Foster Physical Development in Early Childhood - Assignment Example

Name: Course: Institution: Lecturer: Date: Foster physical development in children A. Social development 1) To encourage children to listen and respond to social development I would engage the children in activities that foster development of social skills and are relevant for their ages. For 0-12months children I would read for them stories and sing to them as I engage them for instance bedtime stories. This will foster their language development which facilitated social development for 1-3 years children I would allow them engage in group play where they can interact, for instance in gross motor games or playing with toys. For 3-4years I would engage them in group activities such as circle time, painting, storytelling where each one would get a chance to express themselves to their friend. 6-12years children I would involve them in group assignments and allow them time for outdoor activities that allow socialization for instance play the ball, singing or drawing and painting 2: a) summarize one theorists approach to social development In his social learning theory vygotsky proposes that social development in children is facilitated by what they learn and having their hands to practice it. He said that caregivers and parents have a role to play in child development. b) Describe how the theory relates to our practice in early childhood today This theory is practiced in early childhood because most of children activities involve their activities and are in groups, children do much practice than they engage in theory. 3) One routine time for social development one routine time for social development in a childcare is the circle time, I would engage the children to tell their friends how their morning is so as to learn how to express themselves, and they share stories and different experiences, I also engage them in songs that allow child participation and reference to other children 4) Effective ways to develop an understanding and respect for families home social culture spending time as a family Telling the children about their family social culture and its importance In cooperating the topic in children curriculum 5) An educator could extend a child’s social development by using material from the child’s culture. An educator could extend a child’s social development by using materials from the child’s culture through; songs where each child participates in singing using songs from their culture. They could use materials such as their musical instruments and costumes that are specific for this culture. They could also in groups be assigned to paint different tools and pictures from their culture where as they paint get to interact among themselves. They could be given materials from the cultural center which they can use for reference. Story telling among the children is also a good way for fostering their social development among children since they are able to come up with stories based on their cultures. They can achieve this by being provided with books or videos they can refer to. Physical development a) Theorist approach to early childhood and its relevance today Many people came up with theories explaining the stages of child hood development. Jean Piaget being among the theorists lived from 1896- 1980. He was a biologist and a psychologist. While working in an institute he got the urge to study why students would give wrong answers at times. So he studied the cognitive development of a child, he proposed that cognitive development in children occurred in stages and was greatly determined by the child’s environment, he concluded that cognitive development in a child was a process that determined the mental ability of a child at different stage. He proposed that cognitive development was dependent on schemas available as the basis for knowledge for a child. He also found out that assimilation, accommodation and equilibrium greatly influenced the development (Pp 17). He was able to come up with four stages of early childhood development which were dependent on the child’s age. The stages are Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. He found out that in the Sensorimotor stage (0-2years) the child developed their cognitive from their interactions with their caregivers and activities such as suckling, shaking and believe that things are temporal so that they only exist when on sight. In the preoperational stage (2-7years) children are not yet abstract in their thinking and only think from the visual pictures and repeatedly being in contact with something. Children are also so self centered that they only think everything is about and for them. In the concrete operational stage (7-11 years) at this point a child is able to reason and think concretely so that they have skills such as problem solving. They are also able to relate things and draw conclusions. The last stage in his theory is the formal operational stage (11 years onwards), in this stage the child can think logically since their cognitive abilities are abstract, they have problem solving abilities (Pp 18). The theory relates to our work with children today because it has influence curriculum development, directs the choice of activities in the childcare. Piaget supports that children learn best by doing and being involved, thus, has influenced care givers and educators to choose activities that involve a lot of child practice. The understanding of child cognitive development also helps us to understand which activities and what learning information is relevant for certain age group. The stages have also influenced child care today so that relevance is achieved. It has also enabled educators to understand the child differences across the different ages and thus attend to them well. b) Link of the theory to EYLF As with early years learning framework, the theory of cognitive development by Piaget has facilitated communication and language development in children which has enabled the educators and care givers to attend to the children. Just like the theory the framework is developed in stages which borrow ideas from the works of Piaget. The