Child Development
Human beings are incredible at using their bodies for a variety of tasks. Just watching different sports is a fantastic way to celebrate the human body: gymnasts as they leap and twirl, surfers as they balance on a surfboard, golfers as they swing with precision, swimmers as they race through water, and members of track […]
Proprioception, the sense of your body awareness, is sometimes referred to as the sixth sense. It’s not one that is talked about often, yet, it’s incredibly important! The sense of proprioception tells a person how close their body is to objects, how to move their body and the strength they need to apply. A child […]
Think of the midline as an imaginary line going down the center of your body. When a child can cross their midline’s, both sides of their brain are communicating to coordinate smooth, controlled movement. With this skill, both sides of the child’s brain are in communication so that movements can be coordinated and smooth. It’s […]
Human beings are incredible at using their bodies for a variety of tasks. Just watching different sports is a fantastic way to celebrate the human body: gymnasts as they leap and twirl, surfers as they balance on a surfboard, golfers as they swing with precision, swimmers as they race through water, and members of track […]
Proprioception, the sense of your body awareness, is sometimes referred to as the sixth sense. It’s not one that is talked about often, yet, it’s incredibly important! The sense of proprioception tells a person how close their body is to objects, how to move their body and the strength they need to apply. A child […]
Think of the midline as an imaginary line going down the center of your body. When a child can cross their midline’s, both sides of their brain are communicating to coordinate smooth, controlled movement. With this skill, both sides of the child’s brain are in communication so that movements can be coordinated and smooth. It’s […]
Children make connections to understand how the world works and our various systems in transportation, food, nature, and more. Adults can facilitate this learning by asking open-ended questions and inviting children to think beyond the immediate toys and materials right in front of them. Making daily connections and discoveries across disciplines is one of the […]
One of the great abilities of human beings is the ability to utilize complex cognitive abilities to think through different steps for completing a task. People use this ability every day! Just to eat, we plan out our meals as we search for recipes, write down the ingredients, plan our route to the grocery store, […]
Children love pretend play! Whether hammering with a little plastic hammer, mashing a mud pie, or talking on a pretend telephone, many caregivers have seen children engage in rich pretend play, or sometimes called imaginative or dramatic play. In early childhood, caregivers may notice that children’s pretend play functions as a demonstration of their knowledge […]
Children make connections to understand how the world works and our various systems in transportation, food, nature, and more. Adults can facilitate this learning by asking open-ended questions and inviting children to think beyond the immediate toys and materials right in front of them. Making daily connections and discoveries across disciplines is one of the […]
One of the great abilities of human beings is the ability to utilize complex cognitive abilities to think through different steps for completing a task. People use this ability every day! Just to eat, we plan out our meals as we search for recipes, write down the ingredients, plan our route to the grocery store, […]
Children love pretend play! Whether hammering with a little plastic hammer, mashing a mud pie, or talking on a pretend telephone, many caregivers have seen children engage in rich pretend play, or sometimes called imaginative or dramatic play. In early childhood, caregivers may notice that children’s pretend play functions as a demonstration of their knowledge […]
First, to talk about the importance of having conversations with young children, let’s begin by discussing the value of what developmental researchers have described as “Serve-and-Return” interactions. This is terminology coined by scientists and developmental experts at the Harvard Center for the Developing Child, a research center dedicated to generating, translating, and disseminating scientific knowledge […]
The rich capacity in humans to communicate through speech, sign language, emotions, and movement is an incredible thing to witness. Many caregivers and parents may wonder what kind of language to expose children to. The most important key to building children’s language and vocabulary is to give them language to describe the things that are […]
Auditory Processing is a pre-verbal skill. It is how the brain recognizes and understands sound information. There are four main parts of Auditory Processing 1: Auditory Awareness: This includes the ability to detect and sound and locate where the sound is coming from. 2: Auditory Discrimination: This includes the ability to tell the differences in […]
First, to talk about the importance of having conversations with young children, let’s begin by discussing the value of what developmental researchers have described as “Serve-and-Return” interactions. This is terminology coined by scientists and developmental experts at the Harvard Center for the Developing Child, a research center dedicated to generating, translating, and disseminating scientific knowledge […]
The rich capacity in humans to communicate through speech, sign language, emotions, and movement is an incredible thing to witness. Many caregivers and parents may wonder what kind of language to expose children to. The most important key to building children’s language and vocabulary is to give them language to describe the things that are […]
Auditory Processing is a pre-verbal skill. It is how the brain recognizes and understands sound information. There are four main parts of Auditory Processing 1: Auditory Awareness: This includes the ability to detect and sound and locate where the sound is coming from. 2: Auditory Discrimination: This includes the ability to tell the differences in […]
Understanding patterns is an early math skill that allows children to make predictions and understand what will logically come next. This is important later in school when learning arithmetic and even later in life with algebra and other complex skills that require pattern recognition. Patterns are all around us. For example, let’s look to the […]
When children understand directional language, it not only helps them follow directions or explain things themselves, but it helps them navigate the world. Humans use spatial awareness to read maps, build things, and understand the way the world moves. Let’s go on a short trip to think about how we use spatial learning in everyday […]
Whether we are counting push ups during an exercise routine, cash to pay for an ice cream, or minutes on the clock–counting is a very useful skill for everyday life. When teaching math or literacy skills to young children, one of the most important things that we can do is help children to understand the […]
Understanding patterns is an early math skill that allows children to make predictions and understand what will logically come next. This is important later in school when learning arithmetic and even later in life with algebra and other complex skills that require pattern recognition. Patterns are all around us. For example, let’s look to the […]
When children understand directional language, it not only helps them follow directions or explain things themselves, but it helps them navigate the world. Humans use spatial awareness to read maps, build things, and understand the way the world moves. Let’s go on a short trip to think about how we use spatial learning in everyday […]
Whether we are counting push ups during an exercise routine, cash to pay for an ice cream, or minutes on the clock–counting is a very useful skill for everyday life. When teaching math or literacy skills to young children, one of the most important things that we can do is help children to understand the […]
Learning through play
Children are never "just playing"
How do children learn through play?
Self-Regulation
Self-regulation allows children to slow down and control their impulses and behaviors. This is a very challenging but important skill for children to learn at an early age as they explore the world around them and learn routines for different parts of the day. Predictable environments and clear expectations can help children learn self-regulation safely. […]
Cooperative Play
As children learn how to cooperate with their peers, they are learning a skill that will help them in a variety of environments as they grow. Children best learn how to take turns, share, and resolve conflict in low-stakes and playful situations with the guidance of a supportive adult. Adults can model the language of cooperation […]
Persistence
As young children learn and grow, they will work through physical, emotional, and academic challenges that require them to try many times before they succeed. Caregivers can work to find a balance between taking a step back, offering verbal prompts, modeling positive approaches to learning, and guiding children according to what is appropriate for their […]
Social-Emotional Development