Early Childhood Development (Preschoolers) PDF

 MODULE 15: PRESCHOOLERS’ PHYSICAL  INTRODUCTION The preschool years are “the years before formal schooling begins.” It covers 3-5 years of age. At t his stage, t he child achieves several milestones in life, serving as the basic foundation of learning and development.  GROSS MOTOR...

 MODULE 15: PRESCHOOLERS’ PHYSICAL  INTRODUCTION The preschool years are “the years before formal schooling begins.” It covers 3-5 years of age. At t his stage, t he child achieves several milestones in life, serving as the basic foundation of learning and development.  GROSS MOTOR DEVELOPMEN T It refers to acquiring skills that involve large muscles in the arms, legs, and torso. Three (3) Categories of Gross Motor Skills: 1. Locomotor Skills 2. Non-Locomotor Skills 3. Manipulative Skills  3 CATEGORIES OF GROSS MOTOR SKILLS LOCOMOTOR NON-LOCOMOTOR MANIPULATIVE SKILLS SKILLS SKILLS It involves moving a body It is the movement that It involves using the hands and from one place to another. involves staying in one place. fingers to control, move or manipulate objects. Example: Walking, Running, Example: Bending, Stretching, Examples: Picking, using writing Skipping, etc.., dodging, etc.., implements, squeezing, etc..,  FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT It refers to acquiring the ability to use the smaller muscles in the arm, hands, and fingers purposely. Example: Picking, Writing implements, squeezing, etc.., Self-help like holding a spoon and fork for eating is also involved. In addition, dif fe rent environments provide dif ferent experiences with f ine motor skills like children who grow up in urban places where computers, keyboards, and game consoles are present: In a rural place children love to dig, using sticks as toys, etc.., Their interest in drawing and other for ms of ar tistic expression is at the heart of the preschool years. This form of f ine motor activity is relevant to preschoolers. Viktor Lowenfeld studied this and came up with the stages of drawing in early childhood  STAGES DEFINITION This stage begins with large zig-zag lines which later become circular markings. Soon, discrete shapes are drawn. The child may start to name his/her drawing STAGE 1 towards the end of this stage. SCRIBBLING STAGE May already include early representations (This also becomes very signif icant when we discuss about cognitive development). At this point adults may be able STAGE 2 to recognize the drawings. Children at this stage tend to give the same names to PRESCHEMATIC STAGE their drawings several times. Drawings usually comprise of a prominent head with basic elements. Later, arms, legs, hands and even facial features are included. More elaborate scenes are depicted. Children usually draw from experience and exposure. Drawings may include houses, trees, the sun and sky, and people. STAGE 3 Initially, they may appear f loating in the air but eventually, drawings appear to SCEMATIC STEGE follow a ground line NUTRITION AND SLEEP  PRESCHOOLERS NUTRITION The preschoolers’ nutritional status is the result of what nutrients he or she takes in checked against the nutritional requirement for his or her age. Having too much and too little of something both have negative effects.  PRESCHOOLERS SLEEP Preschoolers need to get suf ficient rest and sleep because they benefit from about 10- 12 hours of sleep each day.  MODULE 16: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF  PRESCHOOLERS’ SYMBOLIC AND INTUITIVE THINKING PREOPERATIONAL SUBSTAGE OF PIAGET SYMBOLIC SUBSTAGE Preschool children progress in their cognitive abilities by being able to draw objects that are not present, by their dramatic increase in their language, and by make-believe play. INTUITIVE SUBSTAGE Preschool children begin to use primitive reasoning and ask a litany of questions. The development of their language ability facilitates their endless asking of questions. BRAIN CONNECTIONS I N THE PRESCHOOL YEARS Because of fascinating developments in neuroscience, the brain development of young children has been of great interest to the f ield of early childhood. Brain research f indings point us to more ef fective ways to care for and teach preschoolers. From science lessons you had in high school or even in elementary, you will remember that our brain is composed of numerous cells called NEURONS that connect to function. Cell connections are what we call SYNAPSES, SYNAPSES sometimes also referred to as SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS.  DID YOU KNOW? the human brain contains some 50 billion neurons at birth!  by age 2, children have developed half of the brain cell connections that will be made during one's lifetime.  