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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 […]

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

Connecting Children with the Natural World Last, part of our image of today’s children involves their need to be protected from a dangerous world. Children are constantly supervised in commercial outdoor spaces that are created especially for them and include plastic, brightly colored structures, clearly defined boundaries, and artificial turf. Gone are the days when

The Inner Child One of the ways you can find joy in teaching is to regularly revisit your own inner child. As teachers plan activities and work with curriculum, they need to think about goals, objectives, and logistical arrangements. Equally important, however, is to consider how children will experience the curriculum. Even though we understand

Finding Joy in School As you make decisions about how to organize your classroom, involve young children in problem solving, display their work products, and report their progress, you demonstrate to the rest of the world how you view your students and what you think they are capable of. Your classroom or care setting can

Developing Executive Functioning Young children can be included in making decisions and solving problems that enhance or are consistent with your curriculum objectives in ways that also promote executive functioning. In particular, giving children opportunities to make decisions that involve planning promotes higher-order thinking because it requires processing mental “what-if” scenarios. For example, two teachers,

Developing Self-Regulation and Problem-Solving Skills Learning to make decisions is a developmental process. With young toddlers, you make sure there are several baby dolls, for example, because deciding to share is not something we expect from them yet. You might, however, give the same toddler two equally acceptable choices for snack. The child must choose

Problem Solver A hands-on prop can be very helpful to children who are trying to resolve a conflict because it helps them to manage the steps in the process. Note that this example uses clip art, but a prop that used photos of the children would be even better. Once children are at the peace

Step-by-Step Photo Instructions Step-by-step instructions for classroom routines are especially meaningful if the photos used picture children from the group. Developing Self-Regulation and Problem-Solving Skills Learning to make decisions is a developmental process. With young toddlers, you make sure there are several baby dolls, for example, because deciding to share is not something we expect

Balancing Child-Initiated and Teacher-Directed Choices We want to imagine young children as “problem solvers” because children benefit from being allowed to make choices that they and we consider important in many ways. They can learn about cause and effect in a way that is personally meaningful. When they see that adults not only trust them