Author: Melinda Woodruff

Pre-K Insider

What is “Developmentally Appropriate Practice”?

You probably have noticed that our classroom has a lot of bustle and noise, that children are up doing things, talking, playing and exploring. Such a classroom environment differs from the old grade-school images of a teacher doing a lot of talking at a blackboard while children sit and listen quietly at their desks.
Research and experience tell us that to be effective with young children, teaching practices need to be “developmentally appropriate.” What that means is simply that educators need to think first about what young children are like and then create an environment and experiences that are in tune with children’s characteristics.
Early childhood, after all, is a time of life quite different from adulthood, and even from the later school years. Children 3-6 learn far better through direct interactive experiences than through just listening someone talk. They learn extraordinary amounts through play and exploration. And the younger children are, the more what they learn needs to be relevant and interesting on the day they learn it, not just in context of some future learning.
Based on such knowledge about what children of this age are like, we design our program to fit them. It works a lot better than trying to redesign children!
A developmentally appropriate program like ours is age-appropriate. But that’s not all. To make the program a good place for every child, we gear our classroom environment and activities to this community and families involved. We are eager to learn as much as we can about each child’s family, cultural background, past experiences, and current circumstances. With this knowledge we work to create a program that fits the children and families we serve.

Woodruff/Johnson Pre-K Class

October 2017

Important Dates:
October 19th: No School
October 20th: No School
October 31st. Happy
Halloween

Just a few reminders:
If your child is a car rider of the morning they must be escorted to class by an adult and signed in
You must pick up your child in the car line or ride the bus. Please do not walk up and pick up your child.
Check your child’s DRAGON folder each night and sign weekly reflection sheet
Read each night and sign Read to Me sheet
Children should bring water bottles daily