OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of physical development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area?

Olsen: It is important that children practice gross and fine motor skills, and coordination.  Dance with your children, give them a ball to kick around and help them at the playground to better encourage gross motor skills and coordination.  To encourage the fine motor skills needed for handwriting and keyboarding, sing songs that use their fingers, like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and “The Crayon Song” on the Get Set for School™ Sing-Along CD.  To further encourage proper fine motor skills for handwriting, give young drawers broken pieces of chalk or crayons to use.  The small size encourages correct grips. You can offer children, even ones as young as 9 months, to pick up tiny pieces of food, like Cheerios, with their fingers, and older children can do crafts involving small, age-appropriate objects, to develop writing muscles and good coordination.

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of cognitive development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area?

Olsen: Here is how play with Capital Letter Cards can develop thinking, memory and sequencing skills.  The child has a capital R card.  The task is to put real wood pieces on top of the R.  What pieces? He needs to plan what to get – a big line, a little curve and a little line. He has to remember what he needs and go get the right pieces. Then he has to place them in the right order. The teacher helps him, but he’s thinking and planning.

Here is how a finger play song builds number concepts.  Children learn the “Five Fingers Play” activity. After individual finger verses, they raise one hand high and say “five fingers here” and then raise the next hand high to say “five fingers there.”  With 10 fingers in the air they say, “Ten fingers to wash my hair.”  It’s simple, but it builds a cognitive sense of number quantities in a very personal way.

The “Animal Legs” activity does the same. Children learn:  two legs in the front, two legs in the back, the cow has four legs I know that. Though play children develop observation and number skills.

OwnADaycare: What are examples of good verbal cues that preschool teachers can use to enhance learning through play?

Olsen:

• Say position words, “top, middle, and bottom” while having children imitate you as you and they hold a big line at the top, middle or bottom.
• Say go up like a helicopter or down like a helicopter for vertical lines.
• Say slide down for a diagonal line.
• Teach number words when talking about letter parts. Say that a capital E has one big line and three little lines.
• Teach sequence words. Say, first you need a big line.  Then you need a little line at the top.
• Describe what’s happening on the playground with words: You are climbing up. You are sitting down. Now, you’re ready to slide down.

OwnADaycare: Any additional comments?

Olsen: Because young children are naturally curious, active, and eager to try new things, the preschool years are the ideal time to lay the foundation for learning. However, preschoolers are not yet ready for seat work or formal teaching.   Play-based, multi-sensory informal learning is actually more personal and more effective for learning (tactile, auditory, visual, acoustic, etc.).

The Get Set for School program accommodates the active and rapidly changing child with a variety of playful learning experiences. The key is balancing the needs of the whole child: emotional, physical, and developmental.  Through personal interaction and well designed play opportunities children gain social maturity, develop strength and coordination, language and literacy skills. They make a smooth transition to the world of school, into school routines and they’re ready for symbols, reading, writing and using numbers.

Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, is one of the creators of The Get Set for School™ readiness program that uses play and music to help very young children build a solid foundation for lifelong learning. Ms. Olsen is also the founder and creator of Handwriting Without Tears^®. For more information, visit www.getsetforschool.com.

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In our interview with expert Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, co-creator of The Get Set for School™ readiness program and founder and creator of Handwriting Without Tears^®, explains the importance of learning through play.

OwnADaycare: What is the importance of learning through play?

Olsen: Children are naturally curious, active, and eager to learn and try new things.  To keep them that way, preschoolers need a readiness curriculum that encourages “playful learning.”   A strong preschool curriculum builds learning opportunities directly into  play so that learning keeps pace with the growing child.

• Singing, with movement: Develops memory and language, social participation and imitation, rhythm, rhyme and body awareness
• Playing  encourages social skills, such as cooperation, taking turns and following instructions
• Hands on Letter Play: Builds pre-writing skill. The teacher shows how to make letters with dough, wood pieces, or magnetic stamps. They learn letters (and numbers) in multi-sensory active play.
• Coloring  and Drawing : Small crayons  help children develop a good pencil grip and developmentally appropriate pages make for easy coloring and drawing. Building people and simple shapes with wood pieces leads naturally to drawing success. .

