Full-Day Kindergarten July 5, 2009

Full-Day kindergarten is becoming quite popular. Parents who work full-time seem to be major supporters of full-day kindergarten programs because, unlike in half-day kindergarten programs, they would not have to find child care for afterschool. Full-day kindergarten programs are found primarily in low-income and minority school districts. Full-day kindergarten programs are also less expensive because the school districts would not have to hire people for the mid-day switch between morning and afternoon kindergarten classes; these people being bus drivers, aides, and crossing guards. Besides the cost, full-day kindergarten programs prove to be beneficial to the learning of kindergarten students. Full-day kindergarten programs will:
“* integrate new learning with past experiences through project work and through mixed-ability and mixed-age grouping (Drew & Law, 1990; Katz, 1995) in an unhurried setting;
* involve children in first-hand experience and informal interaction with objects, other children, and adults (Housden & Kam, 1992);
* emphasize language development and appropriate preliteracy experiences;
* work with parents to share information about their children, build understanding of parent and teacher roles, emphasize reading to children in school and at home, and set the stage for later parent-teacher partnerships;
* offer a balance of small group, large group, and individual activities (Katz, 1995);
*assess students’ progress through close teacher observation and systematic collection and examination of students’ work, often using portfolios; and
* develop children’s social skills, including conflict resolution strategies. (Rothenberg).”
My only concern with full-day kindergarten programs is how these programs would help those students who enter kindergarten straight from home. Even though pre-kindergarten has become popular, not all children start in a pre-kindergarten program. Other than that, I agree with Dianne Rothenberg, the author of this article, in that full-day kindergarten programs can be great for our younger students.
To read the full article, please visit this site.

How Children Learn July 4, 2009

As stated by Diane Trister Dodge & Toni S. Bickart, “There is now more research on how people learn and specifically on how young children learn than we have ever had before. This research has led to widespread debates in both the general public and media as well as the profession about curriculum and pedagogy. Frequently missing from the debate, however, is an understanding of how teachers make decisions in the classroom.

High-quality programs are planned and implemented by people who are skilled and knowledgeable about young children and how they learn. But even the best trained professionals find it beneficial and appropriate to teach in early childhood programs that use a curriculum as a focus for learning. An early childhood curriculum offers educators a vision of what an age-appropriate program looks like and a framework for making decisions about how to achieve that vision.

Curriculum in early childhood is defined as “an organized framework” that includes three components (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992, p. 10):

Content—This component is the subject matter of the curriculum, the goals and objectives for children’s learning.

Processes—This component is the pedagogy of learning, how teachers teach, and the ways in which children achieve the goals and objectives of the curriculum.

Context—This component is the setting, the environment in which learning takes place.

Each of these components, to be implemented well, requires a knowledge of how children develop and learn at each stage of development; their individual strengths, interests, and needs; and the social and cultural contexts in which they live (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997, p. 9). These dimensions of learning, known as developmentally appropriate practice, guide all aspects of teaching and learning. When teachers understand developmentally appropriate practice, they can use this information to guide children’s learning.

At each stage of development, there are issues of central importance to the healthy growth of children. Therefore, we have created three frameworks to acknowledge the different needs and abilities of infants and toddlers, preschool and kindergarten children, and children in grades one through three. We base our curriculum frameworks on Erik Erikson’s stages of socioemotional development (Erikson, 1963).

Infants and toddlers are at Erikson’s stage of establishing trust and autonomy. Because these issues are addressed in the context of relationships, we emphasize the relationships caregivers/teachers have with children as the focus of decision making.

Three- to 5-year-olds are at the stage of initiative. They like to have choices, to come up with ideas for using materials and for play. Thus, we use an environmental approach and design each interest area as a laboratory for exploring, trying out and sharing ideas, and creating representations.

Six- to 8-year-olds are at the stage of industry. They are increasingly product oriented, want to do a job well, and want to feel competent as learners. In a structured community of learners, teachers can give children opportunities to investigate, represent, and reflect on what they are learning.

Strategies for teaching grow from learning principles moderated by this information about stages of development. Purposeful teaching and learning occur when this knowledge is put into practice through curriculum.”

 

Please visit  http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/pubs/katzsym/dodge.html to learn more about how children learn

 

teaching the writing technology July 3, 2009

In this article it discusses the importance of teaching young children new technology. Since teachers spend alot of time with children they need to know what is out there. I enjoyed reading this article.

 

http://thenjournal.org/review/234/

It’s a sentiment Herrington and Moran give voice to in the opening chapter, when they explain that

[t]eachers, because they are working closely with young people, often see changes taking place in society before the rest of us. Though they may want to adapt their classroom practice to these changes, they may find adaptation difficult because of the nature of the school and classroom or because change is, for all of us, often difficult. Change may be particularly difficult for teachers who are still relative newcomers to the world of multimedia.

Reading to Students July 3, 2009

Reading to students is crucial for their development, especially at a young age. Children who read are known to have higher IQs, as opposed to those who don’t. Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes. Every child deserves to be read to and deserves to learn how to read. Not only does it help the child mentally, it is a great bonding experience between the parent and child. Little Ones Reading Resource is dedicated to helping children learn to read and providing them with the resources to do so. Follow this link to learn more about Little Ones Reading Resource.

http://www.littleonesreadingresource.com/

Developmental Milestones June 27, 2009

As stated on the World Bank website, “Early childhood is the most rapid period of development in a human life. Although individual children develop at their own pace, all children progress through an identifiable sequence of physical, cognitive, and emotional growth and change. The Early Child Development approach is based on the proven fact that young children respond best when caregivers use specific techniques designed to encourage and stimulate progress to the next level of development” (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTCY/EXTECD/0,,contentMDK:20207747~menuPK:527098~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:344939,00.html).

