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Early childhood stages of development
Early childhood stages of development
Reflections on preschool age children’s development
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The modern early childhood curriculum refers to the experiences gathered throughout a child’s infancy and beyond. It incorporates everyday interactions with family members within a wide spectrum of environments. Such interactions can be spontaneous or structured however, it is important that they are established within a supportive, safe and nurturing setting in order for the child to flourish in terms of their mental and physical ability ( O’Hagen,and Smith (1998). We refer to such a curriculum as Child centered as equal emphasis must be made on the child’s learning through out infancy as it is within a formal education setting. In order to promote the best outcome from the curriculum we must consider that each child is an individual in their own right. Tricia David (2001: 55) states that early childhood should be a time of “spontaneity and of exploration according to individual interests”. Thus accounting for the child’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as their likes and dislikes, provides a curriculum, which will promote optimum development. This is also known as a ...
I am a firm believer that the quality of the child care directly affects the child’s development in the classroom. By eliminating the need for competing preschools to continue to improve their curriculum and to remain relevant in the field of early childhood education, we risk falling into the same trap K-12 education has fallen into. In other words, individual classroom freedom will be lost when teachers are forced to follow the governments blanket and mandatory regulations. I choose this concept because I feel it is important to allow a wide variety of options to families in order for them the find the right fit for their
The behaviorist and constructivist theories pose a significant debate in early childhood education that questions if curriculum should be based on the children’s natural childlike dispositions or should adults determine and decide every aspect of curriculum. The distinction between the two theories determine what and how young children learn. The behaviorist theory believes that people of all ages learn the same and that behavior is controlled by outside influences and rewards. Whereas, the constructivist theory believes young children develop cognitive structure based on interactions with other people and the environment. Most early childhood programs follow the constructivist theory and are child-centered. According to Freeney, Galper, and
Be strict. Parents love their children, but it is harmful for them if they give them too much love and accommodate themselves.
The way the young, old, and infants look at things has been the subject of a number of studies for many years. These tendencies are referred to as visual preferences and in infants this study can be referred to as early visual perception. Though interest in the study of visual preferences has declined, significant progress has been made in this field. This study however has been very instrumental in helping scholars understand early childhood development issues. Among these issues is how visual preferences can help infants process the stimuli they come across. The issue of whether or not infants possess visual preference abilities after birth has also shown great interest among scholars. This paper seeks to cut through the arguments and delve into the factual evidence. The paper will consider how infants process as well as respond to visual stimuli in their environment. In addition, the paper seeks to establish how age and experience affects this process. These two factors will help correlate visual preference with cognition and perception in infants. The paper will mostly focus on how infants process stimuli with respect to visual preference.
While walking through the front gates of County elementary school, you see children of all ages playing while they wait for the school bell to ring. Walking to the classroom that I will be observing you see students with their parent’s line up waiting to get signed in. The students are to be signed in by a parent or guardian for safety precautions, and shows that the child was signed into school. As a visitor, I am to sign myself in, this shows I was in the classroom, at what time was I there, and reason for visiting the classroom.
SCHWEINHART, L.J. and WEIKART, D.P. (1998). ‘Why curriculum matters in early childhood education’, Educational Leadership, 55, 6, 57-60.
From the perspective I have at this stage in my journey in the early childhood education field, I would like to share what I have come to value and believe in regards to early learning and care by looking at my philosophy statement. To begin we will look at the statement and highlight three key features and find out why they are important to me, then we will see what they will look like in my practice, and lastly we will examine these ideas closely by looking at where they originated. By taking an in-depth look at my philosophy statement we will better understand the motivation behind my practice which I hope to continue to refine and refresh as I gain more knowledge and experience.
Eliason, C. F., Jenkins, L. (2008). A practical guide to early childhood curriculum (8th edition). New
Drawing from the readings in the Morrison course text and from Video Program 1, describe how societal changes and changes in early childhood education have influenced both care and education in early childhood programs today. Explain how the evolution of early childhood programs offers evidence of the essential need for early childhood professionals to engage in lifelong
In this assessment I will be talking about the principles and philosophy of Frobel and Montessori, what they have in common and differences, there contributions to Siolta and my own thoughts in relation to early childhood education and their impact on the learning environment
Each year education becomes more and more important in the United States. With the demand of a formal education people each day choose a career path in order to get a good employment. (Formal education is classroom-based, provided by trained teachers.) Many Americans believe that education is the only path to getting a rewarding job in which they would be able to live a comfortable life. But other believe that being employed is not as important as having an education because that makes them different from other people and makes them wiser in life. There are many careers that are very important in America, but one of the most important career is “Early Childhood Education” because it is where the foundation of a child is set to help them become
Children may also need help in having their attention directed towards significant features of a task or a situation, when left alone, they might not make the right connections. The interventions by the knowledgeable give the child a structure within which to formulate meaning (Smith, Cowie, Blades, p510). Based on this I believe that it is important that our children’s development should begin at day care and pre-school age. So that developmentally they are not left alone and not making the correct developmental connections. Many times we leave our children alone and it sets them up for failure. As teachers and parents we should not fail to build on prior knowledge, as some of our day care centers do, but we should build on the foundations of knowledge at an early time. Not in the 3rd and 4th grade when its too late.
Programme planning is a vital sector in diverse early childhood education (ECE) service to provide quality education and care for young children. There are many ways we could plan things. The planning will link to the document of desirable of objectives (DOPs), Te Whariki and the licensing criteria which provide by the government. Planning in ECE cycle has no beginning and no end; it is a continued cycle day after day, week after week and year after year. Play is basic element to learn and develop in child’s life.
My beliefs and values about early childhood education is based upon understanding that all children are unique individuals who need a caring, nurturing, and secure environment in which to grow and develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. Children under the age of three are in critical stages of development, it is my belief that a quality child care environment will have a positive impact on a child’s development and make a significant difference in the life of a child and his or her family. My philosophy of early childhood education and the elements I believe are necessary in developing a developmentally appropriate child care environment is rooted in my views and beliefs about experimentalism, progressivism, multiculturalism, and the influence of philosophers such as Dewey, Piaget, Montessori, and Vygotsky. Furthermore, I believe young children will thrive and grow in developmentally appropriate child care programs that possess the following elements: (1) teachers who see themselves as intentional, responsive and respectful facilitators of learning, (2) the ability to build a community of learners, (3) implement an effective curriculum that allow children to explore their natural curiosity about the world.
Entering my kindergarten teaching experience in the last quarter of school year I had to quickly become familiar with kindergarten content standards and the school’s curriculum. To do this I observed my mentor teachers instructional time with the children and gained as much information as I could about the children’s educational standing by developing a professional relationship with the my mentor teacher and the children. I learned that the majority of my kindergarten children had not previously attended preschool and that this was their first year of school. I found that interacting with the children in social activities provided me with great insight to their literacy, math, science, and social studies development. In reviewing the children’s class projects, school displays, and an array of their work sample along with my mentor teachers year-long assessments I was able to recognize challenging, emerging and advanced content areas of the children’s core curriculum. These emerging and challenging content areas is what I centered my curriculum planning around. “Information about each child’s learning and development is used to evaluate teaching effectiveness. This may lead to changes in schedule, curriculum and teaching strategies, room set up, resources, and so on.” (Bredekamp and Copple, p. 249)