Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

1. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Preschoolers have • increased mobility. • improved motor skills. • expanding vocabulary and language skills. Preschooler social development includes • making friends. • cooperative play. • dealing with conflict.

2. Preview of Preschoolers • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdlaQTS76VU

3. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Development and Care • Preschoolers are children between the ages of three and five years. • Preschoolers are ready and eager to learn. • Larger group settings offer opportunities for preschoolers to play and interact with others. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

4. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Physical Development • Growth is slow and gradual. • Appetites are small. • Nutrition is especially important. • Children begin to lose babylikefeatures. • Heart rate slows and steadies • Blood pressure increases • Digestive tract matures, lags behind other organs Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

5. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Physical Development MotorDevelopment Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Small and large motor skills are refined and complex. • Preschoolers master greater control of their bodies. • Activities and skills include • running, galloping, hopping, and climbing. • balance beam. • Standing on one foot – static (6) • ball throwing. (7) • swaying to music; learning rhythms and dances. • bicycle riding. – dynamic (6)

6. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Physical Development Fine-MotorDevelopment

7. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Average Heights and Weights of Preschoolers Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

8. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Average Heights and Weights of Preschoolers Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

9. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Physical Development Perceptual Motor Development Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Hand-eye coordination and smaller motor skills increase. • Activities and skills include • using crayons and paintbrushes to create shapes and pictures. • writing letters of the alphabet. • simple cooking tasks.

10. Types of Play • Play with Objects • Symbolic Play: engage in “fantasy play” • Pretend • Project mental images on objects • Example: a stick can become a horse • Play with People • Associative play: two or more children play a common activity • Not organized

11. Red Light, Green Light • Red Light: Static Balance • Green Light: Dynamic Balance

12. Read, Discuss, Analyze Three-year-old Garrett and five-year-old Tony love to play with blocks. Their parents encourage them to build towers. Sometimes Garrett’s block towers are crooked, while Tony’s are straight. Yesterday, Garrett’s father challenged the boys to build tall towers. Garret’s tower toppled to the floor, while Tony’s stood tall. • What might account for the differences between Garrett’s and Tony’s block towers?

13. Read, Discuss, and Analyze True or False • Tony’s fine-motor skills are more developed than Garrett’s. • The boys’ father should expect both boys’ block towers to be equal. • Garrett’s fine-motor development seems typical for a three-year-old. • The story identified age differences in gross-motor skills.

14. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Intellectual Development • Intellectual abilities become more refined. • Attention span lengthens. • Curiosity leads to observation, analysis, problem solving, and recognizing cause and effect. • Memory and ability to anticipate events increase. • Preschoolers can make more complex decisions and improve game-playing skills. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

15. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Intellectual Development Classification and Centration • Classification is categorizing objects according to similarities. • Preoperational thought limits preschoolers’ focus to one characteristic at a time (centration). • Preschoolers generally consider one quality at a time. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

16. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers IntellectualDevelopment Numbers, Counting, and Time Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Younger preschoolers are capable of rote counting. • Older preschoolers are capable of rational counting. • Children must comprehend the math concept of one-to-one correspondence before they can count accurately. • Preschoolers are beginning to understand now, later, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but not clocks or calendars.

17. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers IntellectualDevelopment Conservation Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Conservation is difficult for preschoolers to grasp because their understanding is limited by what can be seen. • Preschoolers do not consider size, shape, and volume when determining amounts.

18. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers LanguageDevelopment • Preschoolers understand more words than they can speak. • Reinforcement, encouragement, and good examples from caregivers promote language development. • Language becomes more expressive, with facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

19. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers LanguageDevelopment Grammar and Pronunciation Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Children gradually learn grammar and pronunciation rules and exceptions. • Early childhood educators should focus on content rather than on grammar or speech mechanics.

20. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Language Development Stuttering Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • It is not unusual for preschoolers to leave long pauses between words or to repeat a sound or a word many times. This is a result of thinking ability exceeding speaking ability. • True stuttering may require a referral to a speech-language pathologist.

21. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Language Development Bilingual Development Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Because of early brain development, preschoolers can master multiple languages more easily than adults. To encourage bilingual development, • use names correctly. • use cultural greeting songs. • label learning centers. • use languages at snack time. • play ethnic music at nap time. • use a child’s first language at departure time.

22. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Emotional Development • Because of improved language skills, preschoolers can identify feelings and vent emotions with words rather than with physical outbursts. • Empathy and compassion begin to develop. • Empathy Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziBfvZVVNSE Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

23. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Emotional Development Self-Esteem Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Self-esteem comes from taking pride in accomplishments. • Self-esteem increases as self-help skills develop. • Independence and self-worth motivate children to accomplish more.

24. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Emotional Development Gender Identity and Roles Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Preschoolers learn who they are as males and females by observing and copying adults. • Early childhood professionals need to show the full potential of both genders. • Promote diversity and encourage self-esteem by including children in all activities, according to their interests and abilities.

25. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Emotional Development Building Resilience Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Early childhood professionals can promote preschoolers’ resilience. • Resilience is the ability to develop and to thrive in times of hardship and crisis. • Consistent, reliable routines help preschoolers feel relaxed, secure, and better able to cope with changes and challenges.

26. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Social Development Forming Friendships Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Through play, preschoolers develop social skills. • Preschoolers become more comfortable engaging in cooperative play. • Friendships are usually temporary. • Preschoolers often “bribe” other children into friendship. • Making Friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdj7IGc8aQ

27. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Social Development Dealing with Conflict Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Conflicts usually arise over toys and personal property. • Name-calling is common at this stage. • Teachers should help children recognize and accept their feelings by naming and describing them for the child.

28. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Social Development Influence of Social Play Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Social play influences intellectual and social development. • As children play with others who are socially competent, they learn to act according to their culture’s specific rules. • Social play helps children increase their thinking and problem-solving skills.

29. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Managing Preschool Programs • Early childhood programs must offer many chances for children to refine their skills so they can reach their full potential. • As preschoolers’ skills develop, they require more freedom to make independent choices. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

30. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Managing Daily Schedules and Routines A typical routine might include • arrival. • meals and snacks. • personal hygiene. • morning group meetings. • large-group experiences. • activity times for individual and small-group learning. • field trips. • toy cleanup times and nap or rest time. • departure. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

31. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Physical Development • More complex small and large motor coordination skills and refined coordination allow preschoolers to enjoy a wider variety of games, physical activities, and challenges. • Teachers nurture physical development by providing children activities that expand their skills in all developmental areas. • Children refine their coordination when they use art materials, writing instruments, and computer mouses. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

32. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Intellectual Development The process of learning to recognize and understand abstract symbols that represent spoken words is the beginning of literacy. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers literacy The ability to read and write language.

33. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Intellectual Development • Preschoolers develop literacy skills rapidly. • Daily encounters with sensory materials in both indoor and outdoor environments stimulate brain development. • Teachers provide children with hands-on experiences that encourage thinking skills. • Teachers provide opportunities for children to observe, describe, and make sense of new shapes, textures, sounds, and tastes. • Teachers prompt children to explain, compare, and contrast their experiences. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

34. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Emotional Development • Improved language skills help preschoolers deal more effectively with frustrations. • Teachers nurture emotional development by helping children cope with emotional events through empathy rather than distraction. • Preschoolers need many opportunities to express their emotions and ideas. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

35. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Social Development • Teachers nurture social development by offering activities that require cooperation and teamwork. • Through cooperative play, preschoolers refine their social skills. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers

36. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Social Development Child care teachers can encourage preschoolers’cooperative learning skills by introducing a wide variety of play materials that require more advanced thinking skills. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers cooperative learning The ability to cooperatively investigate a specific topic of interest with others.

37. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Social Development Cooperative Learning Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers To encourage cooperative-learning skills, • create learning centers that encourage group play. • provide play materials that require refined perceptual motor skills. • plan projects that require teamwork. • conduct activities that allow children to make plans and decisions together.

38. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Nurturing Social Development Community Awareness Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers To encourage community awareness, • plan field trips. • use community resources to expand the curriculum. • invite community members to the class. • include children in community service projects. • draw attention to basic rules communities set for behavior.

39. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Review Key Concepts Describe the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development of preschoolers. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Social • friendships develop • conflicts arise • social play increases Emotional • increased range of experiences • empathy, compassion, resiliency, and self-esteem develop Intellectual • increased attention span • can focus on one characteristic at a time • beginning to understand numbers • rapid language development leads to literacy Physical • slow and gradual • small appetites • greater body control • increased perceptual motor development

40. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Review Key Concepts Identify features of preschool programs. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Early childhood programs must offer preschoolers many chances to refine their skills so that children may reach their full learning potential. • Preschool programs should include a predictable daily routine and plenty of opportunities for the teacher to nurture children in all areas of development.

41. Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers Review Key Concepts Explain how preschoolers develop literacy. Child Care Today,Chapter 16: Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers • Preschoolers’ greater intellectual capacity allows them to recognize and understand abstract symbols that represent spoken words. • That process includes the beginning steps toward achieving the ability to read and write language (literacy). • Preschoolers use more detailed and expressive language. • They begin to ask more questions about others’ activities rather than only making simple statements about their own play.

42. End of Chapter 16Nurturing and Teaching Preschoolers