In fact, the main goal of kindergarten is the same as ever: to build lifelong good

feelings about learning and school.

techniques, and then when those dont work, I use time-outs. Pro-active techniques:
I try to never ask them to sit longer than they can. So when they start to get wiggly
(usually after about 10 minutes or so at the beginning of the year,) we stand up and
sing some of my songs. That helps them get their blood moving and sends oxygen
to the brain. It also usually makes them happy, and provides a good review of
whatever concept the song was directed at. All of those things are good for
maintaining a happy, positive environment, which boosts learning. This in turn
makes them feel more successful as learners, and that influences behavior also.

Also, I try to get them to practice the behavior that I want as much as I can, and I do
this a lot at the beginning of the year. So, lets suppose I am reading a story and
someone blurts out a comment without raising their hand, which is a no-no. Instead
of immediately putting the child in time-out, I say, Whoops, lets try that again. Im
going to read this page again, and were going to see if everyone can be nice and
quiet the whole time. Then I do it again, and praise the kids if they get it right.
Sometimes, I have the whole class clap, too. Rarely, a child will do the same thing
twice in a row, but that almost never happens. If it does, I back up again and repeat
my spiel. Another thing to do is to choose a child or a couple of children to model
the behavior that you want. Example: Okay, lets all watch Sophia and John while
they listen to this page quietly. Then read it, and have everyone clap if they get it
right (which they will, of course!). If, after all of that, the child persists, it is probably
willfulness, so I put that child in time out. If that doesnt work, I tell him that he will
have to practice being quiet at recess time or inside playtime. To make a child just
watch while everyone else plays with toys is pretty hard on a kid, and they rarely
forget it. So the next day, if we start over with the same problem, I talk the child
through the consequences of the day before, and how it felt to watch everyone else
play. That usually helps the child learn to think about where their actions are leading
them.

One thing I always do, though, is keep a list of the things the child did to get into
time out. I just keep a note pad on a table nearby. I do this because, in the flurry of
activity that is Kindergarten, I often forget exactly what the child has done. So if a
parent wants to know what happened, I am able to tell them exactly what
transpired. I used to not write it down, but I often felt quite foolish when questioned
by a parent after school or the next day (which is worse!) So now, if I write just a
few quick notes next to a childs name, that helps me out. If the child does the same
thing again, I put a check mark by his name to remind me how many times we dealt
with that issue. This is not a list that I put up for the children to see and be

humiliated by; that is not my purpose. My purpose is just to have some kind of
documentation at hand of troubles we had. Also, if I start writing misbehaving
childrens names on a board for all to see, then I would also need to begin writing
the good kids names as well. This starts to get time-consuming, and there seems to
be so little time as it is. I do a LOT of, I like the way so-and-so is sitting nicely, etc.
Kindergartners eat that sort of thing up, and it is very effective.

Last but not least, if all else fails and you cant seem to get through a lesson, try
redirecting a child to a different activity. I do have an aide, and that helps.
Sometimes, I would ask her to take that misbehaving child and do some make-up
work with him or her, or have that child practice making patterns or sorting, or
something else. ANY THING else! Just get that kid away from the group lesson so
that everyone else can have a chance to learn. I have a set of small paper plates
that have numbers written on them with a black marker. She can have a child the
correct number of counters on each plate, or clip the correct number of clothespins
on each plate. (These are great for math lessons, too!) A friend of mine used to
have a bowl with a thin edge that she kept in the back of the room. It had clothes
pins in it. The misbehaving child was to go clip all of the clothespins around the
edge of the bowl. When he finished with all of the clothespins, he could rejoin the
group. The problem was that he did actually LIKE the clothespin bowl- but the kid
was going to misbehave no matter what, and at least it got him off doing something
with his hands so that she could teach. It seemed to calm him down in any case,
and that was a good thing. A child like that, I think, is really still in Pre-school
Mode, and just cant sit through a group lesson. He needs to have his hands on
some real objects. A volunteer can help with that sort of thing, too. If you KNOW a
child will, no matter what, disrupt a lesson, just put him aside to begin with and give
him the manipulative, if it helps. That way, it is not a punishment, but a method of
classroom management. I just tell the child that he or she is not in trouble, Im just
fixing it so that he or she can be good and get to play later. Sometimes, kids hate
being away from the group, and will gradually learn to conform their behavior to
what you want.

I think that half the battle in K is getting the kids into a routine, so that they can
easily follow your instructions even if they are NOT listening at all (which for some
of them, might be true 90% of the time anyway!) When I introduce to the kids a
procedure, such as how to clean up toys when the bell rings, or how to rotate from
one group to another, I ALWAYS pick some children that follow directions well to
demonstrate the behavior that I want. I take them through the whole rotation, from
one table to another, ringing the bell in between groups, so the kids can see what
is going to happen. This especially helps with limited English kids. They often cannot
follow what you say, but a cooperative, motivated child will watch carefully and do

what the other kids demonstrate. Thats most of the kids right there! They do
almost always wish to please their teacher- or at least they want the teachers
attention! Sometime, I choose a usually misbehaving child to demonstrate the
correct behavior. They are usually shocked that I would pick them, and then rise to
the occasion and show us all what to do! Then, you TOTALLY know that this child
understands exactly what is expected, and if he or she does not comply later, just
put him or her in time out, giving NO attention to that child at all. What K kids want
most of all is your attention. Be careful not to give it when the child is misbehaving,
or you will wind up reinforcing that behavior that you were trying to avoid!

I try to hold off on the whole Marble Jar reward system until closer to the end of
the year, when the kids have become very comfortable with me and perhaps start
to listen a bit less. Systems like that, where you are constantly trying to catch them
being good, tend to be time consuming and hard for me to remember to do. I do a
lot of reinforcing, but just verbally. When I get out the jars, I usually do it during the
last month of school, and make it a competition between groups to see which group
can earn the most cubes. That way, they are more motivated to behave when
working alone at a particular center if there is no volunteer. I put a cube in front of
each child on the table at the beginning of the group time. If I have to ask a child to
settle down, then he or she must bring me their cube. At the end of that rotation,
each child that still has a cube gets to put it in his groups jar. I count or weigh the
cubes when the rotation is over to see which group is the winner. The kids like to
see the cubes weighed with a balance scale. :)

When I put a child on a contract, basically it is just a paper that I write down their
issues of the day on, so that the parents can see how they did during each time slot
of the day. I only do this when I absolutely HAVE to- no choice, since the child
doesnt respond to anything else. In that case, I have a happy face stamp that I put
on there if the child had no problems during that time slot. The child that I started it
for was ADHD and ODD (Oppositional defiance Disorder) and responded to nothing
at all! I also made a little book for her to read and color in when she was having a
hard time. She would read it with my aide and then illustrate a page or two, drawing
pictures of herself following the rules. For this kid, it worked like a charm. I hear a lot
about the fact that people have never heard of this technique, so its a good one to
keep in your back pocket in case you need it. Parents love it because it is a more
positive approach. I have only had to use it twice in my teaching career of 24 years,
though! So you can imagine just HOW BAD those two kids really wereThe butterfly
garden did not look much like a garden. It was simply an empty box with clear
plastic viewing windows and a few perforations to allow air to circulate. It was a
barren environment, but the larvae hatched and grew fat as they ate the special

food mixture. The children peered through the windows of the box, intrigued as the
metamorphosis unfolded.

