Back and So Much to Talk About!

Thanks to everyone for their patience as I have needed a brief break from writing. Supervising and administration in EC has become yet another aspect of the field which we will be touching on, as I have been blessed to add such experience to my resume. It has been an inspiring experience and I look forward to sharing this with you.

What are some topics you'd like to discuss? I am very I interested in hearing everyone's thoughts about Common Core and its impact on EC, how assessment and RTI are being used in your classrooms, and how Head Start's use of CLASS is helping teachers reflect on their practice.

Lastly, I've recently become a first time auntie and that along side with my work with families has prompted me to make more of a commitment to sharing a few posts about child development and play in general.

Well, I can't think of a better New Years resolution-looking forward to an EC Smart 2013!

The ABC's of DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice)

Over the next few months I will be working on some support documents focusing on what the EC field calls--Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

For families and teachers alike, DAP is a hot topic and one that has been for quite some time since its formal conception by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in the 1980s. It is a standard used by teachers, administrators and families may have heard this term used in reference to the quality of programming and/or curricula being used in their child's early childhood classroom.

DAP is often misinterpreted and misunderstood and I'd like to create some support documents summarizing and analyzing the research and information on this topic for future discussions.

If you have any comments or would like to suggest a discussion on one aspect of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, please let me know!

New NAEYC Publication: Teaching Young Children

http://tyc.naeyc.org/

If you attended NAEYC's national conference in Chicago, you might have picked up a free copy of this new publication.

What are your thoughts? Is it all you wanted it to be?

Definetly not to go unnoticed, Nancy P. Jones' article, "Big Jobs" highlighted some the great opportunities that children often miss out on (to be able to do larger projects, chores or tasks) because the adults/teachers don't either think the children can handle the situation or they don't want to be bothered in the mess or management of such a task. She offers great direction on how to provide children with large tasks such as using real tools, doing chores in the classroom, etc. These opportunities allow children to build leadership skills, confidence and take ownership in classroom activities/projects.

Other sections of the magazine were great, but I felt it was too "watered down" for my use. I often wondered as I read the magazine if it was tailored more towards the newer or less experience teacher.

By no means am I worried that NAEYC is leaving teachers with a "mailbox" magazine....but I'm looking forward to seeing how TYC matures into a more thorough resource providing teachers with ideas tying theory and research to classroom activities and featuring those who are doing a great job demonstrating this.

-M.