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of social and emotional learning? What are some examples of play-based activities in this area?

Olsen: Social and emotional skills are essential for school success and personal well being. We use play-based activities to promote not just cognitive learning, but emotional and social learning. Here are three examples:

“Show and Tell.” can be as scary for children as public speaking is for adults.  Instead of that, we use a play-based song activity to develop social confidence. All the child has to do is take a toy animal from a basket and hold it. The teacher leads a song about counting legs and the child turns the animal to show “two legs in the front, two legs in the back.…”  The children like choosing animals for the song. They naturally develop poise in front of a group, so they’ll be ready for “Show and Tell.”

Another example is polishing wood pieces. Children sit together on the floor to polish, four basic wood pieces. As they do this activity, they naturally learn to talk, trade, pass, and share.

A favorite group activity is building the Mat Man™ character on the floor. Each child has one of Mat Man’s body parts. The teacher leads the Mat Man song and as each part is named, the child with that part places it. Children learn how to pay attention, wait and to take a turn. At the same time, they learn the social value of working together and belonging to a group.

Learning to take turns, following directions, and activities that teach interaction with others are important for the overall social and emotional growth of young children and can easily be incorporated into play.  Involving children in a group activity, such as collaborating to put together the Mat Man™ character, will help teach body awareness, counting and sequencing.  Sharing the pieces to build things can help children learn these important social and emotional lessons.

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of language and literacy development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area?

Olsen: Play can bolster language and literacy in two ways.  The first way is simply having a language rich environment so that play includes lots of talking, reading and singing.

The second, but very effective was to boost literacy is to use consistent language for teaching. Take playing with wood pieces as an example.  We always use the same names for wood pieces: big line or little line, big curve or little curve. So how do we build capital D? With one big line, and one big curve! How do we make capital B? With one big line and two little curves.

Consistent language means that teachers use the same words that children know. It makes it easy for children to understand the teacher and follow directions. In addition to size and shape words, we also teach position words through play.  Children imitate the teacher to put wood pieces up and down, under and over, in and out, in front or in back.  It’s fun to move the pieces and while the children play, they learn important position words, the prepositions – which are tricky for some children.

Another play activity to boost literacy is “play reading” on the back of letter cards. Children match letters or pictures on cards in a top to bottom, left to right order, just as if they’re reading the card. We use songs and movement to encourage children to get in the habit of going from top to bottom and left to right, a foundation skill for both reading and writing.

Other studies have shown that children who draw often, write better.  A hands-on, playful approach to learning—at home or in school—is the natural and easy way to develop pencil grip, focus, posture, and other skills necessary for good handwriting. Activities such as building letters with wood pieces, forming letters out of dough with Roll-A-Dough Letters™, and singing songs about letters and sequencing introduces children to important concepts in fun ways.

Part 2 of this interview can be found here.

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Our interview with Dr. Pio Andreotti, NYS Licensed Psychologist, discusses the importance of developmental screening in the daycare centers and preschools:

OwnADaycare: Why do preschoolers undergo developmental screening? Are all children screened? At what age are they screened?

Dr. Andreotti: A preschooler will undergo a screening when there is some concern regarding their development.  Typically, parents notice that their child is not walking by a certain age or that their language is not developing appropriately.  Also, many times, schools and daycares will recommend to a parent that their child be screened due to concerns about language, behavior, or socialization.  Not all children are evaluated.  A child is referred for a developmental screening only when there is a concern regarding a delay in development.  Preschool evaluations typically occur when a child is between 3 and 5 years of age.

OwnADaycare: Can you describe the tests? What types of tests do they take and what do they measure?

Dr. Andreotti: There are many different methods of evaluation.  Most commonly, a child will receive a measure of cognitive functioning (i.e., an IQ test).  This attempts to provide a general description of how a child will perform on certain types of verbal and non-verbal tasks.  An IQ test may look at vocabulary skills, block building skills, conceptual thinking and problem solving. Children are also given tests of language development (word usage and understanding), learning and academics (letters, colors, numbers, etc), memory, organization and planning, fine motor skills, sensory-integration (how they tolerate sensory information), and gross-motor skills. All of these tests compare a child to other children in their age range.  The parents are then provided with scores describing their child’s performance.  So, for example, if your child’s score was at the 50^th percentile, that means they are functioning above 50% of the children in their age range.  Parents are also asked to complete forms.  These forms attempt to determine a child’s level of adaptive functioning (i.e., self-care, communication, socialization skills).  There are also forms that assess specific behaviors such as attention and hyperactivity, social language and behavior, as well as organization and self-regulation skills.  Sometimes, the current daycare or child-care provider is also asked to complete these forms.  All of this information is compiled and an educational plan is generated (if necessary).

