The Life of a Child

Education of Young Children: Infants, Toddlers, and Pre-Schoolers

Susan Snyder

Numbers, numbers …

• There are 13,000,000 children 0-5 years old.• Of these, there are 6,000,000 infants and

toddlers.• Of all mothers in the labor force, 65 % have

children under age six• 59 % of mothers with infants (children under age

one) are in the labor force.  • Every day, 13 million preschoolers are in child

care.• This is three out of five young children. http://www.childrensdefense.org/earlychildhood/childcare/basics.asp

In the past hour . . .• 467 children were born. • 47 were born to 15-19 year old children.• 162 were born to unmarried moms.• 37 have low birthweight.• 7 are under 31/2 pounds.• 74 have had no first-trimester prenatal care.• 51 moms smoked during pregnancy.• 3 will die before their 1st birthdays.• 280 will be in daycare in six weeks.• 18 babies will be born to10-14 year old children

today.• In America.

Based on National Vital Statistics Reports: Volume 54, Number 9: Births: Preliminary Data for 2003; US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published November 23, 2004.

Teachers are telling us . . .

• Millions of children are not prepared to start school.

• What does that mean?– Social readiness– Motor readiness– Cognitive readiness– Emotional readiness

Every child born is . . .

• A culture of one• Unique• Complex

Many have stable, nourishing, safe environments;

Varied and rich experiences,

Opportunities to develop relationships with adults and peers,

And enter school ready to learn.

Many do not.

Who is responsible for children?

• Parents or home-caretakers in a parental role

• Early care providers– Head Start, – Early Start, – Private providers, – In-home providers

http://www.childrensdefense.org/earlychildhood/childcare/basics.asp april 01

The Young Child’s brain . . .

A newborn's brain is only about 1/4 the size of an adult's.

It grows to about 80% of an adult’s size by 3 years of age

And 90% by age five. (Zero to Three)

– Infants– Toddlers– Pre-Schoolers

• Is “plastic.”• We are “neuron farmers.”• Experience is the key to growth.

What will we do to this child’s brain?

Adults do or don’t make decisions about:– The environment – physical and emotional– The content of the curriculum

• Goals, Objectives, Delivery Systems

– The allocation of time– Physical care – pre-natal, nutrition, safety– Trauma, Depression, Fear– Poverty– Different learners– Expectations, Developmental

Compression– Use of media

How will parents and caretakers make decisions?

Will they know . . .– About visual, auditory, and

kinesthetic learning?– The importance of play?– About the need to move?– How to model arts skills?– How to address individual needs?– How to develop self-reliance,

independence, and problem solving skills?

– How to build literacy skills?– Meaningful assessment?Professional development is critical.

How do we make the process as important as the product?

What is this?

Is this the same?

If I change it, what is different and what stays the same?

compare and contrast

What does it sound like?

Auditory learners

accent

Crescendo? Upward?

Decrescendo?

Downward?

triangle

What does it look like?Is it part of something larger?

Is it part of any letters?

A B C D E F G H I J K

Visual learners

Where can I find it around me?

Transfer and application of knowledge

Can words have this shape?How can you make this word sound

like a triangle? How can you make this shape by yourself, or with someone else?

Kinesthetic learners

Can a poem have this shape?

I

Am

Happy

Sometimes.

How• Will children learn to ask questions? • Or: How can we keep them asking questions?• Will they learn to value many answers rather

than one right answer?• Will parents and teachers learn what choices

they have, and what will be “best” for each child?• Will parents and teachers learn to nurture

imagination?

For young children,

For the rest of their lives,

The process is more important than the

product.