CHD108: Understanding and Promoting Development in the

Preschool Years Handout

Welcome to CHD108

This course explores the developmental milestones that children experience at 3, 4, and 5 years of age. The course will explore development across all areas of development. The goal of the course is to

provide early childhood educators with a basic understanding of child development so that they can create realistic expectations, appropriate learning environments, and engaging curriculum for all of the children in their care.

Objectives:

By taking notes on the handout and successfully answering assessment questions, participants will meet the following objectives as a result of taking this course:

Define early childhood development

Identify factors that impact development

Identify major physical changes that preschool children experience

Identify the gross motor skills that are typical of preschool age children

Identify characteristics of a preschooler’s hand-eye coordination level

Recognize elements of cognitive development in preschoolers

Identify characteristics of communication and language development related to preschool aged children

Identify characteristics of development with regard to social and emotional development

Select appropriate activities that promote development across all areas of development

References:

1. American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, & National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. (2019). Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 4th edition. Retrieved from https://nrckids.org/files/CFOC4%20pdf-

%20FINAL.pdf

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2009). “National Center for Health Statistics: Individual Growth Charts.” Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/charts.htm#Summary

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html

4. Charlesworth, R. (2016). Understanding Child Development, 10th edition. Cengage Learning.

5. Child Development Institute. (2019). “The Ages and Stages of Child Development.” Retrieved from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#gs.lg0wy6

6. Herr, J. (2020). Working with Young Children, 9th edition. Goodheart-Wilcox. 7. Morrison, G., Woika, M.J., & Breffni, L. (2020). Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education,

9th edition. Pearson Education, Inc.

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8. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2021). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8, 4th edition. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Course Notes:

Early Childhood Development: An Overview

Important Fact

Early childhood development refers to the:

Important Fact

___________________________________________________ are often used to describe stages in early childhood development. However, this can be misleading because:

Anyone who interacts with young children on a regular basis can have an enormous impact on their development.

A clear understanding of these developmental milestones will allow caregivers to do two things:

1.

2.

Preschooler Development

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Here is a list of things that can impact the development of young children:

Genetics -

Gender -

Birth Order -

Prenatal care -

Prenatal harm -

Prematurity -

The final two factors are the ones affected most by caregivers in an early learning environment:

Nutrition:

Important Fact

Metabolism is:

Environmental Stimulation includes:

Creating a balanced:

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Areas of Development

Physical Growth

Internal changes during this stage include:

The bodies of preschoolers:

A large portion of the weight gained during the preschool years is a result of

_____________________.

Three-year-olds generally weigh between ______________ pounds and measure between _________ inches

Four-year-olds generally weigh between ______________ pounds and measure between __________ inches

Five-year-olds generally weigh between _______________ pounds and measure between _________ inches.

According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines, older preschoolers require approximately ___________________

calories a day. The recommended caloric intake for an average adult is around ___________ calories.

It is recommended that they sleep ________________________ hours at night.

Primary teeth:

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Toilet training:

Movement

Important Fact

Gross motor skills involve:

Younger Preschoolers:

In addition to running easily, most three-year-olds can:

Increased coordination and strength motivates three-year-olds to:

Three-year-olds are often eager to:

Preschoolers may be just as active as two-year-olds but they are probably more interested in:

Older Preschoolers:

Preschoolers need to accumulate:

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According to the CDC, activities should focus on:

Most four year olds are able to:

Most five year olds are able to:

Promoting Gross Motor Skills:

Hand-Eye Coordination

Important Fact

Fine motor skills involve:

Younger Preschoolers:

By age three, a child’s hands can:

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Because fine motor skills are more developed, three-year-olds can:

Older Preschoolers:

At four years old, children are working on:

At five years old, children are working on:

Right handed or left-handed?

