Interact with Toddlers and Infants

This Course used a relationship-based model as a framework for understanding how infant/toddler care educators and parents can plan a responsive and relationship-based "curriculum" for their child(ren). Course content connected information about infants' and toddlers' development taught how educators and parents can make decisions about what to each day in order to provide optimal experiments.

Click on the Word Doc above to see my Lesson Plan

According to Alison Gopnik:"We used to think that babies and young children were irrational, egocentric, and amoral. Their thinking and experience were concrete, immediate, and limited. in fact, psychologists and neuroscientists have discovered that babies not only learn more, but imagine more, care more and experience more than we would ever have thought possible. In some ways, young children are actually smarter, more imaginative, more caring, and even more conscious than adults are."

What is your response to the idea that young children have more capacity than they are given credit for?

Young children are incredibly capable. Just because babies/infants don’t communicate in our same way or aren’t as developmentally advanced in their motor skills doesn’t mean they aren’t smart. A vast population of adults overlook that babies do understand emotions and the meaning of words. Quoting Hirsh-Paskey, a brain scientist, "We think of our children as empty vessels, that we have to open their heads and cram them full of information, but a normal, nurturing environment where there are objects, actions, hugs, kisses, reciprocity -- you talk, I talk -- is teaching the baby everything the baby needs to know" (Miranda, 2017). I have been dumbfounded time and time again by the new abilities and skills infants are able to pick up and master in just a day. In the first three years alone, infants and toddlers learn how to engage in relationships, express and understand their own feelings (as well as others), figure out who they are, how to use their bodies, use language, gestures and facial expressions for communication, foster imagination, and become capable learners (Petersen & Wittmer, pg 4). By actively engaging through all five of their senses they begin to strengthen their abilities in maintaining attention, memory, gathering and analyzing information, and solving problems (Petersen & Wittmer, pg. 6). Adults need to be responsive, educated, and understanding as to why infants learning is crucial. If learning and growth is hindered or stunted it could affect their developmental foundation for the rest of their lives. To foster a child’s learning, caregivers should provide a safe learning environment, receive appropriate nutrition, and be affectionate. Exposure the child to open-ended toys, building blocks, shape sorters, balls, even safe “real life” stuff like tupperware and measuring cups. This type of play becomes to ground work for higher thinking and innovation. Above all, the caregiver and other healthy relationships become the baby’s or infant’s best educational toy, take advantage that babies are smart and contribute to their progression.

Miranda, C. A. (2014, March 14). How Smart Is Your Baby? Retrieved October 18, 2017, from http://www.parenting.com/article/how-smart-is-your-baby (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Petersen, S.H., Wittmer, D.S. (2013). Endless opportunities for infant and toddler curriculum: a relationship-based approach. Boston: Pearson.

What do you think of the concept that young children may actually be smarter than adults?

I don’t know that I would ever ration with young children being smarter than adults, but I would agree that adults don’t give adequate credit to the intelligence of young children. Babies, toddlers, children, are intelligent little human beings. Think about how fast their brain is moving, trying to process everything in their surrounds and learning to understand the way their body works all at the same time. For all of the easy movements adults don’t even think about, like walking, talking, and standing up and sitting down, children are working continually to master. Their tiny brains are growing at astonishing rates, practically doubling in size over a year (Petersen & Wittmer, 6). To help with this intense growing, babies’ brains have synapses firing way more than adults do. However babies’ intelligence is very different from that of adults and from the type that we cultivate in school. We have to remember that their brain development is relatively new and that the lessons they are learning are basic. Babies aren’t able to plan and aim for precise goals set by adults. They have a difficult time focusing on more than one thing, which has led us to underestimate their intelligence. As adults we focus highly on outcomes and things pertaining to goals, primarily because it works with our brains. If our brains would never stop developing and would continue at the same rate they did as children think of much more intelligent we would be. As research continues to study brain development in young children, as our society begins to recognize child intelligence and as we implement strategies specific to children learning and development I believe that we will see an incredible change. Children will learn concepts quicker, stronger, and grow into adulthood with healthier and more capable brains.

