DESCRIPTION:Young children are learners from the start! Early experiences help children connect with others and form strong relationships (teacher sensitivity & positive climate). We will explore ways to become even more engaged with young children in our care. In this workshop, you will also learn how to put into practice facilitated activities for exploration (using kits created by DSS to support classroom observations) for the youngest children in your program.  Teachers will explore how to facilitate children’s learning and development by providing activities using materials and ideas from their kits. Caregivers are involved with one of the most amazing and rapidly developing times of a child’s life!

OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Discover simple ways to build a more positive climate

• Understand and identify facilitated activities for exploration from DSS Kits
• Learn how to provide scaffolding learning experiences & provide clarification on concepts
• Establish a learning environment that provides learning experiences that meet the individual capabilities and interests of each child.

BENEFIT TO ATTENDEES: Attendees will “learn by playing” as they participate in the games and activities shared in their DSS kits. In this workshop teachers will explore activities that maximize the quality of their setting while providing a warm climate and opportunities to learn. Participants will come away with many hands-on strategies that they can implement immediately into their program.

SUMMARY: We know that the knowledge young children construct during the first three years of life forms the basis for later learning, including that for “academic” subjects such as mathematical reasoning and literacy skills.  Young children are active designers of their own curriculum experiences as they explore their environment, and their playful interactions with that environment are the medium through which they make sense of their world. They learn from their own experiences, trial and error, repetition, and imitation. Teachers can facilitate learning and encourage children’s learning by ensuring that the environment is emotionally appropriate; invites play, active exploration and movement by children; and supports a broad array of experiences.  A reliable framework of routines, together with a stimulating choice of activities and materials, facilitates children’s learning.  Young children are motivated to learn when teachers create a positive climate and set up the environment with materials that integrate concepts across activities.  It will focus on play as the basis for curriculum at all age levels.

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