around 6 years of age the brain develops more sophisticated thinking patterns. All these facts point to the enormous potential that a preschooler's brain has. The child's billion cells can make almost countless connections that prepare the child for intricate pathways to learn language, acquire logical-mathematical skills, interact with people, grow in their feelings and emotions, and even express themselves in art. As such, a preschool teacher would often observe how a child has transformed from a dependent toddler into a proud and independent preschooler who can now eat more neatly and enjoy "reading" a book. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT  Young children's understanding T H E 4 M A I N A R E AS O F FAST MAPPING sometimes gets ahead of their L A N G UAG E speech. As children go through early A s t h e y a d va n c e i n a g e a n d childhood, their grasp of the rules of 1. Phonology – Study of speech and continuously interact with people, language increases (morphology, sounds. preschool children expand rapidly in semantics, pragmatics). 2. Semantics - Study of word their vocabulary through fast mapping, Symbolic thinking involves language, meaning and word combination. a process by which children absorb the literacy, and dramatic play. Children 3. Syntax – The study of sentence meaning of a new word after hearing it rapidly conclude that sounds link construction. once or twice in conversation. together to make words and words 4. Pragmatics – The study of Preschool children combine syllables represent ideas, people, and things. conversations or social uses of into words and words into sentences language. increasingly sophisticatedly. LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION  Vygotsky believed that young children use language both to communicate socially and to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior in a self-regulatory fashion called inner speech or private speech (Santrock, 2002). LE V SI M K HOV ICH V YG OD SKY Born: November 17, 1896 Died: June 11, 1934 (aged 37)  ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT Vygotsky introduced the term Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to refer to “tasks too dif ficult for a child to master alone but can be mastered with the guidance and assistance of adults or more skilled children. In short, the ZPD captures the preschool children’s cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing. The ZPD has a lower limit and an upper limit. The lower limit of the ZPD is "the level of cognitive development reached by the preschool child independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor."  SCAFFOLDING Closely linked to the idea of ZPD in cognitive and language development is the concept of scaf folding, a term that refers to the "changing support over the course of a teaching session, with the more skilled person adjusting guidance to f it the child's current performance level“. The more skilled person is also called a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO).  INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY- ATTENTION AND MEMORY The Information Processing model is another way of examining and understanding how children develop cognitively. This model conceptualizes Children's mental processes through the metaphor of a computer processing, encoding, storing, and decoding data. The preschoolers' attention span lasts longer than that of toddlers. The child's ability to pay attention changes significantly during the preschool years. However, one def icit in attention during preschool years is that attention is focused only on aspects that stand out at the expense of those that are relevant to solving a problem to performing well on a task. Preschool children recognize previously encountered information, recall old information, and reconstruct it in the present.  Retain information for up to 15-30 seconds, assuming there is no SHORT-TERM MEMORY rehearsal, which can help STM keep information in STM for a much longer period MAIN (Santrock, 2002). STAGES OF It involves storing MEMORY in fo r ma t io n a b o u t a sequence of events in LONG-TERM MEMORY familiar situations as LTM “Scripts”. Scripts help children to understand interpret, and predict what will happen in future scenarios. THE YOUNG CHILDREN’S THEORY OF MIND  T h eo r y o f m in d refers t o individuals' thoughts about how mental processes work (Santrock, 2002). As their representation of the world and ability to remember and solve problems improve, children start to ref lect on their thought processes. They begin to construct a theory of mind or a set of ideas about mental activities. This develops markedly between the ages of three and f iv e. ( P r es ch o o l e r s C o g n i t i ve Development, 2007).  