“Gross motor skills are encouraged through developmentally appropriate materials3, equipment and indoor/outdoor activities” (Washington, 2017).

At our school we have a fenced outdoor play area allowing the children to run and play with autonomy. In the fenced in play area we have a variety of outdoor activities to help the children improve their physical development. We have colorful stepping stones that offer the children the opportunity to practice their gross motor skills as they step from one stone to the next. Teaching the children how to step up and down while strengthening their legs. We also have hoops of all different colors and sizes, toy cars, several bouncing balls, 2 play houses, and a tunnel for the children to crawl in-out, and through.

“Individual fine motor skills are encouraged through a variety of developmentally appropriate materials and activities.” (Washington, 2017).

Last week the lead teacher created a fine motor sensory bin using; one clear plastic storage bin, several soft colorful pompom balls, a small cup, and a pair of plastic scooping tongs. The teacher placed the bin, and its contents, onto the table. As their choice activity, children were invited to try and pick up the pompoms with the scooper and place them inside of the smaller cup. They could stay at the chosen center for as long or as short as they wanted. This helped the children practice their fine motor skills.

 “Offers individualized assistance, learning how children approach and respond to physical challenges” (Washington, 2017).

When outside with the children in the fenced in play area I will sometimes “play” with the children by demonstrating how to interact with the toys. For example, when I set up the stepping stones at first the children weren’t as interested. Then I initiated play by interacting with one stepping stone by stepping up on top of the stone, then pausing with one foot off of the ground and the other foot on the stepping stone. I proceeded to step over placing my opposite foot firmly onto the ground. Each time I repeated the movement saying “Up!” and “Over!” Soon one child tried the stone and then another, until there were more children playing on the stepping stones and moving the stones around the play area. Demonstrating a toy, then stepping back and observing the scene as the children play with the toy, helps to individualize the learning experience as the children develop and strengthen their motor skills. Online Resource: https://specialsupplies.com/

Cognitive Development

“Children are provided time for active play and exploration” (Washington, 2017).

Every day, multiple times a day, we set up centers for the children to play. We allocate an hour of choice time upon arrival, again before lunch, and thirty minutes before grown up time at the end of the day. The children have a choice, they are invited to choose from options such as, trucks, farm animals, an art activity, blocks (large Lego, large cardboard, small foam), puzzles, magna tiles, or dramatic play. They are welcome to alternate and move freely between centers, as long as there is enough space, and the center is not full. Learning through play and experimentation is developmentally beneficial to children as they build skills like problem-solving, memory, confidence, and language.

“Puzzles, books, manipulatives, water/sand are provided” (Washington, 2017).

In the curriculum “All About Us” by Neighborhood Villages, “the children learn about themselves, and each other, in the context of their classroom community.” (Neighborhood Villages, 2024). With that in mind we created a water table sensory center for the children and they were invited to clean their toys with a sponge and soapy water.  They cleaned large Lego blocks, baby dolls, and farm animals. The children were able to work side by side cleaning and learning at the same time. Building community while learning through play, gives the children space to build on their thinking and understanding skills, as well as connecting abstract thought. For example, the children are playing at the water table, they are given toys to play with; Do the children know that they are cleaning? Do the children know that they are building community? These are abstract concepts to them now, but in actuality they are building skills.

“Models curiosity, inquiry, and investigation for children” (Washington, 2017).

In our classroom we have a dramatic play kitchen. The kitchen is made of wood, has a small sink and stove top. It’s filled with tiny plastic fruits and vegetables, small colorful dishes, tiny utensils, cups, bowls, baby dolls, dress up clothes, pots, and pans. Most of the time the children like to dump everything out onto the ground and walk away to the next fun thing. I enjoy modeling the kitchen for the children. I say things like, “The babies look hungry, should we make them some food to eat? What do you think the babies would like to eat? Do they want breakfast? This gets the child thinking, problem solving, and finding solutions. While pointing at the pot, I’ll ask the child a directive question like, “Grab that pot, so we can cook food for the baby.” The children then work together to get everything ready for the baby. I usually narrate and preview our movements to aid in skills building, memory, and language. Online Resource: https://www.neighborhoodvillages.org/nv-exploration

Language Development

“Developmentally appropriate books are available” (Washington, 2017).