Promoting fine motor skills and hand eye coordination:

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Cognitive Development

Important Fact

Cognitive skills:

Younger Preschoolers:

Preschoolers have longer __________________________________ than toddlers:

Working in small groups allows caregivers to:

A typical three-year-old can:

Concepts involving ______________________________________ are difficult for young children to understand because time is abstract, rather than concrete and observable. Important Fact

Spatial awareness involves:

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Caregivers can begin to introduce spatial awareness by using a variety of directional phrases with children. For example,

Important Fact

A leading question is:

Examples of leading questions:

Important Fact

An open-ended question is:

Examples of open-ended questions:

Ask open-ended questions whenever you can in order to:

Older Preschoolers Important Fact

Critical thinking skills:

Higher order thinking skills:

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Most four-year-olds can:

Most five year old children can:

Spatial awareness:

Communication

Articulation –

Expressive language –

Receptive language –

Effective communication incorporates:

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Younger Preschoolers:

Three-year-olds love to explore words and language. With a vocabulary of over __________ words.

They speak in a manner in which:

_______________________ are popular new language tools for three-year-olds.

In addition to learning about how things feel to the touch, children are also feeling a wide variety of emotions. It is important that caregivers build children’s ___________________________________;

Correcting children’s grammar:

Three-year-olds like to listen to stories and then answer questions about the :

Older Preschoolers:

Here are some characteristics of communication that four year olds are working on:

Five year olds are working toward the following skills:

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Correcting Grammar?

Promoting language skills:

Social and Emotional Development Social Development –

Emotional Development –

Younger Preschoolers: Children move from __________________________________, or playing next to other children,

to a more sophisticated ___________________________________. Now their play includes:

They are not yet in full __________________________________ mode, where: Important Fact

Although preschoolers are more socially advanced than they were as toddlers, they still tend to be:

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As three-year-olds become more aware of other people′s feelings, they become better skilled at:

As turn-taking skills:

Important Fact

Executive functions help children with the following tasks:

Many of the inappropriate behaviors expressed in preschool years relate directly to:

Create a list of things children can do when they feel:

Perhaps they could:

Of course, we want to encourage children to:

The following are common for preschoolers:

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Important Fact

When children encounter fears or other forms of stress, they may begin to:

Older Preschoolers:

Older preschooler play:

Older preschoolers have stronger:

This is a great time to help children build ___________________________________, which is:

Another opportunity to teach empathy:

Model empathy:

Older preschoolers are very independent:

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Be sure to provide:

Refrain from forcing children to:

Promoting Development

Which tools provide more information about child development:

Strategies to promote development:

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Try This!

Move Like A…

Help preschoolers fine-tune their gross motor skills by leading them in the following movements:

Hop like a bunny

Slither like a snake

Waddle like a duck

Tiptoe like a ballet dancer

Run like a tiger

These suggestions can be used during transitions from the room to the playground or can be included in games, such as Simon Says.

Try This!

Structured Physical Activity Ideas

In addition to playing on the playground, caregivers can incorporate games and activities into the daily routine that promote physical development. Ideas include:

Follow the Leader

Simon Says

Duck, Duck, Goose

Mother May I

Dancing to music

Transition movement activities

Try This!

Open-Ended Art

Arts and crafts are not just a way to occupy a child’s time or create something to display on the

refrigerator. Craft time provides an excellent opportunity to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills through a wide variety of fun activities.

Using scissors, tearing, folding, stringing beads, rolling clay, coloring, and even opening and closing

containers full of supplies—as well as cleaning up at the end of the activity—are all ways to exercise small muscle groups and improve coordination.

Try This!

Dress-up

Provide a variety of dress-up items for children to explore. Consider including clothing with large

buttons, zippers, snaps, and hook and loop closures to the drama center for children to practice dressing and undressing.

Children can also practice fine motor skills by dressing dolls and stuffed animals.

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Try This!

Scissor Practice

Help children practice their cutting skills by providing them with coupons to cut out from newspapers, magazines, or circulars. This is also a great way to bring environmental print into your classroom. Remember to teach them how to safely hold and carry scissors and make sure they know that scissors are tools, not toys.

Try This!

Classifying

Use a flannel board and felt pieces to help preschoolers with classification, size relationships, and number concepts. Encourage preschoolers to group items by a single trait (such as color or shape).

Then, ask them to arrange them in order from smallest to largest. Finally, ask them to count the items they have placed on the board. By doing different activities with the same pieces, they will begin to understand that things can be categorized in different ways.

Try This!