The butterflies emerged wet-winged, unsure, yet beautiful. As their wings dried and
strengthened we watched the miraculous creatures flutter about erratically,
bumping into the sides of the box. There was nowhere to go; no branches to
explore; no blossoms to suckle; no wind to ride. The environment that had allowed
the caterpillars to thrive was terribly wrong for the young butterflies. What nature
had intended to be graceful and joyous had instead become unnaturally clumsy and
frustrated.

The caterpillar and the butterfly require different environments and care to grow
and thrive. The same is true for young children. Preschoolers require a learning
environment that allows them to grow, thrive, and learn. Several years ago the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) coined the phrase
developmentally appropriate practice to describe the concept of matching
environment to the varying needs of young children (Bredekamp, 1987). While most
professional educators have embraced this term, many do not have a complete
understanding of its meaning and intent.

According to a national study conducted for the U.S. Department of Education:

School staff need a clearer understanding of developmentally appropriate practice.

Most schools' kindergarten programs claim to be "developmental" yet they rate
themselves relatively low on some of the key classroom activities that early
childhood educators define as developmental practice. Research on children's
learning, as well as the recommendations of a number of national organizations,
suggests the importance of developmentally appropriate practice.... The National
Governors' Association's strategies for achieving the national education goals
include developmentally appropriate preschool programs and age-appropriate
expectations and activities in kindergarten. If school administrators and teachers
believe they have already adopted a developmental orientation, they are less likely
to see the need to change... (U.S. Department of Education, 1992, p. 7).
In light of these findings, it would seem wise to step back and look at what we are
doing in our individual preschool classrooms. Perhaps we need to reassess how well
we are matching what we expect of children with what is developmentally
appropriate. This article will present an overview of what is meant by a
developmentally appropriate preschool classroom.

The Role of the Teacher

In a developmentally appropriate classroom, the teacher's role is that of facilitator
and enabler. According to Kostelnik (1992), "...developmentally appropriate
classrooms are active ones in which both teachers and students learn from one
another." Creating a classroom which follows the interests of the children builds a
community of learners and permits the children to see that their teacher enjoys
learning new things, too!

The teacher sets up the environment to facilitate development of skills, to pique

interest, and to allow for independence. The classroom rules are few-walk indoors;
be gentle with people and equipment; wear goggles when you hammer.

In the developmentally appropriate classroom, the teacher is seldom center stage.

Children are the actors-the players. The teacher is on the sidelines coaching,
observing, asking probing questions, and providing an island of security and comfort
when needed. Teachers challenge children to comprehend at deeper levels by the
nature of the questions they pose (Newman & Church, 1990).

The Daily Schedule

An age-appropriate schedule for preschoolers is built around large blocks of time
during which children move freely about the classroom, self-selecting activities in
which to engage alone or with others. According to Christie and Wardle (1992), freechoice time that is scheduled in long blocks enhances the complexity of play. When
time is too short, children do not have time to plan and carry out meaningful
activities. The free-choice activity time should last at least one hour before clean up
begins. Some days children will need even more time to complete their work.

In a developmentally appropriate preschool classroom, teachers help children solve

their own problems by asking questions such as these:

Is there another way you could try it?

Would it help to have some rope?
How did you make that happen?

Tell me about your painting.

What could you do with these things?
Can you change it?
Can you make it move?
Why do you think your plan didn't work?
What else could you do when you are angry?
Because it is difficult, as well as unproductive, for young children to wait, they
should begin their activity time as soon as they arrive at the center. If it is necessary
to call a whole group meeting to explain a new learning center or changes in
routine, make the meeting brief.

Physical Environment
The physical environment should anticipate individual and small group involvement
with a variety of manipulative materials (Kostelnik, 1992). Spaces should be
arranged to accommodate movement of children among equipment and materials.
Interest centers should invite children to explore. Play items should contain the
seeds of learning. For example, if you want children to be creative, you need to
provide them with appropriate supplies and tools to implement their creative ideas
(e.g., scissors, glue, cloth scraps, varieties of paper, markers, paint, soft wood
scraps, tape, staplers, meat trays, and yarn). Children should be able to obtain
these materials on their own when they need to use them.

Developmentally appropriate classrooms include play areas for manipulatives;

blocks; dramatic play; books, puzzles, and table games; water and sand; puppets;
woodworking; and large muscle activities. There should be a variety of quiet and
more active areas to accommodate children's different temperaments and needs.
Props contained in these learning centers should be changed to reflect themes or
areas of interest to the children (Ryczynski & Troy, 1996). For example, the dramatic
play center could be housekeeping, a campsite, restaurant, post office, gym, shoe
store, or beach.

Depending on climate and weather conditions, some centers may choose to run
concurrent indoor and outdoor free-choice activity times with children moving in
and out at will. Outdoor learning centers may contain the traditional large muscle
apparatus or even traditional indoor equipment. For example, move easels outside;

change the dramatic play to a picnic theme; offer sidewalk chalk drawing; start a
garden; wash the doll clothes and hang them to dry; or set out books and a blanket
under a tree!

Art Activities
Art options should be an integral part of free-choice time. Children are interested in
the art process at least as much as they are in a final product (Dever & Jared, 1996).
Scheduling whole group art activities is frustrating to both children and teachers.
Instead, try putting out various media for children to explore as a learning center.
On different days try printmaking, finger painting in pudding or shaving cream,
sponge painting, working with clay, creating rubbings, stringing, sewing on canvas,
weaving, scrap sculpting, and other open-ended experiences.

