This week, we will delve into how developmentally appropriate practice shapes intentional curriculum planning in early childhood education. We will also explore the importance of nurturing creative thinking in young children.
Read:
- Copple & Bredekamp (2006) Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, pp. 3-21
- Greene (1984) The Art of Being Present
Now review the powerpoint on Early Childhood Development.
Watch the video Walking Alongside the Learner: Curriculum in Yvonne’s Pre-K Classroom. As you watch, think about how Yvonne Smith intentionally creates experiential learning opportunities as children explore the materials in the classroom. where children are discovering how to be learners. Consider how each student’s curiosity and internal motivation guides them into learning behaviors as they discover how to be learners.
Now, watch the video again and this time, as you watch, observe how Yvonne Smith supports her students’ developmental growth across the domains:
- Physical
- Social-Emotional
- Cognitive
- Language/Literacy
Document each time you notice children working on skills in one of these domains. Some of the experiences you observe support multiple domains; record each of the skills children are developing through the experience.
For this week’s assignment
- Define each developmental domain in your own words.
- Choose two examples of activities you observed in the video and describe how the activities support development in that domain.
- Explain how Yvonne Smith teaches her students “how to notice what there is to be noticed” (Greene, 1984, pg. 133).
Hello, Professor! When is this assignment due? I ask because I see the “Not a box” assignment is due on our first day of class.
Define each developmental domain in your own words.
Physical – the child’s ability to engage and control their bodies in large movement activities including jumping and climbing over large objects.
Social-Emotional – This developmental domain refers to the Childs ability to manage emotions and engage in positive play and conversation with other peers.
Cognitive – this refers to the way in which a child’s brain processes information and figure things out as they learn new things.
Language/Literacy – the child’s process of learning sounds and letters through reading, listening, dramatization, through which language skills develop and expand.
Choose two examples of activities you observed in the video and describe how the activities support development in that domain
Circle time and cognitive development – this was a chance for the teacher to introduce a new concept and allow children the freedom to express their observations and ask questions. Some children knew more about the topic that others and this was an opportunity for them to teach their peers and for their peers to absorb new information.
Drawing and language/literacy – in this scenario when the teacher was sitting with one child and letting them explain their drawing it gave the child a chance to recognize that the teacher is interested in their work and is allowing them to have ownership over their art. The teacher also labeling their work is a good example of modeling writing.
Explain how Yvonne Smith teaches her students “how to notice what there is to be noticed” (Greene, 1984, pg. 133).
Yvonne’s method of teaching noticing is by allowing space for long term continuous learning through observations, questioning and conversations. Children interpret learning experiences differently due to their backgrounds, culture, and lived experiences. By educating them in a way that enables them to bring all of this to the conversation, she is able to create an inclusive space that allows for deeper learning.
1. Physical Development: The ability to move and interact with areas in the environment one is in. Accepts challenges and overcomes them with or without help.
Cognitive Development: The ability to think, pay attention, and memorize and understand situations.
Social-Emotional Development: Interaction with peers showing feelings and has control over their own emotions .
Language and Communication Development: Vocabulary is advanced and is able to communicate easily with classmates or adults. Children repeats new words he/ she hears. Uses these words to communicate and others.
In the beginning of the video Yvonnne explains how to use the physical domain. She has an area for every activity such as a block center big enough for her whole class. This is important because children will spacious area to play and build individually or as a group. . Another domain that is being used is social-emotional. Yvonne brings in a pumpkin for the whole class to see the process of decomposition. As a class they were trying to figure out why and how the pumpkin began to change. Every child had the chance to explain the process of decomposition in their own words. Children communicate with each other and observe new things during the process of decomposition. A caterpillar was seen in the pumpkin so they connected the caterpillar to the book ” The hungry Caterpillar.” They realized that there was a cycle going on in their classroom.
3. Yvonne plans to out her classroom according to who her students are and creates areas independent enough for them to be in. She creates “work time” to allow students to choose two to three options of “work” to do during the day. The reason they choose at least three options is in case one area is full for them to go. Within these areas they explore new skills and are physically active with new materials. Every child is given the opportunity to make their own decisions and Yvonne is there to guide them. She helps students to understand there are different options. Yvonne also helps them notice that there is a routine to every day class.
1.
– Physical – Development of gross and fine motor skills also physical changes like size and strengths. Skills of grasping, releasing, learning to walk, run etc.
– Social-Emotional – Development of understanding and controlling ones emotions. The ability to show empathy, identify how others feel, having interactions with peers.
– Cognitive – Development of creativity, gaining the ability to think, focus and pay attention, be creative, to understand their surrounds and situations.
