•  When children use symbols or drawings to represent ideas or words they begin there writing life
•  For preschoolers learning to write is like learning to speak
• Manuscript Writing is a simple form of calligraphy.These are printed words seen everyday in children's books, in newspapers, on street signs and on computer screens.  It is a motor skill and perceptual skill 
• Manuscript writing is not taught formally in the preschool setting, most children aren't ready for this task 

•  Children need to learn
• Differences in formations of letters
• Write the alphabet 
• Write numbers
• Words are made of groups of letters 
• Letters in english go left to right and top to bottom 
• Letters sounds
• Spelling words is related to their sounds
• Print carries a message
• To complete those children need interest, enthusiasm, clear instructions and support

• Manuscript writing is mainly a perceptual and motor skill
• Children need enough fine motor coordination to hold a writing tool and make basic strokes 

• These encourage children to use small muscles in their hands and fingers 
• Provide interesting developmental materials 

• Muscle control that allows the hand to do a task in the way the eye sees it done 
• This will promote the development of writing skills 

• There are many systems for teachers to use, the difference in the systems are minor 
• Included are the directions in which strokes are made 
• Whatever system you chose to use you should be consistantant 
• Zaner-Bloser is the most widely used system because of its common use and the ease by which children can learn print using it 

• You should provide a variety of graphic writing tools for young children 
• Chalk, Cryins, Washable felt-tip markers, colored pencils, lead pencils 
• Until about the age of 3 children are interested in making scribbles and just using the utensil
•  When young children start writing they use their fist and use their arm and shoulder muscles
• 3-4 year olds start to use their wrists to move the writing tools
• Children's controlled scribbling begins to emerging into letter-like forms
• Gradually children will use the tools to write the letters fo their names
• 4-5 year old begin to use a mature tripod  grip on the writing tool, they enjoy writing their name and drawing things like stick figures, suns and snowman 
• 6-5 year olds exhibit good control the writing tool and can form both upper and lowercase letters and they like to draw things like flowers and houses 
• At this age they start to learn the conventions of print
• The conventionsifi of print is standardized spelling, word spacing, lower and uppercase letters 
• Paper
  • Provide a variety of paper to encourage children to write
  • Young children enjoy making choices
  • Use large unlined paper because children lack the hand eye coordination with the lined paper.
• Manuscript Sequence
  • The sequence in how children learn the alphabet
  • They first learn straight and curved lines
  • Next they learn curved letters (example: C)
  • Next is curved letters with intersections (example: B)
  • Next is diagonal lines (example: K)
  • Lastly horizontal lines are recognized (example: H)
  • Most children learn the Zaner-Bloser method which follows more lowercase letters than Upper case because th lower case are used most often
• Building Writing Skills
  • Proper writing skills are based on a few things
  • Practice
  • Maturity
  • Children who have learned the importance of size, proportion, spacing
  • You must guide them through frustration
• Size and proportion
  
  
  • Lowercase letters are always half the size of uppercase letters
  • The size of there writing depends of their fine-motor and hand eye coordination skills
  • Writings typically start out big 
  • As the children's coordination skills mature there writing sizes become more proportional 

• Making the spaces of the words is more of a fine-motor control 
• To help with the spacing some teachers have children draw an “O” in between every words, some children might not be developed enough for this practice
• Some teachers also have children use their 2 fingers in between every word

• If a line waver, it usually means immature coordination or writing to slowly
• Line waivers are a sigh the child lacks enough muscular control to apply constant pressure to the writing tool

• Young children have difficulty learning which direction the letters face
• Pointing out the differences in the direction can help with this problem

• Practicing their writing will only make them better
• Being selective to what activities they use to learn their letters will help
• Don't over practicing children or they may become tired and bored and not find it fun anymore 
• When practicing first look at how they hold the tool
• Early Experiences in writing 
  • This often determines whether a child likes or dislikes something 
  • Finding activities that will challenge a child but not frustrate them
  • Starting children with writing their name usually gets them excited
  • Learning the proper forms should be addressed
• 
  Techniques for encouraging writing 
  •  When children see their name they can get exciting so having their names in things around a room like bulletin board or place mats at lunchtime
  • Doing this is called making your environment “print rich friendly”
  • Labeling thing like a bathroom or a window can help children get familiar with the words 
  • Making sure children know that we write from left to right, top to bottom is important 
  • Skywriting is demonstrating the correct way to do something and then have them follow you 
  • Overall having a print rich environment is very important for children learning 
  •  Group Experiences
  •  Writing in groups can make children encourages to write 
  • Calling attention to the upper and lower case letters to children can help them identify the difference, when in groups other children will hear the words and learn
  •  When reading books to children, comment about the text
  •  Point out thing like the different letters
  • Children needs supportive adults to encourage them to explore and feel good about their writing 
  •  Space for Writing 
    •  A writing center has appeal for 4-5 year olds
    • This should be a space separated from the rest of the classroom 
    • This allows privacy and quiet
    • Provide many writing tools 
    • Provide different sizes of paper and writing tools
    • Have models of the alphabet close by 
    • There should also be a display materials that encourage writing
    • Documentation Boards 
      • These are made using bulletin boards, poster boards, and other types of boards
      • These boards provide examples of the children's work

• Dramatic play- is a form of play in which a single child imitates another person or acts out a situation 
• Socio-dramatic play- involves several children imitating others and acting out situations together
• Socio-dramatic play is the most complex play seen in early childhood settings
• Children project there feeling and emotions he or she is feeling into the puppet 

• 1st stage of play is solitary play, 2nd is parallel play, 3rd engage in associative and cooperative play as children get older solitary decreases and social types increase 
• Solitary play or independent play is play is experienced by infants who play by themselves and the play is exploratory in nature
• Children until 9 months play in single object but after 9 months they examine multiple objects 
• Parallel play starts at 2 years old
• Parallel play children play beside each other but not with each other
• Associative play is the first type of social play where children interact with one another while engaging in a similar activity
• Cooperative play is play between 2 or more children
• Children who are aggressive and uncooperative may have problems with cooperative play
• To be successful in cooperative play, they need to give affection, be friendly, and consider other children’s wishes, they also need to understand the viewpoint of others
• Children may talk to dolls or puppets, acting as if the toys can hear what they say this is known as personification 

• 1st stage of material use is called manipulative stage children handle props. Unscrewing and screwing the top on and off a baby bottle
• 2nd stage functional stage children will use props as intended while playing with other children. Using the baby bottle to actually feed the baby.
• 3rd stage imaginative stage children in this stage do not need props. Instead of feeding the baby with a bottle they will use a pencil, a stick, or a finger. 

• Playing as being a wife, husband, mom, dad, doctor, or police officer.
• This is called role-play allows children to try out a variety of roles
• Children engaging in role-playing often give specific instructions for roles

•  Children grow cognitively, physically, socially, emotionally
• During this type of play children make decisions and choices
• Learn problem solving skills
• Physical development is promoted through the play actions of children: sweeping floors, dressing dolls, and pretending to paint furniture 
• Social and emotional development are promoted through socio-dramatic play
• Learn how to balance their play to satisfy and please others  

• At the age of four children now play with more aggressive behaviors. They like to imitate ghosts, monsters, or TV action heroes. 
• Five year olds reflects games with rules, as well as fears and hostile feelings. They can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. 
• Themes for Dramatic Play
• Artist, baker, barber, doctor, dentist, hair stylist, office worker, pilot, photographer, police officer, teacher
• Airport, camping, costume shop, pet shop, spa, zoo, store.

• Provides material and space, when theme-related props are provided children spend more time in socio-dramatic play
• Role also includes coaching, modeling, and reinforcing. 
• Coaching- requires that you provide children with ideas for difficult situations 
• Modeling- showing the children that appropriate behavior to use during their socio-dramatic play

• Avoid scheduling too many activities
• Blocks, woodworking, puppets, and art activities all encourage dramatic play

• Small areas tend to promote quiet, solitary play. 
• Large open areas promote more socio-dramatic play
• Prop Boxes
• Prop Box- contains materials and equipment that encourage children to explore various roles. 
• Prop box themes might include an office worker, painter, hair stylist, post office, baker, florist, librarian, chef, fast-food worker, bride/groom, doctor.
• Costume Corner
• Rotate costumes to complement current studies 
• Clothing should be of many cultures 
• Housekeeping Area
• Every early childhood classroom should have a housekeeping area.
• Child-sized furniture and equipment. Kitchen utensils, furniture, and other household items that complement current themes should be included
• Outdoor Play Area
• Includes a jungle gym, sandbox, housekeeping items, toy car & truck, sawhorse, planks. Accessories such as tents, large blanket, and hats are also useful. Children can build forts, houses, and ships with these materials. 

• Puppetry- involves the use of puppets in play. A puppet is a figure designed in likeness to an animal or human. 
• Come in different shapes and sizes
• Can express emotions if they have moveable mouths, legs and arms
• A self-conscious child can act out feelings such as anger and love
• Children can learn to communicate feelings and thoughts using puppets 
• Children may say things to a puppet that they wouldn’t say to a person, this can help the teacher understand what makes the child angry, sad, or happy. 
• Puppets can be used to motivate children. Encourage them to share their thoughts, and to spark ideas. 