OwnADaycare: What special services might a child need or what type of intervention is necessary if a child is at risk for developmental delays?

Dr. Andreotti: Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children who are identified as having a delay in a developmental domain typically qualify for special education services.  These services vary and are determined by the child’s Individualized Educational Program (IEP).  Services can range from no services, to “Related Services Only” (i.e., no special class placement but the child receives speech/ occupational/ physical/ play therapy), to placement in a special class.  A child will be provided a  therapist to address any specific need that they may have (i.e., Speech-Language Pathologist for language difficulties, Occupational therapist for fine-motor and/or sensory-integration issues, etc.).

OwnADaycare: Are there any resources you might suggest for more information?

Dr. Andreotti: These evaluations can be done through your local school district or by private providers. Most school districts provide these evaluations at not cost to the parent.  Private evaluations are conducted by independently licensed professionals and are usually on a fee-for-service basis.  Depending on the age of the child and the type of coverage, medical insurance will sometimes cover the cost of a private evaluation.  Parents should consult with their local school district, local disabilities organization or with national centers such as the Learning Disabilities Association of American (http://www.ldanatl.org/) for information about providers in their area.

OwnADaycare: Do you have any additional comments?

Dr. Andreotti: If you feel that your child has a delay, it is important that you seek assistance.  Research suggests that the earlier an intervention can be implemented, the greater the benefit. Parents should contact their local school district to receive information regarding evaluation centers in the area.

Bio:

Dr. Pio Andreotti is a NYS Licensed Psychologist experienced in working with diverse populations of all ages. He is a Neuropsychologist in private practice and the Clinical Supervisor for the Stanley S. Lamm Institute Preschool at Long Island College Hospital. In addition to his clinical experience, Dr. Andreotti has given national trainings and symposiums. He is frequently interviewed by the media, and has appeared nation-wide in media outlets such as the ABC network, CW network, and Forbes.com.

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Q: Is thumb sucking harmful for children?

A: Thumb sucking can be bad for children. Children who continue to suck their thumb may have dental problems.  Their teeth may be pushed outward or be poorly aligned which is called malocclusion.  The longer thumb sucking persists, the greater likelihood the child will need orthodontic treatment to fix the teeth.  Some children may have difficulty talking who have prolonged thumb sucking.  Some children may get skin infections of their thumb from thumb sucking.

Q: Are there any benefits to thumb sucking?

A: Thumb sucking helps babies soothe and comfort themselves when they are tired, scared, hungry, or even bored.

Q: How can I get my child to stop sucking his or her thumb?

A: After age 4-5 years old, it’s appropriate for parents to set limits about thumb sucking such when and where children are allowed to suck their thumb.

• Show your child in a mirror what she looks like when she sucks her thumb.
• Offer ways to distract your child during the day to keep his hands busy like doing crafts, drawing, coloring, or puzzles.
• Praise your child for not sucking her thumb! Setting up a sticker chart or other reward system for not thumb-sucking can be beneficial.

• Putting a bandage on the thumb can also help make the child stop sucking his thumb

Q: What about pacifiers? Are they harmful or beneficial and when should a child stop using a pacifier?

A: Pacifier use like thumb sucking also is beneficial helping babies soothe themselves.  Pacifier use has also been shown to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.   However, pacifier use is linked to an increase risk of ear infections and continued use can cause dental problems such as malocclusion which is seen with thumb sucking as well.

Q: What can parents do to help wean a child off of their pacifier once they become too old for it?

