Early Childhood Competencies1. Promoting Child Development and Learning

1.6 Knows of and has the ability to support physical development including fine and gross motor, sensorimotor, and perceptual-motor and how it affects all areas of development.

Evidence 1:

Child Development, PSY 115, Community College of Vermont Course, 1988, CCV Transcript

Description:

A study of child development from conception to preadolescence. The course emphasizes physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth of the child. Developmental theories and their practical applications will be examined.

Analysis/Reflection:

This course covered in detail the development of the child from conception to adolescence. I learned ways to support a young child’s physical, fine/gross motor, sensorimotor and perception-motor development. Learning how a child “learns” helped me to design and support their environment to extend all areas of their development. In understanding how their environment affects their learning, I was able to provide materials and learning experiences to support their development.

I provide many fine-motor skills with toddlers and preschoolers, through the use of art materials, games, puzzles, and manipulatives. The children love to engage in any type of art experience, from coloring with markers, colored pencils, chalk, to paint, ooblick, and cutting paper with scissors. For example, I know that it's important to offer many different types of scissors for the children to use, depending on their age and stage of development in fine motor skills. Below are a couple pictures with children using the a few different types of scissors I provide.

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Evidence 2:

Physical Development – How to Support It and Red Flags to Watch Out For: Workshop, 4 hours, Professional Development Certificates

Description:

This two part, four hour workshop series was presented by Heidi Wilhelm, P.T. into the normal physical development of young children ages birth to five years, as well the red flags to look for when working with young children.

Analysis/Reflection:

This workshop strengthened my understanding of a child’s normal development and areas of delays. I gained a deeper understanding of the physical development of young children, red flags, and common issues in which a referral may be needed. Heidi has previously come into my program to work with a child with physical delays. Through this workshop and my monthly meetings with her to support the child in my program, it has given me extensive understanding on a child’s physical, fine/gross motor, sensorimotor, and perceptual-motor development.

I know all young children need the freedom and opportunities throughout the day to use their bodies in a safe supportive environment. I believe when there is a good balance between fine/gross motor play children are able to have a well rounded successful day. If there are days when we are not able to go outside, I always have an indoor gross motor activity available for the children. This can be creative music and movement, dancing to music, exercising, or running and jumping on mats. The Winter of 2014/2015 was a very brutal winter with many days below 10 degrees and even into the negative numbers. Since there were many days we could not go outside safely, I chose to rearrange my classroom and had a whole room as an indoor gross motor room with a huge queen size mattress on the floor, tumbling mats, and a climbing wedge for the children to use anytime they wanted during the day. This facilitated the need to provide the gross motor activities the children were craving during the long cold Winter.

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Evidence 3:

Mountain Road Preschool’s Certified Outdoor Classroom: Nature Explore Website, Certified since 2013,

https://certified.natureexplore.org/mountain-road-preschool-2/

Description:

This website link takes you to the certified outdoor classroom of my program, Mountain Road Preschool. It highlights my program's commitment to providing the children in my program a comprehensive outdoor learning environment through a nature-based play environment. It is based upon over a decade of research and is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Foundation in collaboration with environmental, educational, design and health organizations.

Analysis/Reflection:

In designing my program I fully understood that the development learning of children did not happen just inside the classroom, but outdoors as well. I designed my outdoor classroom while I was researching and developing my senior project through Johnson State College. I decided to go one step further than just a research paper on “The Benefits and Best practices in the Intentional Use of a Natural Playscape on a Child’s Development”, and implement my learning of this topic into my own program. Through my research I found that a well-designed outdoor classroom facilitates better social and physical development, improves fitness, supports creativity, motor skills, imaginative play, and has a positive impact on a child’s overall well-being. My certified outdoor classroom supports whole-child development which covers all areas of curriculum including science, critical thinking and problem solving, language and literacy, math, visual-spatial learning, and construction and engineering skills.

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