Learn more about cognitive activities, cognitive development milestones, play, and how to promote cognitive development in preschoolers.
An experienced early childhood educator shares the importance of preschool and discusses its benefits to overall development.
Did you know self-concept plays a great role in shaping a child's future? Yes, the way we see ourselves forms an important part of our everyday lives. The same psychology works with little ones. Self-concept is the belief an individual has about his/her self including abilities, weaknesses, special traits,
Introducing our FACS Child Development Preschool Observation Packet – the ultimate companion for high school students embarking on their journey into early childhood education! Tailored for FACS child development classes, this packet provides a structured and engaging weekly framework for students to observe preschoolers through the lens of PIES – Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social development. Key Features: PIES Weekly Focus: Dive deep into one aspect of PIES each week, ensuring comprehensive observations in Physical (both gross and fine motor skills), Intellectual, Emotional, and Social domains. Takeaway Pages: Capture the essence of each week with our Takeaway Pages. Students jot down their top 4 insights, fostering reflection and critical thinking. Pros and Cons Sheet: At the end of the observation period, facilitate thoughtful discussions with a Pros and Cons sheet, encouraging students to contrast and compare the dynamics of an all-day preschool for 4 & 5-year-olds. Final Thoughts Page: Wrap up the entire experience with the Final Thoughts page. Students articulate their learning, insights, and personal growth, providing a holistic view of their journey. Teacher Tested, Student Approved: Developed and refined by experienced educators, this packet ensures relevance, effectiveness, and engagement. Approved by students, it's a valuable tool for years to come. Reusable Year After Year: With a timeless design and adaptable structure, this observation packet is designed for longevity. Use it year after year to enrich your child development classes. Fun Graphics: Enjoyable and visually appealing graphics enhance the observation experience, making the process both educational and fun. Ignite your students' passion for early childhood education and enhance their understanding with our comprehensive and user-friendly Preschool Observation Packet. Elevate your FACS child development classes to new heights of experiential learning and observation mastery.
First published July 2011. Updated 2018. I’m going to sound a bit like a textbook right now. I’m sorry. Bear with me. You’ll be glad you did…I hope. :) I was taught in my early childhood courses that there are 6 domains of early childhood development. I say there are 7, but we’ll get...
A guide to physical development in early childhood and the typical milestones children reach from birth to the age of six.
Learn more about cognitive activities, cognitive development milestones, play, and how to promote cognitive development in preschoolers.
Successful early experiences in math have a powerful effect in how your child develops their mathematical thinking, a important skill to master for use in their everyday lives. Our math printable worksheets will help your young child learn their numbers, shapes and other basic math skills.
Behaviors can be tough. But they don't have to be. Tips on how to deal with challenging behaviors in preschool from an experienced early childhood educator.
Explore Montessori's sensitive periods from birth to age 6 with our comprehensive guide. Learn how these critical developmental phases, including movement and language, shape your child's learning and how you can support them. Dive into Montessori's unique insights and enrich your child's journey.
