’s development in the physical domain. To aid in the development of both gross and fine motor skills in the children in your care, it is important to:

• Provide as many opportunities as possible for the children to run, jump, throw, and climb.

• Demonstrate and provide practice in the use of simple tools, such as a fork, a spoon, scissors, and writing and drawing materials.

• Encourage children to use all five of their senses, both indoors and outdoors.

• Provide activities and opportunities for children to improve all five of their senses.

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Growth occurs in spurts. A child may suddenly be able to accomplish a task that was unachievable a week ago. For example, do not leave a baby alone during diapering. They may choose that moment to roll over for the first time. A child’s size and increasing maturation may determine how quickly a child can accomplish physical tasks.

Caregivers can create opportunities to develop gross motor skills through games that encourage physical motions, such as Leap Frog, Duck Duck Goose, Hopscotch, Simon Says, Red Light/Green Light, and Tag.

Caregivers can create opportunities to develop fine motor skills through:

• Creating bead chains with one-inch beads

• Cutting and pasting paper chains

• Making Valentine’s Day and thank you cards

• Coloring or painting during art activities

• Writing with pencils and crayons

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Key Point: Motor development is an important part of the Physical Development Domain.

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To ensure the children in your care are healthy and well nourished, it is important to:

• Observe their eating patterns and bodily functions.

• Serve healthy and nutritious meals and snacks.

• Provide many opportunities to be physically active.

• Encourage good hygiene practices.

• Demonstrate and practice safety rules.

Communication with parents is vital in the areas of health and safety.

• Records on regular medical care and immunizations should be up to date.

• Be alert to symptoms of illnesses.

• Have conversations with families about home and child care routines.

• Inform parents of each child’s daily eating patterns.

There are actions you can take on a daily basis to promote good health.

• Practice handwashing and tooth brushing on a regular basis.

• Encourage children to exercise through activities such as jogging, walking, jumping, running, and dancing.

• Create and enforce safety rules for the indoor and outdoor learning environment.

• Promote activities that encourage children’s sense of independence.

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Key Point: The Physical Development Domain involves all aspects of a child’s body, including their overall health, fine and gross motor skills, vision, and hearing.

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Social and emotional development is a broad area that focuses on how children feel about themselves and their relationships with others. It refers to children’s individual behaviors and responses to play and work activities, attachments to parents and caregivers, relationships with siblings and friends, and prosocial behavior. Young children are developing in all of the domains simultaneously. Early brain development research states that social and emotional development and cognitive development are interdependent. This means that children need to have positive, healthy social interactions in order to learn and develop. A child is unable to learn when their emotional and social well-being are threatened.

In the earliest stages, newborn children need to establish feelings of trust with the adults around them. Parents and caregivers are the most likely candidates to fulfill this role. In the later stages, and progressing into adulthood, social and emotional needs are met through relationships with others. The way that children interact with adults, as well as their peers, begins to shape the way they interpret the effect they have on others and their environment. This is how children begin to establish their self-esteem and develop a sense of self-worth. Without having their social and emotional needs fulfilled, children may suffer cognitive delays and be unable to reach their full potential.

Key Point: The Social and Emotional Development Domain refers to how children feel about themselves and their relationships with others.

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Social and Emotional Development: Infants

Infants come into the world ready for relationships. They like to look and listen. They are able to recognize the voices of their mothers, fathers, and others who may have been present during the pregnancy.

When children are born, they begin assuming responsibility for more and more of their bodily needs. “The newborn’s body immediately assumes responsibility for breathing, eating, elimination, and regulation of body temperature.” While these physical developments are taking place, there is also a developing need for social and emotional demands to be fulfilled. “Although newborn babies sleep most of the time, they do not lack awareness. They are sensitive to their environment and have unique methods of responding to it. Crying is their primary method for communicating needs and emotions.”

Allen, K. Eileen, and Lynn R. Marotz. Developmental Profiles: Pre-birth through Twelve. 6th ed. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delmar Learning, 2007.

During the first three to four months, infants demonstrate a strong preference for parents and primary caregivers. They begin to establish bonds with the people who attend to their needs, and comfort them when they cry. This special attachment between infants and caring adults provides a foundation for developing trust and forming relationships.

Also around this time, infants learn to understand the emotions of others. The infant will look to you for cues about how to respond in a situation that is unfamiliar; for example meeting a dog for the first time, or hearing a loud noise. In these situations, infants will often mimic the reaction and attitude of those they trust. If a caregiver or parent seems upset, their emotions can easily

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transfer to the infant. Adults who remain calm and relaxed often influence similar attitudes in the children they care for. By learning to read the emotions of the adults they trust, they begin to learn how to respond to the events taking place in their environment. It is important to remember to try to remain calm and collected while interacting with infants and newborns, since stress, sadness, and anxiety can easily transfer to children in the environment.

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Key Point: It is important to exhibit desirable attitudes and emotions while caring for newborns and infants, since they learn how to react from the adults they trust.

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Social and Emotional Development: ToddlersAs children progress into the toddler years, their social and emotional needs will also develop into a more complex set of expectations for parents and caregivers. Since children are beginning to establish their personalities during this stage, it is important to know what to expect from toddlers, and how to react appropriately.

Between 12 and 18 months, you can expect toddlers to show affection and warmth to their parents, caregivers, and others who are familiar to them. They may begin to engage in parallel play, or play alongside their peers without much interaction with them. Older siblings or children in their environment may begin to appear as role models to toddlers, and they may begin to imitate their actions and behaviors. Teasing may also begin during this stage, with playful actions and games, such as peek-a-boo.

From 18 to 24 months, toddlers begin to wander away from a caregiver voluntarily. As they become more independent because of establishing positive bonds with people in their environment, this may lead to an increased interest in exploring their environment and interacting with others, including their peers. Toddlers like to establish a connection with a parent or caregiver who makes them feel safe. This supports their desire to explore by reassuring them that they have a safe person nearby who they can count on for safety and security. While play is mostly solitary or parallel during this stage, children may initiate contact with other children in the environment. They are also comfortable crying or asking to be picked up when they are scared or have other needs that must be met. This is the result of having established a comfortable social relationship that fulfills their emotional need for safety. Petty, Karen. Developmental Milestones of Young Children. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2010.

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Since toddlers are beginning to develop their personalities during this stage, it is important that caregivers are prepared with appropriate learning opportunities for the children in care. By the age of sixteen months, the toddler is becoming increasingly independent. Toddlers like to take charge by choosing for themselves what to do and trying out new skills and abilities. They tend to assert themselves to parents and caregivers by being resistant. Do not worry, this resistance is a normal part of the toddler’s efforts to establish his own identity and to gain some control over what happens to him.

Parents and caregivers can help support children’s self-confidence, independence, and self-esteem by allowing toddlers to make simple choices whenever possible. In the case of a 24-month-old child, do not offer a choice of whether or not to change a dirty shirt, instead offer choices such as “Do you want to wear the red shirt or the blue shirt?”

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Social and Emotional Development: Preschoolers

During the preschool years, children begin to exhibit the early signs of a developing personality. They are establishing preferences for the people, foods, and activities that they enjoy, as well as dislike for things they find unfavorable. Their developing personalities in combination with increasing physical abilities means that parents and caregivers can expect to see children exhibit a wealth of new behaviors during the preschool years.

Three-year-olds:

• Engage in solitary and parallel play, as well as begin to engage in associative play

• Enjoy being praised for accomplishments and positive behaviors

• Begin to talk about how they feel, or the emotions they are experiencing

• Are generally happy, and enjoy being silly and making others laugh

• Show fear, understand danger, and cry easily

Petty, Karen. Developmental Milestones of Young Children. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2010.

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Four-year-olds:

• Show increasing responsibility in cleaning up and following rules

• Engage mostly in associative play, but are beginning to learn patience, take turns, and engage in group play

• Begin to talk through problems and express their emotions through words, rather than through anger or outbursts

• Begin to understand their gender and typical traits associated with gender roles


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Five-year-olds:

• Begin to engage in more complicated play activities, including taking turns, sharing, and playing games with rules while following those rules

• Are becoming daring and like to try new activities and experiences, accomplish things on their own, and choose their own activities

• Are sensitive to and care about others’ feelings

• Show special affection to their family, including siblings, and enjoy talking about family members


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Social and Emotional Development: School-Agers

During the school-age years, children are making great leaps in their social and emotional development. They shift out of the egocentric phase of their earlier years, as they begin to understand the desires and motivations of others in their environment and respond to that. They are becoming increasingly independent and enjoy trying new things. Friendships are formed and broken more frequently during the school-age years, as children learn more about themselves and others—including their likes and dislikes—and as they seek out companionships with others like themselves.

Six-year-olds:

• Are beginning to make a lot of friendships, and also end some friendships

• Gain a sense of security through following rules and remind others to follow the rules

• Prefer to interact with members of the same sex

• Begin to understand the perspective of others in their environment

• Become less egocentric

• Transition from associative play to more advanced play


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Seven-year-olds:

• Enjoy more organized play activities, such as board games and card games

• Begin to disagree with peers

• Work together with peers more and more often

• Are willing to play by the rules in order to be accepted in a group


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Eight-year-olds:

• Prefer being part of a group or team, rather than engaging in solitary play

• Experience both positive and negative peer pressure

• Manage their feelings, whether they are winning at a game or not

• Become more and more independent and enjoy trying new things

• Begin to worry about things and experience anxiety


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Forming Friendships

It is during the preschool years that children begin to form true relationships with peers. How well a child gets along with others is important, not just because of the enjoyment it brings, but also because a great deal of learning takes place in the peer group. In a peer group, children learn how to cooperate with others, form true friendships, and settle disagreements. Although the ability to make friends seems to come naturally to many children, some need additional help.

For example, some preschoolers who have had limited experiences with other children may benefit from spending time with younger children.

• Rather than exposing a child to a large group of peers, parents or caregivers can introduce one friend at a time. This allows the child to practice getting along with other children in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere.

• Children for whom English is a second language may need a buddy to help them transition into a larger peer group.

• Children with special needs may profit from the same buddy system as they become accepted by their peers.

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Forming Friendships

Children are not born knowing how to form friendships, nor do they come into this world understanding the rules their society has established. Remember that much of what children learn about making friends and getting along with others is learned by watching others. Even young children notice basic qualities, such as kindness, friendliness, and cooperation. Modeling appropriate prosocial behaviors is a very important tool for teaching young children how to get along with others.

• When difficulties do arise between children, parents and caregivers should resist the temptation to get involved too quickly, but be ready to intervene if the situation escalates.

• Learning to handle disputes and resolve conflicts are important skills for children to learn.

• If a child seems unable to solve the problem, you may then want to help the child by making gentle suggestions such as, “Why don’t you try… If that does not work, come back and we will think of something else.” This technique helps children work out their differences and learn to settle disagreements on their own.

Learning to get along with others and develop friendships are good indicators of a child’s healthy development. Children who have difficulty making friends early on are often at risk for later difficulties. A child who is isolated from the playgroup or rejected by classmates may need some support and assistance from an adult.

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Mrs. Nguyen has just moved into your community from California and enrolled her four-year-old daughter in your child care program and her eight-year-old in your after-school program. She is concerned about making sure that they quickly make friends in the neighborhood.

How would you ensure that her children have plenty of opportunities to develop new friendships with the other children in care?

• Use the buddy system; pair a friendly child with each of Mrs. Nguyen’s children to encourage them to engage in play activities

• Help Mrs. Nguyen set up a play date outside of care with her children’s friends from the program

• Suggest enrolling the children in a karate or ballet class

• Research team sports and other children’s groups in the area

• Use activities, such as show-and-tell, as opportunities for children to learn about each other

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Key Point: Because social and emotional development is linked with cognitive development, it is extremely important that children are given every opportunity to establish healthy relationships with both adults and peers.

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To strengthen feelings of attachment and help the infant build a close, trusting relationship with his/her caregiver, it is important to:

• Recognize the need for a primary caregiver for each child.

• Move in quickly to comfort the infant when he/she is distressed. You can rock, sing, or walk with him/her to soothe.

• Be attentive to the infant’s signals and cues and respond quickly to his/her need for food and comfort.

Separation can be a very emotional time for both children and parents. Here are some suggestions helping to smooth that separation:

• Acknowledge to parents how hard it must be to leave their baby.

• Invite parents to call during the day to check in and let them know they are welcome to drop in unannounced at any time.

• Allow the child to bring a stuffed animal or blanket from home.

• Help the child close the door or say goodbye from the window.

• Let the infant look at your face and see your expressions. Try different expressions, such as blinking your eyes, using big mouth movements, or sticking out your tongue.

Throughout the day, there are many opportunities for baby and caregiver to be intimate and get better acquainted. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Play social games, such as Pat-a-Cake or Peek-a-Boo.

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• Infants should be held and talked to while being bottle fed.

• During diapering, pay close attention to the child. Talk to them about what you are doing; for example, say, “First, I’m going to unsnap your pants.”

• Show affection with hugs.

• Respond to the infants’ coos and gurgles with talking.

Children are known for their developing independence and sense of self. Here are some ideas for supporting this stage of development:

• Support individuality by providing simple, reasonable choices whenever possible.

• Provide opportunities for sharing, caring, and helping; such as making cards for a sick child or teacher, or caring for pets.

• Provide materials/equipment that encourage cooperation and social play, such as puzzles, dress-up clothes, or a double slide.

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Key Point: In addition to ensuring their physical safety, supporting children’s social and emotional development is one of the most important tasks you have, as a child care provider.

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Expressions vary from person to person. Infants and toddlers use expressions as a means to interpret and understand the adults and children around them. Expressions can also confuse toddlers. It is important to teach children about emotions to ensure they understand them correctly.

One way to use an emotion face chart would be to ask children to volunteer to go to the chart and choose which face shows a sad face, angry face, happy face, etc., as you call out an emotion from the choices.

Can you think of any other ways you could use this emotion face chart with the children?

• Ask the children to show these emotions on their faces, one at a time.

• Ask, “What does your face do when you are mad or tired or …?”

• Ask, “What does your mother say when your face looks like….?”

• You could also take pictures of a child showing the different emotions. Then, make a poster for each child so they can use the chart to help them identify their feelings.

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Key Point: The Social and Emotional Domain is important because it builds the foundation for how individuals will regulate their emotions and build emotions for their entire life.

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The Approaches to Learning Domain refers to a child’s eagerness to learn. It includes curiosity, persistence, problem solving, and the ability to create and complete long-term projects. During the first years of a child’s life, we can usually discover these characteristics in a child by observation.