Clean Up
After free-choice activity time, children should be responsible for as much of their
own clean up as possible. Children develop a sense of industry and independence,
and develop motor skills as they use brooms, sponges, dustpans, and brushes.
Putting away equipment improves classification skills as well as large and small
muscle development, and creates a sense of cooperative teamwork.

Show and Tell

Show and tell activities help children gain skill in communicating, listening, and
group problem solving (Jalongo, 1996). Children should be encouraged, but not
required, to show or tell (French, 1996). At the conclusion of the clean up time it is
appropriate for children to gather together to discuss what they accomplished, to
show others what they have created, to discuss problems they encountered, and to
ask the group to brainstorm possible solutions for unsolved problems. In this setting,
young children find their ideas and contributions are valuable and authentic. There
should be no show and tell based on materialism or one-up-manship!

Snack-Time
While facilities should enable children to secure a drink of water whenever they are
thirsty, many teachers value an additional, and more formal, group snack time. In a
developmentally appropriate program food is neither offered as a reward nor
withheld as punishment. Children are encouraged, but never forced, to eat.
Nutritious snacks and drinks should be made available as children sit down in small

groups enjoying conversation and practicing their emerging social skills. Sponges
should be available for children to clean up their own spills and crumbs.

Books and Reading

As boys and girls finish their snacks they may be offered a quiet library time during
which they may choose from a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and magazines.
Individual children may decide to look at books alone or with friends. Children may
choose the place they want to sit or lie as they cozy up with their choice of
literature.

Teachers may make the transition to a group story time. If there is more than one
adult, several stories may be offered as choices for interactive reading in small
groups. Interactive reading experiences encourage children to question, comment
upon events, and make predictions as the story progresses. This interactive process
facilitates language development (Whitehurst, et al., 1988). It is not
developmentally appropriate to require children to listen passively until the story is
finished (Kostelnik, 1992). Story reading is not a performance. Rather, it is an
opportunity for children to construct meaning from print.

The developmentally appropriate classroom environment is one where children

most often:

Lead...rather than follow the teacher.

Create...rather than duplicate.
Move...rather than wait.
Make the lines...rather than color in the lines.
Speak...rather than listen passively.
Initiate...rather than imitate.
Raise questions...rather than answer the teacher's questions.
Solve their own problems...rather than the teacher's problems.
Make art...rather than do crafts.

Emphasize the process...rather than the product.

Use authentic skills...rather than drill and practice.
Make books...rather than fill in workbooks.
Decide...rather than submit.
Choose wisely...rather than being told.
Make a plan...rather than follow the teacher's plan.
Try again...rather than fail.
Large Muscle Group Activities
A developmentally appropriate program incorporates time to develop large muscles
outdoors and/or indoors. Simple equipment and guidance from a teacher permit
children to create their own solutions to movement problems. Provide balls, hoops,
and beanbags. Set up objects to jump over, crawl through, leap across, and run
around. Try an obstacle course. Tape a "tightrope" to the floor. Chalk a grid on the
sidewalk for jumping square to square. Use your imagination!

Music and Movement

While you should avoid rigid, predetermined movement activities (Rodger, 1996), it
is important to devote part of the day to exploring music with children. There is a
natural inclination toward making, singing, and moving to music. Include music
making and listening activities as free-choice options during activity time, but also
plan for small group music experiences.

Invite children to join in short, repetitive songs about familiar events in their lives.
Make up a new verse to an old song. Pretend to be a conductor. Move freely to a
variety of music. Make up original dances. Swing crepe paper streamers or yarn
balls to recordings. Challenge children to make up original accompaniments with
rhythm instruments. Have a parade. Make up a story about a short instrumental
piece. Listen for high, low, fast, and slow sections. Then move to the feel of the
music. Invite creative participation.

Interest-Based Curricula
Children's interests often initiate a theme study. Try asking children what they would
like to learn about. One class explored a variety of themes including puppies and

kittens, pies, our homes, restaurants, work our parents do, and rabbits. The children
led and the teacher followed their interests. Over the year the children became
keen observers of animal visitors; planted, tended, and harvested a garden;
purchased and planted fall bulbs; made and baked pies; visited classmates' homes;
and explored family compositions and varieties of housing. They ate lunch at a
natural food restaurant and had dessert in an exclusive restaurant atop a high-rise
hotel; toured a mom's sculpture studio; and trained the class pet rabbit to walk
(hop) on a leash!

Conclusion
Both butterflies and children need appropriate environments if they are to thrive.
Each day we face anew the challenge to create the perfect, developmentally
appropriate environment for every young child. We will most likely fall short from
time to time because we, too, are growing and learning. Nevertheless, we need to
take time to reflect on our practice...to reassess what we are doing in light of what
we dare to achieve.The butterfly garden sits abandoned now. (The children knew
what needed to be done.) And the butterflies are soaring-free to explore the worldn
kindergarten and primary grades

Teachers should continue many of these same good practices with the goal of
continually advancing children's learning and development. In addition every child
is entitled to excellent instruction in reading and writing that includes but is not
limited to:
Daily experiences of being read to and independently reading meaningful and
engaging stories and informational texts
A balanced instructional program that includes systematic code instruction along
with meaningful reading and writing activities
Daily opportunities and teacher support to write many kinds of texts for different
purposes, including stories, lists, messages to others, poems, reports, and
responses to literature
Writing experiences that allow the flexibility to use nonconventional forms of writing
at first (invented or phonic spelling) and over time move to conventional forms
Opportunities to work in small groups for focused instruction and collaboration with
other children
An intellectually engaging and challenging curriculum that expands knowledge of
the world and vocabulary

Adaptation of instructional strategies or more individualized instruction if the child

fails to make expected progress in reading or when literacy skills are advanced
Although experiences during the earliest years of life can have powerful long-term
consequences, human beings are amazingly resilient and incredibly capable of
learning throughout life. We should strengthen our resolve to ensure that every
child has the benefit of positive early childhood experiences that support literacy
development. At the same time, regardless of children's prior learning, schools have
the responsibility to educate every child and to never give up even if later
interventions must be more intensive and costly
Kindergarten is a time for children to expand their love of learning, their general
knowledge, their ability to get along with others, and their interest in reaching out
to the world. While kindergarten marks an important transition from preschool to
the primary grades, it is important that children still get to be children -- getting
kindergarteners ready for elementary school does not mean substituting academics
for play time, forcing children to master first grade "skills," or relying on
standardized tests to assess childrens success. Kindergarten "curriculum" actually
includes such events as snack time, recess, and individual and group activities in
addition to those activities we think of as traditionally educational. Developmentally
appropriate kindergarten classrooms encourage the growth of childrens selfesteem, their cultural identities, their independence and their individual strengths.
Kindergarten children will continue to develop control of their own behavior through
the guidance and support of warm, caring adults. At this stage, children are already
eager to learn and possess an innate curiosity. As teachers with a strong
background in early childhood education and child development we work very hard
to provide for children what they need to grow physically, emotionally, and
intellectually. As part of our kindergarten day children participate in 'Choice time' - a
center based play time which allows students to explore a variety of materials in a
less structured setting. Students will practice a multitude of skills that will help them
be successful throughout their school career.