It includes awareness of one's thought processes, social cognition, understanding that people can hold false beliefs, ability to deceive, ability to distinguish appearance from reality, and ability to distinguish fantasy from reality (P res choolers Cognitive Development, 2007)  MODULE 17: SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRESCHOOLER  It is crucial to preschoolers. Many parents, teachers, and preschool administrators say that attending preschool is more for “socialization” than for formal academic learning. Preschoolers now discover their new roles outside their home. They become interested in asserting themselves as they relate with other people. A lot of essential social skills they will learn during the preschool years will help them throughout life as adults.  Big Ideas on Preschoolers’ Socio-emotional Development 1. The development of initiative is crucial to the preschooler. 2. A healthy self–concept is needed for preschoolers to interact with others. 3. Environmental factors influence gender identity in young children. 4. Pre-schoolers’ social development is shown through the stages of play. 5. The caregiving styles of parents and teachers af fect the preschoolers’ socio-emotional development. 6. Pre-schoolers are interested in building friendships. PRESCHOOLERS’ INITIATIV E INITIATIV E VS. GUILT PRESCHOOLERS’ INITIATIVE Erikson believed that healthy preschoolers develop init iat ive, t he t endency of preschoolers to want to take action and assert themselves. They will yearn to create, invent, pretend, take risks, and engage in lively and imaginative activities with peers. When parents, teachers, and other adults support these attempts and provide a stimulating environment, the preschoolers’ sense of initiative will grow. On the other hand, if adults show overprotection, extreme restriction, and criticism, the preschoolers will develop guilt.  As preschoolers go through the conf lict of initiative vs. guilt, they show so much energy in doing imaginative play activities. Adults sometimes get exasperated over this behavior and begin to see the preschooler as “naughty” or “ makulit”. Some parents and teachers then become overly restrictive, resorting to threats, intimidation, and other scary tactics that disrespect the preschooler just to establish “control”. Preschoolers who are always punished and criticized end up constructing a view of themselves as being “salbahe” (bad) “bobo” (dumb) or even “walang kwenta” (worthless).  Judicious Permissiveness This involves setting realistic boundaries that keep preschoolers safe and respectful of themselves and others w h i l e a l l o w i n g t h e m g r ea t e r opportunities to explore, take risks, and engage in creative process. SELF-CONCEPT AND THE PRESCHOOLER SELF-CONCEPT – refers to the way one sees oneself, a general view of one’s abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. By t he end of toddlerhood, preschoolers come out with a clear sense that they are a separate and distinct person. With their ability to make representations, they can n o w t h i n k a n d r e f le c t o n themselves. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND GENDER IN THE PRESCHOOLERS ’ SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT As the preschooler’s ability to create schemas develops, they become capable of GENDER TYPING the process of forming gender roles, gender-based preferences, and behaviors accepted by society. They come to form gender stereotypes. Preschoolers begin to associate certain things like toys, tools, games, clothes, jobs, colors, or even actions or behaviors as being “only for boys” or “only for girls”. Consequently. They form their own gender identity, the view of oneself as being masculine or feminine.  Gender typing and gender identity are influenced by environmental factors such as family, teachers, peers, and the mass media. This is where Bronfenbrenner’s model comes into play. Dif ferent spheres of inf luence determine the preschooler’s development of a gender schema. Mass media and ICT which include television, movies, the internet computer games also of fe r various images of what it means to be a boy or girl.  PARTEN’S STAGES OF PLAY Play is the main agenda of the preschool years. The play has a s o ci a l d i m e n s i o n. A s t h e preschooler develops, social interaction with playmates increases. Mildred Parten, in 1930 did a study on children's play behavior which led to Parten’s stages of play.  