Developing a Sense of Self in the Young Child

At Trinity School for Children curriculum delivery is based in the social studies meaning the study of world around them.

The Social Studies program in our pre-school is based on the daily life experiences of young children.  The sources of the several studies over the course of the school year arise from teachers’ observations of and discussions with the children. These ideas develop around the everyday experiences familiar to the children such as: shopping, dining, transportation for people and materials, working at action-filled jobs.

These interests reveal the importance of home, family, the widening world of school, neighborhoods and workplaces which encompass the children’s experiences so far.

At this stage of their development, children want to find out about people, places and things that affect them personally.  Through dramatic play, they have opportunities to imagine and imitate what it feels like to be a parent, doctor, firefighter, or shopkeeper etc.

Teachers plan for school and neighborhood trips, which are followed with play and re-creations with open-ended materials such as blocks, paint, clay, collage, sand, water within the classroom environment.  In their work with materials, children create symbols that support and represent the integration of inner thoughts and feelings with their observations and understandings about the world around them.

Early Childhood Classrooms as Laboratories

Can you imagine the young child in a place where they can discover, learn and experiment with their own realities and build their own knowledge?  A place where a child's development can grow.

From our youngest children (infants) through our 8^th grade classes, our classrooms are working and living representations of the scientist’s laboratory and the artist’s studio. From their observations, experiences, and research, children collect and record scientific data.  They make and then discuss hypotheses that will be subjected to further testing and analyses at different stages of development.  As children work with the censorial materials of art, they can imagine and project themselves into the time and space of the culture being studied and make sense out of it.  This is why a young child's development is critical.

Ultimately these experiences allow the students to integrate and accommodate their own personal feelings and ideas; those experiences in the here and now of families and friends, and from the far away and long ago such as present day Africa, India, China or of ancient Mexico and Egypt.

The Role of Social Studies in Early Childhood Education

For the successful development of the pre school child, an environment must be constructed so that young children can investigate their own questions and their own realities. We develop this environment through the use of “social studies”.

It is through this “social studies” that we develop children’s skills in relationship thinking, problem solving, making generalizations out of details, posing questions, answering questions, working collaboratively and independently, developing a sense of caring and social responsibility, and integrating the use of skills from other academic areas. We begin developing these skills from our very youngest children in our classrooms by creating the environments that will help support these skills.

An important part of the basis of our social studies curriculum at Trinity is referred to as implicit social studies – the life of the classroom itself.  How we organize and manage the classroom – as well as the whole school – sends a powerful message to the students about values and community.  As the children bring to the school a wide array of experiences and personal knowledge the information becomes a part of this spontaneous, “implicit” curriculum. All ideas generated from our organization and thoughts of children make for opportunities to further our teaching and learning.

The Early Childhood Learning Environment

How do you create an appropriate environment?

The most important aspect of a classroom is how it encourages the health and safety of the children and adults who use the space.  Covering electrical outlets, keeping materials in good repair, locking up cleaning products, and maintaining good hygiene are just a few components to classroom safety.

The space also must accommodate for a variety of learning experiences.  Work spaces for art, dramatics, writing, math, blocks, and reading should be incorporated into the space.  Room arrangement impacts learning and social interactions.  Placing quiet centers near each other and nosier centers together reduces conflict.  Cooperation among children is supported by arranging furniture to create small spaces for a few children.  Large group areas help develop a sense of community.  It is also critical to have a space where children can go to be alone. 

It is important that the classroom has a rhythm to the day.  Creating a daily schedule that meets the developmental needs of the children is essential.  Children find comfort and security in predictable routines.  The key to an effective schedule is balance; balance quiet and active times, balance group and individual times, and balance indoor and outdoor times.  The timing of snack, lunch, and rest should reflect the developmental needs of the age group.  When children have their physical needs met, they are then able to explore and learn.  The educator must remain flexible in the daily schedule and recognize when a change is needed. www.trinitysfc.org

The Early Childhood Learning Environment

Why is the learning environment important for early childhood development?

The learning environment is comprised of the physical space, the objects in that space, and the organization of time.  Wherever the space is located, be it a home, a school classroom, a center, or outdoors, these elements are a powerful force.  The environment shapes the behavior and feelings of the people who live and work in it. 

Children learn through interacting with the people and things around them.  Interaction and learning are promoted by creating an environment that simultaneously supports and challenges children.  Room arrangement can facilitate cleaning up and encourage social interaction. 