We see infants lifting their heads and turning toward their parents and caregivers

• They reach for toys and objects that catch their attention

• They begin to turn or crawl towards these objects

• Their attention and focus are usually on simple objects

• This is the age when they like the box as much as they like the toy inside

As a child care professional, you know that our long-term goal is to have healthy, productive competent adults who are contributing members of the community. We begin this educational process in partnership with each child’s family. We want to foster the learning habits of curiosity, persistence, problem solving, and creativity in each child. The more we practice these learning habits and let children observe our behavior, the more learning children will absorb and copy.

Key Point: The Approaches to Learning Domain refers to how children approach learning experiences.

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Approaches to Learning: Infants and Toddlers

When you place a toy about three feet in front of an eight-month-old and call their attention to it, what might they do?

The child might roll or crawl toward the toy.

You can use a toy or other items in the learning environment to stimulate the child’s curiosity by sitting with the toy and calling to the child, or by choosing a toy that makes noise or lights up. Seek out items that stimulate the child’s sense of curiosity, and encourage his/her eagerness to discover and develop gross motor skills.

When an infant or toddler has an attachment to an adult, they tend to respond to the adult’s actions by imitating them. Toddlers will typically:

• Like to play “pretend”

• Want their own toy cell phones, stoves, and tools, so that they can become just like the adults they are close to

• Roam out of the sight of their adults for the first time

• Wander, climb, explore, and sit in new and unfamiliar places

• Need reinforcement that such explorations can be pleasurable

As infants become increasingly aware of their surroundings, they vocalize, smile, and coo at the sight of familiar faces. They convey excitement when seeing their family and caregivers. As they get older, they show this same excitement at seeing familiar peers. Sometimes, a young toddler’s excitement and energy does not convey their emotions as clearly as they wish.

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Approaches to Learning: Preschoolers

Young children are most likely to strengthen their natural interest in learning by interactions with the adults in their lives. Young children can mistake the message adults send through body language and facial expressions. Conversation and activities that show preschoolers how to understand other’s expressions will help them work in small groups or with a partner. As we assist children in their learning process, we should encourage them to make sense of their environment.

Children need to:

• Observe and investigate (eagerness and curiosity)

• Record and represent (persistence)

• Explain and draw conclusions (creativity and inventiveness)

The greater the variety of teaching methods employed by the child care professional, the more likely it is that each child will experience optimum conditions for learning. Especially with the younger children, their shorter attention spans respond best to variety.

How can you encourage children to stay focused on a task for increasing periods of time?

Set a timer for the activity. Make sure it is an appropriate amount of time for the age range of the children. Encourage children to work until the timer goes off, and praise their persistence and determination.

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Preschoolers, ages three to five are full of questions. Their natural curiosity, the “why?” we hear so often, can become repetitive. As adults, we need to always answer these questions. Keep your answers short and to the point and wait for follow-up questions. Tempting as it can be, never say, “Because I said so.” If a child is old enough to ask, he/she deserves a response. Use this natural inclination to stimulate learning by discussion. Questioning successfully is an acquired skill for most adults. Many of us are accustomed to asking low-level questions that evoke a short, rote response. Asking, “Can you read this?” gets the response, “Yes,” or “No.” By concentrating on lower-level questions that focus on memorization, we miss the opportunity to engage our children’s curiosity and problem-solving ability.

Read the material in the chart titled Developing Questions That Help Children Think; we can use these six types of questions with preschoolers and school-age children. Carefully crafted questions can encourage creative thinking. Because language and thought are closely intertwined, more elaborate, and fully articulate answers help children practice higher-level thinking skills. Many of the examples below require children to wrestle with uncertainties, make connections, or create their own definitions.

Developing Questions That Help Children Think

APPLYING/MATCHING

• How could you use …?

• What job uses this …?

• When would you need this …?

COMPARING/CONTRASTING

• What is similar to …?

• How is this like …?

• How is this different from …?

CONNECTING IDEAS

• What things do you think about …?

• What do you already know about …?

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EVALUATING/JUDGING

• What do you like/dislike about …?

• What is your favorite …? Why?

ALIKE/DIFFERENT

• How is … like …?

• What else looks like …?

• What part of … is like you?

SYMBOLIZING

• Can you draw a picture of this?

• What song would match this?

• Could you write a sentence/story/poem about this?

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Approaches to Learning: School-Agers

As children reach the age of six and enter school, they are becoming excited about learning, making new friends, and engaging in new experiences. They are becoming able to accomplish more challenging and complicated tasks, and are experiencing the rewards that follow. As they develop a new and increasingly complicated set of skills, they begin to apply their newly gained knowledge in more complex and complicated ways.

Six-year-olds:

• Are learning to read and experiencing emergent literacy as they recognize and learn to write symbols and letters

• Enjoy and learn from sensory experiences, such as building blocks, art supplies, puzzles, and musical instruments

• Need to have hands-on learning experiences so they can learn through trial and error, and enjoy the rewards of experiencing success and accomplishment

• Show increasing attention spans, and can concentrate for longer periods of time without becoming distracted


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Seven-year-olds:

• Are becoming aware of themselves as individuals

• Are developing concepts of space and time in logical and practical ways

• Are gaining a better concept of cause and effect (“If I do this, then this will happen…”)

• Can tell time and make plans in advance


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Eight-year-olds:

• Enjoy collecting and organizing items, such as toys or baseball cards, and putting them on display; they also enjoy comparing and trading these items with peers

• Collect and save money for future purchases, and are willing to perform tasks or jobs for payment

• Like to work independently and delight in achieving success

• Willingly accept challenges and responsibilities, and enjoy being rewarded for their work


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“Research shows that if children start school with a strong set of attitudes and skills that help them “learn how to learn,” they will be better able to take advantage of educational opportunities. While some learning skills come naturally to children, others can be developed through a supportive environment.”

Arthur. "Approaches to Learning." PBS. Accessed January 21, 2016. http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/five/approachestolearning.html.

Some useful information about the Approaches to Learning Domain:

• Approaches to learning requires child care professionals to be alert to opportunities to encourage and praise children who are demonstrating persistence, intellectual curiosity, and creativity.

• The habits and attitudes in this domain are not learned only through formal instructions, but are encouraged in children by being around people who exhibit them.

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Some useful information about the Approaches to Learning Domain (continued):

• As the child care professional, you need to acknowledge a child when you see them completing a task or being persistent in their dedication to solving a problem.

• You can help support eagerness, curiosity, persistence, problem solving, and creativity with effective modeling by adults; also by giving praise to children when they exhibit use of these habits and attitudes.

It is important to:

• Model a sense of excitement at attempting a task and being successful

• Use art and music as learning tools on a regular basis

• Provide activities that explore the child’s environment and then extend them through science-oriented, math-oriented, and social studies-oriented lessons

• Offer lots of playtime involving manipulatives that the children can grasp and sort and match by color or pattern

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Key Point: The Approaches to Learning Domain involves a child’s eagerness to learn and includes curiosity, persistence, creative problem solving, and the ability to create and complete long-term projects.

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The Language and Communication Domain refers to the child’s ability to communicate with others. It involves children’s abilities to see, hear, speak, read, write, and construct an understanding of things around them. From the very first day of an infant’s life, he/she is trying to communicate with the world around him/her. He/she will strive to make connections with the people in his/her life that satisfy his/her needs for food, comfort, and companionship.

Key Point: The Language and Communication Domain refers to the ability to communicate.

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Vision in Infancy

• At birth, infants do not see as well as adults. They are, however, able to see things around them.

• Young infants are able to see at a distance of approximately eight to fifteen inches. Objects held at this distance are most clear. Since this is the distance at which you typically hold or feed a young infant, your face is one of the objects that an infant will see best.

• Young babies like looking at the human face and find it very interesting.

• Infants have some difficulty focusing their eyes on things beyond fifteen inches. They are unable to pick up the details of objects.

• Babies are interested in objects that move and that have high contrast in areas of light and dark.

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Hearing in Infancy

• Babies are born with the ability to hear. This ability begins to develop in the womb.

• Mothers frequently report that they notice the unborn baby moving right after a loud noise.

• Long before a baby is born, he/she is hearing sounds such as his/her mother’s voice and his/her mother’s heartbeat.

• Newborns are especially fascinated by the human voice. They come into the world ready to listen to the sounds of human language.

• Before babies utter their first word, they are preparing for language in many ways. They listen attentively to human speech and they begin to make speech-like sounds.

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When you are sensitive to this early communication and are able to respond with interest to the infant’s attempts at communication, it will help them become competent communicators. As infants mature into young toddlers, they demonstrate increased understanding of gestures they see and words they hear. Remember, even these early behaviors are important and need to be encouraged. They are part of the basis for continuing development of language and communication.

It should be noted that “hearing” matures to “listening.” Infants hear sound in their environment. As they grow, they begin to listen. They begin to attach meaning to words and other sounds. The same process occurs with seeing. Infants see objects in their environment. As they mature, they construct an understanding of the things around them that they see, so their vision becomes a window to understanding the world.

From two to three years of age, toddlers gain an increased understanding of, and attach meaning to, their surroundings through listening. They also can increase their listening for longer periods. They demonstrate their understanding of what they hear by laughing during funny parts of a story and responding to questions about their books.

Key Point: Infants and toddlers attach meaning to words and other sounds, and to what they see in the environment.

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Language Development: Infants

Language development occurs in gradual steps as children age. All infants advance at their own pace; no two infants will reach a particular milestone, such as their first word or their first steps, at exactly the same time. The stages that infants progress through do happen in the same order.

For example, just as the child first sits, then crawls, then stands, and then walks, language has the same type of predictable order. Crying is the first way that an infant has of communicating with those around him/her. It is the message to the caregiver that says something is not right.

• As you get to know an individual infant, you may learn to interpret the cries and other cues as meaning “I’m hungry,” or “I’m tired,” or “I’m scared.”

• Many experts believe that by responding to the baby’s cries, you are helping her learn that language is possible and useful.

• As a baby grows older, the crying becomes more differentiated into a variety of sounds. You become better able to discriminate what certain cries and sounds mean.

• Remember, responding to a crying baby will not spoil the baby; in fact, it will make him/her less dependent as he/she grows.

• Around two months of age, infants begin to make vowel-like noises, called cooing, because of their “ooo” quality.

• Gradually, consonants are added; and around six months, babbling appears, in which infants repeat consonant and vowel combinations in long strings, such as “bababababa” or “dadadada.”

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• The timing of early babbling seems to be due to maturation since all infants, even those who are deaf, start babbling around the same age.

• For babbling to develop further, infants must be able to hear human speech. Around seven months, babbling starts to include the sounds of mature spoken languages; however, if a child’s hearing is impaired, these speech-like sounds are impaired.

• Typically, the average young toddler will use “Mama” and “Dada” with meaning by about eleven months. Around twelve to twenty-four months, most babies begin to use words.

• In addition to “Mama” and “Dada,” their most frequent words are words of greeting; for example, “hi;” or words used when objects are exchanged, such as “please” or “thank you.”

• Their vocabulary also might include various toys they play with, animals, and foods.

Petty, Karen. Developmental Milestones of Young Children. St. Paul, MN: RedleafPress, 2010.

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Key Point: Crying is an infant’s first method of communication.

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Language Development: Toddlers, Preschoolers, and School-Agers

Language development occurs rapidly during the toddler and preschool ages.

Between 18 and 24 months of age, the child begins to say two-word sentences, like “play ball,”and “eat cracker.” From this point on, language is rapidly growing along with the child’s cognitive abilities.

At 24 months, a child’s receptive vocabulary—the words he/she understands—contains about 300 words. His/her expressive vocabulary—the words he/she uses to express himself/herself—is not as large, but is growing every day.

Around 36 months, children will respond when spoken to, tell lots of stories, and enjoy rhyming and singing. They will ask lots of questions and be eager to learn new words. They will begin to speak in increasingly longer sentences and begin to show an increase in the ability to use grammar correctly.

At 46 months, a child should know both their first and last name, as well as be able to speak in sentences of increasing length. They understand stories as a sequence of events told in order, and they will begin exhibiting the ability to follow short sequences of instructions.

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School-age children will begin to show an increased understanding of grammar in their speech around the age of six. By age seven, they enjoy telling stories and will begin writing their own stories; and also will be learning to spell with increasing ability. Eight-year-olds will begin to have discussions and conversations with adults. Their language and speech skills will allow them to use words and language that are appropriate for who they are speaking to, whether adults or peers. They also begin showing more imagination and expression when they speak, and enjoy playing pranks and jokes on others.


Key Point: The progression of skills related to speaking is very rapid once children reach the age of three years old.

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Key Point: The progression of skills related to speaking is very rapid once children reach the age of three years old.

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Reading is one of the most important skills that contributes to education. Literacy is a key skill involved in the learning process and the earlier this skill is developed, the better the chances a child will have a successful academic career.

It is never too early to start reading to children. It is critical that child care professionals create a learning environment that is designed to nurture the emergent literacy of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Studies show that the more children read, the better readers and writers they become. You can encourage the growth of language and cognitive abilities by reading. Infants and toddlers need to be exposed to learning activities that teach them skills in preparation for reading. Preschoolers need to be provided with strong support of their emerging reading ability. When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to become better learners throughout their school years and beyond. It is important to remember that some children may come from a literacy-poor home environment. Their experiences with your child care environment may be the only contact they have with books and reading. Daily reading is essential!

Older toddlers show growing interest in print and books. They demonstrate some book-reading skills such as holding a book upright and turning pages right to left. These book-reading skills are important and include reading a book from front to back and from the top of the page to the bottom. Three-year-old children are growing into their own as they begin to engage in dramatic play.

They are also demonstrating phonological awareness by saying the sounds of letters. Phonological awareness is a term used to describe a person’s knowledge of the sound structure of words. Phonological awareness activities should be connected to words children are familiar with, especially when these activities are also connected to daily reading of good children’s literature.

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While children may understand some of the concepts of print—such as reading from the top down and from left to right—at five years old, they have gained additional knowledge about the printed page. They have learned that letters are used to make words, letters are used to write words, and words are the things we read. They see that letters stand for the sounds we say and letters can be used more than once in a word. They are beginning to see that words are separated by spaces; and there are periods, question marks, and exclamation marks at the ends of sentences. If they have not already mastered the alphabet, four-year-olds should be taught the alphabet song and be able to identify uppercase letters. Studies have shown that a child’s knowledge of the alphabet by the time they reach kindergarten is one of the single best predictors of eventual reading success.

