Essay on California Toddler Learning and Development: Emotionally Safe Exploration and Experimentation

Introduction

The California Toddler Learning and development program aims to strengthen the learning and development of young children through high-quality and appropriate early care and education ("Introduction - Child Development (CA Dept of Education)," 2020). It involves children aged between two and three years. I have realized the program's objective is to create an emotionally safe setting for active exploration and experimentation. It offers children responsive and secure relationships that provide personalized care for individual needs. It attempts to connect toddlers' experiences at home with their experiences in the program ("Introduction - Child Development (CA Dept of Education)," 2020). Connecting with their cultural and linguistic background is significant for their emotional well-being and identity development. The curriculum provides favorable conditions for the healthy development of every child.

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I have discovered that an infant’s early care environment affects their development. The settings help them establish a sense of security and make them ready to interact ("Promoting Social-Emotional Development: High-Quality Environments | VLS," 2020). As a teacher, it is my responsibility to provide an environment that is soft and inviting using pillows, soft music, moveable chairs, and sensory toys. Outdoors should be free of potential hazards, allow them to move around easily, and provide a soft landing ("Learning Environments: An Introduction | VLS," 2020). Generally, the environment should be safe for toddlers.

The Outcomes I Want Toddlers to Achieve While I Am Caring For and Teaching Them

I intend to nurture the major domains of development focused on in California. They are language, cognitive, social-emotional, and motor development ("Curriculum | VLS," 2020). The social-emotional development entails empathy, impulse control, social understanding, maintaining relationships, and emotion regulation. Receptive and expressive language, communication skills, and interest in print are the foundations of language development. The cognitive development domain comprises of understanding spatial relationships, imitation, problem-solving, and memory. Perceptual and motor development domain foundations are awareness of large and small muscles' surroundings and coordination and movement. Children have to continually practice with the help of both teachers and their families.

How I Would Support Learning and Development for Toddlers

I intend to have actively facilitated the children’s learning and development by the end of the infant program. I plan on accelerating their social-emotional development by engaging them in talks, encouraging them to interact and play with other children, urging them to communicate through gestures, sounds, and facial expressions, and allowing them to share in the emotional experiences of other children. Language development requires practice. Thus I will provide the toddlers' families with a detailed guide on communication. This will ensure that they also practice outside the classroom environment. I intend to improve children's cognitive skills by allowing them to explore beyond the classroom. By partaking in outdoor activities, their memory, problem-solving skills, concentration, and understanding of spatial relationships will improve ("Introduction - Child Development (CA Dept of Education)," 2020). For perceptual and motor development, I will offer safe and appropriate physical challenges. The learning process will be inclusive to all children, regardless of their color or status.

References

Curriculum | VLS. (2020). Retrieved 27 August 2020, from https://www.virtuallabschool.org/infant-toddler/program-management/lesson-3?module=11776

Introduction - Child Development (CA Dept of Education). (2020). Retrieved 27 August 2020, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/itf09intro.asp

Learning Environments: An Introduction | VLS. (2020). Retrieved 27 August 2020, from https://www.virtuallabschool.org/infant-toddler/learning-environments/lesson-1

Promoting Social-Emotional Development: High-Quality Environments | VLS. (2020). Retrieved 27 August 2020, from https://www.virtuallabschool.org/infant-toddler/social-emotional/lesson-3?module=9276