Child Care review

Principles of Development At each stage of development children have certain task to learn. These skills are referred to as DEVELOPMENTAL tasks Milestones provide Benchmarks that help to Measure a child’s progress.

All children master developmental tasks in the SAME ORDER OR SEQUENCE Children master SIMPLE before COMPLEX tasks The mastery of these tasks moves from HEAD to TOE Children master these tasks at their own RATE or PACE

Fine motor skills: small muscles Gross motor skills Crawling, Walking, Pulling ones self up Fine motor skills: small muscles Hands and fingers

Grasping Reflex Rooting Reflex When cheek is stroked- head turns & mouth opens. Helps baby find food Hand closes when anything touches his palm. Very strong grip

The ability to know an object still exist even when it is gone is

A toddler is ego-centric. What does this mean? Its all about them Socially, toddlers engage in parallel play. What does that mean? They play along side another child

Preschool age Physical: A preschooler’s physical development includes the acquisition of gross and fine motor abilities. By the end of the preschool years, most children will reach several gross and fine motor milestones. Gross motor abilities involve large muscle groups and fall under the categories of running and walking; throwing and catching; climbing and jumping; and balancing. Fine motor skills involve the small muscle groups of the hands and fingers and include skills like drawing, snipping, zipping, and molding with clay. Good nutrition and the proper amount of sleep are crucial to a preschooler’s physical development.

Preschool continued • Preschoolers are children between the ages of three and five. • Their physical development includes the acquisition of gross and fine motor skills. • Many developmental milestones are reached by the end of the preschool years. • Good nutrition and the proper amount of sleep are crucial to a preschooler’s development. • Though preschoolers will grow and develop no matter what, there are things that caregivers can do to foster this development. • When a child interacts with her environment, her brain makes connections that aid in future learning experiences.

• There are many concepts that preschoolers struggle with on a cognitive level. • Preschoolers begin to develop symbolic thinking which aids in literacy and language skills. • They develop a social an emotional skill set that allows them to develop a self concept and learn how to interact with others. • Culture and gender affect their social and emotional development. • Children learn and progress through various stages of play. • Some preschoolers have challenging conditions that can affect their development. • Children with special needs are often included with typically developing children in classroom environments.