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EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The national Head Start focus on the importance of early
childhood development has had a dramatic impact on the delivery of child development
and child care services for young children birth to five. Head Start and Early Head
Start early childhood services address all areas of development to prepare children
for success in school and in life and actively involve parents in their children's
learning.
EARLY HEAD START (Birth to Three)
HEAD START
(Three to Five)
EARLY
HEAD START
Infant-toddler education services is provided in both
the home-based and center-based program option. In the home-based program, staff
promote learning by using the setting in which children spend most of their time-
the home. The home visitor helps parents to better understand how simple household
items and everyday experiences enhance learning. In the center-based program, caregivers
promote learning within the daily routine of care and by changing the environment
as children learn new skills.
Ongoing Assessment
Ongoing assessment is required for all children enrolled
in the Early Head Start program. Home visitors and teachers work with parents to
gather information about their child so they can understand the child’s abilities
and needs. Knowledge about the child helps parents and staff to identify goals-
what a child can already do and what he/she is ready to learn next.
The Creative CurriculumÒ
Developmental Continuum for Infants, Toddlers
and Twos is a web-based assessment system used to measure children’s growth
over time CreativeCurriculum.net.
Results help staff to plan curriculum experiences that address each child's individual
strengths and needs. Parents can be involved in this process and monitor their child’s
progress through the use of
ParentsCentral@CreativeCurriculum.net.
Goals for Children’s Development & Learning- Infants,
Toddlers & Twos
The overall goal of the Early Head Start program is
to support all areas of child development- social/emotional, physical, cognitive,
and language development. Education Goals and Objectives follow.
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Social-Emotional Development:
To learn about self and others- trusts known, caring adults, regulates own behavior,
plays with other children, learns to be a member of a group, and uses personal care
skills.
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Physical Development:
To learn about moving- demonstrates basic gross motor skills, demonstrates basic
fine motor skills.
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Cognitive Development:
To learn about the world- sustains attention, understands how objects can be used,
shows a beginning understanding of cause and effect, shows a beginning understanding
that things can be grouped, uses problem solving strategies, engages in pretend
play.
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Language Development:
To learn about communicating- develops receptive language, develops expressive language,
participates in conversations, understands and uses words, enjoys books and being
read to, shows an awareness of pictures and print, experiments with drawing and
writing.
Curriculum
Curriculum plays a vital role in achieving the goal
of enhancing the social competence and school readiness of children. Early Head
Start programs must implement a curriculum that supports each child's individual
pattern of development and learning style.
Goals and objectives are what children need to learn.
Curriculum is the roadmap for getting there. For young children, it is provided
through routines and experiences. The Early Head Start program utilizes the following
curriculum resources: Creative Curriculum for
Infants and Toddlers, Program for Infant-Toddler
Caregivers, First Steps, Conscious Discipline,
and Language is the Key, Baby Signs, Games Babies Play,
I Love You Rituals, and others.
Individualization
The Early Head Start program recognizes the uniqueness
of each child as an individual. Therefore, children's progress and abilities are
measured based on their own skills. Using information gathered from screenings,
observations, assessment, and evaluations, staff are assisted in developing individualized
planning for children.
Parent Involvement & Education
Parents and families are key players in Early Head
Start programs. Since parents are recognized as their child’s first teacher, staff
seek to inform and support parents so they can guide the early learning of their
young children.
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Home visitors and teachers
use the Parents as Teachers Born to Learn
curriculum to provide families with information about parenting young children.
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Parents learn to be observers
of their children during socializations (early learning playgroups) at the Early
Head Start center. Through an approach called
Parents Interacting with Infants (PIWI), staff strive to support the parent-child
relationship and to involve parents in their child’s learning experiences.
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Parenting information distributed throughout the year include materials from United
Way Born Learning campaign,
Zero to Three booklets, Noodle Soup
parenting tips, and others.
Inclusion of Children with Disabilities
A formal evaluation is conducted, if needed, to diagnose
a developmental delay. The evaluation process provides an in-depth view into the
child’s skills and needs. EHS staff and parents collaborate with the early intervention
agency such as Early On or Project find to conduct evaluations and to plan strategies
for intervention. Families receive an
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) that details expected outcomes.