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Key Point: Daily reading is essential to literacy – the more children read, the better readers and writers they become.

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Reading to children should be a fun and enjoyable event for everyone. Children often ask for the same books to be read over and over. Story time and quiet reading time are opportunities to strengthen imaginations while developing literacy skills. Be sure to incorporate these opportunities into the daily schedule to ensure that children continue to increase their literacy while finding enjoyment in the stories they experience. The practice of reading to children one or more times each day is essential for their growth in language and cognitive abilities.

Caregivers should:

• Model a joy of reading and writing for children.

• Create a high-quality, diverse library of books for story time and individual reading.

• Encourage parents to read aloud to their children and have plenty of books and reading materials available in the home.

• Create a print-rich environment with plenty of art, books, vocabulary strips, maps, posters, and alphabet signs.

• Use a computer to find stories, learning activities, and games that can become a part of the daily schedule.

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There are a few best practices to keep in mind when planning for story time:

• Preview the material. Ensure that all materials are fun, engaging, and age appropriate.

• Practice reading with plenty of expression. This helps make story time a more engaging experience for children.

• Continue to add engaging, age-appropriate reading materials to your child care library.

• Since younger children have shorter attention spans, choose shorter books.

• Choose books with pictures that will interest children and fuel their imaginations.

• Children love words that rhyme. Choose materials that help children build their rhyming skills.

• Stories and poems that rhyme are fun and appeal to children.

• Allow children to act out various parts of a story as you read a book.

• Let children act out the animal sounds and try to predict what is coming next.

• Have children repeat familiar rhyming verses and songs.

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Key Point: The Language and Communication Domain involves a child being able to communicate with others through their abilities to see, hear, speak, read, write, and construct an understanding of things around them.


National Education Association’s Read Across America

National Education Association’s Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children

Jumpstart

Education World’s Reading Lists

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There should be time designated each day to practice writing. Daily practice is essential to help children become more proficient in writing letters, words, and sentences. Children should also be allowed time to draw shapes, scribble, or color at their leisure. Be sure to encourage children to practice at an appropriate developmental level. This means allowing younger children to simply hold crayons and scribble, make letter-like shapes, and draw; while older children can practice writing letters, words, and sentences.

Reading and writing skills develop in children at the same time.

• Development in the area of reading supports the development of writing and vice versa.

• Children must participate in a variety of quality reading and writing experiences.

• Incorporating writing into children’s daily schedules is also essential to supporting their emergent literacy development.

• Writing combines many skills, including fine motor skills, attention span, focus, memory, and creativity.

Finally, school-age children, ages six to twelve years old, are writing numbers with increasing precision. They are developing familiarity with the rules of grammar and punctuation, and are becoming proficient in the correct use of both in their writing. They also expand the types of writing they do to include notes to friends, stories, lists, and journal writing of their personal thoughts.

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Key Point: Daily practice in the skills of writing is essential for children to develop their writing ability.

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The implications that literacy has on language and communication extend beyond reading and writing, and can be seen in children’s spoken communications. Listen to and talk with each child every day. Make it a habit to speak individually to each child throughout the day; this will make it easier to find a moment for each child, no matter how busy your day may be. Speaking individually with each child will help you gain an understanding of what they are learning, and how they are progressing with their literacy skills. Be sure to set aside some time to devote to children who need it, such as quiet, shy children; or children who speak English as a second language.

You can also incorporate games and songs that help broaden and build the depths of children’s vocabularies. Research play opportunities that encourage communication between children, and periodically introduce them to new words to ensure that they are building a healthy and rich vocabulary.

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The Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain refers to the child’s intellectual or mental abilities. It involves:

• Exploration, discovery, concept and memory formation, problem solving, and creative expression

• Knowledge of mathematics, scientific thinking, awareness of social studies and the arts

• Advancing thinking skills in young children means creating situations in which there are often no “right answers;” and where exploration, discovery, memory, and problem solving are the skills and attitudes to be encouraged.

A child is born an explorer. From the earliest stages of life, they are ready to see, feel, smell, and taste the world around them. If they can get close enough—without supervision—they will chew, push, poke, stare at, and examine everything in their environment.

Key Point: The Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain refers to the child’s intellectual or mental abilities.

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Cognitive Development and General Knowledge: Infants and Toddlers

Infants and toddlers try everything and can inflict some damage in an innocent attempt to get closer to objects that are out of their reach. Learning is their aim and play is the vehicle they use to learn. Remember, all of the domains are developing at the same time. Early brain development research says that social-emotional development and cognitive development go hand in hand. A child can only learn when there is no threat to their well-being.

When you watch an infant move a ball or mobile, you can often see their reaction as they begin to understand the effect they have on the object. Their concentration and attention become more obvious as they grow older. They are fascinated by their effect on their surroundings and their ability to make things happen. Because of this, caregivers should provide a great deal of opportunities for infants to interact safely with appropriate materials.

Twelve- to twenty-four-month-old children are beginning to exhibit much more obvious signs of cognitive development, such as cause and effect, and object recognition. The book Developmental Milestones of Young Children describes common cognitive behaviors for a variety of age ranges. For example, children learn to close doors that are left open, they can identify the names of colors, and recognize themselves in a mirror. Since they are gaining greater control of their motor skills, they are beginning to enjoy manipulating objects and playing with containers and nesting toys.

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Between the ages of two and three years old children will display their cognitive progress through a variety of increasingly complex behaviors. They will pretend to read, sort objects, repeat rhymes and songs, talk about books, tell their ages and names, and ask an increasing number of questions.


As a child care professional, you need to surround the children in your care with objects that can be held, sorted, counted, and combined. These may be as simple as a bag of clothespins or as complex as a manipulative kit.

What kinds of objects can be used in the child care environment to stimulate children to engage in cognitive play?

•Many objects can be used as makeshift toys that toddlers can shake, fill, push, pull, and squeeze. These can include:

•Toilet paper rolls

•Large pieces of uncooked pasta

•Empty plastic tubs with lids

•Empty boxes

•Wooden blocks

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Cognitive Development and General Knowledge: Preschoolers

Math is a big part of the world of a preschooler. Numbers are everywhere, and three-year-olds are interested in solving math problems. They are counting; telling their age on their fingers; and sorting objects by attributes, such as color or shape. They enjoy singing counting songs and understand some comparative words, such as “taller” and “smaller.”

Diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, and out-of-school experiences must be considered as you plan activities and learning experiences. For example, some children may already be using computers or other stand-alone learning tools, such as Leap Frog, while other children may have never seen a computer. Additionally, children may vary in their math vocabulary, such as being limited to “big” and “little” versus using a variety of terms to compare attributes of an object.

Children are interested in the world around them. As explorers, they want to examine natural objects, leaves, rocks, flowers, and animals. They are willing to guess and predict end results of an activity, and can learn cause and effect relationships at a very early age.

By age four, they enjoy using flashlights, magnifying glasses, and rulers for investigations. With direction, experiments are exciting and valuable learning opportunities for children. They can compare the properties of items like rough and smooth surfaces on hard and soft objects. In addition, they respond to open-ended questions, such as, “What if you and your mom changed roles?” or “What if grass tasted just like ice cream?”

If you can easily take your three-year-olds outside, how could you set up a science observation activity with magnifying glasses?

Mount a variety of leaves on a poster board and look for differences and similarities between the leaves. Measure the lengths of the leaves, examine them with magnifying

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glasses, and describe their sizes and textures.

While we touched on examples of the expectancies in the Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain, there is a much larger body of information in this domain that should be studied. You must know what to expect from all of the children in your care, regardless of if their development seems typical, or indicates developmental delays or special needs. This information is at the very core of your decisions about setting up your child care environment, designing the curriculum and learning strategies, and assisting parents in evaluating their children’s progress.

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Key Point: Knowing what to expect from each child in your care allows you to create the ideal learning environment and design the most appropriate opportunities for learning.

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Cognitive Development and General Knowledge: School-Agers

Six-year-olds:

• Enjoy both structured and unstructured activities, and have an attention span of up to 30 minutes

• Are becoming aware of time, although they probably cannot tell time at this age

• Are aware of the season and the type of weather that each season brings

• Can count to 50; and can also count in patterns such as counting by two at a time, or five at a time

• Enjoy reading stories and exhibit excitement about stories and subjects that interest them


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Seven-year-olds:

• Begin reading with increasing comprehension and understanding of what they are reading, and are beginning to read for fun and pleasure

• Show interest in a growing variety of subjects, including computers, games, jokes, riddles, maps, globes, and graphs

• Are able to measure in terms of inches and centimeters, and enjoy measuring with rulers, measuring tape, and yardsticks

• Can tell time using a digital clock, and are beginning to understand how to tell time using an analog clock


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Eight-year-olds:

• Enjoy completing projects and learn more from hands-on experiences than from listening to a speaker; and can engage in research activities, such as observing, exploring, questioning, and recording information

• Can use a calendar to identify the date; identify future events; and keep track of activities, such as sporting events or school meetings

• Use reasoning to understand why things happen, and question the reasoning of others or of why things happen a certain way

• Are interested in other places they have not visited and in other cultures; and enjoy having pen pals and learning about customs, languages, and activities of other people


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Learning depends, in part, on the quality of the experiences and opportunities children have, both at home and with their child care professionals. With safety in mind, environments that stimulate them to explore and discover maximize the learning possibilities. Remember to:

• Use math and science vocabulary words when appropriate

• Look for read-aloud books that reinforce math, science, social studies, and art and music

• Use positional vocabulary, and refer to maps and location charts

• Organize an art and music learning center or station with appropriate supplies and tools

• Involve children’s creativity in and connect their creative experiences to concepts they are exploring

• Provide children with classroom activities, materials, and discussions that address a wide range of diversity

• Teach children about rules and have appropriate rules for children’s safety and learning

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Key Point: The Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain includes knowledge of mathematics, scientific thinking, awareness of social studies, and the arts through exploration, discovery, concept and memory formation, problem solving, and creative expression.

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Module 4 Summary

Here is a summary of key points for Module 4: Developmental Domains.

• A child care professional who is knowledgeable about typical behaviors and abilities of children can support learning new skills and detect problems.

• Knowing the typical growth, behavior, and skill expectancies of children across their age range is paramount for caregivers when designing an appropriate learning environment, creating curriculum and learning strategies, and assisting parents in evaluating children’s progress.

• The Physical Development Domain refers to a child’s physical health and development.

• As children progress, it is important to choose activities that foster their physical growth and promote independence.

• Motor development is an important part of the Physical Development Domain.

• The Physical Development Domain involves all aspects of a child’s body, including their overall health, fine and gross motor skills, vision, and hearing.

• The Social and Emotional Development Domain refers to how children feel about themselves and their relationships with others.

• It is important to exhibit desirable attitudes and emotions while caring for newborns and infants, since they learn how to react from the adults they trust.

• Because social and emotional development is linked with cognitive development, it is extremely important that children are given every opportunity to establish healthy relationships with both adults and peers.

• In addition to ensuring their physical safety, supporting children’s social and emotional

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development is one of the most important tasks you have, as a child care provider.

• The Social and Emotional Domain is important because it builds the foundation for how individuals will regulate their emotions and build emotions for their entire life.

• The Approaches to Learning Domain refers to how children approach learning experiences.

• The Approaches to Learning Domain involves a child’s eagerness to learn and includes curiosity, persistence, creative problem solving, and the ability to create and complete long-term projects.

• The Language and Communication Domain refers to the ability to communicate.

• Infants and toddlers attach meaning to words and other sounds, and to what they see in the environment.

• Crying is an infant’s first method of communication.

• The progression of skills related to speaking is very rapid once children reach the age of three years old.

• Daily reading is essential to literacy – the more children read, the better readers and writers they become.

• The Language and Communication Domain involves a child being able to communicate with others through their abilities to see, hear, speak, read, write, and construct an understanding of things around them.

• Daily practice in the skills of writing is essential for children to develop their writing ability.

• The Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain refers to the child’s intellectual or mental abilities.

• Knowing what to expect from each child in your care allows you to create the ideal learning environment and design the most appropriate opportunities for learning.

• The Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain includes knowledge of mathematics, scientific thinking, awareness of social studies, and the arts through exploration, discovery, concept and memory formation, problem solving, and creative expression.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed Module 4: Developmental Domains.


• Summarize the developmental domains

• Categorize age ranges and the typical growth, behavior, or skill expectancies in the developmental domains

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Materials:

Welcome to Module 5: Guiding Children’s Behaviors.

This module will provide an overview of how child growth and development principles are applied to guiding children’s behaviors.


Goal

Participants will understand best practices associated with guiding children’s behaviors towards appropriate expectations, and methods associated with addressing challenging behaviors.

Learning Objectives


• Identify appropriate behavioral expectations of children in early childhood classrooms

• Apply appropriate techniques for handling challenging behaviors

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The foundation for establishing order in the classroom and helping children maintain their composure is setting clear and realistic rules that define what is expected of children. Knowing what they are supposed to be doing and which behaviors are discouraged helps children to focus on learning opportunities and avoid getting into trouble most of the time. Sometimes children get tired, grumpy, or lose their tempers; being prepared to deal with these types of emotions and outbursts is one of your responsibilities as a caregiver.

Being prepared to deal with unwanted or challenging behaviors in a positive manner is an opportunity to guide children’s development and help them learn to control their emotions in a positive way. Caregivers should expect and be prepared to address a wide variety of behaviors including: aggression, biting, hitting, kicking, defiance, rude language, temper tantrums, and bullying.

Key Point: When caregivers are prepared to address them, challenging attitudes and behaviors present an opportunity for caregivers to provide positive guidance to children.

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Materials: None

Reflect on the last time you were in your classroom or with a group of children. What behaviors did you notice? After you have listed the behaviors, answer the following questions:

• Which behaviors were positive?

• Which behaviors were negative?

• What influenced the positive behaviors?

• What influenced the negative behaviors?

Thinking about your observations, were any of the behaviors a result of expectations not matching the child’s developmental level?

Review your lesson plans; do you need to make any modifications based on the developmental expectations you have learned about in this course?

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Prosocial behavior in adults and children represents the most positive attributes of society. Acts of kindness—such as helping, sharing, sympathizing, cooperating, and comforting—benefit all persons, the givers and the receivers. When adults and children work towards a common goal, or help someone in distress, they are working towards a positive environment. Children who learn to be kind usually are not selfish or aggressive. Providing instruction in prosocial behavior within the child care environment creates a setting in which all learning is enhanced.

