Online Companion: Early Education Curriculum: A Child's ...



Online Companion: Early Education Curriculum: A Child's Connection to the World, 4E

Chapter 9

Sensory Centers

• Reflective Review Questions

• Web Activities

• Additional Related Web Links

Reflective Review Questions

1. Reflect on this statement from your text:

Children and adults inhabit different sensory worlds. Imagine a young infant’s world of touch and taste—a world where you see and hear more than you look and listen—where you, in effect, think with your body and actions, and your whole body is your only means of reacting. (Gestwicki, 2007)

Spend some time over the next week observing adults and young children. Do they really live in different sensory worlds? Do you agree or disagree? Support your stance with examples from your observations. If you agree with the statement, are there some valid reasons for it to be true?

2. What is the role of the teacher as young children engage in water, sand, and mud play?

3. In the early1890s Carolyn Pratt designed a set of unit blocks for children’s play. What are the characteristics of these blocks? Why do you think she designed them in this way? Pratt also designed unpainted wooden people. What explanations can you give for her doing so?

4. Chapter 8 discussed the importance of the aesthetic environment for young children. Chapter 9 discusses the quality of the environment and how it contributes to sensory learning. Are these two concepts the same? Defend your reasoning in a short written statement.

5. Identify eight guidelines that a teacher of young children needs to follow in setting up and using a woodworking center.

6. What are the key points in the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Position Paper on Technology and Young Children that early childhood education professionals should consider when evaluating computer software?

Web Activities

1. SuperKids Educational Software Review



This is an interesting Web site to explore. How can the kind of educational information found here be used to promote imagination, creativity, and exploration in learning? Explain in writing.

2. Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children



As the site states, the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children is in the public domain. How would you use this pyramid as part of your early childhood curriculum? Explain in writing. Would you also share this information with the families of the children? How? As you continue to review this Web site, which other elements interest you? Would you recommend this site to another teacher? Explain.

3. National Network for Child Care



Take some time to explore this Web site, which offers a lot of articles and activities for children, families, and teachers. Click on “Articles & Resources,” then select “Computers, Media and Technology,” “Health and Safety,” and “Nutrition and Diet.” These articles relate to Chapter 9. Read an article from each of these categories, and write a short description of each. How will the information be helpful to you? Explain.

4. Computers in the Early Childhood Classroom

Your textbook advocates the use of computers in the classroom. Explore the two Web sites below and then compare the recommendations. Write a summary of your findings and explain what your feelings are about using computers in early childhood classrooms.

Alliance for Childhood



(Click on “Computers and Children”)

NAEYC’s Position Statement on Technology and Young Children, Ages Three through Eight



In the Search box type “Technology and Young Children”

5. Block Play

Research documents that the block-building center is not used very often in early childhood classrooms. Read the articles from the following two Web sites, and evaluate the use of the block center in your classroom or practicum site. What conclusions did you draw from your observations?

Better Kid Care



(In the Search box, Type in “Block Play”)

KidSource



(Click on “Preschoolers,” then under Preschool Articles click on “Education,” and then click on “Block Play: Building A Child’s Mind”)

NAEYC



(In the Search box type in “Blocks as a learning tool.”

6. Cooking with Young Children

Better Kid Care



(Type in “Cooking with Children” in the Search Box, then click on “Cooking” and “Taste Bud Travel”)

Healthy Child Care



(Click on “Library,” then click on “Volume 2,” and then under Vol. 2, Issue 1, click on “Nutrition Activities in the Classroom”)

Design one cooking experience that would be developmentally appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, and primary-age children. You will end up with three separate cooking plans. Share them with your classmates.

Additional Related Web Links

1. Better Kid Care



2. Healthy Child Care



(Scroll down and click on “Search,” then in the Search box type in “woodworking,” and then click on “Can a Woodworking Center be Safe?”) You can also search the Library of Issues for all sorts of information.

3. International Kids’ Space



4. The Mud Center: Recapturing Childhood



(Click on “Free Early Childhood Resources,” then click on “Dramatic Play,” and then click on “Here in the northeast”)

5. The Ooey Gooey Lady



(Click on “Resources”)

6. PBS TeacherSource



(Under PBS Teachers, Click on “Explore preK-12 education resources and professional development”)

7. Perpetual Preschool—woodworking



(In the Search box, type in “woodworking”)

8. Tech-LEARNING



9. Technology in Early Education



(Under Technology in the Curriculum, click on “Early Connections”)

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