At our center, we provide age-appropriate books that children can access throughout the day. In my current classroom, we have a bookshelf next to a green rug filled with books. If the children are done playing in their choice play center but choice time isn’t finished yet, we say to the children, “You can go read a book on the green rug”, and the children know to go over to the book shelf and grab a book. Right now the children’s favorites are How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? by Jane Yolen, Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Fall by Eric Carle. They’re also pretty into Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Teachers will have books on curriculum themes and topics. Our center uses CW MARS to find books to check out from the library.

“Children are read to every day” (Washington, 2017).

Teachers also have a selection of books that they read aloud to the children. These books often align with the current curriculum theme and topic. For example, teachers may read aloud during morning snack and lunchtime. I like to read books during morning meeting, it helps the children connect to the curriculum theme for that day. For example, during summer session one of our curriculum themes was sea creatures. I brought in books on sea creatures and share

pictures of all the different kinds of creatures found in the ocean. I found My Very First Encyclopedia with Winnie the Pooh and Friends: Animals at my local library, it was amazing and the children enjoyed the pictures of sea creatures especially the clown fish and the sharks.

“Reads to children engagingly” (Washington, 2017).

I love reading aloud! When I first started reading to the children after getting hired at Hevreh, I was very animated. I would also yell, to talk over the other noises in the room. As time passed I realized that this was taking up a lot of energy for both me and the children. Now I feel more practiced, I read w

ith expression, and I no longer yell. I make sure to remain calm and keep my inflections to a meaningful minimum. That is to say for example, if I’m reading Pete the Cat, I might read certain parts a little louder to emphasize the rhythm of the writing. I also enjoy playing the audio recordings of the Pete the Cat books, it becomes a sing along with the children and makes for a fun reading experience. As I’m reading aloud, to keep the children engaged, I’ll do my best to make eye contact, read slowly, and I sometimes preview with questions like, “What do you think will happen next?” Online resource https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/kids-and-ya-books/#babytoddler

Sensory & Creativity

“Art materials and activities are available for children daily” (Washington, 2017).

The center I work at we have an amazingly fun art closet thats filled with all kinds of different art materials. There’s plenty of paints, colorful construction paper, a bag filled with paper tubes, a bin filled with pinecones, a bin filled with different color pompoms, a box filled with all kinds of different colors and sizes of crayon, stamp pads, color pencils, markers, and tiny scissors. The topic for our curriculum last week was trees, and this week we’re doing pinecones. Last week we made sunleaf catchers using crumpled dry leaves sprinkled onto small cardboard frames covered in contact paper. Today, I introduced pinecones and invited the children to color pictures of pinecones with crayons. Coloring strengthens fine motor skills through holding crayons, paint brushes, and markers. Later in the week the children will paint with pinecones in a box. Teachers put a piece of paper in the bottom of a small box or pan, something that the children can pick up and manipulate with their hands. Then dip the pinecones in paint, and have the children roll the paint covered pinecone around the inside of the box, making colorful marks on the paper with each roll of a pinecone. These activities support problem-solving skills as well as cognitive development.

“Dramatic play materials and activities are available for children daily” (Washington, 2017).

The children in my classroom love dramatic play! During center time dramatic play’s always full. In our dramatic play area we have different dress up outfits, ones for a doctor, another outfit for a cook, an explorer on safari, an astronaut, and police officer. We have a play doctor kit complete with stethoscope, thermometer, syringe, and blood pressure cuff.  They enjoy playing with the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff the most. Theres also a small wooden kitchen with a kitchen sink and stove top. All kinds of different tiny fruits and vegetables, one tin of sardines, cucumber slices, tomato slices, a banana, one single strawberry, and one piece of broccoli. All kinds of different plates, cups, and bowls. Dramatic pretend play encourages language skills, social-emotional development as well as fine motor and problem-solving skills.

“Encourages children to explore textures, colors, and the sensory experiences of materials” (Washington, 2017).

In our classroom we make sure to experiment with fun sensory activities that relate to our curriculum topic. Crumpling leaves to make a tree collage, or painting with pinecones, using color, textures, and play goes a long way in our classroom. We have a sensory table that we can fill with water or dry materials. We’ve used the table for water play in summer time and the other day we had it filled will all kinds of different plants, sage, lavender, maple tree leaves, some prickly but not really all that prickly plants, some that had a smell and others that had no smell at all. The children would come and pick up pieces of material out of the sensory bin and look at it, and when prompted smell it. To get their minds moving, I would ask them open-ended questions like, “What do you see? Or “What does this feel like?”. Exploration through these activities will nurture cognitive development, fine motor skills, and builds self esteem, and self confidence. Online Resource: https://www.pinterest.com/ideas/leaf-sun-catcher-craft/954509728155/