• Hand, mascot, and “me” puppets 
• Hand Puppets 
• Include no string or rods to be worked. 
• A hand puppet is worked by placing the second and third finger in the puppet’s head. Thumb should be placed in one of the puppet’s arms and the fourth and fifth finger in the other arm. 
• Mascot Puppets 
• Stays in the classroom all year
• Help introduce new activities and class members. 
• Model proper classroom manner
• “Me” Puppets
• Making a puppet using their own hands
• Line the inside opening between your index finger and thumb with a red marker. This line will be the puppet’s lips. Using another colored marker, add the puppet’s eyes. Use a piece of construction paper or fleece fabric for the hair. With double-stick tape, attach the hair to the top of your knuckle. 

• To begin writing a puppet story, select a theme.
• Next develop the plot
• End the story by resolving the conflict.
• When developing the conflict use opposites such as ugly-beautiful, poor-rich, weak-strong, kind-mean

• The puppet should use proper communication skills 

• Props will help with the story (Circus theme can have balloons around speaker) 
• Get the children interested in the beginning 
• Puppets Voice 
• Use a special voice for puppets character, it should also match the puppet (A tiger is going to have a booming voice where as an older lady will have a quieter voice.  
• Children should be able to hear puppets voice when there are two being used 

• Solitary Play (Independent Play)- When a child plays by themselves
• Parallel Play- Children play side by side, but not with each other
• Associative Play- Children interact with one another while engaging in a similar activity
• Cooperative Play- When two or more children play with each other
• Personification- Giving human traits to non living objects
  What are the benefits of these play types?
• Socio-Dramatic Play-
  • Children grow cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally when participating in socio-dramatic play. 
  • During this type of play children make decisions which teached them problem-solving skills
    
    
  • Language concept is also developed when children engage in play through learning new names for equipment and gaining new ideas from children 
    
    
  • Social and emotional play are developed through socio-dramatic play.

•  Hand puppets 
• Mascot puppets
• “Me” puppets

• Conflict- Two or more forces that oppose each other
• Most puppet stories are written by teachers. They are often told to fit the child's needs and interest.
  • The first step to writing a puppet story is to select a theme, after selecting on it will help to decide the order of events. Some themes are manners, safety, friendship, vacation, holidays, and experiences. 
  • The plot is the most challenging part, due to the fact that the children have to be able to follow and understand it. 
  • To end the story resolve the conflict. When making the conflict simply think of opposites. Like ugly-beautiful, weak-strong, poor-rich, kind-mean, and more.

• The room should be set up to tell and go along with the story.
• Don't use human voices
• Should have a high pitched and low pitched voice. Don't change the voices.
• The voice should match the size and age.

• Guiding Play:
  • The first role for a teacher while guiding play is to provide material and space for the kids to play. It also involves coaching, modeling, and reinforcing
• What is Coaching?
  • Coaching is providing the kids with ideas for difficult situations. 
• What is Modeling?
  • Showing the children appropriate behavior to use during socio-dramatic play.

• There are three basic types of movements that can be shown with hand puppets
  • Fingers- Adds small movements in the arms and hands
  • Wrists- Can bend the puppet to make it look like its bowing
  • Arms- Can be used for from one place to another

• Well-planned settings provide developmentally appropriate play experiences that also help promote math skills
• The math experiences should stress the following:
  • Observing and describing concrete objects
  • Recognizing colors, patterns, and attributes
  • Classifying sets of objects
  • Comparing objects and using terms that describe quantity, such as more than and lighter than
  • Copying patterns
  • Recognizing shape concepts
  • Recognizing and writing numerals
  • Using logical words such as all, none, and some
  • Using one-to-one correspondence
  • Estimating quantity and measurement
  • Developing problem-solving skills

• Before planning math activities for children, first determine the children’s skill levels
• There are two common forms of assessment:
  • Observation
  • Specific task assessment

• Observation involves informal viewing of a child during self-selected activities
• Specific behaviors to watch for include:
  • Identifying colors and shapes
  • Sorting and classifying objects
  • Counting objects
  • Setting a table correctly
  • Pouring liquids and carefully watching the amount poured
  • Constructing patterns
  • Writing numerals
• Through observation you will be able to determine a child’s needs

• Specific task assessment- Involves giving children set activities to determine skill and/or needs
• Examples:
  • Present a child with crayons and say “Tell me the colors” After the child has replied say “Now count these for me”
  • Show a child one group of four pennies and one group of seven pennies. Then ask the child “What group has more pennies?”
  • Present a child with circle, diamond, square, and rectangle shapes. Say “Find the square.” Then have the child identify each of the remaining shapes
  • Show a child four different-sized balls. Ask “Which is the smallest ball?” and “Which is the largest ball?”
  • Lay 10 blocks in front of the child. Ask “How many blocks do I have here?”

• Encourage the children by providing an active, stimulating, environment to foster mathematical thinking
• Provide the children with a variety of three-dimensional objects that promote physical and mental activity
• Collections of items for counting, observing, creating, sorting, discussing, construction, and comparing should all be included

• Should promote the development of many skills
• Children should learn identify, classify, and understand the concept of a set
  • Should also learn to count and recognize numbers, and understand the concepts of space, size, volume, and time

• Color is considered a math concept since it helps children learn to discriminate among objects
• Using color, children can classify, pattern, and sequence
• Identifying colors also seems to help language development
• It requires the skill to recall a name and associate it with a visual image
• According to studies, children learn to identify colors before shapes
• By age two many children can match a color to a sample
• However, some three, four, five year old children may not be able to match colors
• This problem may be caused by color blindness
  • Color blindness can be discovered through careful observation of children as they try to learn colors
  • Children who are color-blind see shades of green and re as grayish brown
• Color concepts can be taught formally or informally
  • You can teach children to name colors using different-colored blocks
  • Color recognition can also be taught at transition times
  • Sorting objects by color can also be used to teach color concepts
  • Charts are another way to teach color concepts
    • Charts also teach children the usefulness of graphing
    • Colored shapes can also be graphed on charts
  • A freely box or bag is useful for teaching color concepts
  • Color hunts in the classroom
• Discussion helps children learn to recognize colors

• Children are often confused by shape
• The skills needed to identify and draw shapes do not develop at the same time
• Children can most often name shapes before they can draw them
• Most children cannot copy shapes other than circles until they are about four years of age
• To learn basic shape concepts, use a variety of activities that stress touching, holding, and matching of shapes
• Shape is defined by what “goes around the outside” or the outline of an object
• Some teachers prefer to use parquetry blocks to teach shape concepts
  • These blocks are geometric pieces that vary in color and shape
• Do not teach shape and color concepts at the same time
  • Wait until color concepts are well understood otherwise some children may confuse color names with shape names
• Shape concepts are harder to teach than color concepts
  • Since color descriptions are used more often in everyday conversation, they may be easier for children to understand

• Classification- Is the process of mentally sorting and grouping objects or ideas by a common attribute
• Attribute examples include:
  • Size
  • Color
  • Shape
  • Pattern
  • Function
• This is one of the first skills displayed by young children
• Matching
  • It involves putting like objects together
• Sorting
  • Is the process of physically separating objects based on unique features
• Sequencing
  • Is the process ordering real-life objects from shortest to tallest or tallest to shortest
• Children begin to learn classification skills in their first few weeks of life
• By two months old, children should begin to classify experiences as pleasant or unpleasant
• Infants gather information to make classifications by using their scenes through repeated experiences
  • This gives them the ability to relate past and present experiences
  • This process is known as recognizing
• Some useful classification tasks for young children include:
  • Provide children with a set of red and black buttons. Have them sort them into piles by color
  • Give children toys with and without wheels. Have them sort them into two piles based on whether or not they have wheels
• As children build classification skills, increase the number of common features in the activity

• Set- Is a group of objects that are alike in some way and, therefore, belong together
• Common features of a set may be color, shape, size, material, pattern, texture, name, or use
• A key objective to early math activities is to have children learn to organize objects
• Objects belonging to a set are it’s members
• Empty set- Is a set with no members
• In order to understand the concept of a set, children first need to learn about the sets that have like members
  • Best taught in smalls groups

• The foundation for understanding counting is called one-to-one correspondence
• One-to-one Correspondence- Is the understanding that one group has the same number as another
• It is the most basic part of the concept of numbers
• Studies show that finger counting helps children develop mathematical understanding
• Children may start developing oral counting skills as early as two years of age
• 3 year olds count objects by pointing at them
• 4-5 year olds count objects by touching them
  • They may sometimes forget which items they have counted
  • Gradually they will learn the concept of cardinality
• Cardinality- The concept that the last number of the counting sequence tells how many objects exist in a set
• The ability to count occurs in two stages: Rote and Rational counting
• Rote Counting
  • Is learned before rational
  • Is recitation of numbers in order
  • This skill involves memory not understanding
• Rational Counting
  • Involves attaching a number to a series of grouped objects
• Many children you teach will be able to recite numbers in their correct order, however they will not understand the meaning the numbers represent
• Children should always be exposed to rational counting using concrete objects
  • The simplest way to do this is through physical guidance