– Language/Literacy – Development of communication, the ability to communicate with others, learn and identify sounds, letters, words and gain writing skills.
2. Two activites that I picked up on was:
– Circle time with the pumpkin, it supported cognitive development where the children were able to pay attention and focus on different changes or aspects of the pumpkin. They were able to learn and understand why the pumpkin changed or looked the way it did.
– The art & construction area, where you see the two young girls painting. It supports social- emotional development where the girls are able to communicate/ have an interaction with each other, one asks the other one about her work and they go on about the color they are each using white and brown.
3. The way Yvonne teaches her students “How to notice what there is to be noticed” is by her setting a class environment that is open and lets the students be independent. They are able to explore/ experience in their own way with others through free time, play time and circle time. For example when they had circle time with the pumpkin the students were able to observe and speak among themselves and express their opinions while hearing others as well.
– Physical Domain: The development of a child’s body as the Fine Motor Development. For insisting on the video of Walking Alongside the Learner: Curriculum in Yvonne’s Pre-K Classroom, Ms. Yvonne has an area in her classroom that allows the children to walk and use their brains and muscles. For example, in Ms. Yvonne’s Pre-K Classroom, she has an area called Art and Construction Work, and there was a staff/ teacher handing a pair of scissors To the blonde hair and grey sweatshirt girl. She held it for Here to put her thumb and fourth finger in the two holders of the scissor. The teacher was developing the blonde hair girl her grip and how to hold a scissor properly. The second example that Ms. Yvonne’s classroom has a cooking table in that area. It helps the child develop their grip and touching skills are a Physical Domain trait (Motor Development).
– Cognitive- is the development that the child comprehends and acquires the physical environment. In the video, Ms. Yvonne’s Pre-K Classroom has a Block area. The block area helps the child explore the material. There were two little girls in the black area, and they were exposed to exploring the shapes of the different blocks and grabbing the different block shapes, and matching. The second example for Ms. Yvonne’s Pre-K classroom is the Art and Drawing area; it demonstrated the child to develop the touching sense and examine mixing different colors.
– Social-Emotional- Social-Emotional is when the child interacts with others by acting, feeling, and thinking. For example, in Ms. Yvonne’s Pre-K Classroom, there was a pretend center, and there were about four kids that were interacting with each other. The second example was when art and drawing and Ms. Yvonne and the little girl was interacting, and Ms. Yvonne was drawing, and the little girl was telling her what to sketch.
-Language/ Literacy is the development of listening, speaking, writing, reading, and communication skills. For example, in the reading area, three kids were reading. In the second example there in the meeting area, Ms. Yvonne asked each of the students which section they wanted to work on when it was their turn. They will then tell her which section they want to play, and then she gives hands the tag of their name to them to put on the board
Define each developmental domain in your own words.
1)Physical Development: Is where an individual discovers their Gross/Fine motor skills. For our childhood education, children discover how to use these skills, by discovering their muscles in their body and how they function. Daily activities help them to use these muscles and build them up. Crawling, jumping, walking, running, climbing, cutting, tearing, writing and other things help them to exercise those muscles.
Yvonne however allowed her class to use their Physical development by allowing them to prepare their own snacks. Singing songs that encouraged the children to use their hands, sewing and building blocks.
2) Social/Emotional Development, This would describe how a child interacts socially and emotionally, to their environment and around peers. I’ve had some past experiences where when a child is dropped off, in some cases the child would cry. Then when placed around a friend and other peers, they tend to calm down, until settling in. Sharing and interacting with their peers helps them out a lot.
Yvonne class practiced this by working together in different areas in the room. Block building, feeding the guinea pig and even asking their peers opinion on their craft, and how supportive they were of each other’s projects.
3) Cognitive Development: How children think and understand things. These skills help them to develop knowledge, problem solving and how they process things through their different stages in life. For example I placed a toy in front of an infant at work, and you can see the baby thinking how to reach it. Then you start to see the baby leaning forward trying to grab it. The baby kept on bending over and over until his body adjusted and he was able to get the toy.
For Ms. Yvonne class I would say a really good example of this was the pumpkin project. How they responded to the pumpkin going through the stages of decaying and it made them think. They started to ask questions about the mold, the liquid, the tiny bugs all in and over it. How decomposing works and how you can use it in a garden. They saw a cycle of life and each stage the pumpkin went through their curiosity went deeper and deeper.
4) Characteristics: This is where a child develops their character, how to speak, walk, talk and communicate with others through actions, movements and language. Example when a child wants to be picked up, they begin to cry and if they can not speak they lift their arms and alert the individual they want to be held.
