Introduction

Purpose

This technical guide expands on the concepts developed in the education foundation guide Nurturing Children. It is designed to enhance the skills of education staff so they can apply knowledge of how children grow and develop to planning, implementing, and evaluating activities and experiences in the center, at home, and during group socialization sessions. Education staff can share their child development knowledge and skills to support parents in their role as the child's primary educator.

Enhancing Children's Growth and Development focuses on Dr. Urie Bronfenbrenner' s ecological model of development to reinforce Head Start's commitment to knowing and understanding all the factors that affect a child's development. This model corresponds to Head Start's approach in addressing children's needs through a broad array of comprehensive and integrated services that build upon, complement, and reinforce each other. Activities in this guide allow staff to explore and reflect on this model, and use it in an Ongoing Child Study to get to know and plan for an individual child.

From its inception, Head Start has been based on the knowledge and principles of child development. Head Start regards every child as a whole human being to be nurtured, cared for, and cared about, as well as to be educated. Children's healthy development in all domains is closely tied to their ability to be successful learners. This guide allows staff to apply their skills and knowledge of child development while creating indoor and outdoor environments; establishing schedules, routines, and transitions; and planning activities to meet group and individual needs. The guide addresses child development knowledge and skills needed by staff who work with young infants, mobile infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Outcomes

There are four, interrelated, outcomes for this guide that are listed below. Each of the four modules includes activities that address several outcomes at once.

After completing this guide, participants will be able to:

• Recognize and identify the uniqueness of each child, including children with disabilities
• Apply child development principles as they plan for and interact with children
• Support parents as the primary influences in their children's lives by sharing information about children's growth and development and by identifying and reinforcing opportunities to continue learning at home

Reflect on their practices and determine whether changes are needed to encourage all children's growth and development.

Audience

This is a guide for education staff in center, home-based, and combination settings, including classroom teams (teachers, assistants, and volunteers)and home visitors.

Performance Standards

This guide supports the following child development and education concepts based on die Head Start Program Performance Standards:

• A safe and secure learning environment encourages the social competence of all children, including those with disabilities.
• Developmentally appropriate experiences allow children to gain skills in four domains: social, cognitive, physical, and emotional.
• Parents are the principal influences in their children's lives.
• Staff can help parents learn about child development and how to use experiences at home as opportunities for growth and learning.

Organization

This technical guide, Enhancing Children's Growth and Development, is designed to further develop the skills of education staff in understanding how each child's growth and development is affected by his or her individual characteristics, family, and immediate environment, community, and culture. Staff will gain knowledge of child development and use it to plan appropriate environments; schedules, routines, and transitions; and activities, in home, center, and group socialization settings.

By completing the activities in this guide, participants will complete the following four interrelated outcomes:

• Recognize the factors that influence development and understand how they affect individual children, including children with disabilities.
• Plan for and interact with children in ways that encourage each individual's development in four domains-social, emotional, cognitive, and physical.
• Support parents as the primary influences in their children's lives by sharing knowledge of child development and planning strategies for reinforcing development and learning at home.
• Consider the effectiveness of current strategies for planning the environment, schedule, routines, transitions, and activities and make changes, as needed, to respond to and encourage the growth and development of all children, including those with disabilities.

Each module includes module outcomes, key concepts, and background information. The module outcomes were developed from the guide outcomes. Enhancing Children's Growth and Development contains the following modules:

· Module 1: Getting to Know Each Child

This module gives staff an overview of the ecological model of child development, allows them to apply the model to better understand and plan for children enrolled in the program, and reviews what staff already know about the interrelated nature of child development.

· Module 2: Creating Environments That Support Children s Growth and Development

This module encourages staff to create safe and healthy indoor and outdoor environments-in home, center, and group socialization settings-that support the developmental characteristics typical of children of different ages.

· Module 3: Planning Schedules, Routines, and Transitions

This module enhances the staffs capability to plan balanced schedules and plan routines and strategies that match children's developmental stages and support their growth.

· Module 4: Using Child Development to Plan Activities

This module involves staff in planning activities that allow children to participate in their own unique ways, in accordance with their individual interests, abilities, and skill levels.

Each module has specific outcomes for participants to achieve, and each activity is designed to fulfill one of the outcomes. For easy reference, the outcome is listed with the activity. In addition, the Next Steps, the last activity for each module, introduces a unique staff development tool, the portfolio, a living document of one's professional growth and achievement. The material that is developed and added to the individual's collection is an important tool for self-evaluation and demonstrates to others one's professional growth.

