Developmentally Appropriate Practices                                                                                      

Five Guidelines For Developmentally Appropriate Practices

1. Creating a Caring Community of Learners 5. Establishing Reciprocal Relationships with Families 2. Teaching to enhance development and learning 4. Assessing Children’s Learning and Development 3. Constructing Appropriate Curriculum

1. Creating a Caring Community of Learners

Creating a Caring Community All participants consider and contribute to each other’s well-being and learning Example for Infants/toddlers: Adults adapt schedules and activities to meet individual children’s needs within the group setting. Caregiver’s allow toddlers to go at their own pace. They also create activities where all may participate. Example for 3-5 Year Olds: Teachers use many strategies to help build a sense of the group as a cohesive community. They engage children in experiences that demonstrate the explicit valuing of each child, such as sending a “We miss you!” card to a sick classmate. Example for 6-8 Year Olds: Teachers ensure that all children and adults feel accepted and respected. Children learn personal responsibility, how to develop constructive relationships with other people, and respect for individual and cultural differences.

Creating a Caring Community The child is valued and has consistent, positive relationships with a limited number of adults and children. They learn to respect the differences of others. Example for Infants/toddlers: Adults engage in many one-to-one, face-to-face interactions with infants using a pleasant, calming voice. Example for 3-5 Year Olds: Children with disabilities or special learning needs are included in the classroom socially and intellectually as well as physically. Example for 6-8 Year Olds: Shared school wide curriculum goals include the development of character and promotion of ethical behaviors, such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Creating a Caring Community The learning environment enables children to construct understanding through interactions with adults and other children. Social relationships are important. Example for Infants/toddlers: Adults respect toddlers’ solitary and parallel play. Caregivers provide several of the same popular toys for children to play with alone or near another child. Example for 3-5 Year Olds: Teachers provide many opporunities for children to work in small flexible groups. This can include book-reading, storytelling (about children’s experiences), and problem-solving as a group Example for 6-8 Year Olds: Teachers use a variety of strategies to help build a sense of the group as a democratic community. Class meeting occur regularly and children participate in group decisionmaking.

Creating a Caring Community The program provides a balance of rest and active movement for children throughout the day. Outdoor experiences are also provided. Example for Infants/toddlers: Walks around the neighborhood or to a park and special trips are planned so that toddlers see many outdoor environments. Example for 3-5 Year Olds: The schedule allows for active and quiet activities, adequate nutrition, and naptime. The children have time to explore and learn about he environment and experiment with cause-and-effect relationships. Example for 6-8 Year Olds: Teachers allocate enough time for children to get deeply engaged in investigation of problems or creation of products (writing, constructing models). They give children advance notice of transisitons.

Creating a Caring Community Children experience an organized environment and an orderly routine that provides structure to their day. The environment provides a variety of materials and opportunities for meaningful, firsthand experiences. Example for Infants/toddlers: Children have daily opportunities for exploratory activity, such as water and sand play, painting, and playing with clay or playdough. Example for 3-5 Year Olds: Experiences and materials are relevant to children’s own life experiences. This includes blocks, books, dramatic-play themes and props, art and modeling materials, sand and water with tools for measuring, and tools for simple science activities. Example for 6-8 Year Olds: The time schedule and environment are constructed so that the children have active involvement and learning experiences with each other consistently. The classroom is organized for reading, projects, writing, playing math games, and exploring science.

Class Activity for Creating a Caring Community of Learners Music Visuals Make your own instrument Using the ideas provided, make an instrument or a visual aid that could be used in a preschool classroom. Make up words to a new song After choosing a familiar tune make up new words to go along with a preschool task. For example: The tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” with words that teach the kids to clean up their toys. All pictures were found on this website: http://www.acclaimstockphotography.com/search_terms/children.html