Learning to use the toilet is an important milestone for young children. Child care providers and parents need to work together to decide when a toddler is ready to learn how to use the toilet. Here are some things child care providers should keep in mind as toddlers approach this important milestone:
Toddlers’ thinking and language skills change so quickly between 12 and 36 months. Children go from being able to say a few words to using complete sentences. During the toddler years, young children develop clear preferences for certain toys and activities, learn how to assemble and take things apart, use their imagination, and begin solving problems and testing out ideas.
Child care providers play an important role in promoting thinking and language skills in toddlers. By reading aloud, talking with …
Between the ages of 3 and 5, children are still growing quickly, and are continuing to practice their large and small motor skills. Child care providers can support preschoolers’ physical and motor development by ensuring that children eat well-balanced meals and snacks, by building in plenty of time for active play and by planning a wide variety of activities to encourage motor development. The lists below give an idea of what to look for in the physical development of preschool-age …
Preschool-age children between ages 3 and 5 are active, busy learners who enjoy a wide variety of activities. Working with preschoolers can be rewarding for child care providers because they are self-directed, self-motivated, creative and love to play. In order to plan a curriculum that keeps preschool-age children learning and growing, child care providers need to understand how 3- to 5-year-olds grow, think, use language, understand feelings and relate to other people. The following articles provide basic information about children’s …
Between ages 3 and 5, young children gain a better understanding of their own feelings and emotions, and become more competent at interacting with other children. They may be able to talk about their feelings, respond appropriately to others’ emotional signals, and regulate their emotions. They begin to understand how others feel, start learning how to negotiate and take turns and practice social problem solving when playing with others. Here are some common social and emotional milestones child care providers …
As children move from the preschool years into elementary school, their physical, thinking, language, social and emotional skills become more sophisticated. School-age children have a longer attention span and vocabulary, and their reading and writing skills improve dramatically as they begin to recognize words and read books aloud. School-age children enjoy being with friends and imitating the actions of friends. Their motor skills become more refined, and their reaction time becomes quicker.
Child care providers working with school-age children in …
Six- to 8-year-olds are continuing to grow and develop their large and small motor skills. As they enter elementary school, children may begin participating in organized sports, dance, and other activities that require well-developed motor skills. Child care providers in out-of-school child care programs need to know the basic milestones of physical development in school-age children in order to plan challenging but realistic physical activities. The following lists detail some common physical milestones in 6- to 8-year-olds.
Children of different ages need different types of care and nurturing. Quality child care programs help children grow in all areas of development: physical, intellectual, social, emotional, language, moral, and spiritual domains.
Child care providers need to understand how children of different ages grow and learn in order to provide warm, sensitive care and positive learning experiences. Positive learning experiences help young children’s developing brains make and strengthen the connections they need to succeed.
There are many different ways to …
Child care providers play an important role in promoting toddlers’ physical development Young children grow and develop so quickly between the ages of 12 and 36 months. In two short years, toddlers move from just learning to walk to being able to run, climb and jump with confidence. Toddlers explore their environments by touching, handling and tasting everything around them. They move from very basic fine motor skills to being able to turn pages of a book and draw with …
As most child care providers know, young children aren’t just “miniature adults.” Preschool-age children actually think about the world from a very different viewpoint. Knowing how preschoolers approach the world can help child care providers do a better job of building relationships with them, planning activities that support and challenge their development, and communicating with their families about development during the preschool years.
Most 3- to 5-year-olds see the world only from their own point of view, …