framework also has a developed language for each age which facilitates their interaction with the children depending on their age. The framework guides the curriculum that is appropriate for each age group. This makes it possible to control the concepts taught at each group since their mental development can support is as proposed by Piaget. As supported by Piaget the framework also has relevant activities for each age group which ensures that children engage in activities that are relevant to them. 2) a) message in the DVD The DVD highlights the importance of active play in children for their physical development. The teacher shares how they engage the children in active play based on their age groups. Active play can involve both outdoor and indoor play. The DVD also informs us of some of the activities that can be included in active play. It also has a message on how the educator can ivolve the children in active play and how it can be effectively planned. b) relevance of the message to my role as an educator the relevance of the message to me as an educator is that it helps me in choosing relevant activities for active play in children. The message guides me in choossing the materials and environment to adopt for active play. The message is also relevant in guiding me on how to effectively involve children in active play. c) how to apply the message to my role I can apply the messaage by including active play in my child care plans based on their age groups. I should aslo have materials and equipmants that support the play. I should be available to facilitate the active play for children. As an educator I should ensure that all chidren participate so that they develop abilities. d) challenges faced by educators in active child play and how to overcome them the children may have different abilities such that they can play equally well, to overcome this the teacher should ensure they have a variety of plays so that all children participate. Children may also be at the risk of being hurt as they play to deal with this the educator should always be around to facilitate the play and ensure all children are safe. Weather may at time be unfavourable for the plays suggested to overcome this the teacher should manipulate theenvironment for the play. e) role of an educator in active child play the teacher is in charge during active play and so facilittaes the activities by providing the direction. The teacher also watches over the children as they place to ensure their safety. f) ways to play outdoor with no equipment pretend play racing hide and seek act animal dancing singing round songs walking race practicing jump –ups doing some press ups ways to play outdoor activities inside when it is cold or hot play indoor games such as tennis play with bouncers skip indoors running round the room chasing each other in the room singing games that have vigorous acts Playing hide and seek Dancing Playing with toys Animal play outdoor activities that make use of recycled or natural resources water play throwing beanbags throwing scarves and ribbons using sacks to skip skipping ropes using grass pretend plays making balls from paper ice skating nature to nature climbimg trees and pretending to be monkeys g)poster attached h)risk taking in early childhood and age for risk takig ativities risk taking in earlychildhood refers to the willingness of children to engage in risky activities to acquire new skills, abilities and for development. This enables children to discover their potential and also enhances physical, cognitive and social development without much limits. Thus, for child development risk taking in early childhood should not be avoided especially in outdoor activities. Therefore, it is important that children are allowed to engage in plays that appear risky under the supervision of their educators so that they are not limited in developing their skills. The appropriate age for risk tahing in early childhood is age four and above because at this age children have developed language and can be able to understand some concepts and are exited about testing their motor skills in outdoor play.risk taking facilitates learning and mental development for children since they are able to test their limits. Gross motor activities are appropriate for risk taking among children. 3a) child observation The child observed, Tim is a 6years 6 months old boy. He is in preschool which is set as the context for his observation. The child is observed for three months during their outdoor activities. The boy observed is short than most boys in his classroom, he in brown in complexion, with blonde hair. During outdoor activities I noticed much excitement in him especially when it was time for gross motor or football. I also observed that he is good at passing and dodging the ball. He was able to coordinate his legs to run after the ball and at the same time not miss it when it is passed, I also noticed that in gross motor play he rode faster than most children. He was also to maintain balance and race to the other end of the field without falling off as most of the children did he was also able to keep the coordination. I also notice independence with his skills and confidence as he played. According to Erickson’s stages of development children at this age have developed and are either industrious or feeling inferior. Tim is feeling good about his abilities which enable him to be playful and physically developed. This is in line with the EYLF which supports that child learning should be play based. Thus most activities for children in this age should be play based. This promotes brain development, good health and participation of the child which makes learning to be a lot of fun. b) Plan for Tim To enhance increased physical development for Tim I would support that every day from 3.30-4.45pm there is a rigorous outdoor activity. This will promote his brain development which will make it easy for him to coordinate activities in class. This will also enhance his coordinating activities and will boost his health. Reference Charlesworth, Rosalind, understanding child development, Cengage Learning, 2010. Read More