• Numerals- Are the symbols that represent numbers
  • Each numeral represents a quantity
  • Numerals serve as shorthand for this quantity
• Children gain these recognition skills as they are continually exposed to numerals
  • Children see numerals at home, school, in the community, in the grocery store, on signs, on tv programs and commercials, on calculators, clocks, and watches

• Spatial Relationships- Refers to the position of people and objects in space relative to each other
• Describing the positions of objects in space is an important part of early math experiences
• Space concepts that should be introduce are:
  • Before, after
  • High, low
  • Up, down
  • Here, there
  • Far, near
  • Above, below
  • In front of, in back of, between, beside
  • Inside, outside
  • Top, center, bottom
  • First, middle, last
• You should be aware that prepositions are abstract---they represent a location in space
• To best learn the meanings of prepositions, children should be shown concrete examples
• Space concepts can be taught during cleanup time, art time, block building, and other activities

• Children develop size concepts only through experience
• Introduce and stress the words:
  • Big, little
  • Large, small
  • Long/tall, short
  • Wide, thin
  • Big, bigger, biggest
  • Small, smaller, smallest
  • Inches, feet, pounds
  • Smaller than, bigger than
  • Thick, thin
  • High, low
  • Large, larger
  • Longer, taller, shorter

• Early childhood programs should offer many opportunities to explore volume
• Sand tables and water tables are useful for this task
• During the children’s play with these materials, introduce volume concepts such as:
  • Empty
  • Full
  • Little
  • Much
  • A lot
  • Some
• When children use these concepts, they think about their world in terms of quantity

• Time is a difficult concept for children to understand, partly because time can stand for so many situations
• Examples of time concepts are:
  • Past
  • Present
  • Future
  • Soon
  • Hours
  • Days
  • Tomorrow
  • Yesterday
  • Today
• Studies suggested that young children have only a vague concept of time
• In fact, the average 5 year old child knows only the difference between afternoon and morning, night and day
• Children usually cannot read the time on a watch or clock until about age seven
• You can use routines to teach time concepts to young children
• You can offer time experiences to children by using such words like:
  • Day, night
  • Before, after
  • Minute, second
  • Now, later
  • Morning, afternoon, evening
  • Yesterday, today, tomorrow
  • Early, late
  • Spring, summer, autumn, winter
  • New, old

• Cooking and outdoor activities help introduce temperature concepts
• To teach these concepts, include such words as:
  • Thermometer
  • Hot
  • Cold
  • Warm
  • Cool

• Children’s literature has gradually become an important strategy for teaching math concepts to young children
• Books enhance children’s natural interest and curiosity about math
• Books also help children see numbers in many contexts
• They are a meaningful tool for exploring, thinking, and exchanging math concepts

• Children need to understand how to appreciate how other people live
• Social studies helps children acquire skills for living
• Children will develop self-respect, develop respect for others, develop self control and independence, learn how to share ideas and materials, and learn the need for and purpose of rules
• Social studies makes the children better able to understand their world

• Key to good social studies program is your skill as a teacher and your knowledge
• To provide quality learning experiences, you have to make daily observations
• Routine checks should always provide data related to the children's interests, abilities, developmental levels, attitudes, and knowledge

• Every group of children brings a wide variety of interests to the classroom
• Some children may be interested in airplanes, trains, or geography
• To determine their interests you can observe them during play, interact with them in a casual way, ask the children’s parents to share their children’s interests with you, and observe the children’s choice of books
• Skills of every group of children should influence the social studies program
• You need to make sure to match materials and equipment with each child’s ability level
• Determine ability levels by observing the children’s social skills as they play with other children, reviewing the children's physical growth and health records, and structuring a variety of tasks for each child to complete

• After the children’s needs, interests, abilities, and experiences are determined you are ready to plan the curriculum
• Encourage the children to take part in the planning
• During the planning process, allow the children to make important choices
• Young children are able to plan the following aspects of their activities; whom to play with, materials needed for a project, places to visit, people to invite to the classroom, how to celebrate birthdays and holidays

• Many teachers use themes when planning social study lessons
• Social studies is not introduced at a particular time

• Look at community resources as a variety of learning opportunities
• Record names of stores, museums, art galleries, community services, community workers, and housing groups that may be of interest

• Structure the classroom to promote incidental learnings
• Incidental learnings are learning experiences that happen during the course of a normal day
• Watch for everyday happenings that can teach children something
• Every classroom has unique incidental learning experiences
• Classroom and playground repairs
• Classroom rules
• Roles of center workers such as the janitor, bus driver, or office worker
• Handling an argument
• Happenings in the local community

• Evaluation is a key part of planning the social studies curriculum
• The evaluation process will help you see if goals have been met, what new goals are needed, and whether any current goals are need modification

• Young children want to find out about their world; they touch, taste, smell, see, and hear in an attempt to learn
• They form perceptions which are ideas formed about a relationship or object as a result of what a child learns through senses
• Concepts help children to organize, group, and order experiences
• Personality, experiences, language skills, health, emotions, and social relationships all affect the formation of accurate concepts
• Experiences are affected by feelings and emotions
• Children well-formed language skills form useful concepts
• A number or concepts are formed through social studies activities such as multicultural, intergenerational, democracy, ecology, change, geography, community living, current events, and holiday concepts

• Culture is learned by patterns of social behavior
• Children are typically aware of their own racial identity around 4 years of age
• Culture provides children with a lifestyle that often defines what foods are eaten and when
• Culture influences feelings, thoughts, and behavior
• When forming a multicultural curriculum keep the following goals in mind
• Respect for oneself as a worthwhile and competent human being
• Acceptance and respect for others similarities and differences
• An appreciation of the child's own cultural and ethnic background

• Parents can play a key role in meeting multicultural goals for children
• Parents and family members can provide you as a teacher with information on their cultures parenting beliefs and practices
• Parents can also share their heritage by taking part in classroom activities
• Select materials that reflect the ethnic heritage and background of children
• The following items are useful for reaching this goal; flags, weavings, traditional games, ethnically diverse children’s books, musical recordings, pictures, and videos
• Be sure to watch for stereotyping when selecting materials for classroom use
• Omission is another bias found in some teaching materials
• Omission implies that some groups have less value than other groups in society

• Young children's concepts of older adults are not always positive
• For many children today their only contact with older adults is with their grandparents
• Negative stereotyping is one of the greatest problems faced by older adults
• Include intergenerational concepts in the program to encourage children to view older adults more positively
• Books and other materials should depict older adults positively
• The curriculum needs to contain concepts of older adults that will foster positive ideas of them
• Older adults can contribute to the classroom
• Intergenerational concepts benefits older adults along with children

• Children's concepts based on democratic society are based on what they recieve from home, the media, and center
• To help children learn governmental concepts, design group activities based on the function of a democracy
• Some activities will help children understand the purpose rules and laws such as
• When the class gets a new pet, let the children vote on a name
• When a new toy arrives, let the children outline rules for it
• Morning meetings promote a caring community at toddler, preschool, kindergarten, and school aged children
• Class meetings will help create and model a democratic environment

• Ecology is the study of the chain of life, it focuses on water, land, air, grass, trees, birds, and insects
• Some activities that focus on ecology are…
• Take children on a trip around the block. As you walk, point out plants, trees, flowers, shrubs, and birds
• Keep plants and animals in the classroom or the play yard
• Children need to learn that change affects their lives in many ways
• To help children learn this concept, use nature and family
• To help children understand how they change include concepts about changes they have experienced
• Show a video on babies
• Record children's height and weight at the beginning of the year, at midyear, and at the end of the year

• Young children are geographers as soon as they become mobile
• The relationship of humans to the earth is important for children to understand
• Some activities to use for younger children are allowing them to dig in a sandbox or garden and play in a sandbox with cars, trucks, pails, and shovels
• Design a bulletin board that maps out the neighborhood surrounding the center and the children can study this board and help navigate a field trip through the neighborhood

• During preschool years children are becoming more and more aware of the world outside their homes and families
• Explore with the children the neighborhood around the center
• Plan trips to some of the community places that provide services for people (library, museum, fire station, police station and the post office)
• Plan visits to various workplaces to show the children how the people work

• Preschoolers are usually unaware of events outside their own environment
• Show and tell is an activity that helps children understand current events
• Some classrooms develop a current events bulletin board titled News

• Holiday celebrations teach children about their own culture and other cultures
• They provide opportunities for meaning learning about about similarities and differences
• Carefully choose and prepare for the holidays that are being celebrated
• Let parents become involved in the celebrations
• For each celebration provide an age appropriate experiences and activities that are culturally sensitive and non-stereotyped
• Two year olds do not grasp the concept of holiday
• Three year olds view holidays in terms of their families own experiences
• Four year olds begin to understand simple information related to holidays
• Five years of age children understand that people celebrate holidays in differents ways
• Family diversity needs to be considered when planning mothers day and father's day
• Involve the children in the planning for holidays and special events