The classroom environment speaks to the educator’s philosophy and curriculum.  Displaying children’s art work communicates respect.  Parent message boards welcome families into the space.  How a classroom is cared for indicates an educator’s pride, understanding, and commitment to the children and families in their care. www.trinitysfc.org

An Example of the Developmental Interaction Approach In Action

The 4/5’s class had time in the day for story reading.  The teacher asks the children to choose a book they would like her to read to them.  They chose a book on the human eye.

They read a portion of the story that discussed how the eye dilates and the amount of light that filters through the eye. The children began looking at each other’s eyes and asked many questions such as “what happens in the dark?”; “Do cats’ eyes do the same thing?”; “How many different colored eyes are there?”  After the story reading was over the children went back to work.  As the teacher moved around the room, the children were continuing to talk to each other about “the eye”.  This was a signal to the teacher that further study on this subject was necessary.

With the teacher as facilitator, a study was developed around the human body and the five senses.  The children drove the conversation and participated in the planning.  The teacher prepared the classroom with books and materials that would support the study.

After much conversation and collaboration, the study began with a discussion about skin.  The teacher listening to children’s conversations heard the topic of germs come up frequently.  They read books about germs and discussed the illustrations showing the germs being blasted by toxins from the white blood cells.  The teacher explained to the children that “germs are like the bad guys.” They get into our bodies and want to eat up all our energy. The white blood cells are the good guys. They protect our bodies so we don’t get so sick. When the bad guys (germs) get into our bodies, the good guys (white blood cells) rush over to fight them away.” 

The Teaching Approach to Education of Young Children

Our philosophy empowers the creativity of the teacher to organize the physical classroom and implement instruction in order to reach children at all learning levels with an integration of auditory, kinesthetic and visual techniques.  Because the development of well-rounded individuality is paramount for young children, a child’s individuality is effectively nurtured and reinforced by communicating ideas so that all children can understand and apply concepts.

Our Early Childhood program’s main focus is preparing the children to become active learners and responsible citizens beginning within the classroom.  The classroom dynamic created serves as preparation for the development of the good citizen who is able to interact in the world as leaders.

The program creates a curriculum that coincides with the capacities and the needs of children at various stages of development, providing opportunities for interaction with the environment – materials and people – that are so important for learning and growth.  An integrated curriculum with social studies (encompassing the world in which they live) as its core, develops a rich study in emergent literacy, mathematics, science, art, music and physical education.

How We Execute Placement of Children in the Early Childhood Program

When parents shows interest in enrolling their child in Trinity School for Children’s Early Childhood Program one of the first steps we take is an in classroom observation from our youngest child.

We begin with the child’s chronological age and gender then observe their stage of development, present social skills, attention span, level of frustration, leadership tendencies, self –confidence to list a few.  We use all of the above information to determine placement in a particular class. Considering all of the above in determining placement makes for a balanced class of children that will be challenged, nurtured and supported throughout the year.

The Brigance Developmental Inventory Assessment is one measuring tool that we use to chart progress.

Our Children Need Us

Looking at a newborn reminds me just how much our children rely on us for everything from basic physical needs to more complex emotional support.  As parents, we spend so much time the first year making sure our newborn, infant, and young toddler is comforted either by nourishment, rest, or TLC.  Mothers and fathers often sacrifice their own well-being (mainly in the form of rest!) in order to meet the unique and ever changing needs of their baby. 

Parents of young children don’t see the fruits of their labor for years to come, leaving them feeling frustrated or inadequate.  However, child development gurus such as Piaget and Maslow, have proven the early years are learning years.  All those sleepless nights spent rocking and soothing your crying baby are teaching your child about love, safety, and security.  In the realm of early childhood development, feeling safe, secure, and loved are top priority.  

Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood

Language development builds the foundation for many social and cognitive skills.  Our early childhood  classrooms are designed to support language development.  They are rich in language experiences from listening and speaking to reading and writing.  Children are encouraged to share their ideas and feelings.  Whole group discussions allow them opportunity to engage in dialogue. 

We focus on developing a child’s ability to communicate about a variety of topics.  Young children are typically quite egocentric so we encourage them to appreciate other points of view.  Reading stories aloud, writing messages, creating stories, singing, labeling, and a print rich environment all contribute to emergent literacy development.  

Integrated Curriculum in Early Childhood Education

“Social studies” in the context of an early childhood classroom encompasses the work children do to understand their world.  It is the daily life experience that is meaningful to the young child. Topics for study are carefully planned by the educator according to their observations of and discussions with the students.  Studies arise from the children’s previous understanding and new discoveries. Teachers plan opportunities for experiences that help children explore and learn skills that promote the development of the whole child.