• People once believed that if we were taught to think about the needs of others, corresponding behaviors would follow. Unfortunately, this is not true. Good thoughts do not necessarily lead to good deeds.

• As a child care professional, you can increase children’s kindnesses to others by creating situations in which you model the behaviors and attitudes you expect of children.

• Look for instances of positive behaviors and acknowledge them. Actively teach children to think and act with social responsibility.

Positive, respectful attitudes are the result of successful, healthy growth and development. As described by Maslow through his hierarchy of needs, once the higher levels of the pyramid are achieved, individuals attain self-actualization, or the realization of their potential. This often results in a happy demeanor, a positive outlook, and overall healthy development. Helping children achieve this is established by promoting prosocial behaviors in the learning environment and helping children practice them in their daily lives.

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Benefits of Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial behavior is the opposite of antisocial behavior, and includes behaviors such as sharing, cooperating, sympathizing, and comforting. Children, as well as adults, experience positive, rewarding relationships and increased self-esteem as the results of engaging in prosocial behaviors.

Engaging in prosocial behaviors:

• Creates feelings of satisfaction

• Builds perceptions of competence

• Provides entry into social situations

• Promotes ongoing relationships

• Increases chances of receiving help or cooperation

• Leads to a positive group atmosphere

Kostelnik, Marjorie J., and Laura C. Stein. Guiding Children's Social Development. 3rd ed. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, 1998.

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How to Promote Prosocial Behavior

Caregivers are in a unique position to act as role models to children and to model desirable, appropriate behaviors that we want to see reflected in the actions and behavior of the children in care. Since caregivers spend a great deal of time with children, they are also in a position to create a learning environment with an atmosphere that is conducive to encouraging prosocial behaviors in children.

According to Guiding Children’s Social Development, “In group settings, the atmosphere most likely to promote nurturing, sharing, cooperating, and rescuing has the following characteristics:

• Participants anticipate that everyone will do his or her best to support one another.

• Both adults and children contribute to decisions made, practices, and procedures.

• Communication is direct, clear, and mutual.

• Individual differences are respected.

• Expectations are reasonable.

• People like one another and feel a sense of belonging to the group.

• There is an emphasis on group as well as individual accomplishments.”

Kostelnik, Marjorie J., and Laura C. Stein. Guiding Children's Social Development. 3rd ed.

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Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, 1998.

Caregivers who design appropriate learning environments and create an atmosphere that encourages these positive, rewarding behaviors help children establish prosocial behaviors as a positive habit that will benefit them throughout their lives. Be sure to discuss appropriate behaviors and attitudes with children, model prosocial behavior, clearly define expectations, and use appropriate discipline techniques when necessary.

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In the early stages, children do not have an innate sense of what is right or wrong. They cannot distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and how their actions affect others. They are motivated solely by fulfilling their own needs, and are unaware of how others in the environment are impacted by their behavior. As children progress into the toddler stage, they begin to be influenced by their interactions with adults and caregivers who reward or punish certain behaviors. Without this guidance from adults, children do not learn appropriate behaviors or a sense of morality. For this reason, it is extremely important to clearly define expectations and behaviors to influence a child’s growing sense of right and wrong, and to help them establish a sense of self-discipline.

What is Self-Discipline?

People who are self-disciplined are aware of appropriate behaviors and their effect on others. They are also capable of making decisions that are socially responsible and have a positive effect on their environment.

In Guiding Children’s Social Development, children are said to be self-disciplined when, “they can judge for themselves what is right and what is wrong and then behave appropriately.” Knowing how to behave appropriately is the result of influence and instruction by those in their environment. If children are taught self-discipline, they can learn to rely on their own internal behavior controls, rather than having to be told if they are acting appropriately. They know when they are following the rules and when they are breaking them.

Kostelnik, Marjorie J., and Laura C. Stein. Guiding Children's Social Development. 3rd ed. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, 1998.

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Promoting Self-Discipline in Children

Adults and caregivers are the primary people who contribute to a child’s ability to become self-disciplined. They must help children learn the positive benefits of prosocial behaviors by rewarding them when they act appropriately, and by using positive guidance strategies to deal with inappropriate or unwanted behaviors and actions.

Caregivers should take an active role in encouraging children to engage in desirable actions and behaviors, such as sharing with others, comforting their peers, and being honest and respectful. Desirable actions and behaviors can be rewarded with praise and appreciation. Conversely, undesirable actions such as aggression, tattling, or selfishness should be discussed with children, putting an emphasis on the negative effects it has on them and others around them.

When children learn to act and react appropriately, resulting in positive relationships and a healthy sense of self-esteem, they gain the ability to function successfully in the wide variety of situations they will experience throughout their lives. Adults and caregivers who successfully instill a sense of self-discipline help children learn to take responsibility for acting appropriately on their own, without a need for others to do it for them.

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Key Point: Self-discipline in children is established when adults and caregivers successfully teach children how to behave appropriately on their own.

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How you address challenging behaviors in the learning environment has a great impact on the effect it will have on children. Raising your voice, being inconsistent, using strict punishment methods, and corporal punishment all have negative effects on the children in the learning environment. Effective strategies should always be used when addressing challenging behaviors to ensure that children learn a positive lesson and avoid negatively affecting any of the children in care.

There are a variety of strategies that result in a reduction of negative and challenging behaviors exhibited by children.

• Model appropriate behavior through books, role play, and conversations

• Reinforce positive behaviors through genuine praise

• Reduce the frustration in children’s lives and help them feel more competent by providing developmentally appropriate activities and materials

• Foster empathy among children by teaching them about feelings

• Teach children prosocial behaviors

• Help children recognize instances of accidental aggression and identify alternatives

• Make it clear that aggression is unacceptable through clear expectations

• Teach children alternatives to weapon play or aggressive play

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For more information about addressing challenging behaviors, take the Department of Children and Families’ course Basic Guidance and Discipline or Challenging Behaviors Awareness and Prevention.

Additional Resource

The book Guiding Children’s Social Development, Third Edition by Marjorie Kostelnikand Laura C. Stein is a resource for more extensive information about the specific effective and ineffective techniques discussed in this module.

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Key Point: Successfully addressing challenging behaviors in the child care environment requires a combination of using effective strategies, and avoiding negative or ineffective strategies.

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Materials: None

In the following scenarios, think about the techniques you have reviewed in this module to determine how you would handle the situation.

• Derek is in the block area throwing blocks.

• Elle is calling her friends names on the playground.

• Jane told Ryan he could not play with her in the dramatic play center because he was a boy.

There are no right or wrong answers in determining which technique is best. Sometimes, you have to use more than one technique to help guide children to behaviors that are more positive.

Sample Answers:

• Maintain constant supervision of children while they are engaged in play activities, and intervene or redirect children when necessary.

• Discuss appropriate behaviors with children and ask them how they feel when they are mistreated by others.

• Young children often prefer to play with members of the same sex. Group children into playgroups with peers who share similar interests and abilities.

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Module 5 Summary

Here is a summary of key points for Module 5: Guiding Children’s Behaviors.

• When caregivers are prepared to address them, challenging attitudes and behaviors present an opportunity for caregivers to provide positive guidance to children.

• Self-discipline in children is established when adults and caregivers successfully teach children how to behave appropriately on their own.

• Successfully addressing challenging behaviors in the child care environment requires a combination of using effective strategies, and avoiding negative or ineffective strategies.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed Module 5: Guiding Children’s Behaviors.


• Identify appropriate behavioral expectations of children in early childhood classrooms

• Apply appropriate techniques for handling challenging behaviors

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Materials:

Welcome to Module 6: Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

This module will define Developmentally Appropriate Practice and how to use this principle in designing quality care programs for children.


Goal

Participants will understand the role of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the design of quality care environments.

Learning Objectives


• Define Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

• Identify components of developmentally appropriate learning environments

• Plan developmentally appropriate learning experiences

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This course on child growth and development demonstrates the value of making age- and ability-appropriate choices in planning. Developing and utilizing quality materials and research gives us an understanding of the children in our care, and of the stimulating and responsible curriculum they need to help them reach their maximum potential.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) position paper, Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through 8, speaks to the value of our work with children. We are the important first link in a child’s road to growth.

Note to Trainer: Instructor participants to read NAEYC’s position paper and consider ways their child care environment support the concepts found in the excerpt.

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Key Point: It is important to value the ages and abilities of children in order to make appropriate choices in planning your early childhood classroom.

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Key Point: Developing and utilizing high-quality materials and research gives us an understanding of the children in our care, and of the stimulating and responsible curriculum they need to help them reach their maximum potential.

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Since “Developmentally Appropriate Practice” is a mouthful to say every time, child care professionals often refer to it as “DAP” when talking to other colleagues.

We use Developmentally Appropriate Practice when planning for children because it:

• Helps children maintain a high level of attention

• Assures learning while participating in age-appropriate activities

• Encourages participation without causing feelings of frustration

• Allows for individual developmental growth

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Child care professionals who use Developmentally Appropriate Practice make decisions about the education and the well-being of children based on three important sources:

• What you know about how children develop and learn

• What you know about the strengths, needs, and interests of individual children

• What you know about the social and cultural contexts in which the children live

Note that DAP is often referred to as “Ages and Stages.”

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Developmentally Appropriate Practice is age appropriate.

• In Module 4, you learned about how children in the age ranges of birth to 12 develop and learn.

• With this information in mind, you can develop activities, routines and strategies that meet the needs of children in the age ranges you serve.

• DAP should be interesting, safe and achievable while still being challenging for children to accomplish.

• The DAP are valuable general guidelines to support the learning of children.

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Developmentally Appropriate Practice is individually appropriate.

• Since children do not always develop at the same rate, it is important for child care professionals to carefully observe the children to determine if they are simply lagging behind and will probably catch up, or if they have more serious issues that require intervention and accommodations.

• In addition, a child’s background, past experiences, talents, and interests all affect which activities match a certain child.

• If a child has had little or no experience in a certain area, he/she will not perform as well as a child who has had lots of experience in that same area.

• For example, a child who has never seen snow will not know how to play snow games or completely understand stories about children in snow.

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Developmentally Appropriate Practice is socially and culturally appropriate.

• The richness of a diverse classroom offers many opportunities for children to share their heritage with others while requiring you to be alert to culturally sensitive areas and taboos, which may affect children’s interactions with adults or their peers.

• For example, some children of Asian descent are taught that looking an adult in the eyes is rude.

• Activities should relate to children’s past experiences so that strategies and content build on what is familiar to children and their families.

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Key Point: Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is defined as curriculum and environments that are age, individually, socially, and culturally appropriate.

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Key Point: DAP is valuable as a general guideline to support children’s learning.

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Active learning: Children learn during the activity by doing.

Meaningful experiences: Children have a fun and memorable time during an activity to which they can relate on a developmental level. The experience relates to their developmental level, cultural background, and individual interest. For example, a toddler activity on pets would have more meaning than one on endangered species. Using water for cooking, cleaning, and playing has more meaning than doing a lesson on “Great Waterways of the World.” Likewise, the topics on endangered species and waterways of the world are more appropriate for older children.

Nurturing relationships: The child builds a positive relationship with his/her peers and classmates during the activity. It is also okay for children to work by themselves.

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According to K. Paciorek and J.H. Munro (1998) in their book, Notable Selections in Early Childhood Education, action in the learning environment is a sign of good teaching practices:

“Good practice is children in action: children busy constructing, creating with multi-media, enjoying books, exploring, experimenting, inventing, finding out, creating and composing throughout the day. Good practice is teachers in action: teachers busy holding conversations, guiding activities, questioning children, challenging children’s thinking, observing, drawing conclusions, and planning and monitoring activities throughout the day.”

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Materials: None

As a child care professional it is important to plan developmentally appropriate activities. Select the age group that appropriately matches the activity.

1. Writing and acting out a simple play

2. Listening to a guest speaker

3. Completing 500-piece puzzles

4. Listening to a story

5. Pasting shapes or stickers

6. Visiting a vegetable garden

7. Pouring water or sand from one container to another

8. Playing with play dough

9. Practicing writing the ABC’s

10. Matching objects and pictures

11. Using the Internet for research (with supervision)

12. Identifying letters and sounds

13. Learning songs for parents’ night

14. Pointing to five body parts

15. Doing homework without continual supervision

16. Building a diorama

17. Matching ten inventors with their inventions

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Developmentally Appropriate Practice can be modified for children who have developmental delays or special needs:

Many times, their specific needs or delays will not impair their ability to participate in group activities.

Simple accommodations are often possible.

It is not acceptable to initiate activities that isolate a child with special needs.

Children with special needs require an added level of consideration because they:

• May be at a different developmental level than most children in their age group.

• May have one or more developmental challenges that restrict their participation in group activities.

• Require more focus on a specific developmental aspect.

• May feel an added level of frustration with some activities.

Key Point: Developmentally Appropriate Practice can, and should, be used to meet the needs of all children.

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Children with special needs want to be able to learn in ways that are similar to children without special needs. While some children with special needs will not be able to participate fully in all play activities, they should be encouraged to participate whenever safe and practical. Modifications to activities should be made to allow children with special needs to participate in group activities.

Children with special needs are capable of utilizing learning centers, but sometimes modifications need to be made to assist them. The participant’s guide includes suggestions to assist in adapting learning centers for children with special needs.

Children with Motor Impairments:

• Locate centers in areas easily accessible to children in wheelchairs or with braces.

• Provide sufficient space for children who have difficulty moving around.

• Provide nonskid pads on the shelves to prevent materials from falling off.

• Use containers that can be easily grasped, such as a cup with two handles.

Children with Visual Impairments:

• Locate learning centers in areas with good lighting.

• Provide tactile cues for the activity.

• Set up activities in a systematic way with tactile dividers separating activities on the shelves.

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Children with Cognitive Impairments:

• Provide simple activities.

• Organize materials in easy-to-follow steps.

• Carefully demonstrate the use of materials before placing them on the shelves.

• Reinforce a concept being taught by providing many follow-up activities.

Children with Behavior Challenges:

• Provide specific, structured steps for the activity.

• Control the number of children at the center at a given time.

• Provide activities that will bring about a soothing effect; for example, water activities.

• Clearly explain the activity and use of materials, but avoid too much talking.

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Key Point: Modifications to activities should be made to allow children with special needs to participate in group activities and learning centers.

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Materials: None

Think about how you might address the special needs of each of the following four-year-old children while you are teaching them to complete a twenty-piece puzzle.

A child who is physically challenged

• Ensure puzzle pieces have knobs.