• Celebrate any milestone a child has mastered
• Make a bulletin board titled classroom celebrations for anything a child or class has achieved

• Children need to understand and appreciate how other people live
• Lifestyles, Languages, Viewpoint
• By including social studies in the curriculum students will…
• Develop self-respect and a healthy self-concept
• Develop respect for others
• Develop self-control and independence
• Learn to share ideas and materials
• Develop healthy ways of relating to and working with others
• Gain the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed for living in a democracy
• Develop respect for other people’s feelings, ideas, and property
• Learn about the roles people have in life
• Learn to appreciate the past and its relationship to the present
• Learn the need for and purpose of riles
• Social studies help children better understand this world

• The key to a good social studies program is the knowledge and the skills the brings into the classroom
• Through training teachers will understand the need for…
• Community resources, chance learnings, themes, group participation, observation, and evaluation to enrich the social studies program
• To provide quality learning experiences, you need to make daily observations
• Provide data related to children's interest, abilities, developmental levels, attitudes, and knowledge
• From this data, determine what children what children need to know and what behaviors need to be changed

• To determine children's interests you can…
• Observes them during play, noting the type of play and their use of materials and equipment
• Interact with them in a casual way, asking them what the enjoy
• Ask the children's parents to share their children’s interests with you
• Observe the children’s choice of books
• Skills of the group of children should influence the social studies program
• Teachers must match materials and equipment with each child’s ability level by…
• Observing the children’s social skills as they play with other children
• Reviewing the children’s physical growth and health records
• Structuring a variety to tasks for each child to complete noting their success
• There is no shortcut for gathering data to determine the children’s skill levels
• Information is essential for planning a DAP social studies curriculum
• Develop the Curriculum
  • Once the children’s needs, interests, abilities, and experiences have been determined, you are ready to plan the curriculum
  • Encourage children to take part in the planning
  • Young children can plan the following aspects of their activities
  • Whom to play with
  • Materials needed for a project
  • Places to visit
  • People to omvier to the classroom
  • How to celebrate birthdays and holidays
• Themes
  • One theme can be used to integrate the learning opportunities of many different concepts
• Use Community Resources
  • Community may have resources for a variety of learning opportunities
• Incidental Learnings
  • Incidental learnings are experiences that happen during the course of a normal day
  • The following are examples of incidental learning experiences
  • Classroom and playground repairs
  • Classroom rules
  • Roles of center workers such as the janitor, bus driver, or office worker
  • Handling an argument
  • Happenings in the local community
• Evaluation
  • Key part of planning the social studies curriculum
  • Helps to see if goals have been met, what new goals are needed, and whether any current goals need modification
  • You may ask children the following questions
  • What did you like best?
  • Why did you like it?
  • What did you learn?
  • What do you want to learn more about?
  • What would you like to do again?
• Building Social Studies Concepts
  • Perceptions are ideas formed about a relationship or object as a result of what a child learns through the senses
  • Personality, experiences, language skills, health, emotions, and social relationships all affect the formation of accurate concepts
  • Good physical and mental health help children form proper sensory concepts
• Multicultural, intergenerational, democracy, ecology, change geography, community living, current events, and holiday concepts are formed through social studies
• Multicultural Concepts
  • Culture is learned patterns of social behavior
  • Children are typically aware of skin color around three years old
  • Culture influences feelings, thoughts, and behavior
  • When planning multicultural curriculum keep this in mind…
  • Respect for oneself as a worthwhile and competent human being
  • Acceptance and respect for others’ similarities and differences
  • An appreciation of the child’s own cultural and ethnic background
  • The skill to interact positively with all people
  • An understanding that there are many ways to do things
• Parent Involvement
  • Parents and other family members can be the best resources
• Selecting and Preparing Materials
  • Select materials that reflect that ethnic heritage of all children such as
  • Cooking utensils
  • Flags
  • Weavings
  • Traditional Games
  • Children’s Books
  • Musical Recordings
  • Pictures
  • Videos
  • All groups must be included and respected in teaching materials
  • To prevent omission
• Activities to Encourage a Multicultural Perspective
  • Children are more likely to focus on differences than similarities
  • Focus on similarities
• Intergenerational Concepts
  • Negative stereotyping is a problem for older adults
  • Children may have attitudes and stereotypes that the formed early in life
  • They can be changed with contact
• Selecting and Preparing Materials
  • Gerontology is the study of older adults
  • Use materials that have positive depictions
• Activities for Developing Intergenerational Concepts
  • Arrange field trips to visit older neighborhoods or assisted living facility
• Older Adults in the Classroom
  • They may help with projects and help other groups of children
  • Following these guidelines for volunteers in the room…
  • Ensure that each older adult has a definite role to play in the classroom
  • View each older person as an individual, using his or her special talents, interests, and training
  • Maintain close communications between the administration, teachers, and the older volunteer
  • Design and provide training and sharing opportunities for the older person
• Democracy Concepts
  • By five children can pick out the flag and may know the Pledge of Allegiance
  • These are some sample activities that could help build governmental concepts
  • When your class gets a new pet, let the children vote on the name
  • During cooking, let the children vote on what type of food to make
  • When a new toy arrives, let the children outline rules for its use
  • Encourage the children to suggest field trips they would like to take
  • Let children plan the type of sandwiches they will have on a picnic
  • Let the children vote on plans for classroom celebrations
• Morning Meetings
  • They can promote a caring community at toddler, preschool, kindergarten, and school-age levels
  • May be scheduled or unscheduled
  • Purpose is to address concerns in the learning community
• Ecology Concepts
  • Ecology is the study of life
  • Focuses on land, water, air, grass, birds, trees, and insects
  • Some sample activities that focus on ecology are…
  • Take children on a trip around the block. As you walk, point out plants, trees, flowers, shrubs, and birds
  • Keep plants and animals in the classroom or the play yard
  • Provide magazines that children may use to cut out the pictures they feel are beautiful. Let each child explain the beauty of the picture.
  • Give each child a paper bag and take a “trash hike” around the play yard. Encourage children to pick up trash and place it in their bags
• Change Concepts
  • Children need to learn that change can affect their lives
  • Change is constant
  • Try the following…
  • Show videos of babies
  • Record children's height and weight at the beginning of the year, at midyear, and at the end of the year. Discuss with children how they have changed
  • Collect a variety of baby clothes and toys. Place these items on a table where the children can explore them
• Geography Concepts
  • Children  are geographers as soon as they are mobile
  • They must learn that the earth provides food, shelter, and raw materials

• During preschool children become aware of the world outside their home and family
• Answering these questions with the children will help develop community living concepts
• What buildings and businesses will they find?
• Who are the people they will meet?
• What can these people do?
• How can they help you?
• Plan visits to places in the community that provide services for people
• Police station, library, radio, fire station
• You can invite people in different careers into your classroom

• Show-and-tell helps kids understand current events
• Children may share events such as…
• Personal achievements
• Family events
• Special celebrations

• Holidays teach children about their culture and other cultures
• Ask parents if they want to be involved
• Provide age appropriate activities
• Don’t introduce the holiday too early or you may confuse the children
• Family diversity comes in with holidays like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
• Some programs celebrate Family’s Day
• Involve children in the planning for holiday events

• You can celebrate little things like tying shoes and riding a bicycle
• Others can be birthdays and the arrival of a new member in the program

• The teacher's role is to provide a rich, inviting, and supportive environment with hands on activities. 
• Gives the children a chance to be aware and involved with their surroundings 
• The younger children should be on observing and exploring because they are seeing the world fresh and new

• They are building skills for picking out similarity and differences and growing their vocabulary, and language
• Fine-motor and hand-eye coordination improves as the children measure, sample, and handle objects

• Most science experiences are unplanned form looking at flowers to the wind rising suddenly, however most experience need to be planned with a theme, this helps the children learn and to be organized 
• Children should be given the time to play and examine

• Observe and explore
• Note differences and likenesses
• Make predictions and solve problems 
• Build theories to explain what they see

• Buttoning, zipping, pulling on boots, tying shoes, and putting fingers in gloves are all actions that can be demonstrated. 
• At child's eye level is most effective 
• Verbal guidance is all a child needs 
• Letting the child finish the process will give them a sense of accomplishment 

• Nutritional services provided by centers vary 
• Centers providing lunch, other may only have breakfast 
• Snack may be the only food given at center 
• Make mealtimes appropriate for age, abilities, and interests of children
• Children's appetites are influenced by illness, stage of development, physical activity, and a body individual nutrient need

• Infants and Toddlers have different food likes and dislikes
• Once children become mobile, their interest in food may decrease they are more interested in moving 
• Provide finger foods to infants and toddlers whenever possible 
• Helps develop fine-motor skills 

• Two-year-old children become increasingly skilled at handling cups and spoons 
• Encourage children to fill up their own cup but provide support 

• By this age children have distinct food preferences 
• They may refuse to eat certain foods
• Old enough to feed themselves 
• Keep portions small if child wants more they may ask

