child development final exam paper
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I believe in a play based curriculum. I think we need to use the children’s current interests and set up activities to foster learning that incorporates both the children’s interests as well as developmentally appropriate practice.
I believe that curriculum should address the following areas and here are some of the ways this can be achieved: Fine and Gross Motor Development- Out door time 2 hours a day, and I also use the inside environment for foster gross motor development by making table ramps, yoga balls, and we have an indoor structure with a slide. Fine motor is support thought various activities including working with writing utensils, eating utensils and classroom manipulatives like zippers, snaps, baby dolls with clothing, Legos and stacking materials. Problem Solving and Language Skills. I offer challenging materials for the children to manipulate like making things stuck in order for the children to problem solve. I also foster positive conflict resolution which encourages the children to solve social problems as well. Language is supported though teachers asking open ended questions, forecasting, and reading. Literacy skills are supported through reading, writing, and labeling materials throughout the room. Social and emotional skills are supported by offering the children time and pace to communicate and interact with each other. Teacher label emotions for children and validate their emotions by acknowledging them, “you are sad” We also give children space to work through their emotions, and conflicts with one another but support them appropriately during these times. Social and emotional skills can also be support through books, pretend play and by encouraging children to be aware of themselves i.e. mirrors, forecasting, labeling. I believe children should be encouraged to participate in character development .Character development is addressed through various means. This includes reading stories to the children that encourage characteristics like kindness, courage, generosity and about people finding themselves. We allow children to have the freedom to express themselves and ensure they are feeling heard and validated. We encourage children to have empathy by labeling emotions that other children are having; “I notice ____ is upset” I believe in the use of a lot of redirection in my classroom in order to help redirect negative behaviors. We allow the children to express their feelings and give them appropriate space when they are having hard moments. If a child seems inconsolable I will offer support and comfort. We sometimes use “elimination” by ignoring inappropriate behaviors and positive reinforcement by praising appropriate behaviors. I believe that parents need to be involved in the program We have good communication with the children’s families at our center. We do daily check in’s with the families at drop off and pick-ups just to make sure everything is going well and that home and school life are consistent. We also have parent teacher conferences 2x’s per school year to communicate and discuss with the children’s families goals that we have for their child as well as let the parents discuss what their goals are too. I believe that respectful, caring bonds with children and their families are the vital foundation for a wonderful early childhood education experience. As a teacher of the young, I share with parents the responsibility for teaching their child. I believe that children deserve to be autonomous and have opportunities to for independence to occur. I believe that children are competent, smart and able to successfully participate in self-care routines. I believe that granted these opportunities with support children will become confident, successful individuals. I believe play is a tool for learning. Learning through play helps formulate healthy experiences for children, healthy relationships with adults and before long parents will observe their child; once engaged only in parallel play begin to socialize, to share, build upon small concepts, and experiences learned in school yet similar to home. I believe that each child has unique strengths, varied prior language learning experiences, and preferred learning styles. My instruction must be differentiated to provide enough challenge and support for all children to build on successfully and to develop positive attitudes about learning. I believe that emotional engagement is the key to all powerful learning. That is why I bring love, laughter, passion, and meaningful project work into the classroom. I always look for ways to personalize learning and engage the child’s imagination. I believe that children deserve to have rich literacy and langugue experiences—My curriculum invites children to talk, sing, dramatize, and perform language. My curriculum incorporates a literacy rich environment with access to reading and writing materials for children to use as early as they can. Developing the child’s capacity for language and thought underlies everything I do. I believe that rich experiences in the many languages of art, music, drama, dance, and storytelling help children find personal meaning in school learning. I very intentionally use these multiple “ways of knowing” while promoting creative and higher-order thinking. I believe that joyful multisensory ABC and phonics immersion strategies (singing and signing and fingerspelling) accelerate sound/symbol knowledge. These instructional practices are consistent with how the young child’s brain learns best. They are active and engaging strategies that build motivation and enthusiasm for learning. I believe that parents and children need to understand that books build memories, and researchers say that reading books of one’s own choosing every day is the best way to become a good reader. Young children can develop skill in choosing just-right books and build pride in their reading stamina. I believe in using scaffolded instruction. As a teacher-researcher, I love the challenge of building success for each individual learner. I believe that each child need to be challenged appropriately so they can perform to their maximum ability. I also believe children need to be offered support when they become frustrated or overwhelmed. I believe that by awakening children’s love of nature, we create compelling reasons for them to want to read, write, research, and learn. My goal is to develop a sense of wonder and respect for the natural world. As we bring our connections with nature back into the classroom, we create a more engaging and alive learning environment. Children who learn to appreciate and respect the natural world will make wiser ecological choices now and in the future. I believe that the early childhood education experience must nurture social-emotional skills in each child and create joyful school memories. early childhood education is a magical journey, and one of my jobs is to develop the imagination and create memorable rituals, traditions, and celebrations