• Pair with another student; point out details on the box-top picture.

A child who is socially challenged

• Ensure this activity is available often and that ground rules are established.

• Explain the activity clearly; ask them to report success every time they put five pieces together.

A child who is shy or emotionally challenged

• Have children work in pairs or small groups.

• Pair with another student; ask each to be complimentary of the other person’s work.

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A child who is gifted

• Provide enrichment activities that build from the puzzle’s subject.

• Use a more complicated puzzle; ask the child to work with another child.

A child who is mentally challenged

• Combine pieces to reduce the total number of puzzle pieces.

• Use a less complex puzzle; pair with another student; ask them to report success every time they put five pieces together; point out details on the box-top picture and match a couple of puzzle pieces to the picture.

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Using Developmentally Appropriate Practice contributes to meeting the needs of a culturally diverse classroom. Culture is the impact that a person’s immediate society has on how a person perceives and reacts to the world. Florida has people from many diverse cultural groups, so it is important to consider the impact of a child’s cultural background when involving them in an activity.

The cultural differences that children bring to a child care setting are important because they bring a different perspective of the world in which we live. Cultural differences are significant because they define the identity of the child. It is the responsibility of child care professionals to:

• Be aware of and respect each family’s/child’s cultural practices

• Provide opportunities for children to learn about their own culture and each other’s cultures through stories, songs, poems, pictures, and visitors to the classroom; and toys, materials, props for dramatic play

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Developmentally appropriate activities should be considered with the child’s or group’s cultural differences in mind. This can be done by designing activities that:

• Embrace ideas from many different cultures

• Allow for children to explore their cultural heritage

• Avoid stereotypes

• Include examples that span all cultures, and are not too focused on any one culture

Remember that cultural differences generally include language, clothing, food, and religion.

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When considering how to work with children, it is important to:

• Become aware of the needs of a child that require accommodations – becoming well informed about modifications or additions you may need to make in activities will ensure the child’s inclusion with other children

• Accept the differences, rather than trying to change the child. You, and the other children, should show a willingness to treat the child as an equal member of the group

• As the children work side by side, they will warm your heart as they express their appreciation of their friend who is different from them

Key Point: When working with children with special needs—or children from different cultures—it is important to be aware of, and accept and appreciate, the differences.

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People learn fastest by doing. The level at which a child is involved in play can vary from watching and listening to actively participating. The more involved a child is in a learning experience, the faster the child will learn.

When have you observed children rapidly learning a skill or idea through play?

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• Play contributes positively to child development.

• Learning in the Physical Development, Cognitive Development and General Knowledge, Language and Communication, Approaches to Learning, and Social and Emotional Development Domains is supported by play.

• Early learning relies on play experiences in which children have many opportunities to make their own choices and decisions, initiate interactions, assume responsibilities, care about the needs of others, and be challenged by tasks that prompt them to stretch.

• Developmental progress does not occur during repetitive, mindless activities.

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Ways that the domains are supported by play:

• Physical Development: developing healthy bodies with well-controlled functions; and gross and fine motor development with toys and tools of learning

• Cognitive Development and General Knowledge: inquiring, experimenting, exploring, practicing, identifying patterns, and representing ideas through art and taking on pretend roles

• Language and Communication: listening, speaking, reading, and writing

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Ways that the domains are supported by play (continued):

• Approaches to Learning: eagerness, curiosity, persistence, creativity, and inventiveness

• Social and Emotional Development: self-confidence, self-control, interaction with others, and social problem solving

Purposeful planning for play involves knowing the early childhood learning outcomes that are essential for effective lifelong learning and success in everyday living. These learning outcomes guide your planning for play that is meaningful and supports learning and growth. There are seven types of early childhood play experiences outlined in the participant’s guide.

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Note to Trainer: Provide a brief overview of the types of play and instruct participants to read the information about different types of play in its entirety on their own.

Musical Play

• Musical play includes activities such as dancing, singing and playing simple instruments.

• Music includes all areas of child development: Physical Development, Cognitive Development and General Knowledge, Language and Communication, Approaches to Learning, and Social and Emotional Development.

• Music communicates emotion and seems to come naturally to young children.

• As children age, they generally become interested in the music listened to by their peer group.

• You can help them explore various types of music and the music of various cultures.

Constructive Play

• Constructive play includes activities such as building with interlocking blocks or toy logs, and using tools.

• Children enjoy using all sorts of manipulatives.

• Manipulatives enhance fine motor development by requiring the controlled use of hand and finger muscles; they also help develop important eye-hand coordination.

• As children experiment with building, they learn about important concepts such as gravity, stability, and patterning.

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Artistic Play

• Artistic play includes activities such as sculpting, painting, cutting, sewing, and drawing.

• There are two camps of thought about how to provide art experiences.

• For some, art consists of planning seasonally-directed activities such as ironing leaves between sheets of waxed paper, making tissue ghosts, and creating turkeys by drawing around a child’s hand.

• For others, art experiences consist of putting out art materials and letting children explore and create without adult direction or interference.

• Art educators have long argued against the practice of giving young children art projects that are limited to look-alike products.

• They argue that these activities do nothing to improve children’s abilities to engage in imaginative thinking, pose and solve problems, develop meaningful art skills, or express ideas in visual ways.

• Learning to draw is sometimes compared to learning to talk. Scribbling parallels babbling; single discrete forms, such as circles, become the equivalent of first words; and recognizable pictures are like sentences and paragraphs.

Cognitive Play

• Cognitive play includes activities such as solving puzzles, counting, classifying, and sorting.

• When children do these types of activities they learn to notice details, likenesses, and differences; and to form categories.

• They learn concepts, such as color, size, shape, and number.

• They develop logical reasoning skills.

Exploratory Play

• Exploratory play includes activities such as playing with sand/water, planting plants, and caring for pets.

• Sand and water tables provide an environment for children to explore.

• Items, such as egg cartons, measuring cups and spoons, feathers, and shells added to sand tables; and egg beaters, aquarium rocks, strainers and squeeze bottles added to water tables provide children with tactile experiences.

• Children can be taught the concepts of humane treatment of living things, as well as responsibility, as they learn to feed the classroom pets and water the plants.

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Dramatic Play

• Dramatic play includes activities where children pretend; for example, “I’m the mommy, you be the baby.” “Let’s play school.” and “Let’s pretend that...”

• All of these fantasies are real in the minds of children who are engaged in dramatic play.

• Carefree, creative dramatic play promotes cognitive development and helps children learn how to share, communicate, and cooperate with each other.

• Through role playing, children also learn how to develop empathy for others.

Language Play

• Language play includes reading and writing.

• Theorist Lev Vygotsky proposed that the development of symbolic thinking, oral language, and literate behavior occur together; and that the development of written language is related to oral language.

• Vygotsky suggested that children be provided with writing experiences that are relevant and meaningful to their lives.

• Writing should be taught naturally in ongoing social interactions in the course of children’s play.

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Key Point: Play contributes positively to child development in all of the learning domains.

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Learning centers are designated areas in a child care program that are devoted to a particular domain of play. “Learning center” is only one name for these spaces. They may be called activity areas, stations, or play areas. Learning centers should support all of the learning domains. The number and kinds of learning centers you have depends on your program goals, the number of children, and the space available. Some learning centers may be permanent, while others are set up temporarily.

There are a number of reasons why learning centers are of value to children. Learning centers help by:

• Providing structure for children by delineating where certain activities must take place

• Varying the activities in which children can participate

• Allowing children to make choices about how they would enjoy spending their time

• Encouraging experimentation and exploration, and stimulating the imagination

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Learning centers support a child’s development because children learn to...

• Construct their own knowledge by exploring their environment

• Learn to make and follow through on choices based on their own developmental needs and interests

• Use language in meaningful context

• Play and learn at their own developmental level

• Play alone or in small groups

• Interpret experiences through the filter of their own culture and environment

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What is the caregiver’s role in using learning centers?

• Plan and prepare the environment.

• Set up appropriate areas with safe, open-ended and stimulating toys and materials.

• Manage the flow and activities.

• Guide children to make choices and follow through on them.

• Support and extend children’s play.

• Supervise, observe, be available to children, and become involved.

• Make accommodations for children with special needs.

Learning centers may include areas that focus on topics such as dramatic play, cooking, outdoors, art/creative expression, sand/water, quiet/working alone, wood working, manipulative or table toys, music and movement, library/books/language, discovery/science, computers, or blocks.

Learning centers can also be identified by the type of play that can occur in that center. For example, exploratory play could be labeled the “Look and See Center;” the language play area could be called the “Reading and Writing Center;” and the constructive play area might be called the “Let’s Build It Center.” Learning centers should not be stagnant. Materials should be rotated periodically. Learning centers may be combined so activities can flow through multiple areas.

For more information about creating developmentally appropriate learning centers in your child care environment, take the Department of Children and Families’ course Understanding Developmentally Appropriate Practices.

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Key Point: Learning centers are designated areas in a child care program that are devoted to groups of activities related to a type of play experience, which support a variety of learning domains.

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As a child care professional, you use the developmental domain charts to plan learning opportunities and activities for the children in your care.

Many child care professionals use this lesson chart format—or one similar to it—when planning lessons, to ensure that:

• All domains are reflected in the children’s activities each day

• There are a variety of activities and materials in use

• You can keep track of what materials and activities have been used with a specific age group

• Your notated charts (what worked, what did not) are used as the basis for making improvements in next year’s planning

• Reading activities must be implemented every day

• You vary activities to include: whole group, small group, and individual

Thanks to Lois Astern, a certified DCF Child Care Training Professional who provided her planning charts from which we have adapted the following material. In these examples, only random squares have been completed so you can practice planning.

Key Point: Child care professionals need to plan a variety of activities and materials for each day by using a planning tool to ensure that learning is central to the activities experienced by the children.

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In summary, child care professionals know that little is learned in isolation. Learning activities can emphasize several or all of the domains at one time.

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Materials: None

Mrs. Clark gathered the children for morning circle and had them sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm, a song all the children know. She explains that it is a song that has been around for a long time. Even their parents probably learned that song when they were younger. She asks them:

• What do farmers do?

• Are there women who are farmers? How do you know?

• Have you ever been to a farm?

• What did you see?

What learning activities can Mrs. Clark do to emphasize each of the five domains using the song as a beginning point for the activities?

Sample Answers:

• Physical Development – Turn the song into a marching song with sound effects; or give the children wooden farm puzzles to complete.

• Social and Emotional Development – Ask the children to pretend to be farmers and to name the new lamb and calf just born on their farm.

• Approaches to Learning Pass around zip top sandwich bags filled with animal food. Ask the

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children (in small groups) to guess what farm animal eats each food.

• Language and Communication – Identify the names of the animals, other farm equipment, etc. that are in the farm picture book and the wooden farm puzzle.

• Cognitive Development and General Knowledge – Provide rye seeds for the children to plant in a cup garden.

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Materials: Flipchart and Markers OR Sticky Notes

Have the participants review what they wrote at the beginning of the course.

Ensure students leave with answers to their questions or resources of where to find answers.

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Module 6 Summary

Here is a summary of key points for Module 6: Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

• It is important to value the ages and abilities of children in order to make appropriate choices in planning your early childhood classroom.

• Developing and utilizing high-quality materials and research gives us an understanding of the children in our care, and of the stimulating and responsible curriculum they need to help them reach their maximum potential.

• Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is defined as curriculum and environments that are age, individually, socially, and culturally appropriate.

• DAP is valuable as a general guideline to support children’s learning.

• Developmentally Appropriate Practice can, and should, be used to meet the needs of all children.

• Modifications to activities should be made to allow children with special needs to participate in group activities and learning centers.

• When working with children with special needs—or children from different cultures—it is important to be aware of, and accept and appreciate, the differences.

• Play contributes positively to child development in all of the learning domains.

• Learning centers are designated areas in a child care program that are devoted to groups of activities related to a type of play experience, which support a variety of learning domains.

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• Child care professionals need to plan a variety of activities and materials for each day by using a planning tool to ensure that learning is central to the activities experienced by the children.

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed Module 6: Developmentally Appropriate Practice.


• Define Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

• Identify components of developmentally appropriate learning environments

• Plan developmentally appropriate learning experiences

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This information is an sample developmental domains chart. For a complete version of the Florida Early Learning Standards, http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/parents/parent_resources/floridas_early_learning_and_development_standards_birth_to_five.aspx More information about the development of school-aged children can be found in Developmental Profiles: Pre-birth through Eight by K. Eileen Allen and Lynn R. Marotz, Ph.D., Delmar Publishers, www.delmar.com

1

Physical Development Domain

Characteristic Birth to 8 months 8 to 18 months 18 to 24 months 24 to 36 months Shows characteristics of appropriate health and development

• Sitting with support • Rolling over back to front • Teething

• Sitting, crawling and walking independently

• Developing regular sleep habits

• Showing interest in people and objects in their environment

• Developing independence as they move around in a safe environment

• Interacting with other children and adults

• Walking, running and climbing stairs one step at a time

• Using words to get help if they need it • Developing self-care skills • Showing the ability to follow simple commands

Shows characteristics of nutritional health

• Breastfeeding, if appropriate • Taking adequate nutrition • Beginning to be introduced to a

variety of solid foods

• Eating adequate meal on a fairly regular schedule

• Consuming a variety of healthy foods from all food groups

• Feeding themselves finger foods that they enjoy

• Looking forward to meal time and seeming to enjoy their food

• Consuming a variety of healthy foods from all food groups

• Feeding themselves, first with hands and then using a spoon

• Consuming healthy beverages such as water, 100% juice and milk

• Eating adequate amounts of food from all food groups

• Participating with encouragement in fixing their own snacks

Demonstrates visual abilities to facilitate healthy growth and development

• Tracking a moving object • Following a human face with

their eyes • Gradually coordinating their

eye movements to what is in their field of vision

• Tracking a moving object • Seeing and pointing at things

that attract their attention • Grasping small objects with

thumb and forefinger

• Continuing to develop more precise eye-hand coordination

• Working at turning the key on a wind-up toy

• Beginning to name primary colors

• Continuing to develop eye-hand coordination • Having a comprehensive vision examination • Seeing and discriminating colors