Learning to write is much more complicated than we think. After all, most people can write so what is so difficult about it? It's second nature to most of us, yet take some time to look at yourself when you write. What muscles are you using? Switch hands and see if you can manage writing with your other hand. This may give you some idea of the level of control required to make meaningful marks on paper. Building muscle strength and learning to control those muscles is an integral part of children learning to write. Core muscles, the large arm muscles and the small muscles in the hand and wrist all need strengthening and developing in order for children to be able to gain control of a pencil or crayon. In addition to strengthening and controlling muscles, refining depth perception and visual tracking skills are important. Hand-eye coordination is essential as the hands and eyes have to work together to enable children to form letters and write across the page. While your child's first writing experiences may look like scribbles to you, if you ask them what they have drawn you may get a very complex story. Children recreate and make sense of their world first through their drawing and later through their writing. This takes time to develop and develops alongside their language. When a child can tell you all about their drawing and you can record that for them, they are learning that their words are valued and can be represented. When children begin to understand that symbols have meaning, they are on their way to being motivated to record these symbols for themselves. Their first efforts at writing recognisable letters will possibly begin with them writing their names between four and five years old. It's vital that children see their name written and have opportunities to write their names independently. This is their signature, it's not a copy or tracing of an adult's writing. Children who can write their names are very proud of this and this achievement needs to be celebrated, whatever the writing looks like, so they will be enthusiastic about writing. When their child is beginning to write, parents should not worry about letters that are not properly formed, letters that are back wards and that their child may have missed out letters. This is a natural part of children developing their writing style. They get plenty of practise at forming letters later on, the early years is a time for children to experiment as they develop the brain connectors needed to control their hand eye coordination and make writing on the lines possible. Source: Words their way Children need experiences to write about so exploration and interaction with the world around them and other people is essential. Children learn to express themselves through their writing when they have opportunities to: à draw, paint and create and a collage à practise their skills in a variety of contexts through different experiences à strengthen their muscles through manipulating materials during play à develop their coordination through physical activity à interact with their peers and adults Ideas to develop muscles and hand-eye coordination include: à playing outside, swinging, running, pouring sand and water, playing tag, swimming, riding a bike à exploring and experimenting with a variety of materials such as sand, water, glue, tweezers and tongs, boxes and puzzles à finger painting and gloop à working with playdough The more children are engaged in purposeful play; the more opportunities they have for interactions with others; the more they are positively encouraged; the stronger their foundations for both writing and reading will be and the more rewarding their progress will be for them as you celebrate each success together. Some examples of emergent writing
This Trapezoid Activity Table is a must have for daycare, preschool and early childhood development centers. Enhance collaborative learning by grouping tables together. It will accommodate children up to age 7. It features a 29\"W x 57\"L thermal fused scratch, stain and warp resistant laminate top with a black edge band and 16 gauge tubular steel legs for increased stability. The top incorporates a protective underside backing sheet to prevent moisture absorption and warping. An attractive black powder coated finish protects the upper legs from scratches and height adjustable chrome lower legs give you the flexibility to raise or lower the table a full 9\" in 1\" increments. Casters allow you to easily move the table around and then lock into place. Perfect for craft time, snack time and party time, this easy to clean table is just the right size for small children.
Keep students engaged and check out this must-try collection of hands-on, educational, and FUN engineering activities for kids!
Transform circle time into a delightful learning experience with our curated list of 30+ best activities for kids.
Are you looking for ways to incorporate environmental print in your preschool classroom? This post has five different ideas to easily incorporate...
The importance of early childhood development should not be underestimated. The effects of learning in the early years are life-long.
From developing fine motor skills, letter and number recognition, sight words, sorting, sequencing, reading, and math, these task boxes for autism tasks will help develop important life skills and beyond!
