HOW CHILDREN LEARN

Blocks Center: size & shape differentiation, spatial relationships, & structural balance

Science Area: cause & effect, measurement. & exploration

Library: reading readiness, communication & language skills, memory skills, & proper book handling

Snack & Lunch: etiquette & manners, social interaction, & self-help skills

 

Writing / Art Center: visual perception, creativity, colors, & fine motor skills

Aligning Pennsylvania State Standards to a Reggio-Emilia Inspired Preschool

Constructing and Gathering Knowledge:

 

• Children will explore and ask questions to seek meaningful information about a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks

 

Social Emotional Development:

Children have multiple and varied opportunities to engage with teachers and peers that help facilitate their social competence by:

 

• Recognizing and naming their own and other feelings

• Learning skills to regulates their emotions, behaviors, and attention

• Developing a positive attitude toward learning (mastery, curiosity, etc.)

• Allowing them to interact positively, cooperatively and to resolve conflicts

• Enhancing self-esteem, self sufficiency, and feelings of self worth

 

Physical Development:

Children are offered an environment that allows for free movement and mastery of their bodies through self-initiation by:

 

• Providing opportunities to practice coordination, balance, and motor planning

• Providing opportunities to develop fine motor skills by utilizing age appropriate manipulatives

• Allowing opportunities to assess their own risk

• Providing opportunities to develop gross motor skill by large motor experiences

• Enhancing sensory-motor integration

 

Language Development:

Children are provided with opportunities for language acquisition and written and oral communication through:

 

• Offering experiences that hold deep meaning and interest to the children resulting in conversations and discussions with their peers and teachers

• Providing opportunities to respond to questions and conversations

• Providing opportunities to communicate their needs and experiences

• Providing opportunities to describe things and events

 

Literacy:

Children are offered multiple and varied opportunities to experience written language through:

 

• Access to age appropriate books

• Daily storytelling and read alouds

• Familiarity and recognition of print; written words throughout the classroom

• Modeling functional use of written language

 

Children are offered multiple and varied opportunities to experience writing by:

 

• Providing various types of writing materials throughout the classroom

• Encouraging writing at all developmental levels including scribbling, markings and developmental spelling

 

Cognitive: Mathematics

Children are offered multiple and varied opportunities to encourage integration of math concepts by:

 

• Offering materials to organize and sort based on attributes

• Offering materials that allow for shape recognition

• Offering materials that help them understand concepts of measurement by standard and nonstandard units of measurement

• Offering content that allows for learning passage of time

 

Cognitive: Science

Children are offered multiple and varied opportunities to question, inquire, discover, document, and reason by:

 

• Offering materials that encourage experimentation

• Offering materials that aid in observation

• Providing opportunity to discuss scientific concepts in their everyday conversation

• Providing copious time outside with the natural elements

 

Creative Expression:

Children are offered multiple and varied opportunities to gain appreciation for the Arts by:

 

• Providing age appropriate materials that are available to manipulate and explore

• Materials offer open-ended experiences to express themselves through music, drama, dance, and art

• Encouraging the process versus the product