Exhibits auditory abilities to facilitate healthy growth and development

• Responding to sound by blinking, startling, crying or changing breathing

• Becoming calm when hearing familiar voices

• Beginning to imitate sounds

• Responding appropriately to sound stimuli

• Participating in listening and vocalizing activities

• Beginning to imitate words and word sounds

• Recognizing the names of familiar objects and people

• Beginning to use language, such as two-word phrases, to communicate

• Hearing and responding to instructions

• Expanding understandable vocabulary • Using language to communicate with parents,

caregivers, teachers and peers • Hearing and responding to instructions

Shows characteristics of oral health

• Limited to using a bottle at mealtimes

• Beginning teething with appropriate teething toys

• Starting to drink from a cup

• Exhibiting normal eruption of teeth

• Learning to enjoy healthy snacks and drinking water

• Having a dental exam once teeth erupt

• Exhibiting continued normal eruption of teeth

• Cooperating with daily cleaning of teeth

• Having a comprehensive dental exam

• Eliminating the use of a pacifier • Beginning to independently brush their teeth

with some supervision • Having a comprehensive dental exam


2

Physical Development Domain Characteristic Birth to 8 months 8 to 18 months 18 to 24 months 24 to 36 months

Shows basic physical needs are met

• Being alert during wake periods

• Receiving care that leads to good hygiene and overall appearance

• Using vocalizations, gestures or words to indicate basic needs

• Ensuring that blood is checked for lead regularly

• Demonstrating an interest in actively exploring the environment

• Having calm and rested periods or naptimes

• Having inside and outside environments to play in that are safe and contain equipment that enhances motor development

• Having calm and settled rest periods or naptimes

Engages in adult-child interaction

• Responding to comforting techniques by quieting, attending or smiling

• Vocalizing in response to words or sounds from caregivers

• Turning to parents, caregivers and teachers for comfort when stressed

• Responding to comforting techniques by quieting, attending or smiling

• Vocalizing in response to words or sounds from caregivers

• Pointing and vocalizing as their parents, caregivers and teachers read a book to them

• Responding to comforting techniques by quieting, smiling or vocalizing

• Vocalizing using two-word sentences in response to others

• Responding when their names are called

• Responding to comforting techniques by quieting, smiling or vocalizing

• Engaging in simple conversations • Taking the suggestions of parents, caregivers

or teachers

Participates in basic health and safety routines

• Anticipating feeding cues by kicking feet or turning head

• Relaxing during bathing routines

• Anticipating sleeping routines by relaxing when rocked

• Anticipating meal times by pointing and reaching

• Cooperating with washing hands and brushing teeth

• Participating in getting ready for bed and sleeping routines

• Helping set the table and feeding themselves

• Participating in bathing routines, such as using the wash cloth to clean some body parts themselves and washing and drying their hands with some supervision

• Participating in sleeping routines such as getting a book to be read

• Feeding themselves without help • Participating in bathing routines such as

helping to dry themselves • Participating in sleeping routines such as

getting and arranging the bedtime comfort items

Gross Motor Development

• Turning their head from side to side

• Pushing their chest and head off the floor

• Sitting with support • Rocking back and forth on

hands and knees and beginning to crawl

• Standing up while holding on to a chair or toy

• Climbing up and down stairs with one hand held

• Sitting in a chair without support

• Crawling on hands and knees, then walking

• Walking unaided • Running, although with

difficulty stopping and turning • Standing and walking on

tiptoes • Throwing a ball overhand

without falling down

• Jumping in place and off of low objects, such as a step

• Stopping and turning while running • Riding a tricycle using pedals • Walking up and down stairs independently


3

Physical Development Domain Characteristic Birth to 8 months 8 to 18 months 18 to 24 months 24 to 36 months

Fine Motor Development

• Holding fingers in tight fists • Reaching for and grasping

objects such as rattles, soft toys and blocks

• Playing with their fingers and putting their hands in their mouths

• Using two objects together, such as moving a spoon in a cup

• Using pincer grasp to pick up a block with thumb and forefinger

• Using hands in opposition, such as holding a toy telephone in one hand while using the other to dial the numbers

• Stacking five to six blocks • String large beads on a string • Lining up four cubes to make a

train

• Pouring water or materials from container to container

• Using one hand to turn the pages of a book • Building a tower of 10 blocks

Development of self-help skills

• Coordinating sucking, swallowing, and breathing when feeding

• Turning their head toward the bottle or breast

• Holding their bottles • Drinking from a cup with help • Moving pureed food to the

back of the mouth to swallow

• Feeding themselves finger foods

• Cooperating with dressing by poking their arms into the sleeves and undressing by pulling off a sock

• Beginning to use a spoon and cup for feeding

• Vocalizing and gesturing to indicate wants

• Providing assistance in picking up toys

• Taking off an open shirt or coat without help

• Helping with dressing • Eating with a spoon

independently • Unzipping zippers • Following two-step directions

• Helping to prepare simple foods • Washing and drying their hands • Feeding themselves without help • Helping with toileting by pulling pants up and

down • Brushing teeth with some supervision


4

Physical Development Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Shows characteristics of good health and active participation in daily events to facilitate learning

• Developing ability to coordinate eye-hand movements

• Large motor skills such as jumping, galloping, running

• Physical stature within the typical range

• Ability to coordinate eye-hand movements

• Large motor skills such as jumping, hopping, running


• Ability to coordinate eye-hand movements

• Large motor skills such as jumping, hopping, running


• Developing eye-hand coordination

• Large motor skills such as bike riding, leaping, balancing


Demonstrates visual ability to facilitate learning

• Using both eyes in coordination • Holding materials at appropriate

distance • Moving eyes rather than head to

track • Visual focusing without squinting

or strain


distance • Moving eyes rather than head to

track • Visual focusing without squinting

or strain


distance • Moving eyes rather than head

to track • Visual focusing without

squinting or strain

• Using both eyes in coordination • Can read print in most books • Can read and transcribe

information from classroom blackboards

• Visual focusing without squinting or strain

Exhibits auditory ability to facilitate learning

• Participating in listening activities • Orienting to a speaker when

addressed by name • Producing speech that is

generally understandable

• Participating in listening activities • Orienting to a speaker when

addressed by name • Producing speech that is

understandable

• Participating in listening activities

• Orienting to a speaker when addressed by name

• Producing speech that is understandable

• Comprehending verbal instructions and information

• Producing speech that is easily understood

Can perform oral hygiene routines

• Recognizing and knowing how to use a toothbrush

• Performing brushing procedures • Beginning to understand the

relationship of nutrition to dental health

• Performing flossing procedures with assistance

• Performing brushing procedures • Showing a developing

understanding of the relationship of nutrition to dental health

• Performing flossing procedures • Performing brushing procedures • Understanding relationship of

nutrition to dental health

• Performing brushing and flossing procedures

• Understanding relationship of nutrition to dental health

• Baby teeth continue to be replaced with permanent teeth

• Cooperating with orthodontic or specialized treatment plans

Shows familiarity with the role of a primary health care provider

• In a play setting, appropriately using tools a doctor or nurse might use

• Recognizing common medical procedures

• Naming most of the body parts a medical provider would check

• Knowing roles of a variety of health care professionals


• Naming most of the body parts a medical provider would check



• Naming the body parts the medical professional will inspect



• Communicating needs and questions to medical professionals


5


Shows that basic physical needs are met

• Staying awake except during naptime

• Wearing clothing appropriate to the weather

• Having an overall clean appearance

• Exhibiting energy typical of the age









• Being alert and awake during the day




Shows awareness and interest in basic health and safety rules

• Washing hands before snack after being reminded

• Knowing some common safety rules

• Avoiding dangers such as hot stoves and sharp knives

• Trying different foods that are introduced by the teacher as nutritious

• Acting out fire safety procedures • Covering mouths when

coughing

• Naming healthy foods and snacks

• Wearing sunscreen • Knowing to call 911 in an

emergency • Knowing not to go to strangers • Understanding difference

between “good touch and bad touch”

• Selecting healthy foods and snacks with guidance

• Making choices to prevent injuries

• Wearing helmets and protective sports gear

• Protecting others from potential dangers in the environment

Performs self-care tasks • Putting on some of their own outside clothing

• Attaching Velcro closures • Pulling up their pants after using

the toilet

• Using the toilet independently • Mastering zippers, buttons and

some buckles • Using tissues to wipe their

noses

• Cleaning up art projects or other messy activities with relative skill

• Keeping track of the personal belongings

• Spreading peanut butter and doing other simple tasks with food

• Bathing independently or with some guidance

• Assuming responsibility for personal care, including dressing and hygiene most of the time

• Can prepare snacks or small meals

Shows gross motor development by moving with balance and control

• Starting, turning and stopping when running without crashing into things

• Jumping like a frog • Using alternate feet when going

up stairs, though coming down may still be one step at a time

• Maintains balance on balance beam that is close to the ground and can walk on narrow paths

• Developing mastery of running skills

• Goes up and down stairs with alternate feet

• Starting and stopping movements in response to a signal

• Maintaining balance while bending, twisting or stretching

• Can walk up or down stairs while holding an object

• Balancing on high balance beam

• Aiming and controlling balls and other thrown objects

• Avoiding obstacles while running and jumping


6


Coordinates movements • Catching a large ball with two hands

• Kicking a stationary ball • Pedaling and steering a tricycle

• Can throw and catch balls • Kicks a large ball with a two-

step start • Using the slide, seesaw and

swings

• Bouncing a ball and catching it • Sweeping with a broom and

using a dustpan • Skipping smoothly with

alternating feet • Building complex structures with

hollow and unit blocks

• Catching a ball • Swinging a bat • Kicking a moving ball • Swimming

Shows fine motor development by using strength and control to perform tasks

• Pushing marker caps off and on • Putting small snapping blocks

together and taking them apart • Experimenting with the use of

scissors

• Pushing cookie cutters into dough or use a paper hole punch

• Using clothespins to hang paintings

• Removing a piece of tape from a dispenser

• Using a stapler • Removing and replacing lids

from containers • Hammering two pieces of wood

together

• Tying knots • Using scissors with increasing

precision • Using a knife and fork

Uses eye-hand coordination to perform simple tasks

• Turning puzzle pieces several ways to find the right fit

• Building a tall tower, 8 to 10 blocks high

• Making patterns in the sand with their fingers

• Zipping jackets • Cutting along a line • Stringing beads or pasta onto

string

• Puts together 18- to 25-piece puzzles

• Building specific block structures from a model

• Cutting fabric into shapes

• Copies information from blackboard with increasing speed and accuracy

• Builds complicated snapping block structures or models

Uses various drawing and art tools

• Using crayons, markers, finger paints and chalk

• Experimenting with sponges, brushes, Q-tips and other tools for painting lines and shapes

• Sprinkling glitter and pasting shapes on top of each other

• Can hold a pencil in a pincer grasp

• Using glue stick, chalk and paints at an easel

• Drawing with markers and describes what has been drawn

• Using tools with some sense of control

• Writing first name legibly • Forming letters, symbols and

repeating patterns

• Write legibly • Increases steadiness and

accuracy with tools • Experimenting with

unconventional tools and art materials to vary and control lines and patterns


7

Social and Emotional Development Domain Characteristic Birth to 8 Months 8 to 18 Months 18 to 24 Months 24 to 36 Months

Forms and maintains secure relationships with others

• Exhibiting mutual eye gazes during routine caregiving activities

• Listens attentively, observing facial expressions and then responding by cooing, crying, smiling or reaching out

• Demonstrating a strong preference for parents, caregivers and teachers

• Engaging in interactive games • Becoming distressed in the

presence of unfamiliar adults • Showing affection, such as

hugs and kisses

• Showing empathy for others who are familiar to them

• Continuing parallel play • Exhibiting emerging social play

such as seeking out help with feeding a doll or covering it with a blanket

• Seeking support to address conflicts with peers • Taking on the role of an adult figure in pretend

play • Starting to imitate adult social behaviors such

as using words like “please” and “thank you”

Responds to the environment

• Responding to touch when their back is rubbed

• Responding to sound by cooing when songs are sung

• Reaching for and grasping objects

• Knowing and accepting their blanket when handed to them

• Becoming familiar with their surroundings and enacting familiar routines such as splashing water when placed in their bath tubs

• Enjoying new sand toys in the sand box

• Becoming increasingly able to move around their environment

• Using adults as tools, such as asking to be picked up to reach a toy on a shelf

• Beginning to use a book appropriately

• Trying out new games and toys • Using play materials in the intended way, such

as stacking blocks instead of throwing them, or keeping water in the water table

• Becoming more comfortable when entering new environments

Develops emotional self-regulation

• Crying when hungry, uncomfortable, or unhappy

• Kicking their legs in excitement and settling when they see parents, caregivers and teachers

• Breaking eye-contact, frowning and/or arching their back when over-stimulated

• Continuing to use a comfort item when feeling stressed

• Showing signs of jealousy and attempts to adapt

• Looking for help when becoming upset

• Using emotional expressions to obtain desired objects

• Seeking and responding to comfort when frightened or upset

• Beginning to recognize that others smile when happy and look unhappy when they cry

• Using words or crying to get someone’s attention

• Engaging in reassuring self-talk or changing goals when frustrated or frightened

• Beginning to use emotionally charged words to get their needs met as opposed to simply acting out their needs

Develops behavioral regulation

• Stopping crying when picked up

• Quieting when swaddled in a comfortable blanket

• Returning to sleep once awakened by a sound or movement

• Using transitional objects to calm themselves when tired

• Looking for reassurance or guidance

• Demonstrating the ability to be comforted when frightened

• Stopping and looking when their name is called

• Following two-step directions • Beginning to end tantrums with

some redirection

• Continuing to develop social play • Waiting a turn • Listening to and following the rules in small

group activities


8

Social and Emotional Development Domain Characteristic Birth to 8 Months 8 to 18 Months 18 to 24 Months 24 to 36 Months

Develops social problem-solving

• Smiling at others • Babbling or cooing and

pausing to wait for a response • Gaining the attention of peers

through vocalization, reaching out and smiling

• Vocalizing and pointing to get attention

• Moving near parents, caregivers and teachers when a stranger enters the room

• Screaming “no!” and getting the attention of an adult when another child takes their toy

• Calling for help when in a conflict with another child

• Moving around another child who is in their way as they climb the slide

• Saying “mine” to a child who takes their toy

• Telling another child, “no, stop!” when their toy is taken

• Putting away toys when asked • Sharing occasionally

Forms and maintains mutual relationships with others

• Reaching for and preferring to be held by parents, caregivers and teachers

• Imitating and terminating a social smile

• Trying to imitate kisses

• Showing preference for caretaking when hurt or needing comfort

• Touching and imitating another child sitting nearby

• Recognizing the name of a friend

• Crying when their parents leave them but settling in with the help of caregivers and teachers

