What is Developmentally Appropriate Practice?
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (also known as DAP) is a teaching perspective in early childhood education where a teacher nurtures a child’s development (social, emotional, physical, and cognitive) based on theories of child development, the needs of the individual child, and the child’s cultural background (community, family history, and family structure).
VIDEO: What is Executive Function and Self-Regulation?
The Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University has a new,
5-minute video that explains how we use executive function and self-regulation each and every day to manage ordinary, and sometimes challenging tasks. It also shows how science offers an explanation for how we navigate tasks successfully, and what can send us off course.
What are ACES and how do they relate to toxic stress?
The term “ACEs” is an acronym for Adverse Childhood Experiences. ACEs research shows the correlation between early adversity and poor outcomes later in life. Toxic stress explains how ACEs can trigger biological reactions that lead to those outcomes. The Harvard Centre on the Developing Child has developed a
simple infographic that explains...
What is Scaffolding in Early Childhood Education?
Put simply,
scaffolding is the act of an educator or parent adjusting their support techniques to suit an individual child at a developmentally appropriate level. Most people who work with young children use a form of scaffolding each and every day without knowing it as we support our children and students in learning new ideas and skills.
Children take longer to learn two languages at once compared to just one — don’t fret
Some bilingual children from immigrant families develop each language at a slower pace because their learning is spread across two languages. This research shows strong evidence that the rate of language growth is influenced by the number of languages a child is learning - which challenges the belief that children are linguistic sponges who quickly absorb the language or languages they hear and become proficient speakers of both languages!
Addressing Challenging Behaviours
Whether a child hits others, uses inappropriate language, or throws a tantrum, all educators have to address challenging behaviours in the classroom. Learn more about how
focusing on prevention, social-emotional learning and self-regulation tools can help.
The ndds Celebrates 25 Years with Rebrand: Now Called “Looksee Checklist”!
In celebration of their 25th anniversary, The Nipissing District Developmental Screening Tool (ndds) has announced a new parent-friendly name and look for their signature developmental checklist. The new Looksee Checklist—reflects the simple, approachable quality of the product to appeal to even more parents and child care professionals. The series of checklists follow a child from 1 month to 6 years of age and provides a short list of yes or no questions about the child’s abilities along with tips to help them grow. The
checklists are available in a variety of languages and formats including a redesigned, user-friendly website.
Sensory Processing Fact Sheet
What is
sensory processing? Children with sensory processing issues can be oversensitive to sights, sounds, textures, flavours, smells and other sensory input. Here's a
one-page fact sheet that provides essential information about why some kids struggle so much with sensory input, and how we can help!
Webinar -Trauma Informed Care in ECE: Key Strategies for Healing and Behavioural Change
Children with a history of trauma often “act out” their distress through behaviours that are challenging for adults to understand.
This webinar focuses on understanding the message of challenging behavior and strategies to help children heal.
Webinar: 5 Things You Can Do Today to Lessen Challenging Behaviours Tomorrow
At times, early educators may feel powerless in the face of challenging behaviours. But, there are steps you can take to lessen these behaviours! Through humour, concrete examples, and practical suggestions, participants in
this webinar will learn about five common causes of challenging behaviours, how to recognize them, understand their impact, and how to remedy them so peace and happiness can prevail.
