(ii) Cognitive Skills

Procedure Number: ED 16 / Effective Date: / Relates to CFR #: 1304.21(c)(1) ii

SUBJECT: Cognitive Skills

PROGRAM CURRICULA:

Creative Curriculum supports the development of cognitive skills by offering opportunities that allow young children to actively explore, discover, and come up with their own conclusions through an enriched environment and supportive teachers.

Growing Great Kids Curriculum assists in the development of cognitive skills in young children through family engagement and specific strategies that optimize learning and critical thinking.

PITC (Program for Infant/toddler Care)supports the development of cognitive skills through effective relationships that stimulate children’s thinking processes.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE:

Staff, in collaboration with parents/guardians, implements a curriculum that is consistent with the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Curriculum may be developed or adapted from among a variety of curriculum approaches or frameworks, which support each child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development, as well as the educational aspects of other program areas.

(ii) Cognitive Skills - Teaching staff provides for the development of cognitive/perceptual skills by encouraging each child to organize his or her experiences in understanding concepts, and to develop age appropriate literacy, numeracy, reasoning, problem solving and decision making skills which form a foundation for school readiness and later school success.

OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES:

Preschool

Adults (Teachers, Home Visitors, parent/guardians) support children’s cognitive learning by:

  1. Providing a learning environmentthrough Creative Curriculum and Growing Great KidsCurriculum in center and home-based programsthat offer children experiences that vary in complexity as well as support individual interests and abilities.
  2. Interacting with children in ways that extend children’s thinking such as:

Asking how and why questions

Providing opportunities for children to be creative and/or produce their own ideas and products through brainstorming, planning, and producing

Linking concepts and activities to one another and to previous learning opportunities

Relating concepts to the children’s actual lives

Provides scaffolding and adds to learning with hints and assistance

Engaging in back and forth exchanges by providing follow up questions

Prompting thought processes by asking children to explain their thinking and rationale for responses and actions

Providing additional information to expand on children’s understanding or actions

Offering encouragement of children’s efforts that increase their involvement and persistence.

  1. Supporting play and exploration as a way for children to organize their experiences and understand concepts.
  2. Incorporating developmentally appropriate strategies for children to learn concepts and skills related to science, social studies, language, literacy, numeracy, art, music and movement – both teacher and child directed.
  3. Using books and games as well as other concrete materials to raise questions and solve problems.
  4. Encouraging children to interpret and represent their experiences, understanding, and ideas through drawing, writing, and other art media; language; music and movement.

Infant/toddler

Adults (Teachers, Home Visitors, parent/guardians) support children’s cognitive learning by:

  1. Providing a learning environment that offers children experiences that vary in complexity as well as support individual interests and abilities.
  2. Supporting play and active exploration and discovery as a way for children to become good problem solvers and understand how the world works:

Encourage children to explore toys in different ways – by touching, banging, stacking, and shaking.

Turn routine care-giving into playful learning moments. For example: Diaper changing is an opportunity to learn about ideas like wet/dry and, food experiences are ways to learn about different textures, smells, and tastes.

Follow the children’s interests – they learn best through activities that excite and interest them.

Ask children questions that get them thinking as they near age 3. For example, when reading a book together, ask:“Why do you think that boy is crying?

  1. Using books as well as other concrete materials to raise simple questions and solve problems (for older toddlers).
  2. Encouraging older toddlers to interpret and represent their experiences, understanding, and ideas through drawing, writing, and other art media; language; music and movement.

Growing Great Kids “Brain Builders” - Infants begin learning through simple sensorimotor experiences. These experiences transcend up through the preschool years.

Through daily routines and primary care-giving, Care Teachers will provide emergent learning experiences, incorporating the 5 Basic Areas of Infant Learning:

  • Cause and Effect–“When I do this, it makes something else happen.”
  • Understanding Space – “I am learning about shapes, sizes, and how things move.”
  • Concepts, Patterns, and Sequencing – “I am figuring out how things fit together and how things work.”
  • Object Permanence – “It’s there even if I can’t see it.”
  • Use of Tools – “This helps me get what I want.”

*Home Visitors will facilitate parent/guardian efforts in building cognitive skills in their child(ren), using the Growing Great Kids Curriculum.

Drafted 04-05-2012

Edited 08-06-2012

08-27-2012

09-07-2012

10-02-2012

09-15-2013

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