• At this age they like to help 
• Wish to help them begin conversations 

• Taste all foods before asking for seconds of food or milk
• Remain at the table until everyone has finished 
• Wipe up your own spills

• Common during the preschool years 
• Food refusal, drawling, pica, and vomiting are all eating problems that become serious 
• Lack of exercise or energy, excess energy and illness can all cause a lack of interest in food
•  Do not provide extra snacks to children who refuse to eat breakfast and lunch 

• Include paper, soap, rags, and even toys 

• Many time dawdling is an  attempt to gain attention 

• Most states require that preschool children nap at least one hour
• Most children care centers have a sat nap time 

• Children often enjoy hearing a story at this time, pick stories that will soothe the children
• Plan ahead to prevent children from making too many demands at nap time
• Not all children will fall asleep at nap time 

• The toileting needs of infants are met through the use of diapers 
• Infants cannot control elimination, bowel and bladder release
• All children differ in their toilet learning needs and schedule

• Children cannot be taught to perform toilet functions until their central nervous systems are ready
• Never force children to develop self-regulation 
• Certain factors may affect a child's toilet learning timetable from illness to a new baby in the family 

• As a teacher, keep a matter-of-fact attitude in toilet teaching 
• During  toilet learning, the childrens clothing should be easy to manage
• Children often provide clues when they have to use the toilet 

• Cleanup is an important routine in early childhood classroom 

• Try to maintain a positive attitude towards cleanup 
• Begin by setting firm ground rules and then follow through 
• You will find some children need encouragement or reminders 
• Help me put the blocks away 
• Show me where the puzzles are stored
• Young children enjoy pleasing others
• They will work hard to win your approval 

• Children may go from self-selected activities to using the bathroom to snack time to outdoors play in just a few hours 
• You may use concrete objects, visual signals, novelty, or auditory signals 

• Using concrete objects as a form of transitions involves children moving items from one place to another 
• “Lean, please put your picture ub the cubby.” This will direct Leon from an art activity to a new activity 

• Using visual signal is another transaction method 
• Informing children of a change through signal they can see
• For instance, when you shoud the children a picture of lunchtime, the children move to the lunch table 

• Novelty transitions  involves the use of unusual, new actions or devices to move the children from one activity to another
• Using locomotion in limited only by imagination. Children can march, skip, or walk backwards
• For instance, do not asl a group of two- or three-year-olds to skip 

• A bell, timer, autoharp, tambourine, or pino can all inform children of a transition 
• Auditory signals also need to be developed for individuals 
• - for instance you may guilty tell a child that he or she needs to clean up or go to the snack table 
• Auditory signals are quite useful for providing warnings

Goals of Early Math Experiences 

• Math experiences should stress…
• Observing and describing concrete objects
• Recognizing colors, patterns, and attributes
• Classifying sets of objects
• Comparing objects and using terms that describe quantity
• Copying patterns
• Recognizing shape concepts
• Recognizing and writing numerals
• Using logical words
• Using one-to-one correspondence
• Estimating quantity and measurement
• Developing problem-solving skills 

Assessing Math Ability

• Determine the children’s skill levels before planning math activities
• Children need to be assessed individually
• 2 common forms
• Observation 
• Specific task assessment 

• Involves informal viewing of a child during self-selected activities
• Look for specific behaviors like..
• Identifying colors and shapes
• Sorting and classifying objects
• Counting objects
• Setting a table correctly
• Pouring liquids and carefully watching the amount poured
• Constructing patterns
• Writing numerals

• Involves giving children set activities to determine skill and/or needs
• The information provides information for use in planning math activities

Math Equipment 

• Encourage children by providing an active, stimulating environment to foster mathematical thinking
• Collections of items for counting, observing, creating, sorting, etc should be included
• Children can construct math concepts from these experiences 

Mathematical Activities

• A quality curriculum provides a rich environment 
• Provides developmentally appropriate activities to help children explore key concepts 
• Math activities should promote the development of many skills 
• Children should learn to count and recognize numbers and understand the concepts of space, size, volume and time 

• Color is considered a math concept since it helps children learn to discriminate among objects 
• Identifying colors helps language development 
• Children learn to identify colors before shapes
• Color concepts can be taught formally or informally 
• Color recognition can also be taught at transition times
• Sorting objects by color can also be used to teach color concepts
• Charts are another way to teach color concepts
• Color hunts in the classroom is a fun way to teach color concepts

• Children are often confused by shape 
• They will become aware of the boundaries around them at first
• Roundness is typically the 1st shape children recognize
• Skills needed to identify and draw shapes don’t develop at the same time
• Most children cannot copy shapes other than circles until they’re about 4
• Parquetry blocks- geometric pieces that vary in order and shape 
• 
  
  • Shape concepts are harder to teach than color concepts
• 
  Classification 
  
  
  • The process of mentally sorting and grouping objects or ideas by common atributes
  • One of the first skills displayed by young children
  • Classification allows people to cope with large numbers of objects 
  • Matching-a form of classification
  • Sorting-also involves classification 
  • Sequencing-process of ordering real-life objects from shortest to tallest or tallest to shortest
  • Children begin to learn classification skills in their first few weeks of life 
  • Recognizing-the simplest form of classification 
  • Children begin to watch and describe features of objects after they learn classification skills 
• 
  Sets
  
  
  • Before children learn to add and subtract in elementary school, they need to understand sets
  • A key objective of early math activities is to have children learn to organize activities
  • Empty set-a set with no numbers
• 
  Counting 
  
  
  • Basic math skill 
  • Key problem-solving skill 
  • One-to-one correspondence-the understanding that one group has the same number as another
  • Finger counting helps children develop mathematical understanding 
  • Carnality-concept that means the last number of the counting sequence tells how many objects exist in a set
  • Rational counting-involves attaching a number to a series of grouped objects 
  • After children have had many counting experiences, test their understanding 
• 
  Identifying Numerals 
  
  
  • Numerals-the symbols that represent numbers 
  • Children gain these recognition skills as they are continually exposed to numerals 
  • Children see numerals at home, school and the community
  • A number line is a good way to teach numbers
    Space Concepts
    
    
    • Spatial relationships-refers to the position of people and objects in space relative to each other
    • Children need frequent review to maintain any skill 
  • 
    Size Concepts
    
    
    • Children develop size concepts only through experience 
  • 
    Volume Concepts
    
    
    • An early childhood program should offer many opportunities to explore volume 
    • Sand tables and water tables
    • When children use concepts, they think about their world in quantity
  • 
    Time Concepts
    
    
    • Time is a difficult concept for children to understand 
    • Young children only have a vague concepts
    • You can use routines to teach time concepts to young children
    • Children should also learn about the passing of time 
    • There are many activities for teaching time
  • 
    Temperature Concepts
    
    
    • Cooking and outdoor activities help introduce temperature concepts
  • 
    Using Math Books 
    
    
    • Children’s literature is important for teaching out of math books  

• Storytelling has invited kids to a magical, make-belief world of adventure.
• Strong education tool 
• Storytelling- an important task for child care teachers 
• Involves reciting a story or reading from a book 
• Storytelling is normally a routine 
• Storytelling can help kids learn to love reading and boo as they grow and develop 
• Can help with there language development

• Regular storytelling promote cognitive, social, and emotional development
• Understand the world in which we live 
• Understand other people 
• Develop a positive attitude towards books 
• Develop listening skills 
• Build correct concepts of objects and form new ideas 
• Increase their vocabulary 
• Associate written and spoken words 
• Understand that prints carry meaning 
• Develop an appreciation of printed words 
• Learn the difference between everyday language and written language 
• Understand the letters can be capital or small 
• Develop a desire to read 
• Learn that you read from left to right across the page 
• Stories that draw on the children's backgrounds help them understand themselves better 
• They learn words that describe feelings the have 
• Stories provide models of acceptable behavior and positive relationships 
• They learn how to express their feelings through characters 
• They become more understanding of other people needs 
• Helps children learn more reading skills 
• Helps kids learn the alphabet, numerals, and language
  
  
• It's a good form of relaxation for the child and teacher 

• Can be divided into two main  groups picture books and storybooks
• Picture books -have single words, or simple sentences  and simple plots 
• Usually first kind of book shared with young children 
• Some are wordless allows children to tell the story 
• Storybooks- are often categorized as family life stories and fairy tales 
• Contain pictures but they have more words and more complex plot lines 
• Help kids understand how a character acts and feels 
• Built around achievement, love or a theme
• Family Life Stories- contain the theme of social understanding 
• Usually characters have problems 
• Problem resolved with love n care 
• Purpose is too help children develop social understanding by sharing the problems, troubles, and feelings of others 
• Animal Stories - some animals have human qualities 
• Usually the animal hero has some unusal success or ability 
• Fairy Tales- have a theme of achievement 
• Character or hero preforms tasks throughout whole story 
• Confront giants, witches, or other obstacles
• Kindness and goodness win over all evil 
• Predictable

