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Promoting Responsibility, Accountability, and Organization Sometimes we do things unconsciously that reinforce child dependency. There are certainly products and tools that for safety purposes must be stashed safely out of a child’s reach. However, when you store classroom materials in locations that are inaccessible to the children, they always have to ask you to get […]

Fostering Independence A primary goal of early childhood education is helping each child to become independent (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The concept of independence is obviously relative to a child’s age, environmental awareness, language facility, and physical strength. We wouldn’t assume that a 3-year-old can cross a street, bake cookies, or operate mechanical equipment safely

Preparing the Classroom to Represent the Children in It Image Source / SuperStock Representing actual rather than generic children is an important strategy for constructing an authentic image. As you prepare your classroom or care setting to receive and welcome new children, one of your primary objectives should be to represent the actual children and

Personal Interviews With children who are old enough to converse and especially when a home visit is not practical, a one-on-one interview with each new child can be helpful to obtain the kind of information described above. Think of it as finding “quality time” for each child in your care, not just when you first

Interest Inventories An interest inventory is a questionnaire constructed to collect information about children’s routines and habits, likes and dislikes, interests, and even fears or anxieties. The inventory can be given to parents or guardians before the child enters your class or care group or can be conducted as a phone conversation or email correspondence.

Diana described the importance of parents playing with their children. What might parents learn from doing so? A home visit should focus on developing initial rapport with the child, but it also gives a parent or guardian the opportunity to ask questions or have an initial conversation about any particular concerns or goals they have

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? In later chapters, we discuss teaching strategies for implementing different aspects of the curriculum. In this section, we concentrate on strategies and practices that specifically address getting to know your students and developing the objective eye that enables you to approach curriculum decisions that will best serve the specific

Individual Stressors Creatas / Thinkstock Even young children today experience numerous stressors, including increasing academic pressure. Today’s young children are probably unaware of the arguments over how they should be tested, measured, categorized, and labeled. But they develop a self-image and are influenced by interactions with their families, immediate environments, peer groups, and teachers. They

The Achievement Gap When expectations in standards are tied to state testing processes, children who consistently do not achieve the desired outcomes fall into the so-called achievement gap. States report test scores on a continuum, with descriptors such as below basic, basic, or proficient (National Report Card). State and federal monies for many supplemental programs

Learning Standards Closely related to readiness is increasing use of early learning standards and explicit expectations about what a child should know and be able to do at a particular point in time. Because of the developmental orientation of early childhood as a field, advocates work with states to ensure that expectations are framed to