UNOCCUPIED ONLOOKER SOLITARY PLAY The child appears not to be The child spends time watching The child starts to play on his playing but directs his attention others play. He may talk to own. He seems not to notice to anything that interests him. them but does not enter into other children playing nearby. play with them. PARTENS’ STAGES OF PARALLEL PLAY PLAY ASSOCIATIVE PLAY COOPERATIVE The child plays with toys similar to The child plays with others. There The child plays with others bound those near him but only plays is interaction among them, but no by some agreed-upon rules and beside and not with them. No task assignment, rules, and roles. The goal is maybe to make interaction takes place. organization are agreed upon. something, play a game, or act out something. FRIENDSHIP IN SCHOOL As they continue to grow, preschoolers become interested in having friends. This should be encouraged in the preschool years as friendships benef it the preschooler’s development by providing stimulation, assistance, companionship, social comparison, and affection (Kostelnik, 2010). Through friendships, preschoolers can practice dif ferent social roles like being a leader, a follower, someone who takes risks, and someone who helps out and comforts. Friendships are very important because they provide an added sense of belongingness and security. In the preschool years, parents and teachers must expose children to experiences that help them learn skills in establishing friendships, maintaining positive relationships, and resolving conflict.  CAREGIVING STYLES Caregiving styles af fect the socio-emotional development of the children. Caregivers here refer to both parents and teachers and even other adults who care for the child. Baumrind gave a model that describes dif ferent types of caregiving styles. This was based on a longitudinal study that looked into the adult authority and the development of children that Baumrind conducted which began in the 1960’s. Decades later she identif ied varying degrees of demandingness and responsiveness as determinants of our four styles of caregiving. Ma r i on ( 2 0 0 7 ) exp oun de d on t h es e determining factors. BAUMRIDS’ CAREGIVING STYLES  BAUMRINDS’ CAREGIVING AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CHILDREN Description The Caregiving style caregivers/parents/teachers with this Effect on the preschooler caregiver style has the following descriptions: Expect behavior appropriate to the age of Makes the preschooler feel safe and secure the child. Teaches the child to take responsibility for Maintain reasonable and fair limits his or her actions. Closely monitor the activities of the child Develops good self-control Authoritative Warm and nurturing Develops a realistic view of oneself (High demandingness, high Have realistic expectations of the child Builds the child’s capacity for empathy responsiveness) Communicate messages in a kind, f irm, and consistent manner Discipline approach focuses more on teaching than punishing  Description The Caregiving style caregivers/parents/teachers with this caregiver style has the Effect on the preschooler following descriptions: S e t s u b j e c t i v e o r lea d t o t he aggressive unreasonable limits behavior of the child Communicate messages Brings about poor self- Authoritarian St r i ve t o h a ve st r o ng control (High demandingness, psychological control over Results in poor self-esteem low responsiveness) p u n i sh m e n t , sa r ca sm , withdrawal of love threats Not able to teach children a better way to behave  Description The caregivers/parents/teachers Caregiving style with this caregiver style has the following Effect on the preschooler descriptions: Permit the preschoolers to regulate their Has difficulty controlling his/her impulses behavior and make their own decisions Tends to be dependent even when preschoolers are not yet ready Tends to be demanding of their to do so caregivers Do not set rules or very few if any Tends not to persist or easily give up on a Permissive Do not demand good behavior or task accomplishment Low demandingness, (high May lack conf idence in their ability to task Do not easily follow Maybe rebellious responsiveness) influence the child Does not handle frustration well Maybe disorganized and inef fective in Has inadequate emotional control managing the family and household/class  Description The caregivers/parents/teachers Caregiving style with this caregiver style has the following Effect on the preschooler descriptions: Shows undemanding, indif ferent, and Dif ficulties in school performance When rejecting action toward the child parents’ behavior is to the extreme or if Has little commitment to their roles as child experiences this style early, the parents/caregivers child may have Maybe depressed or overburned by many Attachment problems Continuation…. concerns like poverty, marital problems, Delayed cognitive development or absence of support from others. Poor social and emotional skills Delinquent behavior later in adolescence