that honor childhood. I value dramatic play, block building, dance and movement, and the many forms of literacy play. I want children to be active learners and disciplined, creative thinkers; to learn to make good choices and to work cooperatively; and to be kind and responsible. I want children to love coming to school each day. I believe that young children deserve a multisensory and differentiated literacy program within a joyful, caring community of learners — a child’s garden. Their lives must be valued, celebrated, and incorporated into the literacy curriculum so they care about school and develop a love of learning. A classroom with authentic, meaningful learning always elicits a SMILE. I believe that learning in early childhood involves not only every sense of the child but also all domains in which we learn and function and all aspects that surround him or her. I believe that everyone that child comes in contact with is a potential teacher whether they realize it or not. This is a very important piece for families as they are their child's first teacher and we need to recognize and respect that as we work with children and their families. As an early childhood educator I believe that the environment that children are exposed to is very important in fulfilling their need to use every part of their body. It is also important to fill the room with yeses. This means there is relatively nothing that is off limits to the children. It also means that the people they will come into contact within that space are people that can be trusted to be looking out for every child's best interest and potential. Creating this environment is the first step to guidance. If there are age appropriate activities and lots of opportunities for saying yes to children's exploration, lots of problem behaviors are not present. Age appropriate limits are good but child development should be taken into consideration when deciding those limits for individual children. Children should be able to depend on those around them by their consistency with guidance and with the schedule and routines that are present. By doing this we are able to provide that feeling of safety that is associated with predictability for children. My goal is to radiant a sense of positivity so that all who come into contact with me will see that I am grounded, happy and desire for others to feel these positive things too. I want to instill a sense of happiness in all children because every child deserves to feel happy and positive and not overcome by harsh and hard emotions but rather focused on the light and this way they can strive towards becoming a happier, more positive and successful person. I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to everyone in my field and outside of my scope of work. I feel anyone can benefit from it because it is the human condition for us to feel hard emotions, but if we focus on the good things, we can all step towards the ultimate goal of true happiness and positivity. I have learned a peltheora of information regarding students with learning disabilities and other exceptionalities. In order to work with these students in my classroom I must get to know each child’s indivudal needs and accomadate accordingly. It is important that I touch base with parents, family members and the child’s services team in order to ensure we are all on the same page and so I can adapt my teaching style accordingly. This itegrated learning expierence has offered so much information regarding different types of exceptionalities including physical impairments, learning disabilities, behavioral disabilities and even mental disabilities as well as other exceptionalities. Each set of exceptionality has its own characteristics and specific needs that I must support; in order to fully make appropriate accommodations I must ensure I have all the information. In the classroom I have learned many different strategies that can be used in order to help support these children and their needs. Also there are many ways assistive technology can be used in order to support the students. When teaching lessons to children with exceptionalities I can use flash cards with pictures or few words so that children can visualize information without too many words. I can teach the use of acronyms to help visualize lists. I might give explanations in small, distinct steps then encourage the students repeat directions; When giving directions to the class, l will pause between each step so students can carry out the process in his mind and be concise with such information so my phrases are simple and not too wordy. Other ways I can give classroom lessons or information is through; Artistic creation, Exhibit or showcase, chart, graph, or table, photos, map, demonstration break up smaller groups or pair up peers. If needed I can find a text written at lower level, Use larger type, be more concrete-using pictures and manipulatives, provide highlighted material, Allow a peer or parent to read text aloud to student, shorten the amount of required reading, look for same content in another medium (movie, tape). Allow the use of a tape recorder, a typewriter, or a computer. These are also some assistive technology I may use in the classroom setting. I should always aim to motivate the student, by interesting him and ensuring each student knows I am available for their support. This class has given me so much information that I will keep with me to look back upon as often as I need. The most important information this class has taught me is that all students are incredible and capable of achieving their highest, most precious dreams and no disability. There is no obstacle too big that a loved and supported child can’t overcome. What I aspire to do as an early childhood educator is not only helping children learn fundamental skills but getting them excited to explore new things and learning through interactive activities giving them a lifelong love of learning. This is what I aim for with every child that I interact with no matter their background, abilities, culture or families economic status. All children have ways to be a part of activities, events and life. It is our job to help them find their particular role by giving them the opportunities to fit their individual abilities. I will try to be the best person I can be for the children that I work both with and for by modeling appropriate behaviors not only with the child but families and colleagues as well. Making sure I am knowledgeable with current issues and trends in all early childhood education and other areas that affect those in early childhood education. I have been provided with a plethora of information regarding all different areas of studies including psychology, human services, special education and early childhood education. All of these areas of learning have shaped me as a person and as a teacher, with all of this information I feel I am better able to help and provide the best type of care for all children. -anon |
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