In this age range, a child’s gross motor skills are still developing, so younger preschoolers are just beginning to work on skills such as balancing, jumping, running, and climbing. In order to promote their gross motor development, they should have access to physical activity so they can become more adept and coordinated. With this being said, daily activities should include many opportunities for young children to develop confidence in their gross motor skills. In Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Programs, it mentioned in the exploration and play section that caregivers should “allow toddlers the freedom to explore their movements by testing what their bodies are capable of doing” (98). The classroom that I am in does
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They are able to divide objects into categories by shape, size, color, or type. But, for the most part, their sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing are well developed. Because of this, the book mentions in the environment section that toddlers should be “surrounded by sensory objects for their play activities” (96). This is because sensory and perception is still developing within this age group. So in order to promote this, children should have a variety of sensory objects, which in this classroom they do. One of the first activities the children did when they arrived that morning was to play with playdough. By squeezing and kneading the dough they are experiencing sensory stimuli. They also have a center that has a container filled with different types of blocks. Each block represent a different letter of the alphabet and has a different toy inside to represent it. For example, for the letter C the block has a plastic toy cow on the inside which moves when shaken and has a bell that rings. With this being said, each block has a different sensory skill for children to experience which includes sound and touch. This also ties in with exploration and play and how teachers should know that “toddlers learn about the world through exploration and give them daily opportunities for exploratory activity at children’s developmental level” (98). I
They are able to divide objects into categories by shape, size, color, or type. But, for the most part, their sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing are well developed. Because of this, the book mentions in the environment section that toddlers should be “surrounded by sensory objects for their play activities” (96). This is because sensory and perception is still developing within this age group. So in order to promote this, children should have a variety of sensory objects, which in this classroom they do. One of the first activities the children did when they arrived that morning was to play with playdough. By squeezing and kneading the dough they are experiencing sensory stimuli. They also have a center that has a container filled with different types of blocks. Each block represent a different letter of the alphabet and has a different toy inside to represent it. For example, for the letter C the block has a plastic toy cow on the inside which moves when shaken and has a bell that rings. With this being said, each block has a different sensory skill for children to experience which includes sound and touch. This also ties in with exploration and play and how teachers should know that “toddlers learn about the world through exploration and give them daily opportunities for exploratory activity at children’s developmental level” (98). I