*Also see Disabilities.
HEAD
START
Head Start programs are
designed to serve the needs of their communities. Center-based services include
options such as full-day, half-day, or a combination of program options. In the
Home-Based option, Head Start staff conduct weekly parent visits that focus on helping
parents in the role as their child's first teacher.
Head Start's comprehensive
approach to child development includes eight domains of learning: language development,
literacy, mathematics, science, creative arts, social-emotional development, approaches
to learning, and physical health and development. Each Head Start program is required
to align its curriculum and assessment tools with the domains of learning to ensure
that children make progress toward expected goals.
Child Outcomes
A major goal of Head Start is to promote school readiness.
The Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, released in 2000, was established to guide
Head Start programs in curriculum planning and ongoing assessment of children's
progress toward readiness. The framework includes the eight domains of learning.
Ongoing Assessment
Ongoing assessment is required for all children enrolled
in the Head Start program. Results help staff plan curriculum experiences that address
each child's individual strengths and needs. Head Start uses
The Creative Curriculum® Developmental Continuum for Ages 3-5.
CreativeCurriculum.net is a web-based and interactive assessment system in a secure,
online environment.
This system is aligned with curriculum goals and objectives
and offers the following.
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A strengths-based approach
that gives teachers the tools to collect information and analyze children's progress
as part of demonstrating program outcomes and management accountability.
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Goals and objectives
that are fundamental to sound early childhood programming and consistent with Head
Start domain elements and indicators.
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Teachers to able to conduct
authentic assessment that is based on observations taken during daily classroom
activities.
Goals for Children’s Development and Learning- Age
Three to Five
Goals and objectives are the roadmap of an early childhood
curriculum and provide direction for program planning and a framework for determining
what each child knows and how each child is developing. Because early childhood
teachers focus on the whole child to
promote learning, the goals of the Head Start curriculum focus on all aspects of
a child’s development.
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Social/Emotional Development: children's feelings about themselves, the development
of responsibility, and their ability to relate positively to others.
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Physical Development: children's gross and fine motor development.
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Cognitive Development: children’s thinking skills,
including the development of logical and symbolic thinking, problem-solving skills,
and approaches to learning.
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Language Development:
children's
ability to communicate through words, both spoken and written.
Parent Involvement & Education
The Creative Curriculum®
Developmental Continuum system fosters parent communication
and involvement, assists teachers to plan activities and teaching strategies based
on children's developmental profiles, and helps teachers work with children to make
progress on the curriculum's goals and objectives. Parents can be involved in this
process and monitor their child’s progress through the use of
ParentsCentral@CreativeCurriculum.net.
Curriculum
Curriculum is a plan that includes the goals for children’s
development and learning, the materials and experiences through which children will
achieve these goals, and what staff and parents do to help children to achieve these
goals. Activities and the play environment are responsive to the varying temperaments,
learning styles, languages, and cultural background of the children and families
in the program. Lesson plans including plans for individualization are developed
for home-based and center-based programming.
The Head Start curriculum of choice is
The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, 4th Edition. Other
supplemental resources are used to enhance the curriculum.
Individualization
Head Start staff use information from well child exams,
developmental screening, assessment, ongoing observation, and insights from the
child’s parents to determine how the program can best respond to each child’s individual
strengths and needs. This means that staff make decisions about how to set up the
play environment, what materials to place on shelves, and the kinds of experiences
they will offer based on their knowledge of each child and of the group of children.
Providing purposeful learning moments that match children’s needs insure on-going
development and positive outcomes.
Inclusion of Children with Disabilities
Through the assessment process, children may be identified
as having a condition that requires intervention. If so, an evaluation is performed
by a qualified professional. An evaluation is used to diagnose a developmental,
sensory or behavioral condition. Head Start offers opportunities for placement of
children with disabilities and adapts the curriculum to meet their unique needs
and potential. This is done through development of an Individual Education Plan
(IEP); a process that involves a multi-disciplinary team including the child’s parents.
*Also see Disabilities
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