WHEN CHILDREN PLAY:

They have many opportunities to apply mental representations of the world to new
objects, people, and situationsthe key ability for future academic learning.
They integrate all types of learningphysical, social, emotional, intellectual, and
language development.
They are engaged in things theyre interested inso they have a natural motivation
to learn (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000).

Children develop concepts and skills together as they are integrated in the context
of meaningful and playful experiences. For example, as four-year-old Cecily learns to
write the letters in her name, she is also learning the concept that each letter
represents a soundand she is highly motivated by the meaning: her own name.
Skills have limited value without concepts. For example, it doesnt do a child any
good to be able to count to five by rote unless she understands the quantity
represented (5 = five blocks).
Children are more likely to retain skills and concepts they have learned in
meaningful contexts.
Concepts are developed through activities that occur naturally during play, such as
counting, sorting, sequencing, predicting, hypothesizing, and evaluating. Intro
Kindergarten is a child and familys first introduction to our elementary school
even if this is not your first child going to school, each experience is as unique and
different as your children are. Partnerships are developed between schools and
families that provide a strong community of support. Parents are invited and
encouraged to share in their childs schooling in a variety of ways.

Each child brings a wealth of educational and cultural experiences to kindergarten.

Children have encountered many teachers (parents, siblings, extended family,
friends, neighbors, and preschool) before they meet their kindergarten teachers.

We hope to promote self-discovery and self-awareness. Our goal is to foster

independence and help your child gain and use necessary skills for working in small
groups as well as the class as a whole. Your child will learn how to function well as a
group member, how to ask for help and be helpful, how to complete a task and put
things away. Each child is encouraged and guided to move beyond his/her current
level of understanding.

Our curriculum is designed to address all areas of development (social, emotional,

physical, and intellectual) and to meet needs of diverse groups of learners. Children
are active learners: touching, trying, moving, talking, writing, drawing, questioning.
Throughout our day the children have opportunities to explore, investigate, and
predict.

Our classroom is a safe, supportive and welcoming environment. It provides the

children with a variety of opportunities to try out new ideas and be challenged with

new experiences that engage budding readers, writers, scientists, mathematicians

and artists. We as teachers work to help the children to be empowered, to feel
valued, to be listened to, to be competent and successful in schoolThe Report

This report compares kindergarten teacher responses to surveys conducted in 1998

and 2006. The analyses validate what we have been hearing for a while now - that
academic content and focus has become more prominent in kindergarten. The
amount of time spent in literacy activities has dramatically increased over time,
with a more modest increase in mathematics and drop in time spent on the arts and
physical education. In addition, teachers in 2006 report spending more time on
activities that were only briefly taught, or not yet introduced, in kindergarten in
1998.

In this study, approaches to instruction are captured using a couple of broad

indicators the percentage of classrooms that use 3 or more hours per day of large
group, teacher-led instruction, and the percentage of classrooms that provide
children 1 or more hours per day of child-directed activities. They report that nearly
one-third (29 percent) of kindergarten classrooms spend 3 or more hours per day in
teacher-directed, large group activities, and less than half (43 percent in the report)
of classrooms provide child-directed activity one or more hours per day.

These findings lead the authors to conclude that todays kindergarten classrooms
focus on more advanced academic content, are more literacy-focused, and rely
more heavily on teacher-directed whole group instruction. Other findings they
report about physical education and use of standardized assessment, suggest
kindergartners in 2006 have less PE and more testing than 1st graders in 1998. So,
they conclude, kindergarten in 2006 looks quite distinct from both kindergarten
and first grade classrooms in the late nineties.

What can we learn from these findings?

What is clear is that the academic content, and approaches to delivering that
content, changed in dramatic ways between 1998 and 2006. What should we take
away from these findings?

Academic content should be welcome in kindergarten but how it is delivered should

be examined

Time spent on academic content, and even time spent on increasingly challenging
academic content should not automatically be seen as a threat to kindergarten.
Children learn from birth, so kindergarten should provide children with opportunities
and supports appropriate for where they are. Early childhood education has always
embraced the (academic and social and emotional) content that young children
need to learn. Kindergartners (and all young children!) can learn academic content
that is appropriate to where they are developmentally. However, large group,
teacher directed instruction is not the only way for children to learn academic
content. Hands-on investigative activities and small group instruction need to be a
bigger part of how children take in academic content. Our expectations for young
learners are built from many years of research and theory, as well as teachers
knowledge of each childs prior learning. As more children participate in early
educational programs, it is not surprising that they come to kindergarten with
different learning and developmental needs than when children did not regularly
participate in such programs.

Maintaining Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Seeing a focus on academic content tells us what children are being taught, but it
does not dictate how children should be taught. Developmentally Appropriate
Practice (DAP) provides the best frame for how to teach young children. Young
children learn best when taught using a variety of learning formats, including large
and small group work, as well as instruction and play. Some content can be
introduced to the whole group of children during a circle time or class meeting.
Children can further investigate the content and learn it more deeply via small
group experiences in which they play an active role in the investigation, through
exploratory play alone and with other children, through one-on-one activities with a
teacher, during routines such as setting a table for snack. Some content can be
memorized for current and later use (e.g., the names of the letters of the alphabet
and their sounds, the numerals that represent numbers). Even here, singing and
moving to songs that emphasize letter sounds or involve counting may be more
effective than a worksheet or rote activity. The goal is to provide a variety of
learning opportunities, not to become reliant on a single approach. There is plenty
of room within DAP to include academic content in kindergarten (See NAEYCs latest
book on DAP and kindergarten).

Social and emotional skills are important, but are they built into the classroom?