An integrated curriculum allows for children to directly apply their skills and knowledge.  Curriculum experiences include science, reading, writing, math, art, music, and dramatics.  Trips are taken to explore the world around them.  The children re-construct their experiences through block construction, art, and dramatic role-play.  This allows them to make connections and see relationships across concepts that are typically compartmentalized.  

Core Studies

Our studies at all levels have social studies at its core.  Units of study can take one month, three months or last throughout the year. Learning here in a Trinity classroom is as much a social process as it is a solitary one.  The teacher is a facilitator of learning and the students collaborate with each other, share individual responses about artifacts, a story, a historical document or shared experience.

Students work in small groups and are tasked to create skits, posters, recreate characters or models to present to the rest of the class a particular content idea of the subject they are studying.  For example, a group of Middle School students may be asked to create a mural depicting the water cycle rather than responding in workbook pages.  By recreating their learning, the information becomes a part of the student thus creating a better understanding of the subject matter. By sharing their creation with others, the student becomes the vehicle from which other students can learn content in a more meaningful way.

In our Early Childhood Program, a group of pre schoolers may open a bakery and sell goods to the rest of the school.  The lesson is to better understand economics in its simplest form.  The children often respond to their own reading and writing by meeting in small groups and talking about their work.  Teachers, as facilitators with expectations, act as guides throughout the studies and plan for rich experiences. This process allows students to construct meaning with increased depth and complexity.

Through our curriculum delivery, the integrity of each child in his/her role as learner, teacher, classmate is valued and reinforced.

Principle Ideas Surrounding the Developmental Interaction Approach

The developmental interaction approach encompasses the following three ideas in how we approach curriculum delivery.

Experiential Education – carefully designed and executed educational experiences that are reconstructed and reflected upon in a variety of ways such as talking, drawing, building, acting;

Constructivism – the idea that a child makes discoveries from observation, explorations, and experiences and uses all of these to construct understanding.  Constructivist believe that the child is the “maker of meaning”.

Ownership of Learning – because a student is directly involved with the environment and the assorted learning experiences, he/she is more invested and excited about learning.

This philosophy demands that we organize our classroom environments in a way that encourages a child to explore learning opportunities, use teaching strategies that engage children to make discoveries and “make meaning” of their learning. We encourage children to investigate their own questions and their own realities.

Science in Early Childhood Education

Topics for the science curriculum in our early childhood development classroom are relevant to lives of young children.  Exploration and discovery are the cornerstones of our educational philosophy.  This belief is evident in our science curriculum. 

We emphasize both content and process in our science program.  At Trinity, science is about having an attitude of respect for nature and the environment.  It is about thinking scientifically.  Children record, order, categorize, generalize, discuss, and make predictions based on their observations.  They explore natural materials such as clay, sand, and water.  The study of weather, animals, plants, the human body, and cooking builds the foundation for chemistry, biology, and the earth sciences. 

Teachers integrate the science curriculum into the life of the classroom by caring for class plants and pets, as well as recording the daily weather.  It is through active participation in investigations and observations that young children develop a scientific attitude.

Developmental Interaction Philosophy

The single most important organizing principle of the developmental interaction approach is that in order for pre schoolers to learn in school and become lifelong learners, they must interact with their environment (people, places, things) and interpret their experience. 

For example, a toddler discovers the joy of watching an object hit the floor when dropped from a high chair and repeats it over and over again.  The repetition provides the toddler with an experience to help them understand the new knowledge gained.

 Using the developmental interaction approach allows children at all ages and stages and different levels of sophistication to engage in activities such as building, cooking, labs, painting and field studies to name a few.  These opportunities are used as a means to construct understanding and increase their knowledge through basic life experiences.

Math in Early Childhood Education

The foundation of our mathematics curriculum is rooted in concrete and active experiences.  We strive to create a positive attitude towards mathematics by being enthusiastic and creating a safe learning environment.  It is from these real life experiences that our children can build more abstract mathematical ideas from at an older age.  Our math curriculum is integrated into the social studies topic so that the student can make connections in the physical world.

Teachers in our early childhood program plan daily activities that support the understanding of math concepts.  Children in these classes learn one-to-one correspondence as the set the table for snack, count the eggs needed for a cooking experience, or the number of children in a center.  They measure their height using various objects and volume is explored at the sand and water tables.  Pegs, blocks, colored cubes, and painting offer experiences in creating patterns.  It is through exploration and discovery that the young child builds basic mathematical concepts.