Yvonne’s class demonstrated their characteristics by allowing each child to sort out their day by what interests them. Where they would like to work for the day, some were in construction, art, pretend, and building. They are using their characteristics and what intrigues them to make the decision, to me their choices can tell a story of who they are and what they like.
Choose two examples of activities you observed in the video and describe how the activities support development in that domain.
The pumpkin Project, this relates to Cognitive Development, it made them think about the why, what and how.
Making food daily, Characteristics development building their skills
Explain how Yvonne Smith teaches her students “how to notice what there is to be noticed” (Greene, 1984, pg. 133).
Yvonne Smith teaches the children how to think and create their own questions. How she spoke to the children no matter which area they worked in, she did not allow herself to ask the questions, she allowed the children. The pumpkin Project she made them ask questions, she made them think, what about the juice that comes out, the caterpillars, mold and the pumpkin decaying. Not only she made them think but she taught them how to notice things, which she left the pumpkin in the class for them to see, while it was being decayed. As she implemented books and lessons to discuss the process.
1. Define each Developmental domain in your own words.
Physical development refers to a condition that expresses improvement of some body functions like siting, climbing, standing, walking.
Using fine and gross motor skills helps accomplish tasks that are part of developmental milestones.
Social-emotional development is the way of expression of feelings with words, listening and paying attention, asking for help when needed, be aware of other people’s feelings, taking turns and becoming independent in following routines.
Expression of feelings; Is the inquisitiveness and curiosity in relation to others and the world around the children. This can be observed in playful learning.
Cognitive development refers to memory, problem-solving, and thinking skills. When a child develops reasoning and thinking skills. For example: Singing and reading to a child, answering kids “why?” question. Playing with them puzzles or card games. To become aware of cause and effect as it relates to developmental milestones; Reading and writing as examples of intellect.
Language and literacy development determines communication with others through verbal language, reading and writing ability. Cognition as a developmental milestone as an effective way to communicate; Learning the meaning of words.
2. Choose two examples of activities you observed in the video and describe activities that support development in that domain.
Physical:
Looking at books,
Hanging over sewing kits,
Child using a hammer,
Child putting a sticker on the board.
Cognitive, language and literacy:
The teacher sings to children open eyes and ears. The children use their hands to touch their eyes and ears.
The child raising hand to ask the teacher a question.
The child identified the tail of animal she drew to the teacher.
Children learning about pumpkins and decomposing; How it relates to gardening. Comparing to the pumpkin that is untouched/not rotting.
Social-emotional:
Children building blocks together,
Children cleaning the table together,
Children reading books together,
A child asking another child if her artwork looks good.
3. Explain how Yvonne Smith teaches her students “How to notice what there is to be noticed” (Greene, 1984 pg. 133)
Yvonne Smith believes that the student can be guided to draw their own impressions and articulate their own thoughts and perceptions. This idea shapes the students’ ability to use their imagination, without any implications or imposed conclusions. The teacher can assist the student in understanding that the illusion can co-exist with the people, mundane tasks and day to day realities of existence.
1. Different Developmental domains:
Language: This refers to how a child conducts themself and the way they speak. Children will continue to grow stronger in this area as they continue to be stimulated by reading or singing with them.
Cognition: This refers to how a child can understand interpret things in their environment. They will develop a bigger understanding in harder concepts and start piecing together information to form more cohesive and thoughtful sentences and answers.
Physical motor: this can be the ways that a child is learning or has learned to use their body such as their fingers, hands, etc.. They continue to practice using these body parts strengthening them and their motor skills. They can continue on to learning how to carefully use building blocks or hold a pencil correctly to write their names or onto bigger activites like running, hopping, kicking or etc..
Social emotional: this refers to how a child takes in situations with others and how they respond to those situations. Children will continue to learn from different interactions with other children. They will then learn how to appropriately interact with other children and to take into consideration other people’s feelings.
2. Children in this video when playing together in numerous independent play exhibited progress in a social- emotional domain. Their teacher gives them certain freedoms so they can learn and explore on their own and or with a few other children in a center. This helps children learn how to share and work together. As well as their teacher not hovering over them, they are being trusted to work on problems and learn from each other. These activites also encourage physical motor skills as they play with wet and dry sand, building blocks, and even playing with the class pet. They have to learn how to carefully play with the pet and develop stronger muscles in their hand that they need to play with certain center activites.
3. Yvonne Smith teaches her students to “notice what there is to be noticed” by letting them explore things on their own. She doesn’t lecture them and have them repeat to her what she explained. She sets scenarios to let them explore why something is on their own, with other classmates, or with the whole class. For example, when she took out the pumpkin, the children all talked about what they noticed and asked her questions, and she accepted their answers and continued talking about it with making each child feel heard and valued.