• Hiding behind familiar adults when a new person talks to them

• Looking across the room periodically when playing with peers

• Initiating play with a familiar peer • Looking for an older sibling when several

children are playing with them in their yard • Enjoying an activity with a friend

Demonstrates sense of competence and confidence in growing abilities

• Recognizing that parents, caregivers and teachers respond to their cues

• Moving toward and getting a favorite toy

• Kicking a mobile to make it move over and over again

• Smiling and clapping hands when they successfully climb up the stairs

• Playing with a preferred toy • Initiating simple games and

choosing things to explore

• Continuing to dance when applauded

• “Drawing” or scribbling with a crayon and showing off their work

• Using words to get their needs met

• Climbing higher and higher on playground structures even when they have been asked to stop

• Wanting to dress themselves • Showing increased interest in toileting

Becomes aware of oneself as a unique individual while still connected to others

• Noticing and exploring their own hands

• Beginning to look and smile at themselves in the mirror

• Covering their eyes to encourage a game of peek-a-boo

• Paying attention to their reflection in the mirror

• Turning their head and pushing away food when they are not hungry

• Holding onto a favorite toy as another child approaches and looking toward their parent, caregiver or teacher

• Showing particular interest in a special book or music tape

• Using “I,” “mine,” and “me” often

• Pointing to and naming several of their own body parts

• Pointing to themselves in a photograph • Noticing that another child has brown hair like

they do • Referring to themselves with characteristics

such as “strong” or “smart”


9

Social and Emotional Development Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Demonstrates self confidence

• Joining other children in play, often in parallel play

• Responding to greetings from teachers or caregivers

• Choosing individual activities, such as doing puzzles or painting

• Showing excitement about going on a field trip

• Entering dramatic play area and choosing a role that fits the play of others

• Becoming a part of playground games

• Expressing delight over their creations

• Entering small groups confident that they will be accepted after a short time

• Providing simple explanations about their disabilities to other children

• Less dependent on parents, though still needing closeness and nurturing

• Enjoying making decisions and making plans with friends

• Eagerly participating in team activities, such as sports and games

Shows some self direction

• Engaging eagerly in solitary or parallel play

• Choosing specific materials for pasting from the collage collection

• Selecting one book from several choices

• Finding materials for a project • Trying a new activity • Playing with different children

rather than the same friend every day

• Eagerly selecting new activities • Assuming classroom chores

without being asked • Originating projects and working

on them independently

• Selecting activities for self and remaining engaged for longer periods of time

• Strong preferences and dislikes becoming prevalent

• Seeking ways to challenge self Shows self-control • Follows simple classroom rules

and routines with guidance • Picking up cups and napkins and

putting them in the wastebasket after snack

• Standing in line waiting a turn for the slide

• Cleaning their area after snack with a few reminders

• Holding hands when crossing the street

• Removing a finished painting from the easel and hanging it to dry

• Remembering to wash hands before cooking

• Waiting for a computer to be free • Recognizing that since it is almost

time for snack, there is only enough time to build a small block structure

• Able to plan ahead, such as saving a cookie to take with on a field trip

• Having the ability to plan time and activities in the future

• Forming moral and ethical opinions about what is “right” and “wrong”

Begins to use classroom materials carefully

• Taking care of books • Using markers on paper, rather

than on other surfaces • Treating classroom pets gently and

with care

• Helping to clean up by sweeping around the sand table

• Putting blocks away • Handling objects on the

Discovery Table carefully

• Using classroom materials purposefully and respectfully

• Using objects with intention, without breaking or destroying them

• Asking for tape to repair a torn book

• Conserving and recycling classroom materials

• Interested in using more sophisticated equipment with purpose and respect

Manages transitions • Separating from a parent with growing ease

• Moving from one activity to another with few reminders

• Saying good-bye to the teacher

• Using a routine for good-byes • Moving from play to clean-up with

ease and purposefulness • Helping the teacher give

transition signals

• Adapting to changes in routine • Going from home to school without

anxiety • Going to music class and

remembering that teacher’s rules

• Excited by changes in routine • Able to maintain increasingly

flexible day with class changes


10

Social and Emotional Development Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Interacts with other children and familiar adults

• Interacts with one or more children • Playing side-by-side with other

children • Asking caregivers or teachers if

they can help • Telling others about events at

home or describing their clothing

• Interacting easily with one or more children

• Working cooperatively with other children

• Asking for attention with reasonable actions

• Listening to and talking with adults

• Giving assistance to peers who are trying to solve a problem

• Politely asking for things and saying “thank you”

• Relating events and anecdotes to the teacher with ease

• Pleased with attention from adults, enjoys compliments and assistance

• Interacting easily one-on-one or with groups

• Can work as group leader and as team member

Participates in the group life of the class

• Participating in small group projects for 5 to 10 minutes

• Playing group games • Participating in snack time with

peers

• Readily joining circle times • Recognizing that a classmate is

absent and asking the teacher about her

• Following classroom rules

• Being part of the audience as well as an active participant in group events

• Following the rules for simple card games

• Waiting to take turns

• Prioritizing group membership and acceptance by peers

• Sharing ideas and projects with classroom

• Following rules for competitive or complex games

Shows empathy and caring for others

• Putting an arm around a friend who is crying

• Pretending to soothe a crying doll • Helping a classmate clean up a

spill

• Volunteering to help a classmate • Showing acceptance and support

of a classmate with a physical disability

• Expressing appropriate feelings for characters in a story

• Showing concern for a classmate who has been excluded from an activity

• Helping a friend find a lost toy • Helping a new student find their

way around the room

• Understanding and respecting that some children excel in different areas, such as music, sports or art

• Exhibiting concern for grieving classmate

• Exhibiting increasing awareness of the feelings of others in daily events

Shows social problem solving abilities

• Seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts

• Asking for help to obtain a turn on the slide or with a toy

• Using words suggested by an adult to express anger

• Asking a child to return a toy he has grabbed

• Negotiating with other children to solve a problem with the teacher’s support

• Sharing without grabbing • Using words to express feeling • Using and accepting

compromises • Settling disputes with another

child

• Problem-solves independently using logical steps to varying degrees of proficiency

• Can solve problems using more logic


11

Approaches to Learning Domain Characteristic Birth to 8 months 8 to 18 month 18 to 24 months 24 to 36 months

Shows awareness of and interest in the environment

• Turning in the direction of the source of familiar voices and sounds

• Reacting to new objects, voices and sounds by either becoming more active or more quiet

• Gazing attentively at talking parents, caregivers and teachers when being fed and changed

• Looking to parents, caregivers or teachers when a stranger approaches

• Showing pleasure and encouraging continued interaction when they are being read to, by vocalizing and smiling

• Exploring spatial relationships by attempting to fit their bodies in boxes or tunnels

• Imitating familiar activities such as cooking and putting a pretend telephone to their ear

• Using facial expressions to show excitement

• Pointing to an unfamiliar picture in a story book and looking to the reader for the name of an object

• Beginning to explore the environment independently

• Eagerly seeking and taking pleasure in new skills, such as climbing up the stairs and clapping at their success

• Playing beside other children and imitating the play of another child

• Imitating adult activities such as reading or helping to set the table

• Showing interest in patterns and sorting activities

• Asking questions related to a story

Pays attention briefly and tries to reproduce interesting and pleasurable effects and events

• Grasping, releasing, re-grasping and re-releasing an object

• Lifting arms up while crying to be picked up and comforted

• Kicking or swatting a mobile to repeat a sound or a motion

• Attending briefly and persists in repetitive tasks

• Wanting to hear the same song or be read the same book over and over

• Filling a container with small objects and dumping them out repeatedly

• Taking turns in back-and-forth sound play by responding to adults’ speech and producing words or babbling

• Attending for longer periods of time and persists at preferred activities

• Enjoying playing the same music and movement activity over and over

• Insisting on choosing what to wear

• Trying various shapes in a shape-sorting toy until the shape finally fits

• Spends more time engaging in child-initiated activities and seeks or accepts help when encountering a problem

• Insists on feeding themselves and pouring juice at snack time

• Requesting that their favorite book be read over and over

• Using suggestions to find missing pieces of a toy or to try something new with play dough

Notices and shows interest in and excitement with familiar objects, people and events

• Inspecting their own hands, fingers, feet and toes by touching, looking and mouthing

• Turning toward and tracking voices, people and objects

• Dropping a toy or object and looking for it

• Approaches and explores new experiences in familiar settings

• Spotting a cat and saying “dog” • Pretending to lock and unlock

a door using a toy key • Reacting to the sound of music

with movement

• Delights in finding new properties and uses for familiar objects and experiences

• Enjoying sand and water activities

• Modeling everyday activities and pretending to be a mommy, daddy or baby

• Stomping feet loudly to loud music and tiptoeing to soft music

• Explores the environment with purpose and flexibility

• Enjoys opportunities to use art materials such as markers, paints and play dough

• Using objects together as tools as in using sticks and a stool to reach a toy

• Acting out familiar life scenes


12

Approaches to Learning Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Shows eagerness and curiosity as a learner

• Trying different art experiences or listening to new books

• Indicating awareness of other children by watching or interacting with them

• Noticing new displays in the science area

• Showing interest in stories and events related by other children

• Looking at a picture of a castle and trying to recreate it with blocks

• Continuing a discussion by asking related questions or making comments

• Using play and different media to process new ideas and to represent knowledge

• Asking how a caterpillar can live in a cocoon without food or water

• Acting out the emotions of an anecdote when telling a story

• Looks forward to school • Enthusiastic and inquisitive • Increasing developing personal

interests and preferred topics for research and reading

• Comprehending and seeking greater level of detail and higher volume of information in response to questions

Shows persistence • Attend briefly and seeks help when encountering a problem

• Trying several times to reach a toy on a high shelf

• Looking for help when trying to hang up a wet painting

• Paying attention to songs and stories during circle time

• Following teacher or peer suggestions for solving a problem

• Completing favorite puzzles over and over again

• Sustaining attention to a task, persisting even after encountering difficulty

• Remembering on a day-to-day basis to maintain long-term projects, such as recording daily plant growth on a chart

• Working at tasks for longer periods of time

• Enjoying the challenge of puzzles and complex games

• Collecting groups of items, sorting, cataloguing and trading with others to complete their collection

Shows creativity and inventiveness

• Approaching play with purpose and inventiveness

• Becoming excited when yellow and blue paint mixes into green

• Trying a different way to accomplish a task or use an object

• Approaching tasks with flexibility and inventiveness

• Trying to staple two pieces of paper together when tape doesn’t work

• Experimenting with a brush to find ways to keep paint from dripping

• Attempting several different ways to solve a problem

• Using a drawing program on the computer to illustrate a story

• Using resources to spell words

• Experimenting with many ways to complete tasks

• Inventing new approaches to daily events

• Utilizing found objects in inventive ways


13

Language and Communication Domain Characteristic Birth to 8 Months 8 to 18 Months 18 to 24 Months 24 to 36 Months

Listening and understanding

• Responding to frequently heard sounds and words

• Moving their arms and legs when they hear a familiar voice

• Turning their head toward a sound

• Paying attention to the language used in their home

• Showing increased understanding of gestures and words

• Stopping, sometimes, when told

• Looking in the right way when asked, “Where is the kitty?”

• Paying attention to interesting things in the environment when prompted

• Gaining meaning through listening

• Pointing to body parts when asked

• Patting a picture of a dog in a book when asked, “Where is the dog?”

• Finding their shoes when its time to get dressed

• Listening for longer periods of time • Reacting to funny parts of stories by laughing

or smiling • Responding appropriately to questions about

picture books • Understanding and reacting to gestures

Demonstrates communication and developing speaking abilities

• Using a variety of sounds and movements to communicate

• Beginning to coo and babble • Experimenting with different

types of sounds

• Using consistent sounds, gestures and some words to communicate

• Pointing, gesturing or making sounds to indicate wants and needs

• Saying a few words such as “mama” and “dada”

• Using a growing number of words and puts words together

• Using two-word sentences • Attending to and tries to take

part in conversations

• Speaks clearly enough to be understood by most listeners

• Beginning to use the rules of grammar, descriptive words, personal pronouns and position words (such as up, under or behind) in their speech

• Using questions to keep conversations going

Demonstrates emergent literacy

• Enjoying the sounds and rhythms of language

• Exploring books by chewing, shaking and banging

• Babbling while looking at books with parents, caregivers or teachers

• Building and using vocabulary through direct experiences and involvement with pictures and books

• Enjoying patterns of rhythm and repetition in their home language

• Showing a memory of parts of stories and songs

• Showing motivation to read and asking that favorite stories and rhymes are repeated

• Learns that pictures represent real objects, events, and ideas

• Beginning to make connections between their own experiences and ideas in books and stories

• Shows growing interest in print and books • Demonstrating some book-reading skills • Sometimes choosing books over other

activities

Demonstrates developing writing ability

• Developing eye-hand coordination and more intentional hand control

• Passing objects from one hand to the other

• Mimicking hand clapping and waving “bye-bye”

• Watching activities of others and imitates sounds, facial expressions and actions

• Uses tools to make scribbles • Showing their own marks

made on paper to others • Repeats actions that symbolize

meaningful ideas • Moving toward the door when

their parents get ready to leave

• Makes purposeful marks on paper

• Uses a variety of tools such as pencils, markers, crayons and paints

• Drawing horizontal and some vertical lines

• Using beginning representation through play that imitates familiar routines

• Uses scribbles and unconventional shapes to convey messages

• Holding a pencil with thumb and forefinger instead of their fist

• Telling others about their drawings and asking adults to write their stories

• Using more complicated initiative play as symbolic thought processes and mental concepts or pictures are developed


14

Language and Communication Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Gains meaning through listening and follows directions

• Listening attentively to stories • Conversing with a teacher • Following two-step directions • Matching movements and actions

to the music and directions in a song

• Carrying on a conversation later that extends a thought expressed to the group earlier

• Understanding an announcement made by the teacher

• Understanding audio-taped stories • Following two- or three-step

directions

• Listens for meaning in discussions and conversations

• Asking questions to clarify their understanding

• Recognizing the intent behind the words of their peers, such as an apology

• Following directions that involve a series of actions

• Understanding and carrying out multiple step directions

• Asking increasingly sophisticated questions to expand their understanding

• Understanding of the role of context in stories or speech

Show speaking ability • Speaking clearly enough to be understood by most listeners

