Dictionary for Early Learning
Parents of young children enrolled in your programs need to hear what you are doing to help children become ready for kindergarten. From the youngest age, when you sing to babies and rock them to sleep, you are getting them ready for school.
When you make rhymes or teach children to put on their jacket, you are getting them ready for school. When you ask them to pick up their toys or give you a hug, you are getting them ready for school.
Child development experts and child care providers often use different words to describe early learning activities, but they are saying the same thing. Child care providers can help parents understand the benefits of the early learning activities by using expert terminology more often.
Providers Say: | Experts Say: |
Love them | Secure attachment |
Let them play | Developmentally appropriate curriculum |
Singing | Language development |
Coloring | Early reading skills |
Buttons | Sensory integration |
Setting the table | Categorizing |
Finding sticks | Early math concepts |
Building blocks | Spatial relationships |
Go with the flow | Emergent curriculum |