Developmental Psychology and Good Quality Activities Essay

1.1 It is important to remember that these six areas of learning do not work in isolation but are in fact interlinked. Good quality activities will cover more than one area of development. For example, allowing children to access the outdoors will not only support their physical development, but encourage their communication and exploration of their environment. Where a child experiences a delay in one area, it is likely to limit their learning and development in the other five†¦a child with cerebral palsy who experiences hand-eye coordination difficulties is likely to find completing a puzzle difficult therefore hindering her problem solving, reasoning and numeracy. It is therefore vital that settings recognise each child’s individual needs and plan holistically in order to help children achieve their full potential across the six areas of learning. Personal, Social and Emotional Development †¢ Dispositions and attitudes †¢ Self confidence and attitudes †¢ Making relationships †¢ Behaviour and self control †¢ Self care †¢ Sense of community Communication, Language and Literacy †¢ Language for communication †¢ Language for thinking †¢ Linking sounds and letters †¢ Reading †¢ Writing †¢ Handwriting Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy †¢ Numbers as labels and for counting †¢ Calculating †¢ Shapes, space and measures Knowledge and Understanding of the World †¢ Exploration and investigation †¢ Designing and making †¢ ICT †¢ Time †¢ Place †¢ Communities Physical Development †¢ Movement and space †¢ Health and bodily awareness †¢ Using equipment and materials Creative Development †¢ Being creative/responding to experiences, expressing and communicating ideas †¢ Exploring media and materials †¢ Creating music and dance †¢ Developing imagination and imaginative play 1.2 We assess and record all the children’s observations and document them in their learning journeys. These get used by the staff to 9show how well the child has developed in their learning, the staff try and put at least 3 observations a month into the journeys. Once the child leaves the setting they can take them onto where ever they are going next. We also use daily diaries what the key workers fill out to show the parents how their day has gone and what they have eating. More important documents e.g. accident forms get filled out and stored away in the office where the manager will assess them and then lock them away for confidentiality. 4.2 Using a topic a child is really interested in can allow for sustained shared thinking it can be talking about something or doing something which encourages conversation like we have done planting with our children this has really captured their imagination the children are talking about what they think seeds are going to grow into what happens as the plants grows, what might the plant produce. We are getting the children to reach conclusions, and explore concepts at a deeper level. The children are thinking about processes and are making connections to things they have already learnt and new information. Processing the information we have given them making them think.