It is important to note that while teachers ratings of the importance of academic

skills increased from 1998 to 2006, at both times they rated social and regulatory
skills as being more critical for school readiness. This view is increasingly being
voiced by educators and researchers alike. Unfortunately, the time teachers spend
on building these skills is not captured by the data in this report. If the increased
focus on literacy and math is partially driven by standards, then should social and
emotional skills be written in to K-12 standards like they are in preschool standards?
Experts from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
conducted a review of state standards in 2013. They found that 49 states have
specific standards for social and emotional development in preschool, while only 3
have specific standards in K-12). While many state K-12 standards include some
standards for social and emotional learning within content areas, the report warns,
when [social and emotional learning] standards are integrated into other standards
they are often scattered and lacking in comprehensiveness. Typically they are not
systematically and developmentally sequenced across grade levels.

The findings from this most recent analysis of data from the early Childhood
Longitudinal studies may be the first to quantify changes in kindergarten over the
past decade. But these data provide only a broad picture of the differences, and do
not provide ready explanation for them. But understanding ways that kindergarten
changed under NCLB is critical as states move to implement the Common Core
State Standards. As critics have noted, the Common Core focuses only on English
Language Arts and Mathematics, two areas that saw increased focus under NCLB.
As a result, without concerted effort, the trends reported here are likely to become
more, rather than less, pronounced, further driving kindergarten away from early
childhood. NAEYCs report on Common Core provides a framework for connecting
Common Core to childrens development and ensuring high quality educational
experiences for all children. NAEYCs report on Kindergarten and Common Core
outlines considerations to connect common core to better quality and more
equitable kindergarten experiences for all children.
This post has generated a number of comments on this blog, and on Facebook. One
theme that arises is concern that the trends reported by this study may have
continued or possibly accelerated in the past few years. Certainly, since 2006 the
Common Core State Standards have been developed and are beginning to be
implemented. Increased attention is being paid to teacher effectiveness and
accountability, including continued use of child assessments with increasingly
higher stakes being tied to them. During the same time, states' have increased or
decreased their support for full-day kindergarten and for programs for children prior

to school entry. All of these changes tend to challenge how we want to approach
working with young children- DAP. We need to ensure that our understanding and
practice of DAP is a strong as possible and is supported by school or program
administrators. It also means we need to be able to share success: how are we
meeting state standards in ways that maintain DAP? Where (and when) have we
been successful in affecting change for the good or averted change that would have
been bad for children? There have been some positive signs - many schools have
fought to keep recess, for example. Increasingly, non-academic areas, like executive
functioning, and more popularly, grit," are entering the conversation. Are there
others?10 Effective DAP Teaching Strategies
An effective teacher or family child care provider chooses a strategy to fit a
particular situation. Its important to consider what the children already know and
can do and the learning goals for the specific situation. By remaining flexible and
observant, we can determine which strategy may be most effective. Often, if one
strategy doesnt work, another will.

Acknowledge what children do or say. Let children know that we have noticed by
giving positive attention, sometimes through comments, sometimes through just
sitting nearby and observing. (Thanks for your help, Kavi. You found another way
to show 5.)
Encourage persistence and effort rather than just praising and evaluating what the
child has done. (Youre thinking of lots of words to describe the dog in the story.
Lets keep going!)
Give specific feedback rather than general comments. (The beanbag didnt get all
the way to the hoop, James, so you might try throwing it harder.)
Model attitudes, ways of approaching problems, and behavior toward others,
showing children rather than just telling them (Hmm, that didnt work and I need to
think about why. Im sorry, Ben, I missed part of what you said. Please tell me
again.)
Demonstrate the correct way to do something. This usually involves a procedure
that needs to be done in a certain way (such as using a wire whisk or writing the
letter P).
Create or add challenge so that a task goes a bit beyond what the children can
already do. For example, you lay out a collection of chips, count them together and
then ask a small group of children to tell you how many are left after they see you
removing some of the chips. The children count the remaining chips to help come
up with the answer. To add a challenge, you could hide the chips after you remove
some, and the children will have to use a strategy other than counting the

remaining chips to come up with the answer. To reduce challenge, you could simplify
the task by guiding the children to touch each chip once as they count the
remaining chips.
Ask questions that provoke childrens thinking. (If you couldnt talk to your partner,
how else could you let him know what to do?)
Give assistance (such as a cue or hint) to help children work on the edge of their
current competence (Can you think of a word that rhymes with your name, Matt?
How about bat . . . Matt/bat? What else rhymes with Matt and bat?)
Provide information, directly giving children facts, verbal labels, and other
information. (This one that looks like a big mouse with a short tail is called a vole.)
Give directions for childrens action or behavior. (Touch each block only once as
you count them. You want to move that icon over here? Okay, click on it and hold
down, then drag it to wherever you want.
12 Principles of Child Development and Learning
All areas of development and learning are important.
Learning and development follow sequences.
Development and learning proceed at varying rates.
Development and learning result from an interaction of maturation and experience.
Early experiences have profound effects on development and learning.
Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or
representational capacities.
Children develop best when they have secure relationships.
Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and
cultural contexts.
Children learn in a variety of ways.
Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation and promoting
language, cognition, and social competence.
Development and learning advance when children are challenged.
Childrens experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning.3 Core
Considerations of DAP
Knowing about child development and learning.

Knowing what is typical at each age and stage of early development is crucial. This
knowledge, based on research, helps us decide which experiences are best for
childrens learning and development. (See 12 Principles of Child Development and
Learning from NAEYCs DAP Position Statement.) (note: add link to page below)

Knowing what is individually appropriate.

What we learn about specific children helps us teach and care for each child as an
individual. By continually observing childrens play and interaction with the physical
environment and others, we learn about each childs interests, abilities, and
developmental progress.

Knowing what is culturally important.

We must make an effort to get to know the childrens families and learn about the
values, expectations, and factors that shape their lives at home and in their
communities. This background information helps us provide meaningful, relevant,
and respectful learning experiences for each child and family.DAP with Preschoolers,
Ages 3-55
Preschool children learn best when they have positive and caring relationships with
adults and other children; when they receive carefully planned, intentional guidance
and assistance; and when they can safely encounter and explore many interesting
things in their environment.

Children enter preschool with different strengths. One child might love picture books
and already know lots of letters but have trouble with social interaction. A classmate
may find it easy to initiate play and share toys yet have almost no experience with
books and reading.

Preschoolers

thrive when they can experience new materials, roles, ideas, and activities
especially in pretend play;
take great interest in feelings and become better able to express their emotions and
identify those of others;

make important cognitive gains that invite them to represent their world in pretend
play, symbols, objects, drawings, and words; and
show astonishing gains in language skills.