Integrate activities

Wrap activities from different developmental domains together. Create activities that incorporate math, movement, literature, music, science, cooking, and/or creative arts together to promote engagement and excitement. For example:

Encourage children to invent alternate endings to familiar stories such as "Goldilocks" or "The

Three Pigs." You can also encourage them to illustrate favorite scenes from stories. Promoting

creativity like this will expand their interest in literature and build early literacy skills.

Take measuring tools onto the playground and challenge children to measure equipment,

length of the shadow, or how far they can jump.

Play different kinds of music and encourage children to paint a picture that represents how music is making them feel.

Ask children to make predictions and observations. They can document their observations through photography, drawing, or writing/transcribing.

Try This!

Intentional Questioning

Before giving children information, ask questions. Gather their ideas on paper. Compare their thoughts with the facts about the topic you discover.

Begin to ask more questions that challenge children’s critical thinking skills. Instead of, “What is it?”, ask, “How can we use it?” Here are a few other questions:

“What can we do with this object?”

“How can we fix this problem?”

“Can you think of a different way?”

“What should we do next?”

When children ask questions, rather than answering right away, see if they can discover the information on their own or from peers. Use the internet and library as resources of information.

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Try This!

Math Play

Provide opportunities for preschoolers to sort, group, match, and count.

Use a flannel board and felt pieces to help children with size relationships, numbering, and spatial concepts. Encourage them to arrange the pieces in order from smallest to largest; count the items as they place them on the board; and place them next to, above, or below other pieces on the board.

Suggest that they sort socks, match wallpaper or fabric samples, count classroom objects, or play card games such as "Go Fish," which involves matching pairs.

These activities will help them develop basic math skills.

Try This!

Adjective Play

Help expand a child’s vocabulary by adding new information to their statements. For example, if they

point out a car, say, "Yes, that′s a car. It is a big, blue car and it is moving very fast." Or, ask them to add adjectives of their own and ask questions to help them use the words they already know, such as “What color is it?” or “Is it moving fast or slow?”

Sort objects according to adjectives that can be used to describe them. For example, sort fruits and vegetables by color and size and encourage children to describe the different categories. Or, sort pictures of animals according to various characteristics.

Try This!

Puppet Storytelling

Draw a face on an old sock. Use the sock puppet to tell stories, sing songs, or repeat simple rhymes. Provide children with the opportunity to explore the puppets on their own and use them for storytelling, singing songs, or repeating rhymes.

Try This!

Introduce Non-fiction Books

Many preschoolers are interested in nonfiction books with interesting or quirky science topics. Ask them to describe what they see or explain what is happening in photos or illustrations. This exercises their vocabulary skills and, if they are sharing ideas as a group, it improves their conversation skills as they listen to and think about other children′s ideas.

Try This!

Word Play

Promote phonological awareness, which is the broad ability to identify parts of words.

Clap out syllables.

Chart the syllables of children’s names in the class.

Introduce rhyming songs.

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Promote phonemic awareness, which is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds of spoken words.

Play games that focus on the beginning and ending sounds of words.

Practice blending words by providing segments and asking children to combine them, such as

“c” + “ar”= car.

Help children segment the sounds of their names.

Promote phonics, which refers to the connection of the sounds of language and the letters that make those sounds.

Create collages of words that start with a specific letter.

Create sorting buckets for each letter of the alphabet to fill with items in the environment.

Play letter-sound bingo.

Try This!

Promote Play and Imagination

Encourage imagination and creativity by stocking your drama center with items that allow children to

act out social situations. For example, add props that allow them to pretend they are eating in a restaurant, shopping in a supermarket, or working in a doctor’s office. Rotate or add new props to the dramatic play area to keep it fresh and inviting.

Encourage children to invite other children into their play. Teach children how to enter into play scenarios that may already be established.

Try This!

Promote Executive Functions

Incorporate games and activities that include elements of executive functioning such as:

Freeze dancing

Simon Says

Bingo

Cooperative art activities

Songs that build on themselves – “There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly”

Encourage children to create play plans as they enter into learning centers as a way to direct and focus play.

Try This!

Promote Cooperation and Empathy through Drama

Acting out familiar stories can be a good way to encourage cooperative play and extend early literacy

skills. Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Three Pigs are all simple, popular stories with distinct characters.

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