A: Initially limit the pacifier to naps, bedtime, and stressful situations.  Then limit the pacifier to only in bed.  Then get rid of it completely!  (This is usually the toughest step!!)  Parents need to be ready to put up with a struggle and a crying child for a few nights with this.  Usually a few nights is all it takes.  When parents start this, they should make sure they collect all the pacifiers around the house.  Sometimes kids hide them in toys and various places so parents shouldn’t be surprised if they find their child with a pacifier while playing later!

These tips should work well at home and at child daycare centers.

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What is the purpose of a parent-teacher concert in the daycare or child care setting?  A large part of jobs in child care center around supporting the child’s development socially, emotionally, physically and academically.

Early information about a child’s development can lead to early intervention. Preschool teachers can recognize speech issues, fine and gross motor development, social appropriateness and basic learning styles. If parents have an objective understanding of how their child is developing they can go forward and make better choices for their child’s future.

Parents and teachers should have at least two scheduled conferences: One in the fall and one in the spring. Daycare providers should make themselves available to meet with parents at any time necessary. Conferences should at least a half an hour per child and both parents should attend even if they don’t live together if possible so that parents are on the same page when it comes to their child’s development. If meetings occur separately, so much can be lost in translation.

Prior to the first conference, daycare providers should distribute a questionnaire for parents which asks them what their expectations are for their child. The child’s social, emotional, physical and academic development should be discussed and suggestions for home should be made. For example, parents may want to receive ideas about outside activities, reading suggestions, reducing television hours, proper discipline, etc. These answers can be used as a template for the entire year.
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Tips for parent teacher conferences:

Parents should take and keep notes and be prepared to listen more than talk. This is the daycare provider’s chance to tell parents their very well thought out experience with the child. Only when we are quiet can we truly hear what is being said.

Parents should be completely honest with home daycare providers and not hide things from caregivers. Whatever goes on at home will affect the child at and school, so it is important to keep the lines of communication must be open.

Be open and willing to cooperate. If the childcare providers or teacher suggests therapy to help strengthen the child’s gross motor skills take the suggestion seriously. If they see that your child is lethargic and tired during the day, and suggest that you put your child to bed at an earlier time, heed the advice. The childcare provider is the professional and should be treated as such.

Parent-teacher conferences are a vital part of early childhood education. Child care center staff and parents are collaborative partners and it is imperative that they work together.

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A child in your daycare center will undergo screening if there is some concern about their development. Typically, parents notice developmental problems. For example, they may notice their child is not walking by a certain age or that there are language development issues. Preschools and daycare centers may also recommend to a parent that their child be screened due to concerns about behavior, language or socialization.

Not all children are evaluated. A child is referred for a developmental screening only when there is a concern regarding a delay in development. Preschool evaluations typically occur when a child is between 3 and 5 years of age.

There are many different methods of evaluation. Usually, a child will is measured for cognitive functioning such as an IQ test to measure how a child will perform on certain types of verbal and non-verbal tasks. An IQ test evaluates such things as vocabulary skills, conceptual thinking, block building skills, and problem solving. Language development tests are also given. This evaluates word usage and understanding, along with learning and academics (letters, colors, numbers, etc), sensory-integration, memory, organization and planning, and fine and gross-motor skills.

The tests will compare the child to other children in their particular age range. Next, the parents are given scores which describe their child’s performance. So, for example, if your child’s score was at the 40^th percentile, that means they are functioning above 40% of the children in their age range.

Parents may also be asked to complete forms. The parent or guardian of each child will fill in and submit a child enrollment form which contain basic demographic information and also asks if the parent or guardian has any concerns about the child’s health, learning and other issues. The parent is also asked if the child has been diagnosed (and if so with what), and if there is an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Special Services for Developmental Delay

There are many special services and intervention for children based on their diagnoses. Positive screening results call for referral to the local school district, a medical provider, or other intervention center. Then the child is provided with resources, recommendations or further referrals.

Some examples of special services/intervention could include:

Speech and Language development support: A speech therapist may be called to work on the child’s language development or pronunciation.

Sensory Needs Support: An occupational therapist may work with an autistic child to help him or her process various sensations in a way that does not agitate him/her.

Medical Support: If a child is has severe asthma, he or she might be referred to a primary care physician to receive appropriate services and medication.

Home daycare providers or family daycare providers can suggest developmental screening if they notice apparent developmental delay in the children they care for.

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