Petersen, S.H., Wittmer, D.S. (2013). Endless opportunities for infant and toddler curriculum: a relationship-based approach. Boston: Pearson.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice Considered

"The core of developmentally appropriate practice lies in this intentionality, in the knowledge that practitioners consider when they are making decisions, and in their always aiming for goals that are both challenging and achievable for children" (PSDAP, pg. 7). Given what you have read in the NAEYC Position Statement about the development of children, how do the three core considerations factor into our work with infants and toddlers?

In our field, we are required to make many tough decisions throughout the course of the day. Those decisions can be both long-term and short-term and equally as important. Decision-making is something that we should focus on as it is an essential skill and it takes years to practice and master. Learning what is the right decision to make requires strategy, understanding, and careful thought.

The first core consideration is to ask yourself, what is known about child development and learning. This is an excellent point to consider when making decisions. Because history creates patterns, if we reflect on what we already know we can learn from the past and better predict outcomes. Decisions then can become more confident because they are based on evidence or theory.

The second point asks us as professionals to think of individual needs in order to adapt and be responsive. Children are not cookie cutters, each have different strengths, interests, and personalities. Each child comes with different experiences and sees through different lenses. If we prepare lessons using a variety of methods we can better decipher what works and what doesn't with each child. Lessons should be created for individuals that make up a whole group. As child professionals, we should plan for adjustments to help each child profess regardless of their differences.

The third point asks us to reflect on what is known about social and cultural contexts within the scope of children. This point helps professionals translate a lesson of words into meaningful, relevant, and respectful learning experiences. This point can be very challenging. It is a skill that takes diligent observation and careful consideration. We can learn so much from those around us. Most of these contexts are absorbed into our personalities at a very young age, most of us are unaware that they even exist. That being said, we need to be aware of differences and not ignore them. We should embrace unique traits and strive to understand them in a respectful manner.

Baby Geniuses

According to Brain Rules, "Babies are the model of how we learn - not by passive reaction to the environment but by active testing through observation, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion."

After watching this video, I would be interested in seeing research done that proves the success of this method. I think it would be a great approach for some children, but babies aren't cookie cutter copies and one method isn't going to work across the board. From my stand point, it was difficult for me to keep up with the speed of the flash card changing. Naturally, I feel it would be better to use a whole brain approach. To go through each flash card, say the word a few different ways, use actions, and maybe even have a smell associated. That way the child is touching, listening, seeing, and smelling. For fruit specifically, you could even have them taste it. For example; say your flashcards for the day were different fruits; have an orange, banana, and pear on hand. Let the children explore each object as you talk about them and then move onto the next object. I don't feel like shoving information repetitively will make their brains more effective, I believe lessons need surrounding context to help make connections between knowledge and application. I also think it's slightly absurd that children are learning complex words out of an encyclopedia. I'm not frowning upon expanding vocabulary and comprehension skills, I just don't see the point of teaching words that don't associate with real-life situations. The book says, “infants are born with an ability to pay attention to the things that are important to their environment, which helps them learn from their early experiences" (pg. 5). With all the material and stimulation, a child is processing, think about what is most important to their developmental stage and focus on that.

I do agree that parents make a huge difference in brain development. Active parents who take every opportunity to teach will increase the intelligence of a baby’s brain. The biggest part we play in infants and toddlers learning is not the curriculum itself but that the relationship was nurturing, caring, safe and responsive. Instead of a teacher focusing 100% on meeting curriculum standards they should take a set back and consider what the child is trying to do or learn and how the child is going about the task (pg. 7). They need to be able to appreciate the strategies their toddlers are using and implement a scaffolding for guidance. We are an interested and encouraging presence, who support an infant's natural abilities to learn, create, and explore.

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