As early childhood programs across the state adopt evidence-based curricula, often designed primarily for four-year-olds, and more programs seek to blend programs and practices in order to provide more inclusive opportunities, the task of determining “who needs to learn what” across the developmental continuum becomes increasingly important, yet more complex. An Instructional Continuum Early Childhood… Read More Providing Instruction in Early Childhood: A Simple, but Necessary Organizing Framework
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Summer PD Preschool Teachers Can Do in Their PJs
Check out the following free online learning opportunities available for early childhood educators to take advantage of this summer. Early Childhood Investigations These free and engaging webinars (live and archived) are presented by many of the thought-leaders and experts in the field of early care and education. The webinars explore critical topics that offer new… Read More Summer PD Preschool Teachers Can Do in Their PJs
3 Key Look-Fors in Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms
Glance into an early childhood special education (ECSE) classroom and you may have trouble discerning what is considered “instructional time” from play or the daily routine. What does effective instruction look like in ECSE classrooms? We know that children are highly engaged when activities are both interesting and relevant to them and that engagement is the… Read More 3 Key Look-Fors in Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms
Rethinking “Calendar Time” for Preschoolers
Calendar is a staple of many preschool circle time routines and often justified as “math instruction” even though many of the skills targeted during calendar surpass Virginia’s standards for four-year-olds. Try the quiz below to see just how far. Hint: Research shows that temporal concepts like units of time (days, weeks) and their sequence… Read More Rethinking “Calendar Time” for Preschoolers
New Online Learning Opportunities for Early Childhood
Two new (and free!) opportunities are available online for early childhood educators to take advantage of this summer. A new series from Early Childhood Investigations: Webinars targets pressing issues in early childhood such as bullying, the impact of toxic stress, and the importance of a positive school culture. The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) recently released… Read More New Online Learning Opportunities for Early Childhood
Organizing Data for IEP Development
As we enter IEP season, summarizing a year’s worth of data from multiple sources for each child’s present level of performance can feel daunting. It does, however, offer a key opportunity to utilize the Child Outcome Summary (COS) process as an efficient method of organizing and reviewing data on child progress. While COS forms are… Read More Organizing Data for IEP Development
What to Say When They Play
Differing perspectives on the role of the teacher during play have resulted in a source of concern known as the “early childhood error” (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992). The early childhood error is committed when educators prepare an appropriate, stimulating environment for young children but then stand back and fail to follow up with guidance, “scaffolding,”… Read More What to Say When They Play