Greetings, Everyone! It has been a little over a week since my last post...and wow, have I gotten smarter!! Last week, I was in Dallas at NAEYC. Despite the lost luggage, the conference was amazing. I learned more than I could have ever imagined. First off, I had the opportunity to present with Jenny Spencer. What a wonderful experience! You definitely need to check out her blog, Ignite Learning. The confidence she had in me and her positive energy re'ignited', my love for Conscious Discipline. Which leads me to the second opportunity NAEYC provided me, getting to reunite with Dr. Becky Bailey, the creator of Conscious Discipline. Her presence alone reminded me of why I went into education in the first place...to make a difference in the lives of children, families and staff. In speaking with her, I created a revamp to a post I did in February 2013 and one I shared during our presentation at NAEYC, the ready-not ready visual. I added conscious language to support staff in consistently helping students with transitions using the visual. Transitions can be very hard for children. At which time, they tend to be in the brainstem with limited verbal communication. By teaching a student to communicate “I am not ready” the student is more likely to communicate his/her need for more time without hitting, kicking, biting, etc. So here is how it works: One minute before it is time for a student who has a difficulty transitioning, set a one-minute timer, take a deep breath and prepare your student by saying “One more minute then it is time for . .” as you set up this table tent. Then when the timer goes off, take three deep breaths, open the table tent and say “all done it is time for. . . are you ready or not ready.” If the student pulls the not ready icon and/or says not ready, celebrate this appropriate communication by saying “Good for you, you said you are ready." or "good for you, you said you are not ready, you may have one more minute.” Then reset the timer and set the table tent up without putting the not ready icon back in. When the timer goes off the second time, take three deep breaths and say ”all done time for...” This time the not ready icon is not an option as it is time to set the limits. Your student may still be reluctant to transitioning but the idea is that you are supporting them in making a transition and self-regulating as you give them the words to say they are not ready the first time and then helping them through the transition process the second time as you set the limits and tell the student it is time to transition, using empathy and positive intent. “It is time for... This is hard for you. You feel sad. How can I help you?” Then turn the visual support to the back so the student can communicate his/her needs and/or you can help them communicate his/her needs. For example, with this visual a student could request help or a break or you could communicate “This is hard, do you need a break? Hug? Deep Breath?” as you model the visuals use. I love the addition of the conscious language but please do not feel obligated to use this specific language. It is just words to get you started. A big thank you to Dr. Becky Bailey for suggesting this tweak! Looking forward to hearing how this conscious language helps your students and staff. Click hereto print the document and get started! Believe me..."YOU ARE READY!" Best wishes, Lindy
A preschool weekly activity plan is required as part of the portfolio created to obtain the national Child Development Associate (CDA) license. This preschool weekly plan template can be used as part of any Early Childhood Education course, part of the CDA, or would be great to incorporate into you...
At the Crafty Classroom, we have over 30 preschool themes with numerous printables and activities you can use in your homeschool or classroom!
The beauty of Waldorf education is that it meets the child where he is developmentally. The synergy of Waldorf teaching methods and child development is discussed wonderfully in an article by Dr Reggie Melrose called ‘Waldorf from a Neuroscientific Perspective‘. The Morning circle is a great example of how Waldorf meets the young child where […]
These last few months of Summer are the perfect time to square away your continuing education classes! Preschool is a fun group to plan activities for. In the midst of your planning, there are five
Shapes worksheets help children in kindergarten develop a strong foundation in geometry. They will practice recognizing and drawing basic shapes such as circle, triangle, square, rectangle and oval with our printable worksheets.
Circle or whole-group activities can be challenging for SLPs. Here are five easy to prep, highly engaging activities for preschoolers.
Our art and colors printable worksheets help children in kindergarten to explore their creativity and imagination. Our printable pages include drawing, coloring, dot-to-dot and more. Foster your child's creative mind and watch as they begin to express themselves and communicate through art.
Playtime is More Than a Fun Activity, It's a Learning Experience! Learn About the 6 Stages in Play Development That Build Your Child's Social Skills!
Keep your little ones entertained and learning with our Match the Picture worksheets! This printable set is ideal for preschool and kindergarten students, focusing on matching similar objects, shapes, and animals. Easy to download and print, these worksheets are a fantastic tool for developing early learning skills, including attention to detail and visual discrimination. Each sheet features colorful pictures to match, making learning interactive and enjoyable. Great for parents, teachers, and homeschoolers looking to enhance their educational resources. Instantly download and print for a quick and engaging activity that supports early childhood development. PRINTABLE WORKSHEETS- This is a DIGITAL product (not physical). You will receive a link to download your art after purchasing. These DIGITAL FILES are available through the link provided in the PDF document upon purchase. After your purchase, you can access your downloads by visiting your Etsy Profile (top right) and then clicking ‘Purchases,’ and then ‘Download Files.’ If you purchased as a guest, you will receive an automated email from Etsy containing the download information. Please also see this helpful article from Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/help/article/3949. Usage Terms: Take a moment to review the usage terms and licensing agreement associated with the digital item. This will provide you with essential information on how you can use it. We wanted to remind you that it's intended for personal use only. Please refrain from sharing it or using it for any commercial purposes. Its distribution or resale is strictly prohibited. Your respect for these terms is greatly appreciated. Because this product is digital, we cannot accept returns or cancellations.