• Being understood when requesting information

• Describing a recent event and answering questions about it

• Speaking clearly enough to be understood without contextual clues

• Accurately delivering a message from home to the teacher

• Using common social conventions, such as “please” and “thank you” with reminders

• Speaking clearly and conveys ideas effectively

• Retelling events using more than short phrases

• Participating in conversations on the playground, speaking loudly enough to be heard by the group

• Speaking clearly and convincingly with emotion and/or logic

• Imitating slang • Following the rules of conventional

grammar in conversation • Conversing fluently with adults

Uses expanded vocabulary and language for a variety of purposes

• Using a word learned from a story book

• Making up silly sounding words • Repeating short rhyming verses

• Using words to communicate their feelings

• Asking questions related to the topic of discussion

• Trying out a new word • Telling a friend a joke or making up

new jokes • Noticing a word they don’t know

and trying to decode it from contextual clues

• Learning as many as five to ten new words each day

• Using appropriate verb tenses, word order and sentence structure

• Language becoming more precise and elaborate with a greater use of descriptive adjectives and adverbs


15

Language and Communication Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Shows characteristics leading to reading ability

• Showing appreciation for books • Paying attention to a story read in a

small group • Acting out various parts of a story

as a teacher reads a book • Recognizing a favorite book by its

cover and asking that it be read • Using rhythm sticks • Clapping to represent the syllables

of short phrases • Repeating familiar rhyming verses

and songs • Showing interest in letters and

words • Comprehending and responding to

stories read aloud

• Looking at books in an organized manner, one page at a time from front to back

• Pretending to read • Re-enacting a story and

improvising dialogue • Showing beginning understanding

of concepts about print • Asking for help in making a sign

for the dramatic play area • Checking a classroom job chart

for their name • Demonstrating phonological

awareness by saying the sound of a letter

• Beginning to develop knowledge about letters

• Identifying uppercase letters as they sing the alphabet song

• Commenting on the actions described in a story

• Showing interest in and demonstrated knowledge about books and reading

• Using books to learn more about a topic of interest

• Showing some understanding of concepts about print

• “Writing” a story from left to right using strings of letters

• Knowing that words are made up of sounds and being able to identify the smallest units of sound (phonemes) in a word

• Sorting pictures into two groups based on their beginning sounds

• Knowing letters, sounds, and how they form words

• Comprehends and responds to fiction and informational text read aloud

• Enjoying wide range of books and publications

• Understands process of authoring, revising and publishing books

• Acquiring reading skills in a progressive manner

• Enjoys storytelling, imaginative tales and myths

• Interested in learning secret word codes and code languages

• May develop strong preferences for favorite authors or genres

• Showing interest in the irregularities and inconsistencies in conventional spelling and grammar

Shows characteristics leading to writing ability

• Representing ideas and stories through pictures, dictation and play

• Describing their drawings when asked

• Using scribbles and unconventional shapes to write

• Using scribbles to make signs or shopping lists

• Retelling stories • Pretending to write during

dramatic play • Drawing illustrations to go along

with stories they have heard • Using letter-like shapes, symbols

and letters to convey meaning • Labeling a drawing with several

randomly placed letter-like shapes • Beginning to write several letters

correctly • Understanding purposes for

writing

• Dictating a story to the teacher about a class trip

• Writing labels, notes and captions for illustrations

• Using invented spelling to form words with initial and final consonants

• Keeping a list of the words they know how to spell

• Realizing that a caption can tell a story about a photograph or painting

• Copying a note to take home

• Writing numbers and letters with increasing precision and interest

• Enjoying writing to friends • Following the rules of grammar in

written form • Recognizing basic marks of

punctuation • Able to copy information from a

blackboard • Writing stories, lists and personal

thoughts


16

Cognitive Development and General Knowledge Domain Characteristics Birth to 8 Months 8 to 18 Months 18 to 24 Months 24 to 36 Months

Demonstrates characteristics of exploration and discovery

• Laughs when lightly tickled • Looks away, cries or yawns

when over-stimulated • Being comforted by familiar

voices • Looking at human faces longer

than at objects • Smiling at faces • Responding to familiar words

like teddy bear or blanket • Begins to make things happen

by reaching for or touching objects

• Gazing into faces to engage others

• Laughing out loud when someone makes funny noises

• Following one-step directions • Attempting hand movements

and some fingerplays • Making faces back at parents,

caregivers and teachers • Showing pleasure when read

to by smiling or using words such as “yea!” or “more!”

• Trying to help when bathing or changing

• Shaking toys to elicit a response or sound

• Filling and dumping sand, toys and blocks

• Placing items in containers and then pouring them out, over and over

• Following two-step directions • Pulling on an adult’s hand

when wanting to communicate • Activating toys like a jack-in-

the-box • Hooking toys together • Exploring contents of cabinets

and drawers • Stacking blocks and knocking

them down • Poking, dropping, pushing,

pulling and squeezing objects to see what will happen

• Verbalizes observations • Asking for help when needed • Choosing toys or activities based on who is

playing • Making play dough creations • Asking questions after being read to • Exhibiting high levels of energy shown in

seemingly constant movement • Climbing and jumping on furniture and outside

toys • Inspecting moving parts of toys

Develops concept and memory formation

• Imitating familiar sounds and movements

• Reaching for breast or bottle when hungry

• Knowing family members • Enjoys repeating a newly

learned activity

• Finding hidden objects • Vocalizing when being read a

familiar book • Asking for more • Responding to simultaneous

verbal and gesture commands

• Associating spoken words with familiar objects or actions

• Matching sounds to pictures or animals

• Beginning to identify with children of the same gender and age

• Searching for lost or removed objects

• Wanting to be assigned a “job” • Singing several songs with others • Identifying a best friend • Wanting to tell you their age

Shows problem-solving and creative expression abilities

• Beginning to differentiate between strangers and familiar people

• Anticipating being lifted to be held, fed or changed

• Vocalizing to communicate needs

• Crying in different ways for different reasons

• Making choices related to toys and clothing

• Imitating parents, caregivers and teachers

• Enjoying messy activities, such as finger-painting

• Moving to rhythms

• Identifying their own clothing items

• Using negotiation, language and the help of others to solve problems when playing with peers

• Becoming frustrated because they often want to do things that the adult world cannot allow

• Using trial and error to work with objects

• Beginning to enjoy small-group activities facilitated by adults

• Demonstrating the ability to move in time with music

• Pointing to pictures that represent feelings • Role-playing with dolls


17

Cognitive Knowledge and General Knowledge Domain Characteristics 3-Year--Olds 4-Year--Olds 5-Year--Olds School-Age

Uses mathematical processes

• Showing interest in solving mathematical problems

• Counting • Holding up three fingers when

asked their age

• Beginning to use simple strategies to solve mathematical problems

• Deciding who is the older of two children

• Figuring out how many cups of water a project will require

• Showing interest in solving mathematical problems

• Solving problems by guessing and checking

• Estimating how many blocks will be needed for a project

• Using words to describe mathematical ideas

• Understands money denominations, including coins

• Solves problems by employing strategy and learned techniques

• Comprehending more complex mathematical ideas

• Interested in applying mathematical processes to other areas, such as art and construction projects

Understands patterns, relationships and functions

• Sorting objects into subgroups that vary by one attribute

• Noticing a common attribute and commenting on it

• Sorting objects that vary by one or two attributes

• Recognizing simple patterns and duplicates them

• Painting or drawing patterns

• Recognizes patterns and duplicates or extends them

• Recognizing a number sequence on a calculator or computer game

• Sorting objects into subgroups, classifying and comparing according to a rule

• Developing increasing facility with the number line

• Enjoys pattern puzzles and challenges

• Uses patterns and sorting in order to solve problems

Understands number concepts and operations

• Shows curiosity and interest in counting and numbers

• Counting out loud to themselves while in an activity

• Singing counting songs and enjoying fingerplays about counting

• Beginning to understand numbers and quantity

• Recognizing that there are four blocks without counting them

• Counting toys, cups, blocks or other objects when needed

• Showing understanding of the concept of number and quantity

• Counting the students in the group and announcing that 17 people are in the circle

• Associating the correct numeral with sets of up to 10 objects

• Beginning to understand the relationship between quantities

• Increasing ability to perform mathematical operations, including adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers

• Applying mathematical operations to daily life tasks

Understands geometry and spatial relations

• Identifying several shapes • Beginning to identify and label

shapes in their environment • Making symmetrical designs with

shape blocks • Shows understanding of several

positional words

• Recognizing and describing the attributes of shapes

• Counts the sides of shapes • Identifying and labeling shapes

around them • Using several positional words

• Creating models of circles, squares, rectangles and different types of triangles with varied material

• Putting shape blocks together to make new shapes

• Uses direction, location and position words

• Enjoying mazes and similar paper-and-pencil games

• Recognizing that objects and shapes are comprised of numerous shapes

• Beginning ability to construct and follow maps


18


Understands measurement

• Shows understanding of some comparative words, such as “taller” or “smaller”

• Using measurement words when describing things

• Participating in measuring activities

• Playing with a balance scale or using measuring cups and spoons in the sand table

• Ordering, comparing and describing objects according to a single attribute

• Measuring items with a classmate to see who has the bigger cookie or the longer string of beads

• Using measuring cups and spoons during a cooking activity

• Labeling the times of day and morning or night time

• Ordering, comparing and describing objects by size, length, capacity and weight

• Estimating and measuring using non-standard and standard units

• Showing interest in common instruments for measuring, such as balance scales, measuring cups, rulers and yardsticks

• Showing awareness of time • Understanding data collection

and probability

• Understands time, with growing ability to describe elapsed time and similar concepts

• Recognizing seasons and major holidays associated with each

• Understands volume, including that differently shaped containers may hold similar amounts

• Collecting data and making records using lists or graphs

Demonstrates scientific thinking through inquiry

• Using senses to observe and explore

• Beginning to use simple tools and equipment for investigation

• Looking at various objects through a magnifying glass

• Makes comparisons among objects

• Observing that some bugs have wings and others do not

• Asking questions to observe and explore materials and natural phenomena

• Using simple tools and equipment for investigation, such as a sieve, eyedropper or binoculars

• Comparing the properties of items • Comparing a variety of leaves

collected and describing differences and similarities

• Seeking information through observation, exploration and descriptive investigation

• Using tools and equipment to extend their senses and gather data

• Forming explanation and communicating scientific information

• Identifying, describing and comparing properties or objects

• Observing and describing characteristics, basic needs, and life cycles of living things

• Exploring and identifying properties of rocks, soil, water and air

• Beginning to observe and describe simple seasonal and weather changes

• Developing an understanding of cause and effect , gravity and tenets of Physical Science

• Engaged and interested by Earth Science, exploring, identifying properties and gathering data describing changes in rocks, soil, water, weather and air

• Engaged and interested in Life Science, exploring, identifying properties and gathering data describing the life cycles and characteristics of plants, animals and humans


19


Showing an awareness of social studies through an interest in people, past and present

• Talking about personal details of similarity and difference

• Learning some signs in sign language

• Discussing food preferences with other children

• Noticing the gender of classmates

• Identifying similarities and differences in personal and family characteristics

• Noticing that some people speak different languages

• Discussing differences in ages, skin color and clothing

• Identifying similarities and differences in people’s characteristics, habits, and living patterns

• Demonstrating beginning awareness of state and country

• Showing some awareness of time and how the past influences people’s lives

• Able to think and talk about the past and future

• Continuing to acquire knowledge about local, state and country

• Interested in cultural differences and different ways of living

Showing awareness of human interdependence

• Beginning to understand family structures and roles

• Describing a family routine • Describing some jobs that people

do • Pretending to do jobs in the

dramatic play area

• Beginning to understand family needs, roles and relationships

• Discussing what happens when their parents go to work

• Describing what is required to perform some people’s jobs

• Beginning to be aware of technology and how it affects daily life

• Beginning to understand how people rely on others for goods and services

• Beginning to be aware of uses of technology, including beginning to use computers for word processing

• Developing comprehensive understanding of how people rely on others for goods and services

• Developing comprehensive understanding of and abilities to use technology in school and in daily life

Understands citizenship, government and communities

• Shows awareness of group rules • Participating in word and song

games that have rules • Shows beginning awareness of

their environment • Discussing ways their families

keep their neighborhood clean or safe

• Demonstrating awareness of rules

• Following the rules on the playground

• Showing awareness of what it means to be a leader

• Describing the location of things in the environment

• Explaining why they didn’t pick flowers on a recent walk

• Demonstrating awareness of the reason for rules

• Beginning to understand what it means to be a leader

• Expressing beginning geographic thinking

• Beginning an awareness of the relationship between people and where they live

• Able to lead and to support leadership as a group member

• Demonstrating an understanding of elections as a process for picking a leader

• Developing geographical thinking • Continuing to develop an

awareness of the relationship between people and where they live


20


Shows awareness of the arts by displaying expression and representational skills

• Using a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration

• Trying one medium several times in order to experience its properties in depth

• Participating in group music experiences

• Trying different ways to make sounds with triangles or cymbals

• Participating in create movement, dance and drama

• Using scarves in a free movement, floating them overhead or twirling them around

• Trying a variety of materials and ways of using the materials

• Experimenting with play dough • Knowing the words of familiar

songs • Clapping hands in time to a song

or a record • Dramatizing a story • Dancing to a variety of different

kinds of music • Performing imaginative movement

in response to music • Acting out a role in dramatic play

• Using a variety of art materials to express ideas and emotions

• Making a book with their own pictures to illustrate a story they dictated

• Composing their own songs • Using musical instruments to

create a mood to accompany a performance

• Creating a movement that responds to the beat of a record or interpreting the mood conveyed by a classical composition

• Using a variety of art materials to express ideas and emotions

• Enjoying the challenge of more advanced art materials and projects

• Writing books, authoring web pages or creating scrapbooks

• Composing their own songs • Experimenting with new

instruments or styles of dance • Using tools to create wooden

construction projects

Showing an understanding of and appreciation of the arts

• Responding to artistic creations or events

• Copying the dance steps of a classmate

• Listening at a children’s concert • Showing sustained interest in a

presentation by a puppeteer or actor

• Listening to music tapes during choice time

• Exclaiming about the skill a classmate displays in painting, modeling with play dough or building with blocks

• Closely watching a guest performer

• Appreciating the skill, humor or beauty of illustrations in a book

• Identifying which painting they liked best in the art museum

• Watching as classmates perform a play or puppet show

• Forming opinions and critiques of performances

• Developing definite preferences for styles of art and performance

• Appreciating and respecting the artistic expressions of classmates

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