The Key Concepts section appears in every module of the guide and summarizes the main ideas contained within each module. The Key Concepts are discussed more explicitly in the Background Information section of each module. The trainer may choose to present the Background Information section as a mini-lecture or use it for handouts or overheads in either coaching or workshop sessions.

The Resources section appears at the end of the guide. This section contains additional materials that may be consulted for further information on the topics contained within the module.

The Appendices section of the guide provides participants with detailed child development information that they may use as they complete the exercises in the guide and use as resources on the job. Several activities refer to the Appendices. There are six appendices.

Definition of Icons

Coaching-A training strategy that fosters the development of skills through tailored instruction, demonstrations, practice, and feedback. The activities are written for a coach to work closely with one to three participants.

Workshop-A facilitated group training strategy that fosters development of skills through activities that build on learning through group interaction. These activities are written for up to 25 participants working in small or large groups with one or two trainers.

Next Steps:
Ideas to Extend Practice-Activities assigned by the trainer immediately following the completion of the module to help participants review key information, practice skills, and examine their progress toward expected outcomes of the module.

Continuing Professional Development-Follow-up activities for the program to support continued staff development in the regular use of the skills addressed in a particular training guide. It includes:

(1) Opportunities tailored to the participant to continue building on the skills learned in the training

(2) Ways to identify new skills and knowledge needed to expand and/or complement these skills through opportunities in such areas as higher education, credentialing, or community educational programs

At A Glance
 
 

Module

Activity

Time

Materials

Module 1: Getting to Know Each Child 

(W) Activity 1-1: The Child Development Universe	75 minutes	Handout 1: The Child Development Universe
(C) Activity 1-2: We Are What We Experience	60 minutes	Handout 1: The Child Development Universe
(W) Activity 1-3: Constructing Child Development Knowledge	120 minutes	Handout 2: Ongoing Child Study (Parts A and B)   Appendices A-E  3x5 index cards
(C) Activity 1-4: Observing the Whole Child	n/a	Handout 3: The Whole Child: Summary of Development   Appendices A-E

  

Module 2: Creating Environments
That Support Children's Growth and Development

  

(W) Activity 2-1: From Follows Function in Supportive Environments	120 minutes	Handout 4: Using the Environment to Build Skills  Child development charts in Appendix E
(C) Activity 2-2: Stepping Out	120 minutes	Handout 5: Planning for Outdoor Play  Head Start Facilities Manual  Cardboard, other materials for drawing or making three-dimensional models
(W) Activity 2-3: What Do the Children Play With?	120 minutes	Handout 6: Portrait of a Child  Handout 7: A Personalized Inventory  Handout 8: Ongoing Child Study Part C)  Appendix F  Head Start Facilities Manual  Catalogs from supply companies for early childhood programs
(C) Activity 2-4: Will They Play with It Today and Tomorrow?	90 minutes	Three play materials  Art materials  Appendices E and F

  

Module 3: Planning Schedules, Routines,
and Transitions to Support Children's
Growth and Development

  

(W) Activity 3-1: The Balancing Act	120 minutes	Handout 9: Ongoing Child Study (Part D)
(C) Activity 3-2: Making Every Day the Same and Different	n/a	Handout 10: Observing a Typical Day
(W) Activity 3-3: What Do the Children Do?	90 minutes	Handout 11: A Child Development Approach to Planning Routines and Transitions  Handout 12: Ongoing Child Study (Part E)
(C) Activity 3-4: Children Learn by Doing	60 minutes	Handout 13: It's Breakfast Time!  Handout 14: Answer Key: It's Breakfast Time!

   Module 4: Using Child Development to Plan Activities

  

(W) Activity 4-1: All It Takes Is a Box	120 minutes	Handout 15: Planning an Appropriate Activity  Handout 16: Evaluation and Follow-up  Child development charts in Appendix E  Cardboard boxes (12x22x18 inches)  Tape, scissors, glue, markers  Recycled materials
(C) Activity 4-2: The Planning Web	120 minutes	Handout 17: Introduction to the Planning the Web  Handout 18: The Planning Web
(W) Activity 4-3: This One's Just For You	120 minutes	Completed Ongoing Child Studies (Handouts 2,8,9, and 12)  Handout 19: Building on Children's Strengths
(C) Activity 4-4: Accentuate the Positive	90 minutes	Handout 19: Building on Children's Strengths

   C = Coaching Activities W = Workshop Activities

 

Index | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Appendix