Teaching Preschoolers
Good preschool teachers maintain appropriate expectations, providing each child
with the right mix of challenge, support, sensitivity, and stimulation. With their
knowledge, skill, and training, teachersin collaboration with familiescan ensure
that programs promote and enhance every childs learning.

Lets see what DAP in preschool looks like:

In the dramatic play center, two 4-year-old girls are pretending to read menus.
Maria, noticing that neither girl has taken on the role of waiter, takes notepad and
pencil in hand and asks them, May I take your order? Over the next few days,
more children join the restaurant play. Waiters set tables, take orders, give orders to
the cook, and prepare checks for diners.

Maria is an observant, inventive, and intentional teacher. Her intervention sparks

fresh play, tempting children to take on different roles, enrich their social and
language interactions, and use writing and math for new purposes.Out-of- DAP with
Kindergartners, Ages 5-66
Kindergarten is a time of change, challenge, and opportunity. In many ways,
kindergartners are still like preschoolers. Yet with the increasing focus on school
readiness, many kindergarten classrooms unfortunately bow to pressures and begin
to look more like a primary classroom than a kindergarten.

Five- and 6-year-olds make great intellectual leaps. They go through a major shift,
allowing them to develop more

personal responsibility,
self-direction, and

logical thinking.
This growth affects development across physical, social and emotional, cognitive,
and language domains. Kindergarten can shape a childs overall outlook on and
engagement in lifelong learning.

Teaching Kindergartners
Teachers must balance kindergartners varying abilities and needs while making
sure that the curriculum fits appropriately between preschool and first grade.

Lets see what DAP in kindergarten looks like:

Mrs. K sits with Keira, going over letter-sound correspondence. Then she goes to the
block area to help Shelley. Mrs. K doesnt make pronouncements; instead, she
respectfully waits for the right moment to build on childrens existing conversations.
She listens attentively and understands where, when, and how to intervene. She
joins in the childrens play, modeling positive behavior. Her contributions are subtle,
playful, and full of teaching.

Kindergarten teachers must fully engage in the social world of the classroom and be
intentional in their interactions and instruction. With the many differences among
and wide age range ofkindergartners, teachers should be responsive to
developmental, individual, and cultural variation. Thoughtful, sensitive teaching
promotes a joy of learning and prepares children for further academic
challengeshome child care for infants and toddlers, if done well, can enrich
children's early experience. It can also be a therapeutic component of services to
at-risk children, providing a safe and consistent base for protection, prevention, and
treatment.

Unfortunately, although more and more children in this country are moving into
group care at younger ages and for longer periods of time, we are missing
opportunities to provide quality care. Indeed, current practices in many infant/
toddler child care settings actually hinder caregivers, children, and parents from
forming and sustaining the deep, responsive, and respectful relationships that are
the hallmark of quality.

In this article, we will explore six key components of early group experience: group
size; quality of the physical environment; primary caregiving assignments;
continuity of care; cultural and familial continuity; and meeting the needs of the
individual within the group context. How these components of group care are
addressed determines, to a large extent, the opportunities for responsive caregiving
and caring relationships in infant/toddler child care.

Challenges to Quality Care

American society remains unwilling to take the profession of infant/toddler child

care seriously. We have traditionally viewed the care of children from birth to three
as a job done in the home, as part of daily life, for free. Despite overwhelming
research evidence for the social benefits of high quality infant/toddler child care and
family support, we are not yet willing to pay infant/toddler caregivers a living wage.
We still demand that caregivers get their training on Saturdays or after the work day
is over. Unless and until we treat group care of infants and toddlers as a profession
and provide funds for training, careful staff selection, and supervisionas well as for
worthy wageswe cannot expect to achieve high quality care.

2Over the past several decades, many infant/toddler child care programs have been
created by well-intentioned people who are unfamiliar with infants (often individuals
who ran preschool or traditional child care programs). The result is caregiving
settings that look like preschoolclasses, yearly movement from one "grade" to the
next, and few links with families' childrearing practices. Caregivers are seen as
"teachers." Such programs tend to be too large and too impersonal for infants.

This is not the result of evil intent but, rather, a failure to understand the profound
differences between a preschooler and an infant. Simply put, a preschooler has
already formed a pretty solid sense of identity, with definite likes, dislikes,
inclinations and attitudes, but an infant or toddler is forming his or her sense of
identity. Part of what the infant gets from the caregiver is a sense of who that
caregiver is; this sense is incorporated into the infant's own definition of self. The
process of forming a strong positive identity should occur in a setting that offers
security, protection, and intimacy. It doesn't happen in "school"; it happens in a
continuing relationship with a caregiver.

In the day-to-day give and take of good infant/ toddler child care, children and their
caregivers relate in a way that looks much like a dance, with the child leading, the
caregiver picking up the rhythm and following. When a caregiver reads and
responds to the young child's messages with sensitivity, the child's hunger to be
understood is satisfied. The conviction that "I am someone who is paid attention to"
becomes part of the infant or toddler's identity.

In order to create and sustain intimacy in group child care, we must address six key
components of early group experience.

1. Group size

We create chaos and confusion when we put too many infants or toddlers in one
group, even with an appropriate number of adult caregivers. As the number of
infants in a group goes up, so do noise level, stimulation, and general confusion.
The group's intimacy is gone. Children look lost and wander aimlessly, not quite
knowing what to do. When there are too many children, shared experience and
discovery through play are inhibited. Smaller groups mean fewer distractions and
children's activities that are more focused. In small groups, very young children are
able to make connections, form caring relationships, and learn to understand other
children.

For children not yet mobile, ZERO TO THREE (1992) recommends that group sizes
should be no larger than six; the caregiver/infant ratio should be no more than 1:3.
For children crawling and up to 18 months, the group size should be no more than
nine, ratios no more than 1:3 (explorers are active and need a watchful eye). For
children 18 months to three years, group size should be no more than 12, ratios,
1:4. Centers, group homes, and family day care homes with mixed age groupings
should never have more than two children under two years of age in a single group.

Infants and toddlers with disabilities who do not require special medical support can
easily be included in environments with this suggested ratio and group size.
Children with disabilities are children first; the care they need is often exactly the
same as the care typically developing children need.