• Storytelling in an art that requires study and practice 
• The key is to choose book that have dramatic elements 
• Book that mirror a kids emotional experiences will engage their hearts and minds 
• He teacher should value the book also 
• Reviews- lists and description of books 
• May help you find titles, authors, and publishers of the book
• Can be ordered from the American Library Association Children’s Service 
• Fictional content- made up stories, probably didn't actually happen 
• Stories should reflect the child's developmental level, backgrounds, and experiences. 
• content , illustrations, vocabulary, durability, and length of book should all be considered 
• Most preschoolers cannot separate fact from fiction 
• Fantasy book should not be read till age 5 
• Book with talking or moving trees or flowers should be avoided when it comes to younger children, it could confuse them 
• Illustrations- pictures in children’s books. Drawn or printed
• Pictures should be easy to recognize 
• Good pictures help children have an idea if whats going to happen next in the story 
• Respond best to brighter illustration as in darker ones could confuse them
• Should be large and colorful and plentiful 
• Represent the written word 
• Avoid unneeded detail 
• Be realistically an attractively colored  
• Vocabulary 
• Should only include a limited number f word to keep the book simple 
• Use words that they can easily understand 
• Only a few words should be continuously used in the story 
• Repetition of some words will increase the enjoyment of the book 
• Durability
• Children should be able to hold and carry books as well as turn pages
• Covers should be sturdy 
• Page surface should be dull to prevent glare
• Binding should lay flat
• Length 
• Toddlers and infants may stay with a book for 2 to 3 minutes
• 2 year old will remain interested for 5 to 8 minutes 
• Three year old from 6 to 10 minutes 
• Four year olds from 8 to 12 minutes 
• Five year old from 10 to 15 minutes 
• Redlected on number of pages in the book 
• Avoiding Stories that Reinforce Stereotypes 
• Selecting anti-bias stores that are free from stereotypes is essential
• Stereotypes- present ideas about people based on sex, culture, nationality, religion, or/and age

• Good oral reading takes time and effort 
• 3 steps are taken before reading to young children 
• 1. Choose stories that everyone will enjoy 
• 2. Become familiar with the story 
• 3. Decide how you will present the story 
• Preparing to read 
• Oral reading skill are important when reading 
•  Build these skills by practicing reading inf rom of a mirror, recording yourself reading
• Using these you could correct problems as you go 
• Ask yourself 
• Did I convey enthusiasm about the story?
• Did I keep the tempo lively? 
• Did i suggest different voices for different characters 
• Decide if u want to read or tell the story 
• Reading is good so that children can look  at the pictures 
• Telling a story u are able to exaggerate action are things the character does 
• A comfortable setting is required 
• Children must be free from distractions 7as well as feel safe and secure 
• They should sit in a circle on carpet squares 
• Could prevent child from moving around cause they are in their square 
• Group should be small 
• Introducing The Story 
• Set the mood by asking personal question 
• A personal comment 
• Props- re any items that relate to the story and would attract children’s attention
• Reading the story 
• Read stories with pleasure so kids are not irritated 
• Read in a normal voice. 
• Speaking too softly or with too high pitched voice could make the kids lose interest 
• Occasionally point of illustrations; only when necessary when kids slack off
• Handling interruptions
• A child wiggling could distract another child but let the child wiggle 
• If they ask question just say “ please save your questions till the end” 
•  Maintaining Interest 
• If children don't appear to like the story then talk faster 
• Might use more emphasis and just skip over detail 
• Ending stories 
• Ask them how they liked the book so they know your finished telling the story 
• Be prepared to tell the story again 
• Note were the children lost interest so you can try to make it more interesting next time you tell the story 
• Draw and tell- or chalk talk, is one storytelling method drawing are made on a chalkboard, poster board or a newsprint pad as the story is told 
• Flip-charts- are stories drawn on large poster board cards 
• Flannel board- or felt board storytelling uses characters and props cut out of felt and place on the felt background.

• Solitary Play 
• This is when a child play by themselves
• Children spend this time gathering information 
• This happens until about nine months of age where they explore one object at a time 
• Parallel Play
• Typically in two year olds
• Children play beside each other but not with each other 
• They may be doing the same thing but there is little interaction
• They focus on playing with things on their own 
• Associative Play
• This is when the children first interact with each other 
• They are doing the same activity 
• They may exchange play materials
• Cooperative Play
• This is between two or more children 
• The children gradually learn property rights of others
• They learn that permission is needed if they want something 
• They learn how to make a relationship with others
• Children who are aggressive may have problems with cooperative play 
• They need to give affection, be friendly, and consider others feelings
• Personification
• This means giving human traits to non living objects 
• Children may talk to dolls or puppets 
• They could say “Mommy is going to feed you now” with a puppet to another 

• Manipulative Stage
• Children use stage props 
• Like a baby bottle they will screw and unscrew the cap 
• Functional Stage 
• This is the second stage 
• Using a baby bottle to feed a doll 
• Imaginative Stage 
• Children do not need real props 
• They can think of substitutes 
• Instead of a bottle they could use a finger, stick, or pencil 
• Many times children will come up with unique ideas 
• Some children find it hard to get into a role without real props 
• Not all children are able to reach the imaginative stage

• Role-playing 
• This allows children to try out different roles
• As one child is a hairstylist the other is the costumer 
• Benefits of Socio-Dramatic Play 
• Children grow physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively from this play 
• Children’s imaginations allow them to be what they can’t be in real life 
• Play Themes 
• The themes often focus on everyday situations that children face 
• The Teacher’s Role 
• The first role is to provide space and material for children 
• The quality of toys will affect time spent in socio-dramatic play 
• Coaching requires that you provide children with ideas for difficult situations 
• Modeling you show the children appropriate behavior to use during their socio-dramatic play 
• Scheduling 
• Dramatic play is best scheduled during self-selected play time 
• Equipment and Setup for Socio-Dramatic Play 
• Children spend more time in socio-dramatic play when it is in the center of the classroom 
• Prop Boxes 
• Prop box contains materials and equipment that encourage children to explore various roles 
• They include a theme such as office worker, shoe shop owner, painter, hair stylist, baker, florist, and gas station worker
• Costume Corner
• Rotate costumes to complement current studies 
• Housekeeping Area
• Supply child-sized furniture and equipment
• Rotate equipment often 
• Outdoor Play Area 
• Include a jungle gym, sandbox, housekeeping items, toy cars, and trucks 
• Include accessories such as tents, large blankets, and hats

• Types of Puppets
• Hand, “me”, and mascot puppets
• Hand Puppets
• These are the easiest puppets because they don’t have strings or rods
• Hand puppets can be held in front of the face or above the head 
• Mascot Puppets
• A mascot puppet is usually large and remains in the classroom
• They should model appropriate behavior and manners 
• “Me” Puppets 
• Children can be taught how to make puppets with their own hands 
• Urge children to make a variety of puppets including people and animals 
• Making Puppets 
• After cutting the fabric, the mouth, eyes, ears, nose, and other parts should be sewn on 
• Seems on a hand puppet should be on the outside of the puppet
• Puppet Stage 
• Stages are not always needed 
• Puppet stages should be lightweight portable and easy to fold down and store 
• Working Puppets 
• When using puppets they should always model proper communication 
• Be sure the puppets uses proper grammar 
• Puppets can help children create small finger, wrist, and hand movements 
• Puppet Voices 
• Puppets should have different voices than a human 
• One should have a lower pitched voice and the other a high pitched voice
• If one puppet starts out with a low voice then they should end the story with a low voice 
• Voices should match the size of a puppet so a spider should have a high pitched voice and a tiger should have a low pitched voice 
• If the puppet is a child it should talk faster and if it is old then it should talk slower

• stories should reflect the child’s developmental level

1. Regular storytelling promotes children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. It helps young children
2. Understand the world they live in
3. Understand other people
4. Develop a positive attitude toward books
5. Develop listening skills

1. Picture books- single words of simple sentences and simple plots These books are usually the first boks shared with young kids
2. Storybooks- often categorized as family life stories, animal stories, and fairy tales.
3. Family life stories- contain the theme of social understanding.
4. Animal stories- In these story's, most of the time the animals have human features, like talking, walking on two feet
5. Fairy tail- have a theme of achievement

• circle
•  rectangle 
•  squares 

•  can control size of shapes 

• This stage occurs between  4-5 years of age 
• children are able to draw pictures that are recognizable. 
•  begin to draw shapes that represent people
•  usually these shapes are large 

• youngest children should use the wider brushes then with coordination improvement they can start using smaller brushes

• are harder to use then paint
• when using these tools the require more muscle movements that aren't fully developed in children
• crayons are made in regular and kindergarten sizes
• chalk is available  in variety of sizes, choose vibrant colors
• felt tip markers come in washable or waterproof ink, most common one is buying  washable felt-tip markers for child care centers

• newsprint 
• manila paper 
• construction paper
• wallpaper 
• cardboard 
• old news paper

• studies show that coloring books have a negative effect on children's creativity 
• avoid using coloring books for children under 6 years old 

• keep this supplies within children's reach 
• use sponges, small buckets and mops 
• encourage children to cleanup after themselves

• paper 
• scissors 
• paste 
• glue 
• collage materials 
• crayons 
• markers 
• chalk tape and paint 