Also stated on the website are the developmental milestones for children from birth to age eight.

 

Age Range	What they do	What they need
Birth to 3 months	At this age, children begin to smile, track people and objects with eyes, prefer faces and bright colors, reach, discover hands and feet, lift head and turn toward sound, and cry, but are often soothed when held.	Protection from physical danger, adequate nutrition, adequate health care, (immunization, oral rehydration therapy, hygiene), motor and sensory stimulation, appropriate language stimulation, responsive, sensitive parenting.
4 to 6 months	At this age, children smile often, prefer parents and older siblings, repeat actions with interesting results, listen intently, respond when spoken to, laugh, gurgle, imitate sounds, explore hands and feet, put objects in mouth, sit when propped, roll over, scoot, bounce, grasp objects without using thumb	Protection from physical danger, adequate nutrition, adequate health care, (immunization, oral rehydration therapy, hygiene), motor and sensory stimulation, appropriate language stimulation, responsive, sensitive parenting.
7 to 12 months	At this age, children remember simple events, identify themselves, body parts, familiar voices, understand own name, other common words, say first meaningful words, explore, bang, shake objects, find hidden objects, put objects in containers, sit alone, creep, pull themselves up to stand, walk, may seem shy or upset with strangers.	Protection from physical danger, adequate nutrition, adequate health care, (immunization, oral rehydration therapy, hygiene), motor and sensory stimulation, appropriate language stimulation, responsive, sensitive parenting.
1 to 2 years	At this age, children imitate adult actions, speak and understand words and ideas, enjoy stories and experimenting with objects, walk steadily, climb stairs, run, assert independence, but prefer familiar people, recognize ownership of objects, develop friendships, solve problems, show pride in accomplishments, like to help with tasks, begin pretend play.	In addition to needs from previous years, children at this age require support in the following: acquiring motor, language, and thinking skills, developing independence, learning self-control, opportunities for play and exploration, play with other children. Health care must also include deworming.
2 to 3 1/2 years	At this age, children enjoy learning new skills, learn language rapidly, are always on the go, gain control of hands and fingers, are easily frustrated, act more independent, but still dependent, act out familiar scenes.	In addition to needs from previous years, children at this age require opportunities to do the following: make choices, engage in dramatic play, read increasingly complex books, sing favorite songs, work simple puzzles.
3 1/2 to 5 years	At this age, children have a longer attention span, act silly & boisterous, may use shocking language, talk a lot, ask many questions, want real adult things, keep art projects, test physical skills and courage with caution, reveal feeling in dramatic play, like to play with friends, do not like to lose, share and take turns sometimes.	In addition to needs from previous years, children at this age require opportunities to do the following: develop fine motor skills, continue expanding language skills by talking, reading, and singing, learn cooperation by helping and sharing, experiment with pre-writing and pre-reading skills.
5 to 8 years	At this age, children grow curious about people and how the world works, show an increasing interest in numbers, letters, reading and writing, become more and more interested in final products, gain more confidence in physical skills, use words to express feeling and to cope, like grown-up activities, become more outgoing, play cooperatively.	In addition to needs from previous years, children at this age require opportunities to do the following: develop numeracy and reading skills, engage in problem-solving, practice teamwork, develop sense of personal competency, practice questioning and observing, acquire basic life skills, attend basic education.

 

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTCY/EXTECD/0,,contentMDK:20207779~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:344939,00.html

Does Preschool Harm Children’s Development? June 26, 2009

This article discusses the concern that some parents and teachers have with putting children into daycare/preschool environments at an early age.  The study found that children may benefit more from being at home with their parents than being placed in a school environment at an early age.

Technology & Early Childhood Education June 26, 2009

According to Dr. Bruce D. Brady,

“When information is presented in a fun and engaging way, it is a lot easier than looking at a single page that has a bunch of columns of numbers you’re supposed to add up.”

 

In this article, Dr. Brady  discusses both the good and bad when it comes to technology and early childhood education.

Should Children Go To Pre-School June 26, 2009

                          

As parents we ask ourselves if preschool is best for our children or not. If your child is not in preschool there is a lot of different activities you could do with your child to prepare them for Kindergarten. For example, read books, have the child be able to recognize their own name in print, colors, shapes, numbers, be able to use scissors, crayons, markers, glue, socialization with other children, give chores, and be able to recite emergency information. This is just a few of the activities to prepare your child for Kindergarten to see a full list please visit http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/kindergarten_prep.html#Literacy

Research shows that when parents and families are involved, children and schools are more successful. It doesn’t matter if you send your child to preschool or not, what matters is you are there for your child

President Obama Provides Support. June 25, 2009

President Obama wants all children to succeed. Stated on the website http://www.ed.gov/parents/earlychild/ready/resources.html,”The years before a child reaches kindergarten are among the most critical in his or her life to influence learning. President Obama is committed to providing the support that our youngest children need to prepare to succeed later in school. The President supports a seamless and comprehensive set of services and support for children, from birth through age 5. Because the President is committed to helping all children succeed – regardless of where they spend their day – he is urging states to impose high standards across all publicly funded early learning settings, develop new programs to improve opportunities and outcomes, engage parents in their child’s early learning and development, and improve the early education workforce.” To read more please visit http://www.ed.gov/parents/earlychild/ready/resources.html