Plan strategies to enhance children’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development.

Planning should include

  • listing reasons that play is important to children
  • using face-to-face communication
  • listing the different types/stages of play (e.g., parallel play)
  • identifying and describing developmentally appropriate toys for toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children in terms of their benefits to child development
  • explaining the importance of reading to children
  • recognizing and supporting emergent literacy skills
  • identifying and describing books appropriate to different ages and interests in terms of their benefits to child development
  • identifying and describing developmentally appropriate curriculum choices (e.g., Creative Curriculum, High/Scope)
  • teaching socially acceptable behaviors
  • regulating involvement with electronic technology (e.g., Internet, TV)
  • engaging children in activities that stimulate all areas of the brain (frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, cerebellum)
  • taking children on enriching educational and/or social outings
  • planning ways to include children with special needs. 

Process/Skill Questions

Thinking

  • What are the purposes of play for children?
  • What criteria should be used to evaluate toys?
  • What factors determine the appropriateness of books for toddlers, for preschoolers, and for school-age children?
  • Why is early childhood considered the most important period for brain development?

Communication

  • What is the importance of communication during play?
  • When should caregivers or parents join their children at play?
  • What can children learn about communication during play?

Leadership

  • What does a parent need to believe about play in order to nurture a child's development?
  • Why is it important for children to experience variety in the pattern and forms of play?
  • How should parents decide what activities are appropriate for their children?

Management

  • What is the function of television or other media in terms of children's play? How does television both stimulate and inhibit a child's imagination? How can parents regulate the quality of television and media watched by children?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of screen time for children of different ages? Why should parents limit children's screen time?