2. The environment

The physical environmentindoors and outcan promote or impede intimate,

satisfying relationships. The environment affects caregiver/infant relationships.
Carollee Howes discovered that in family day care homes in which dangerous
objects and fragile prized possessions had been removed from the area in which
infants and toddlers played, caregivers smiled more, encouraged exploration, and
gave fewer negative comments ("Don't touch that!") to infants and toddlers. In an
infant/toddler center, a hammock invites a caregiver to cuddle one or two babies.

The environment affects caregiver/parent relationships. A comfortable place for

adults within the children's environment can encourage parents to visit throughout
the day and can also be used to encourage continued breastfeeding with infants. A
place for parents to sit comfortably for a moment at the end of the day
acknowledges the parent's needs and encourages conversation.

The environment affects relationships between children. The amount and

arrangement of space and the choice and abundance of play materials can either
increase the chances that young children will interact positively with each other or
increase the likelihood of biting, toy pulling, and dazed wandering.

The environment can encourage or impede flexible, individualized care in a group

setting. With easy access to the outdoors, the daily rhythms of infants and toddlers
can be accommodated. In too many centers, however, infant/toddler time on the
playground is rigidly scheduled and subordinated to the schedules of groups of older
children. Infants and toddlers need small amounts of food and drink throughout the
day to support their emotional, social, and physical well-being. A child who is thirsty
or hungry cannot interact successfully with other children or adults. A small
refrigerator and modest equipment for warming food will allow caregivers to feed
infants on demand and offer snacks to toddlers frequently. But too often in child
care settings, feeding routines accommodate the kitchen rather than the child.

3. Primary caregiving assignments

The assignment of a primary caregiver to every child in group care means that
when a child moves into care, the child's parents know, the director of the program
knows, and the caregiver knows who the person is who is principally responsible for

that child. Primary caregiving does not mean that one person cares for an infant or
toddler exclusively, all of the timethere has to be teaming. Primary caregiving
does mean that the infant or toddler has someone special with whom to build an
intimate relationship. Primary caregiving assignments are an excellent example of
program policy that takes the encouragement of relationships seriously.

Two vignettes adapted from ZERO TO THREE 's Heart Start: The Emotional
Foundations of School Readiness (1992), illustrate the difference a special
relationship can make to a young child's experience in child care.

The way it shouldn't be

Tim stood just inside the entrance to the playroom. He was sturdy for one-and-ahalf, but short. The noise was jarring, and he looked around for the woman his
mother talked to when they came in. She had said to his mother, "He'll be fineI'll
get him started," and she had taken his hand. But now, just as fast, she was gone. It
scared him as much as the other time. This was not a good place to be. He wanted
his mother and he wanted to go home. A boy bumped him hard, and Tim fell. He
crawled over to that woman. He sat down and fingered some colored blocks on the
floor. A big boy came and grabbed one and stepped on his hand. Tim yelped and
cried and looked around. He held his hurt hand in the other and the tears ran down
his cheeks. No one saw.

Two weeks later:

Tim stood just inside the entrance to the playroom. It was very noisy. A boy ran past
him and bumped him. Tim lunged for him and pushed him down. The boy cried, and
Tim walked over to the blocks. He picked some up, and a bigger boy came and
grabbed them. Tim gave them up quickly and then turned and saw a smaller boy
who had some. He pulled them away from him. The boy cried. Tim looked at the
blocks. He couldn't remember what he'd been going to do with them, so he threw
them down. They made a very satisfying sound. He picked up several other toys
nearby and threw them. Suddenly one of the women was there yelling at him and
holding his arm very hard. She was saying lots of things to him, and now she said,
"time out," and scrunched him on a stool. He tried to get up but she wouldnt let
him. She waved a finger in his face. He thought about biting it. She went away. He
didn't like this place. He wanted his mother. He wanted to go home.

What Tim is learning in this child "care" center is almost everything we would not
want him to. He is important to no one here and must fend for himself, as must
others. For some it's like homefor others it's newly terrible. For all, it is a
potentially damaging experience.

The way it should be

Tim and his mother had visited the center twice in the last week. They had spent
time with Mindy, who told them she would be Tims primary caregiver. Both Tim and
his mother felt comfortable with Mindy. She was interested in them, wanted to talk
regularly about Tim's progress, and seemed to understand how Tims mother felt
about leaving Tim to go to work. To Tim, today felt much the same, but his mother
knew she was going to leave him for several hours and had told him so. Mindy met
them at the door, squatted down to speak to Tim, who smiled shyly, remembering
her, and then walked with mother and child to the small rocking horse that Tim had
so enjoyed the last: time. A small boy rushed by and bumped Tim quite hard. Mindy
caught the little boy and talked quietly to him, introduced him to Tim, and sent him
on his way. Tim got on the horse and Mindy sat nearby where a somewhat bigger
girl was building with blocks and a boy was working with large puzzle pieces. Mindy
attended to all of them in turn as they wanted her attention or help. These were her
three, and she always kept a special eye on them.

When it was time for her to go, Tim's mother reminded him she was leaving today.
He looked surprised and climbed off the horse. Mindy picked him up and said, "Let's
go to the door and say good-bye to your mother." Tim wanted to go with his mother.
But his mother really seemed to be going to leave him, so he clung closer to Mindy,
who cuddled him and talked quietly. Then his mother was gone. It was like everyone
in the world was holding their breath at the same time, but Mindy held him and
patted him and talked quietly, and then everyone began to breathe again. Tim could
see the toys and children, but mostly he liked hearing Mindy's voice. Ten minutes
later, 'Tim was on his horse. He wasn't as wholly confident as 20 minutes before,
but he could still ride, and Mindy was close by and always noticed when he looked
at her.

Two weeks later:

After his mother kissed him, Tim waved good-bye and then he said, "Hi" again to
Mindy, who ruffled his hair. Tim made a beeline for the block area, but when he got
there Wong Chen had corralled all of the red blocks Tim wanted. Tim squatted down
and watched Wong Chen. In a minute, Mindy came over and squatted down too, and

they both watched him. Then Mindy said, "Tim likes those blocks too, Wong Chen;
would you let him play?" Wong Chen looked at the floor, and then he looked up and
frowned at Mindy and then at Tim. Mindy said, "OK, Wong Chen, then Tim can use
them later." And then to Tim, while pointing to some bristle blocks, "Maybe you'd
like these? I don't think anyone has those." As Tim started to walk away, Wong Chen
handed him one red block and Mindy said, "Thank you, Wong Chen, we'll use that."

