Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Understanding ASSESSMENTS

Our prime motivator for observing (always a key part of teaching) and formally assessing the children is that we, as educators, can build upon the information we gather to continue to plan and implement a developmentally appropriate learning environment.  It is our goal to give the children a strong, well rounded educational experience.  In doing so, there are four key areas of development that we focus upon:  social and emotional development, cognitive development, physical development, and language development.  

We used two sources to develop our formal assessments.  The first is Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum and the other is the Washington State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks.  The Washington State Early Learning and Development Benchmarks is a 200 plus page document.  It was developed by the office of the Governor (and other agencies including the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) for the Department of Early Learning.  The objective of the resource is to develop a common understanding of what children, birth to five, should know and be able to do at different stages in their life. The link to the site is:  http://www.k12.wa.us/EarlyLearning/Benchmarks.aspx).  

Below you will find an explanation of each of the four key areas we focus upon when planning our curriculum and learning environments.  The observations and assessments the teachers do are only one tool, of many, they use to ensure every child is well prepared for kindergarten and the years beyond.  If you would like to see a copy of our kindergarten readiness formal assessment, please ask Sharon or Kathy. 

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The preschool years are an essential time for developing social and emotional skills which are key to children’s success in life, as well as, school.  Scientific evidence confirms over and over again how important social and emotional readiness is to a smooth kindergarten transition, early school success, and even adult accomplishments later in life. 

The three Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum key goals for social and emotional development are:

_{Sense of Self – This refers to how children feel accepted and valued by the people who are most important to them.}

_{Responsibility for Self and Others – This goal is about developing habits and character traits such as responsibility, independence, and self-direction, and following rules and routines.}

_{Prosocial Behavior -  This includes traits that will help children get along in the world, such as empathy, sharing, and taking turns.}                                                                      

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Cognitive development is the process of learning to think and reason.  Cognitive skills are rooted within literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and technology.  Cognitive development is so much more than memorizing facts.  Preschool children are “learning to learn.”  This acquired skill is crucial for future learning.  The three goals as defined by The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum are:

_{Learning and Problem Solving – This goal involves helping children to be thoughtful about how they use information, resources, and materials.  They think about their ideas, make predictions, and test possible solutions.  Approaches to learning, such as curiosity, persistence, and applying knowledge, take learning to a higher level beyond just learning facts.}

_{Logical Thinking – This goal is about helping children to make sense of the information they are gathering.  They compare, contrast, sort, classify, count, measure, and recognize patterns to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning.}

_{Representation and Symbolic Thinking – This goal focuses on how children use symbols in thought.  A symbol stands for something else.  Symbols can be objects (a pot used as a drum), people (pretending to be mommy), or representations through drawings.  Graphs to represent numbers or written words that represent spoken words are also examples of representation and symbolic thinking.}

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Physical skills are important for the development of tasks in reading, writing, science, and math.  It also affects social and emotional development because as children learn what their bodies can do, they gain self-confidence.  The more children can do, the more willingly they are to try new and more difficult tasks in all aspects of learning and life skills. 

The Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health (1996) states that physical education contributes to children’s academic achievement, general health, self-esteem, stress management, and social development.  Brain research shows that movement literally wakes up the brain. 

The two goals for motor skills as defined by Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum are:

_{Gross Motor - development involves the movements controlled by the body’s large muscles.  It includes how children move from one place to another by running, jumping, hopping, galloping, and skipping.  This goal addresses gross motor manipulative skills such as throwing, kicking, and catching.  Balance and stability are also important aspects of gross motor development.} 

_{Fine Motor - development focuses on the control, coordination, and dexterity of the small muscles in the hands.  As these fine muscles develop, children will be increasingly able to perform simple self-help skills and manipulate objects such as scissors and writing tools.  Fine motor skills generally lag behind gross motor development.}

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

A strong foundation in language development gives children skills needed to become successful learners.  It has been shown that children who have rich language and literacy experiences in preschool are more likely to develop strong language and literacy skills.  It is important to understand that the ability to listen, speak, read, and write develop interdependently in children.

The Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum goals for language are:

_{Listening and Speaking – This goal involves spoken language.  Having a large vocabulary, expressing oneself, understanding the oral speech of others, participating in a conversation, and using language to solve problems are important components of oral language development.} 

_{Reading and Writing – This goal involves helping children make sense of written language as they enjoy and value reading.  Development in this area increases children’s ability to handle books, understand the purpose of print and how it works, and comprehend a story.  They gain knowledge of the alphabet and write letters and words during their play.}