The book center is an important part of every child care environment. Children should always have access to a variety of different types of books in the classroom. The book center can be a great place for children to play alone or with one or two other children. Having access to books stimulates children’s imagination and thinking skills, encourages developing language, and provides opportunities for creative expression through storytelling or puppetry. Adults can encourage children’s learning about words, sentences, and …
Children's Books for Young Children in Military Families
Children’s books are such a great way to help children deal with change – and military life certainly has plenty of that! Here are some books that can help young children deal with different changes that may occur in their families. The books in bold have a specific military theme and include characters in military families. Others are recommended because of how well they deal with emotions from a child’s perspective. Even though the situation doesn’t involve a military element, …
Story-Stretching Ideas for Child Care
Welcome to the eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care database of story-stretching ideas for child care. Here you will find lots of hands-on, ready-to-try ways to extend some of your favorite children’s stories into additional learning experiences. Search or browse these story-stretching ideas to find great ways to expand children’s books with related language and literacy, math, science, art, social skills, music, movement, and more. The ideas are especially designed to help young children of different ages expand their learning …
Language Development in Child Care
Child care providers play an important role in supporting early language development. The building blocks for language development are present in children’s lives beginning at birth. Newborn infants follow the sound of their parent’s voice. Babies who are only a few weeks old prefer their parents’ voices. Infants begin making their first language sounds within the first few months of life.
Child care providers can help children learn language in easy yet exciting ways. As a child care provider, you …
Easy Ways Child Care Providers Can Help Young Children Build Literacy Skills
Supporting and encouraging young children’s emerging literacy does not have to be difficult. Child care providers can be great role models to help young children learn reading skills. If providers read and write with children, the children are more likely to enjoy reading and writing and to learn that literacy is important.
Many child care providers read books aloud, but forget that there are other ways to encourage children’s emerging literacy skills. Here are some simple things child care providers …