...Later, Tim started to build a big car with red blocks, a car like his mother's red car.
His mother was working. She would come later. "Mommy later," Tim said. Mindy
heard him. "She will, Tim," said Mindy. She'll come after your nap." After nap," said
Tim, and then he said, "See my car?"

Tim is learning a lot in this center, mostly very good things. He feels important. He
feels heard and understood. He feels protected, and his primary caregiver helps him
negotiate the difficult things with other children. He is learning to cooperate and to
pay attention to what other children need and want. There is enough space, there
are enough providers, just enough children, and abundant affection for everyone.

4. Continuity of care

Having one caregiver over an extended period of time rather than switching every 6
to 9 months or so is important to the expansion of a child's development. Switching
from one caregiver to another takes its toll. The child has to build trust all over
again. When a very young child loses a caregiver, he really loses part of his sense of
himself and the way the world operates: The things that the child knows how to do,
and the ways that he knows to be simply don't work any more. Too many changes in
caregivers can lead to a child's reluctance to form new relationships.

Continuity of careor the lack of itin a child care program has important
implications for the group experience. A child with a new caregiver has to work hard
to get her messages across. The caregiver can only guess at what she wants. There
is confusion and stress for both child and caregiver. If a child deals with change by
acting out his frustration, this will have an impact on the entire group. With a
caregiver who knows him, however, a child can express need less dramatically. The
better somebody knows a child, the more subtle the cues are that will inform that
person of what it is that the child needs.

Continuity of care is important for caregivers and parents as well as for children.
When infants and toddlers are moved to a new room as they reach a new
developmental stage, caregivers don't get to see the fruition of their work. Parents
often experience tremendous grief when they first place their infants in child care.
Trust in the caregiver builds slowly, as they realize that the caregiver is attached to
their child, loves their child, and supports the special parent-child bond. With a
change in caregivers, not only the child, but parents as well will grieve and have to
build trust all over again.

At the Creative Pre-School directed by Dr. Phelps, one caregiver cares for three
infants. Caregivers are trained to use every moment of the day to build trust with
the infant and the family. Each infant is on his or her own schedule for feeding,
diapering, sleeping, and playing. This schedule is documented for the family on an
individual daily schedule form.

As infants begin to exhibit the need for more stimulation, usually around 12 months,
the caregiver will begin to take them to visit the practicing toddler group. These
children are between 14 and 24 months old. Visiting can be done with all three
infants or with one or two at a time. (Because each infant is on his or her own
schedule, there is much time for individual attention.) The adults in the practicing
toddler area visit the infant room often, with the focus on building relationships over
time with the infants who will one day be toddlers. The transition is flexible and
centers around each child's building a relationship with the next caregiver. The
infant caregiver may move with the infants into the practicing toddler group, or, if
the children are comfortable with the new caregiver, she may move back to receive
a new group of infants. This same slow process, focusing on each child's
adjustment to a new environment, takes place throughout the age groups, including
the movement of older toddlers (young threes) to the preschool program.

5. Cultural and familial continuity

If there is no one in a child care setting who speaks the child's home language, or
validates the childrearing values and beliefs of the family, the early development of
the self is threatened. Particularly for infants, what they sense from their caregivers
is incorporated into their definition of self. If infants get subtle messages that their
way of communicating should change or that they are hard to understand, both
their sense of rightness about where they come from and their feelings of personal

potency are shaken. Child care should be in harmony with what goes on at home,
following the form and style of what is familiar to the child.

Self-reflection is key to culturally sensitive care, and caregivers should be schooled

in it. By exploring their own backgrounds, they can see the roots of some of their
most basic child care practices. No matter what routine is being carried out, the
caregiver's values about it are shaped by her childhood, her child care training, and
other cultural influences. It is essential to recognize these values and understand
that they are being transmitted to the children.

We need to look at our backgrounds, our philosophy, and why we are in the work we
are in. We need to be honest, with ourselves and with families. It is not helpful to
pretend to be interested in the parent's point of viewsaying "Tell me about why
Mei Ling cries and you pick her up immediately," as we are thinking, "This parent is
spoiling this child." Rather, we must uncover the values that underlie our own
beliefs, become aware of multiple perspectives on childrearing, be open to the
parent's point of view when there are differences, and be willing to change some of
our practices.

To provide cultural and familial continuity, child care centers should employ staff
who are of the same culture and who speak the same language as the children
served. Culturally representative staff should be included in decision-making
positions. Using small groups is key. It allows caregivers to have a manageable
number of cultures to relate to. They can get to know the families and be more
responsive to their concerns.

6. Meeting the needs of the individual within the group context

In an intimate setting, flexible scheduling is possible. Babies sleep when they want
to sleep and where they want to sleep. They eat when they are hungry, and are fed
with food that meets their individual needs. They play when they want to play, with
plenty of opportunities to get down on the floor, to explore a variety of toys and
materials, and to play alone, with other children, and with adults. Since babies'
rhythms are individual, this means that a caregiver can expect to be keeping an eye
on one sleeping infant, watching another who is absorbed in her own play, and
actively engaging a third. An intimate setting recognizes toddlers' individual needs
to explore, assert autonomy, and periodically reconnect with the secure base their

caregiver provides. Nutritious snacks are available (often the focus of spontaneous
socializing), potty training occurs as the individual child is ready, and ways are
found for the toddler to re-visit her old crib if that is important.

In an intimate setting, a child with special needs can be accommodated. At the

Creative Preschool, for example, a toddler with a serious medical condition requires
frequent cat-naps. A beanbag chair in the room allows him to stay with his play
group during the day, yet go to the chair for a 10- or 15-minute nap as he needs
one. When he wakes up, he is near his caregiver and friends, and can immediately
rejoin the day's activities.

In conclusion...

The care of young children in groups is a profession. It includes both science and
art. As a society, we need to make it possible for people to study the science and
practice the art of caregiving. We need to release caregivers to provide the kinds of
responsive care they know how to do or can be trained how to do, and to develop
deep relationships with parents, children, and other caregivers.

High quality care for infants and toddlers must be in small groups, with appropriate
ratios. There must be time for relationships to be established. There must be time
for caregivers to learn and practice the different ways they will need to relate to
children in the first three years of lifebeing very available in the earliest months,
then helping children to "find their wings" as development proceeds.

Group care can be a place where infants and toddlers, with and without disabilities,
can feel their potency. Group care can be a place where all children, caregivers, and
parents form deep, meaningful, and satisfying relationships that support both the
family and the full development of the children. We need to make it happenFriedrich
Froebel created Kindergarten