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The Importance of Play Smith Collection / Getty Images All children are motivated to play. In 1989 the United Nations expressed the conviction that every child has a right to play. Whatever their needs, we know that all young children learn through all their senses, and that a good curriculum will provide activities that encourage […]

Examples of Adaptations for Special Needs Table 4.2: Examples of Adaptations for Special Needs Physical Limitations (Office of Head Start, 2012) Visual Impairments (Cox & Dykes, 2001; Monahan, 2011) Speech and/ or Hearing Impairments (Anderson, 2012) Learning Disabilities and Behavioral Issues (Office of Head Start, 2012) Gifted and Talented (Cook & Cook, 2005) Modify equipment

Adapting for Children with Special Needs Adaptations for children with disabilities are intended to provide as normal a school or child care setting experience for the child as possible. An adaptation is something we do to alter the physical environment, curricular materials, and/or teaching strategies to include the child in the daily life and learning

Cognitive Development Our views of intelligence, thinking, and understanding of neurological functions are changing as a result of significant research conducted over recent decades. We know that the brain receives, processes, and stores different kinds of information in specific locations. Neural connections, the development of hard and soft “wiring,” and brain density increase dramatically from

Affective Development Affective development describes how children behave and feel. Social competence, emotional character, and personality develop in highly individualized patterns influenced by the interplay of nature (biological processes) and nurture (environmental influences). Over time and as children acquire language, their affective responses become less outwardly focusedon physical needs (e.g., crying when hungry, tired, or

Physical Development From infancy throughout the early childhood period (birth to age 8), physical development typically progresses from the head downward (cephalocaudal) and from the center of the body outward (proximodistal). As the body lengthens and the head assumes a smaller proportion of the rest of the body, the child’s center of gravity gradually rises.

Typically Developing Children iStockphoto / Thinkstock Children in any particular age group exhibit generally similar developmental characteristics, but with many variations for which teachers must adapt. Typically developing children are those considered to be representative of most children in a population. The developmental progression of typically developing children is often expressed in terms of norms,

Universal Expectations vs. Individual Variations You already know that developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) addresses both the general characteristics of groups of children as well as unique variations from child to child at any particular point in time. A good curriculum will be one that is flexible enough to allow the teacher to use insights and

Teaching from a Developmental Perspective One of the primary goals of teachers as decision makers is to make sure that the curriculum “opens the door” to learning for all children in the group or class (Hull, Goldhaber, & Capone, 2002). Excellent teachers evaluate and adapt curriculum to respond to the interests, abilities, needs, and culture

Discussion Questions What is your image of the young child? What experiences or ideas influenced the construction of this image? How do you imagine we will perceive the child of the future, and how will curriculum adapt? Using the description of the seventeen imaginary children from the opening vignette, describe how you would prepare for