• easel - provide a small amount of paint, & large sheets of newspaper to encourage them to use up the space 
• finger - sensory experience, promotes expression and release of feelings,& requires more supervision 
• string -cut several pieces of yarn or string, next get paint/paper then show the children how to dip the yarn into paint and then run it across the paper.
• texture - mixing powdered tempera with liquid starch. For the best results use sand, sawdust, or coffee grounds to make it thick
• salt - need construction paper/cardboard, paste/glue, cotton swabs, salt mixed with colored tempera. Next spread glue on paper, spread the salt on paper lastly shake off excess paint and let dry.
• mono - starts with regular finger painting, then use an 8X12 piece of paper and have it placed over finger painting then pull them apart. 
• spice - scented painting, First give children a piece of paper and spread glue on it next add the spices on top.
• chalk painting - dip chalk into water and draw on construction paper

• they stimulate imagination
• you will observe them 
• poking 
• rolling 
• stretching 
• pounding 
• squeezing 
• coiling 
• flattening 
• tearing 
• attaching pieces 

•  Most children just snip and in a straight line
• children don't have enough small small muscles strength to cut through these materials 
• avoid using heavy paper to cut with 
• children want to cut in curves once they start cutting 
• requires good eye coordination skills 

• Collages are selection of materials mounted on a surface 
• making collages gives them choices 
• consider the children's age when choosing materials 

•  Blocks are important learning tool for young children
• most popular material in child care centers 
• when playing with blocks children are in constant motion, reaching, stretching and changing body positions.
• improve their eye-hand coordination 
• strengthening their muscles

• cardboard
• plastic 
• rubber 
• foam

• use blocks for counting, patterning, arithmetic and building geometric shapes

• shows respect for children and improves their development when displaying their artwork
• children should have a choice if they want to save their work 
• print the child's name for identification
• the child needs to have a choice whether or not they want to take their artwork home 
• bulletin boards are great to display work, they are also important ways of conveying information to families

• developmentally appropriate for children of all ages, cultures and ability levels 
• relaxing and relives tension 
• fosters a child's imagination creativity and experimentation 
• encourage social interaction as children play side by side with others 

• An outdoor sandbox should be 8-12 inch ledge so children can display their molded sand & so they can sit down 
• outdoor sandboxes should be in a quiet area 
• moist sand is preferable since it can'g get into eyes, shoes or hair easily 
• Anther positive about the sandbox being far away is when child get up and leave the sand will most likely fall off

• water table 
• plastic bins
• laundry tubs 
• wading pools 

• Water play can improve physical skills, also learn mathematical concepts, social skills and problem solving skills 

• woodworking can be a valuable experience 
• promotes hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor development and creative expression 

• woodworking also encourages children to experiment and develop problem- solving skills 

• Print script, is a simple strokes look like the printed words 

• There are many reasons to encourage writing in preschool
• Children need to learn the differences in the formation of letters 
• 4 elements are needed if children are to meet these objectives

• It’s a manuscript of writing 
• Two skills are needed before children are able to write 
• Children need this fine motor skill 
• Early childhood teachers need to include activities that promote this skills on a daily basis 
• Children learn the basic skills needed to learn writing 

• Fine  motor activities are those that encourage children to use small muscles in their hands and fingers 
• They observe the children's interest 
• Provide interesting materials 
• Practice should provide the children with the fine-motor coordination skills needed for writing 

• Is muscle control that allows the hand to do a task in the way the eye sees it done 
• These activities will promote, they should be available for use at all times 

• There are a number of manuscript writing system available for teachers to use
• Include the directions minor 
• Research does not support one system over another 
• Zaner-Bloser is perhaps the most widely used system in preschools and kindergartens 
• Common use and the ease by which children can actually learn from 
• Since the letter formation is difficult, it is popular for preschool children

• Provide a variety 
• Chalk, crayons, washable felt-tip markers, and colored and lead pencils are examples 
• Children enjoy scribbling and may hold a writing tool
• The young children hold the writing tool in the fist and use their shoulder and arm muscles to produce markings 
• Children to control the way they write
• Between the age of 4 and 5 children begin to mature tripod grip on the writing tool 
• They like to draw more complex objects 
• Conventions of print- standardize spelling, word spacing, and upper & lower case letters 

• Teachers should provide a lot of paper for the children, so that way they can encourage them to write. 
• Most preschool children lack the muscle control and hand-eye coordination to use line paper 
• Use large, unlined pieces of paper such as newsprint instead 

• There is a sequence on how children recognize whether a line is curved or straight 
• The easiest letters are those made of straight lines or circles
• You can also follow this sequence design written materials 

• Proper writing skills are based on a few basic guidelines 
• Children learn the importance of letter reversals 
• You must be able to work through unique situations faced by left- handed children 

• To provide useful models for children to imitate 
• You must use the correct letter size and proportion 
• This rule holds true no matter what size it is.

• Achieving proper spacing between letters and words is difficult for many beginning writers
• To help children gain control, have them write the letter of the next word to the right of their finger 
• Unless a child’s fingers are usually large, this should produce proper spacing 

• Reciting words is a key step in learning math concepts
• Math for young children is an active process of thinking about and organizing experiences to make sense of their world
• This process involves reasoning, problem solving, and communication
• Relating new experiences and information to what they already know is how children construct math concepts
• Classroom equipment, materials, and activities must provide opportunities for the children to understand patterns through play
• Early math experiences for young children should focus on exploration, discovery, and understanding
• Math concepts are usually taught informally in day-to-day activities in early childhood classrooms]
• One way you can include math concepts in the daily routine include asking:
• “are there enough chairs”?
• “Is everybody here today”?
• “Is there a cookie for each child”?

• Well-planned settings provide developmentally appropriate play experiences that als help promote math skills
• These math concepts should help form concepts such as color and shape recognition, classification, measurement, counting, time, temperature, space, and volume concepts
• Math experiences should stress some of the following: 
• Observing and describing concrete objects 
• Recognizing colors, patterns, and attributes
• Classifying sets of objects 
• Copying patterns
• Comparing objects and using terms that describe quantity such as more than and lighter than
• Using one-to-one correspondence 9 
• Estimating quantity and measurement 

• Before planning math activities for children, first determine the children's skill levels
• In order to do this properly children need to be assessed individually 
• There are two common forms of assessment: 
• Observation 
• Specific task assessment 
• The information obtained from these processes will help you plan developmentally appropriate math activities

• Observation involves informal viewing of a child or during self-selected activities 
• Specific behavior to watch for are: 
• Identifying colors and shapes
• Sorting and classifying objects 
• Counting objects
• Setting a table correctly 
• Pouring liquids and carefully watching the amount poured 
• Constructing patterns 
• Writing numerals
• Through observation you will be able to determine a child’s needs
• You will need to provide sorting activities if you notice that a child cannot sort objects

• Specific task assessment involves giving the children set activities to determine skill and/or needs
• Examples include: 
• Present a child with crayons and say “tell me the colors” after the child has replied, say “now count these for me” 
• Show a child one group of four pennies and one group of seven pennies. Then ask the child “what group has more pennie?”
• Present a child with circle, diamond, square, and rectangle shapes. Say “Find the square.” Then have the child identify each of the remaining shapes
• As with observation, the information provides information for use in planning math activities 

• Encourage the children by providing an active, stimulating environment to foster mathematical thinking  
• Provide the children with a variety of three dimensional objects and promote physical and mental activities
• Things that should be included are:
• Collections of items for counting
• Observing
• Creating
• Sorting
• Discussing
• Construction and comparing 

• A quality curriculum provides a rich environment it also provides developmentally appropriate activities to help children explore key concepts 
• Math activities should promote the development of many skills, some examples are: 
• Children should learn to count and recognize numbers and understand the concepts of space, size, volume, and time
• Matching children’s needs to their interests is the art of curriculum design
• This requires keen observation skills, listening skills, and thorough understanding of children development 

• Color is considered a math concept because it helps children learn to discriminate among objects
• Children can classify, pattern, and sequence using color
• Color also seems to help language development 
• It requires the skill to recall a name and associate it with a visual image
• As the child’s language skills grow, their skill at naming colors improves 
• According to studies children learn how to identify colors before shapes
• By age two many children can match a color to a sample but some three-, four-, or five-year-old children may not be able to match colors
• This problem may be caused by color blindness
• Activities you can conduct to teach color concepts include the following :
• Pour all you're crayons into a basket or box. Then set out several empty baskets or boxes-one for each color of crayon. Encouraging the children to sort the crayons by color 

• Children are often confused by shape
• At first they will say circle and squares are the same shape because they both have closed boundaries 
• The skills to identify and draw shapes do not develop at the same time. Most of the time children can name shapes before they can draw them
• When copying shapes circles are easiest for children, followed by squares, then rectangles and triangles 
• Most children cannot copy shapes other than circles until they are about four years of age 
• To learn basic shape concepts, use a variety of activities that stress touching, holding, and matching of shapes 
• Shape is defined by “what goes around the outside” or the outline of the object
• Teachers use parquetry blocks to teach shape concepts 
• Some activities to encourage identification of shape include the following
• Cut geometric shapes out of one color of poster board. Ask the children to name and sort the shapes 
• Place a circle on a flannel board. Ask the children to name an object in the classroom of that shape. Repeat this activity using squares, rectangles, and triangles
• Use jump ropes, masking tape, or chalk to make shapes in the floor. Ask children to name shapes as they walk backwards over the figures

