What I have learned about promoting child development and learning:
Before taking practicum, I was aware that everything in a child's life can have a profound effect on who they are as a person that minute, day, week, etc.-I've seen it in my own children. Now that I have been in a classroom with many preschool-aged children, I see why it is so important that they have a place of familiarity and stability so that they can truly thrive. As teachers, we need to make sure that we provide that safe haven for exploration and growth. A classroom needs to be a place where children can touch, arrange, mold into what works for them, play, and be accepted. Once the child knows that they will be accepted, they will feel free to explore, maybe even fail, but they will learn. This classroom should be one of collaborative efforts, where children can make many connections, both with learning and with each other.
An ideal curriculum for me would be one that includes the project approach that taps into a child's natural sense of curiosity and promotes interactions, problem solving, reflection, and that can be applied in real-world situations. Children have shown me that it is never too early for learning to begin and that we do not need to approach teaching them with any trepidation-in fact, it can even be beneficial to let them teach us what they need to know! All it takes is a teacher that is not afraid to look beyond a set of standards and who will listen to what the students need. It is not that hard to find that we can teach the major areas of curriculum and make the learning experience challenging and meaningful to the children.
An ideal curriculum for me would be one that includes the project approach that taps into a child's natural sense of curiosity and promotes interactions, problem solving, reflection, and that can be applied in real-world situations. Children have shown me that it is never too early for learning to begin and that we do not need to approach teaching them with any trepidation-in fact, it can even be beneficial to let them teach us what they need to know! All it takes is a teacher that is not afraid to look beyond a set of standards and who will listen to what the students need. It is not that hard to find that we can teach the major areas of curriculum and make the learning experience challenging and meaningful to the children.