Thursday, November 15, 2007
More than child's play...
Working with young children may seem like ... well, child's play. However, it's not all about drawing pictures, building block towers and dressing up. Skilled early childhood education professionals know how to present activities that help each child learn.
Knowing what skills are expected of early childhood education professionals can help parents choose wisely when placing their children in a day care or preschool.
Under state licensing requirements, a licensed child care provider is only required to take a minimum number of hours of training each year. But, an early childhood professional generally far exceeds these training requirements, taking training that includes topics related to health and safety, curriculum planning and childhood development.
I was recently asked at a parent workshop, "How do those adults keep the children busy for 2½ hours?" A skilled ECE professional does not use endless worksheets, television or computer games to hold the attention of a group of young children. Because children's brains thrive on novelty, skilled professionals have new experiences ready each day, whether it is on a given theme for the week or a certain topic the children choose to explore in more detail.
Materials such as musical instruments, puzzles, dress-up clothes and books in a quality early chilldhood educational environment reflect the children's diverse learning styles and experiences.
Perhaps most importantly, a skilled ECE professional is able to communicate with children in a way that fosters success in reading, writing, problem-solving and negotiating conflicts.
A skilled professional labels and describes objects and actions; asks open-ended questions that encourage children to describe causes and effects or apply their imagination to everyday occurrences ("What would happen if the sky were green?"), and helps children learn logical consequences for their behavior so they can make appropriate choices.
So are you an early childhood educational professional or a child care provider? Which do you think partents are looking for today? It's all about quality of care...
Working with young children may seem like ... well, child's play. However, it's not all about drawing pictures, building block towers and dressing up. Skilled early childhood education professionals know how to present activities that help each child learn.
Knowing what skills are expected of early childhood education professionals can help parents choose wisely when placing their children in a day care or preschool.
Under state licensing requirements, a licensed child care provider is only required to take a minimum number of hours of training each year. But, an early childhood professional generally far exceeds these training requirements, taking training that includes topics related to health and safety, curriculum planning and childhood development.
I was recently asked at a parent workshop, "How do those adults keep the children busy for 2½ hours?" A skilled ECE professional does not use endless worksheets, television or computer games to hold the attention of a group of young children. Because children's brains thrive on novelty, skilled professionals have new experiences ready each day, whether it is on a given theme for the week or a certain topic the children choose to explore in more detail.
Materials such as musical instruments, puzzles, dress-up clothes and books in a quality early chilldhood educational environment reflect the children's diverse learning styles and experiences.
Perhaps most importantly, a skilled ECE professional is able to communicate with children in a way that fosters success in reading, writing, problem-solving and negotiating conflicts.
A skilled professional labels and describes objects and actions; asks open-ended questions that encourage children to describe causes and effects or apply their imagination to everyday occurrences ("What would happen if the sky were green?"), and helps children learn logical consequences for their behavior so they can make appropriate choices.
So are you an early childhood educational professional or a child care provider? Which do you think partents are looking for today? It's all about quality of care...
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 3:12 PM 