• Classification is the process of mentally sorting and grouping objects or ideas by a common attribute 
• Attribute examples include size, color, shape, pattern, or function 
• Matching is a farm of classification. It involves putting like objects together
• Sorting also involves classification. It is the process of physically separating objects based on unique features.
• Sequence is the process of ordering real-life objects from shortest to tallest or tallest to shortest 
• Children begin to learn classification skills in their first few weeks of life. By two months children begin to classify experiences as pleasant or unpleasant. 
• Recognizing is a simple for of classification. It is the ability to relate past and present experiences
• Some useful classification tasks for young children include:
• Provide children with a set of black and red buttons. HAve them sort the buttons into piles by color  
• Give children toys with and without wheels. Have them sort the toys into two piles based on whether or not they have wheels 
• Give children kitchen and bathroom items. Have them sort the items based on use 

• Before children learn to add and subtract in elementary school they need to understand sets
• A set is a group of objects that are alike in some way and, therefore, belong together 
• An empty set is a set with no members 
• In order to understand the concept of a set, children first need to learn about sets that have like members 
• The concept of sets can be strengthened by asking a small group of children to divide themselves into a set 
• Teach the concept of an empty set during snack time

• Counting needs to be included in the curriculum because it is a key problem-solving tool
• One-to one correspondence is the understanding that one group has the same number as another
• Cardinality means that the last number of the counting sequence, tells how many objects exist  in a set
• Rational counting involves attaching a number to a series of grouped objects

• Numerals are the symbols that represent numbers
• Children gain these recognition skills as they are continually exposed to numerals
• A good activity for teaching number symbols is to have the children take part in a number walk43

•      learning experiences that happen during the course of an average day 

•      implication that some groups have less value than other groups in our society cause by not mentioning or including a group on teaching

•      class meetings that promote a caring community at toddler, preschool, kindergarten and school-age democratic environment 

• Study of the chain of life, focusing on water,land,air,grass,trees,birds and insects 

• Ideas formed about a relationship or object as a result of what is learned through the senses 

• A groups ideas and ways of doing things. Such as traditions, language, beliefs,and customs, that become a learned pattern of social behavior

• Children need to understand and appreciate how other people live
• Their lifestyles,languages, and viewpoints
• Helps develop self- respect and healthy self-concept
• Develop respect for others 
• Develop self control and independence 
• Learn to share ideas and materials
• Gain the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed for living in a democracy 
• Learn to appreciate the past and its relationship to the present

• The skill and knowledge they bring to the classroom is a key to a good social studies program 
• They will understand the need to use community resources,themes, group participation, evaluation 
• They should make daily observations. 

• 
  Every group of children brings a wide variety of interests to the classroom
• Some children may be interested in airplanes, trains, or geography
• To determine their interests you can observe them during play, interact with them in a casual way, ask the children’s parents to share their children’s interests with you, and observe the children’s choice of books
• Skills of every group of children should influence the social studies program
• You need to make sure to match materials and equipment with each child’s ability level
• Determine ability levels by observing the children’s social skills as they play with other children, reviewing the children's physical growth and health records, and structuring a variety of tasks for each child to complete
  
  

• 
  Encourage children to take part in the planning 
• Helps them organize their thoughts and express their ideas
  
  

• 
  Whom to play with 
• Materials needed for a project
• Places to visit 
• People to invite to classroom 
• How to celebrate birthdays and holidays 
  
  

• 
  Many teachers use themes
• One theme can be used to integrate the learning opportunities of many different concepts 
• Not introduced at a particular time each day
• Therefor a variety of daily experiences help children learn concepts 
  
  

• 
  Look at community resources as a variety of learning opportunities
• Record names of stores, museums, art galleries, community services, community workers, and housing groups that may be of interest
• The people providing might also have suggestions for curriculum 
  
  

• 
  Every classroom has unique incidental learning experiences
• Classroom and playground repairs
• Classroom rules
• Roles of center workers such as the janitor, bus driver, or office worker
• Handling an argument
• Happenings in the local community
  
  

• 
  Evaluation is a key
• The evaluation process will help you see if goals have been met, what new goals are needed, and whether any current goals are need modification
  
  

• 
  What do you like best? 
• Why do you like it?
• What did you learn?
  
  

• 
  Young children want to find out about their world; they touch, taste, smell, see, and hear in an attempt to learn
• They form perceptions which are ideas formed about a relationship or object as a result of what a child learns through senses
• Perceptions are ideas formed about a relationship or object as a result of what a child learned 
• Concepts help children to organize, group, and order experiences
• Personality, experiences, language skills, health, emotions, and social relationships all affect the formation of accurate concepts
• Experiences are affected by feelings and emotions
  
  

• 
  Culture is learned patterns of social behavior
• Children are typically aware of skin color around three years old
• Culture influences feelings, thoughts, and behavior
• When planning multicultural curriculum keep this in mind…
• Respect for oneself as a worthwhile and competent human being
• Acceptance and respect for others’ similarities and differences
• Parent Involvement
• Parents and other family members can be the best resources
• Selecting and Preparing Materials
• Select materials that reflect that ethnic heritage of all children such as
• Cooking utensils
• Flags
• Weavings
• Traditional Games
• Children’s Books
• Musical Recordings
• Pictures
• Videos
• All groups must be included and respected in teaching materials
• To prevent omission
• Activities to Encourage a Multicultural Perspective
• Children are more likely to focus on differences than similarities
• Focus on similarities
  
  

• 
  Children's concepts based on democratic society are based on what they recieve from home, the media, and center
• To help children learn governmental concepts, design group activities based on the function of a democracy
• Some activities will help children understand the purpose rules and laws such as
• Morning meetings promote a caring community at toddler, preschool, kindergarten, and school aged children
• Class meetings will help create and model a democratic environment
  
  

• 
  Ecology is the study of the chain of life, it focuses on water, land, air, grass, trees, birds, and insects
• Some activities that focus on ecology are…
• Take children on a trip around the block. As you walk, point out plants, trees, flowers, shrubs, and birds
• Keep plants and animals in the classroom or the play yard
• Children need to learn that change affects their lives in many ways
• To help children learn this concept, use nature and family
  
  

• 
  Young children are geographers as soon as they become mobile
• The relationship of humans to the earth is important for children to understand
• Some activities to use for younger children are allowing them to dig in a sandbox or garden and play in a sandbox with cars, trucks, pails, and shovels
• Design a bulletin board that maps out the neighborhood surrounding the center and the children can study this board and help navigate a field trip through the neighborhood
  
  

• 
  During preschool years children are becoming more and more aware of the world outside their homes and families
• Explore with the children the neighborhood around the center
• Plan trips to some of the community places that provide services for people (library, museum, fire station, police station and the post office)
• Plan visits to various workplaces to show the children how the people work
  
  

• 
  Preschoolers are usually unaware of events outside their own environment
• Show and tell is an activity that helps children understand current events
• Some classrooms develop a current events bulletin board titled News
  
  

• 
  Holiday celebrations teach children about their own culture and other cultures
• They provide opportunities for meaning learning about about similarities and differences
• Carefully choose and prepare for the holidays that are being celebrated
• Let parents become involved in the celebrations
• Five years of age children understand that people celebrate holidays in differents ways
• Family diversity needs to be considered when planning mothers day and father's day
• Involve the children in the planning for holidays and special events
  
  

• 
  Celebrate any milestone a child has mastered
• Make a bulletin board titled classroom celebrations for anything a child or class has achieved
  
  

• Program goals are broad statements that state the desired end results- what is to be achieved

• Headteacher, Aides, Parents 

• Helpful to a staff with little training, saves teachers time and energy 

• A hands on lesson is taught, materials and equipment are set to the children's abilities. 

• Direct is planned, indirect happens in the moment

• Is the lesson worthy being taught? Is it suitable for the children? Is the information beneficial for the children. 

• Field- sensitive 

• Field-independent 

• Visual learners 

• Auditory learners

• It is child-centered “emerges” from the children's interest and experiences Involves both teacher and children in decision making. 
• Spiral curriculum is a concept that explains the growth of children interest from the immediate surroundings to a variety of topics. 

• planning tool or map that outlines major concepts and ideas related to a theme

• A block plan is an overall view of the curriculum. This lesson plan is more detailed than a block plan. It outlines specific actions and activities that will be used to meet goals and objectives.

• Developmental goals are statements that tell why of the activity. They are more specific than program goals. 

• Level of Performance- How well can they do this? Did they maybe reach a goal
• Behavior- How they behave
• Conditions of Performance- How the outcome is, what has the performance taught? 

• Procedure section 

• Evaluate the learning experience
•  Evaluating children and their responses
• Evaluating your own teaching strategies