Peer Review Portfolio



Early Childhood Competencies5. Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum5.3 Uses own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate developmentally meaningful and challenging curriculum for each child. Evidence 1: Infant Toddler Curriculum, Community College of Vermont, 1995, TranscriptDescription:I received credit for this course in the Spring of 1995. This course examines the developmental stages of infants and toddlers. Students explore health and safety concerns, plans for stimulating learning experiences, and the design of indoor and outdoor learning environments specific to infants and toddlers. Students plan developmentally appropriate infant/toddler curricula and are able to explain the connection between the physical environment and quality programs for infants and toddlers.Analysis/Reflection:Through my extensive experiences as a home provider and as a lead infant/toddler at Otter Creek Child Care Center, I understand that our youngest learners need environments that support their development. I always strive to offer a variety of gross motor, fine motor, early literacy and language components, early math and science in my program for all the ages. Over the years, as I worked more in the younger age groups I learned how to plan, implement and evaluate enriched curriculum experiences for infants and toddlers, as well as alter materials and activities to accommodate children with developmental needs and disabilities. Below are pictures of an accommodation I made for a 16 month old child that loved the pictures in the big book. The book was too large for the child to manipulate, so I photo copied the pages he liked, then laminated them so he could explore them easily without ripping the book. 5.35.3Evidence 2: The Vermont Early Learning Standards booklet, BookletDescription:The Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELs) is intended to be a resource for families, teachers, caregivers, administrators, and policy makers. As a teacher in the early childhood field, this resource is the framework for curriculum and instruction. While it does not dictate how you should teach, it does guide and inform what early childhood experiences you should support, facilitate, and provide to young learners. The VELs also inform you how your curriculum and instruction should be tailored, and how play can be incorporated into your curriculum and instruction.Analysis/Reflection:I became a Prequalified Prekindergarten Education Program in July of 2015. Since then I have aligned my curriculum planning with the VELs. I know all children learn differently, and as an early childhood educator I strive to expose the children to many different types of learning experiences. Although I had a weekly planning sheet, I also incorporated a planning sheet that is more aligned with the areas of focus through the VELs. As I have always emphasized the importance of play as the foundation of my program, I was able to strengthen my lesson plans by aligning them with the VELs. As an educator of young children I understand the importance of intentional teaching to have specific program goals and curriculum planning and providing enriched learning environments for all young children. 5.3Evidence 3: Lesson Plan - Theme/Focus on "Who are We?" Description:A lesson plan that is aligned with the VELs is focused on exposing the children to differing abilities and diversity.Analysis/Reflection:I believe working with families is an important first step in helping young children understand and accept how our country is growing increasingly diverse. With young children, this can become a source of discomfort towards others who are different in ways of race and/or differing abilities. I feel strongly that teaching diversity is an organic process of integral day to day interaction with the children through books and materials. As an early childhood professional I strive to incorporate as many diverse and differing ability materials into our everyday curriculum as I can. An example of this would include pictures of people with differing abilities or people from multicultural backgrounds on our walls, books on multicultural and differing abilities, ethnic play foods, dress ups, babies/dolls, differing abilities equipment for the dolls, and puzzles. I believe children in my program are exposed to many different types of people from all walks of life regarding diversity and differing abilities. Collage I have on the wall in the book area about different types of families.5.3 5.35.35.35.3Pictures of the activity. ................
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