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High School
Early Childhood Education 1b
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Building on the previous prerequisite course, discover the joys of providing exceptional childcare and helping to develop future generations. Learn the importance of play and use it to build engaging educational activities that build literacy and math skills through each stage of childhood and special need. Use this knowledge to develop your professional skills well suited to a career in childcare!
During this course, you will learn career-related skills and earn a badge for this accomplishment. A badge is a digital certification of your career-related learning that you can share on social media and higher education platforms, or with colleges, potential employers, peers, and colleagues. Select this link to learn more about badges.
Major Topics and Concepts
Unit 1: Play: A Child’s Work
- Describe how children develop and grow cognitively during early childhood
- Describe when play behaviors develop and how children play at different ages
- Explain what the types of play are and how they benefit children
- Explain how to integrate play into children’s activities in a childcare setting
Unit 2: Guidance and Discipline
- Describe the three basic types of child discipline
- Explain how to effectively communicate with children
- Explain how to use positive language to create good behavior and self-esteem
- Describe when to intervene and help children manage their own interactions
- Explain how to discipline children at different ages
Unit 3: Communication, Observation and Recording
- Demonstrate developmentally appropriate communication with children
- Demonstrate how to talk with parents and maintain open communication
- Describe what observation is and how to observe children
- Explain screenings, assessments, evaluations, and proper record keeping in a childcare setting
- Describe and discuss how to use your observations to improve the care of children
Unit 4: Literacy and Language
- Describe how to encourage language development in young children
- Identify ways young children use language
- Explain what a literacy-rich environment looks like and how to create one
- List the six essential pre-literacy skills
- Explain how to support children in learning pre-literacy skills
Unit 5: Early Math Skills
- Explain pre-math skills that children should know before entering kindergarten
- Understand how math skills develop from birth to age two
- Discuss building math skills during the toddler years
- Define math skills children should learn in pre-school
- Reflect on how personal math experiences may impact teaching and discuss creating a math-rich learning environment
Unit 6: Planning Appropriate Curriculum and Activities
- Understand the components of pedagogy, including curriculum, teaching methodology, and child socialization
- Explore some popular curriculum models
- Create your own curriculum through thematic and lesson planning
- Consider activities to foster physical exercise, outdoor play, and music and arts exploration in children of all ages
Unit 7: Using Technology in Early Childhood Education
- Explain best practices when using media and technology with young children
- Describe how to choose quality and age-appropriate media for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
- Discuss administrative concerns around educational technology, including technology policies and technology tools for teachers
- Consider contemporary issues in educational technology
Unit 8: Personal Goals and Development
- Explain how to develop an educational plan that will help you to meet your goals
- Describe good work habits
- Describe where to find and how to use professional-development opportunities
- Explain what personality traits will help you succeed
- Explain how to care for yourself while caring for children
Competencies
Communicating in the Childcare Setting
The student will demonstrate an understanding of communication in the childcare setting by formulating appropriate communication with children and parents, comparing and contrasting the different ways to observe children, and by describing how to use observations to improve care.
Crafting Effective Curriculum
Students will demonstrate an understanding of crafting effective curriculum by describing components of pedagogy, differentiating popular curriculum models, and creating curriculum.
Discipline and Guidance in the Childcare Setting
Students will demonstrate an understanding of discipline and guidance in the childcare setting by describing the types of child discipline, explaining how to effectively communicate with children, and how to differentiate discipline at different ages.
Early Literacy Skills
Students will demonstrate an understanding of early literacy skills by analyzing how to encourage language development, describing how to create a literacy-rich environment, and explaining how to support children in learning pre-literacy skills.
Early Math Skills
Students will demonstrate an understanding of early math skills by differentiating how math skills develop from birth to childhood, analyzing math skills learned during early years and describing how to create a math-rich learning environment.
Personal Goals and Development
Students will demonstrate an understanding of personal goals and development in a childcare setting by creating an educational plan and explaining how to succeed in a childcare setting.
Technology in Childcare Environments
Students will demonstrate an understanding of technology in childcare environments by explaining best practices when using technology and evaluating concerns and issues in educational technology.
The Value of Play
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the value of play by describing cognitive growth in childhood and explaining how to integrate play in a childcare setting.
