Child recognizes and develops the ability to explain how material objects change and how they remain stable.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Ask follow-up questions to children’s magical explanations of how things change (e.g., ”Tell me more about that.” “What makes you think that?”)
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Encourage child to draw or paint a picture to express their thoughts or feelings about change
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Gently clarify when children suggest that a dead person or animal will come alive again; use simple language
Child uses symbolic thought to represent.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Ask child what would help further their play, such as what other materials they could use to represent something
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Read familiar stories such as The Three Billy Goats Gruff many times and encourage the child to act it out
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Reflect with children about their dramatic play, and talk about the different roles in a family, while being mindful of different kinds of families and cultural differences; what does it mean to the child to act like a mommy, daddy, aunt, grandma, or other family member?
Child develops the ability to store, retrieve, and share information about past experiences.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Invite families to share photographs of the child when they were younger, or of past family events; use these photographs to have conversations with the child about their memories
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When recounting events, use visual representation
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Artifacts, such as a ticket
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Art made by the child
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Photographs related to the experience
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Natural objects, such as shells or leaves
Child becomes a scientific thinker by manipulating objects, asking questions, making observations and predictions, and developing generalizations.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Add natural materials, such as smooth stones or pieces of wood, to different centers
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Conduct simple baking experiments with small groups, such as making muffins or quesadillas
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Ask prediction questions (”What will happen to the flour when the milk is poured in?”)
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Provide access to a sand and water table on a daily basis, and encourage children to mix the substances together
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Use eye droppers to drop different colored oil into water to see what happens
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Acknowledge that when children are asking “why” questions they are not questioning your authority, but needing additional information and trusting you to give it
Child understands and explores the causes and effects of actions and events.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Encourage children to explain their thinking about magical causes without correcting them
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Engage families in observing and recording their children’s poetic descriptions of causes
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Offer simple experiments that develop children’s understanding of cause and effect
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Color mixing
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Ramp play
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Objec ts frozen in ice
Child plans and uses hands, tools, and technology to solve problems with materials.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Have everyday materials accessible for building and creating
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Pipe cleaners
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Paper towel rolls
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Different kinds of tape
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Shoe boxes
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Paper bags
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Wheels from broken toy trucks
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Clay
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Recyclables
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String
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Glue
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Experiment with the effect of natural forces on materials. For example, create a wind tunnel by blowing through a tube or float scarves, pompoms, and other objects through the tube
Child recognizes some similarities and differences between familiar and unfamiliar people, objects, or experiences.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Openly discuss differences children remark on in their community (“Yes, Mr. Brown has no legs. He uses his electric wheelchair to move around.”)
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Extend this learning about differences (“In what other ways do people move around?”)
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Play simple sorting games with children; for example, dress a paper doll for different kinds of weather
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Read books, such as those by Ann Morris, that show types of shoes, hats, bread, or transportation around the world
Child understands and explores numbers and quantity.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Use numbers and counting throughout the day, such as counting how many children are at the sand table
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Present sets of one to four objects and ask “How many?” questions; encourage children to name the sets before counting (“How many blocks do I have? That’s right I have two blocks.”)
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Point out quantities of items that the child possesses, such as two shoes, one hat, one jacket, or three stuffed animals; count each item out loud to correspond the number with the quantity of the items
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Model placing the objects that the child wants to count in a line
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Give child simple tasks that involve counting (“Give every child one cracker”)
Child develops the ability to identify, describe, extend, and create patterns.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Create simple patterns with music; play the drums and dance with children
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Encourage children to point out patterns in the environment
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Engage children in patterns of movement
Child understands how objects, points, lines, and shapes fit in space.
Ways educators might support the child's development
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Set up simple obstacle courses with children such as hopscotch, hopping over a hoop, jumping up and down, or twirling with a ribbon, use positional words such as “over,” “under” and “through” as children move through the obstacle course
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Tape shapes on the ground, and ask children to do movements as they go around them
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Name and identify shapes children make while drawing and writing
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Invite children to reach into “feely boxes” and pull out a shape that matches the one the educator is holding
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Identify shapes and angles in everyday life, such as a circles on the tops of cup, rectangular pieces of paper, the angle made when the scissors open, or the angle at the edge of the table
