Lesson 4: Checklists and Physical Development
Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able
Teaching Read Chapter 3 in Week by Week Click HERE to visit a website on "Understanding Physical Development in Preschoolers" Physical growth and development happens rapidly in early childhood. Caregivers are responsible for providing children with safe and appropriate environments and activities to support children as they explore and grow. We know that physical activity helps build connections within the brain. This means moving more increases cognitive development and supports learning. Check out this article about the connection between brain development and movement. http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=360 Adults should carefully plan both indoor and outdoor play spaces to encourage physical movement. Young children are naturally active and require movement opportunities throughout the day. Daily schedules should incorporate multiple opportunities for children to be physically active. For example, transition activities can be “pretend to swim”, “walk heel to toe”, “giant steps”, “walk backwards”, “crab walk”, etc. These are fun ways for children to use their bodies while keeping them focused. There are many fun games that incorporate cognitive learning with movement. A good example would be a math game where children roll a dice and flip a card with an activity on it. The group then has to do the activity (ex: jump, hop, jumping jack, twirl) as many times as the number on the die indicated. You can also use Yoga as a teaching tool. Children enjoy doing the poses while learning about concentration, stretching and breathing. There are many great yoga tools out there to use with students, including cards with poses and websites that offer short courses.
Although children develop at different rates, there are developmental milestones that should be met by certain ages. It is vital that people who care for children know what these milestones are. When children are not meeting these milestones on-time it may be cause for a referral to a physician or specialist to discuss proper follow up and support. Observation tools such as the physical checklist can be used to document development and/or possible delays in order to help teachers create plans to support children. Physical Development - Ages 0-3 and Physical Development - Ages 3-8 forms can be found in the ECE Resources pages. Suggested future reading: Last Child in the Woods: Richard Louv (2005) Assessment Lesson 4 Assignment A Use one or both of the Physical Development Checklists. Create and complete a physical checklist. Think about a child you will be able to observe. Develop a checklist to look at a minimum of 5 physical skills/milestones that are appropriate for his/her age level. (Page 80-81 text). Be thoughtful that you will need to be able to observe this child completing these activities. Write a summary about your opinion of this child’s physical development skills, using the form provided. Include 2 ideas for outdoor and indoor play equipment and 2 movement activities that a teacher could provide to support this child’s development. Reference any ideas you use from the text or other resources. Note the appropriate standard this child has demonstrated as listed in the Maine Early Learning Guidelines Physical Development and Health section. http://www.maine.gov/doe/publicpreschool/documents/Maine-ELDS.pdf Obtain written permission from the appropriate person before you observe. Submit a version of this form to the Lesson 4 Assignment Drop Box.
Lesson 4 Assignment B Create a visual presentation of a child’s physical development from birth to age 8. Be creative but be sure to include small and large motor development, physical body changes and milestones. Use pictures and descriptive bullets or words to describe the elements of growth. Ideas: Key Note, Prezi, Paint, etc. Be sure to include url’s for any pictures or information you use from the internet.
Lesson 4 Discussion Page 99 in the text talks about the phrase "nature deficit disorder." Why do you think this "disorder" is becoming more prevalent? What do you think the long term effects of this problem may be and how can a teacher help change this epidemic?
|