Case Study On Early Childhood Development

Physical development in children is an important area and is usually expected to happen automatically as they grow. The important areas are gross motor skills,

From birth, a child develops physically. They firstly develop their reflexes, for example rooting, sucking and swallowing. At one month a baby should startle less. At 3 months a baby should lift and turn their own head. At 6 months a baby should be able to lift their hands and feet into the air. At 9 months a baby should be able to use their fingers to feed. At one year a baby should be able to stand holding onto furniture. At 18 months a child should be able to sit, and ride toys using their legs to push. At 2 years a child should be able to run and climb. At 3 years a child should be able to walk up stairs independently. At 4 years a child should be able to use their hands for tasks such as using scissors. At 5-6 years a child should be able to kick and control a ball. At 7-9 years a child should be able to draw and write neater, and cut out more accurately. At 9-11 years a child should have better coordination in fine and large movements. At 11-13 years a young person should have growth and changes to their body. At 13-19 years a young person’s body shape will be changing.

In an early childhood setting, being observant gives professionals and family members a helpful portrait of the children in their care, and as future professionals it helps us see how intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development occurs in children. Observing, documenting, and assessing young children shows how they progress from one stage to the next or when there is a delay in progression. The reason we observe young children is that “there is so much that demands attention and response; at the same time, by building in systematic observation, teachers can improve their teaching, construct theory, assess children, assist families, and solve problems” (Gordon and Browne, p.180). It gives dynamic information about each child’s learning styles, interests, abilities, and needs. Observation helps teachers improve teaching by making them become more objective and self-aware of biases they may have. It encourages us to remember that early childhood development is highly individualized, so customizing activities to benefit each child will help them utilize their abilities to their fullest potentials, and through this we will be able to recognize what behaviors are typical of various age groups. The reason we document our observations is so that we can keep records and show proper evidence of each child’s individual growth and participation in classroom activities. With good documentation, family members will able to see the progression made by their child.

Observation will help teachers to focus on emerging skills and abilities such as what the child can do instead of what the child can’t do. According to Vygotsky, assessment methods must target both the level of actual development and the level of potential development Trawick-Smith, 20014). Also, observation guides curriculum and development. For example, the baby notices and follows the rattle but when the child hears something else on the other side of the room, the child begins to attend to that sound and action. The caregiver stops moving the rattle and starts looking at and describing what the baby is hearing and seeing.

Physical development- this is about mastering the physical movements which is fine motor skills(such as tying shoe laces) and also Gross motor skills(

Do you want to work with children, but do not know what types of careers are in the early childhood development field? Do you want to be a teacher, for example, or run a childcare center, but are not sure what credentials are needed? This lesson will give you an introduction to careers, with information to help you identify career roles and responsibilities. You will learn what credentials are required in a variety of careers. In looking at career paths, it is helpful to study these differences and practice identifying each position by its qualifications and responsibilities. This lesson will help you learn, understand, and work with the specifics. You will see the connection between education and career pathways. You will know the terminology used in various credentials and become familiar with their acronyms. To assess what you have learned, you will practice matching credentials and requirements with career positions in a project that asks you to answer the question Who am I?

Chapter two discusses various theorists that helped to mold and shape early childhood education to where it is today. There are several different theorists that contributed to the development of early childhood education. Some of these theorists include Alfred Adler, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey. Each theorist developed a unique theory that has caused early childhood guidance and education to flourish like it has today. Without learning and building on these theories, early childhood guidance and education would never develop or change. The chapter explains how some theories may seem strange to the contemporary families, but these theories are the foundation of how early childhood education got to where it is today. The book goes

The early years, especially the first five years of life, are very significant and most rapid periods for a child’s development and learning. They are important for building the child's brain. Everything a child does be it seeing, touching, tasting, smelling or hearing helps to shape the brain for thinking, feeling, moving and learning. From the In Brief series: The science of Early childhood Development, it is stated that Early experiences affect the quality of the brain architecture by establishing either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for all of the learning, health and behavior that follow.1 This is therefore a time of rapid cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and motor development.

From birth, a child starts to develop physically and is a process that continues into late adolescent. Physical development involves the development of your muscles, control over the body and physical coordination. When looking at a child’s development we focus firstly on gross and fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements such as hands, fingers, eyes and mouth. For example, grabbing, pinching, blinking and speaking are all contolled by your fine motor skills. Then we have the gross motor skills, they are the movement of the larger muscles and enable your body to walk, stand, jump run and balance.

Observation is very important in young children because that is how you get to know a child better. While observing how a child interacts with their peers, adults, and how they behave in different settings, you are getting to know the child without speaking to them.

For a seven-year-old child, this is a time for when they experience huge developmental changes and their learning process starts to grow intensively. This is where we will see the child in their second year of school, it is a crucial time for noticing red flags that can hint to developmental delays. A developmental change that can be seen is fine motor. Fine motor refers, “to the movements we make with small muscles of the hands” (School Aged Developmental Milestones, n.d.). When we are looking at a seven-year-old child, who is probably in second grade, they will be using these fine motor skills in tasks such as, writing inside the lines, cutting paper and staying on the

* Physical development – Gross motor skills (using muscles such as arms and legs), Fine motor skills (Use of muscles such as hands, fingers and toes).

Over the past century, the role of education has greatly increased in areas all over Canada. It has grown in not just in the number of students attending, but also in the ways it has been offered. Before the 1960’s, the education of children consisted solely of parenting done at home (Molnar, 2002, p. 2). Over time, due to the growing importance of education, schools have slowly begun to target younger and younger generations. As a result, non-parental education has become the norm of today’s society starting for children as early as ages three to four (Molnar, 2002, p. 2). Over the last century, a larger percentage of mothers are choosing to remain in the work force (Khanna &

The observation of children is performed by teachers and educators, to help understand each child, and their characteristics. Along with assessment and evaluation, educators are able to understand each child’s development, and make decisions about appropriate activities and experience to offer each child, to help foster their individual development. (Veale, A. and Piscitelli, B. 1988) This essay will discuss the Value of the Observation Process in Planning for early childhood settings, and the role of each teacher in facilitating children’s individual learning and development.

“Early roots of play as a best practice for early learning was documented by Plato, a Greek philosopher, who insisted that play is considered a natural activity of childhood.”(Ingrid Crowther, 2011, Pg. 2) Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs that are devoted to children from birth to the age of eight. “Children of this age learn by exploring and investigating; therefore, their environment should support and encourage this process.”(Rebecca Isbell and Betty Exelby, 2001, Pg. 11) Early childhood environments should be attractive and exciting. These environments should allow children to work and play using proper resources, materials, and tools.