Ron Spreeuwenberg & Alana Frome

And so when we think about the psycho-motor domain we're talking about physical growth, health, fitness, movement skill development, they all kind of fit under that umbrella of the psycho-motor domain. So let me take you through those, and I think once we have those lists then it'll help the early-childhood teacher to kind of take a look at activities, get an idea that these are some things that can be focused on in in that kind of limited space that they might have. But they need to kind of develop these at an early age, and early-childhood years are a very good time, a very important time for those fundamental movement skills to develop at those proficient levels. And secondly, any other recommendations on resources for early-childhood educators out there who want to learn more about physical activity and physical fitness, fundamental movement development in the early-childhood setting?

As we move forward to a new year and new opportunities to advance the field of early childhood education, we wanted to take a moment to reflect and see all of the important strides that were made in 2018. Whether it was new funding, research or policies, 2018 was an important year in the ongoing process to improve learning outcomes for our youngest learners. Take a look at the timeline below and see what shaped early education in 2018!

A behavior or reward chart is one of the most commonplace tools that teachers and parents use to motivate and teach children good habits. Although a behavior chart provides a good visual overview of how children are faring within their peer group, some teachers are moving towards alternative means of encouraging and tracking their class’ learning and development. Some behavior chart alternatives are: Participatory learning - Rather than using a chart as a checklist to mark when skills and routines are completed, teachers can take a more immersive approach by modelling behaviors and practicing them with the peer group. Instead of simply rewarding children with praise for doing something well, affirming them throughout the process is a good way of breaking down a skill into smaller steps while building up a child’s confidence every step of the way!

In this episode, Kenya Wolff, Director of the Willie Price Lab School at the University of Mississippi, talks to us about the common misconceptions that people have of families living in poverty, steps educators can take to create a more mindful preschool classroom and why it is important to advocate for policies that support low-income families. And we're going to be talking to you about supporting and advocating for children and families living in poverty, something you're passionate about. And as early-childhood educators we can advocate for systemic change, things like greater equality, better policies that support families that actually help lift people out of poverty. And certainly it sounds like if nothing else we can all be more mindful of families that might be in poverty that we're working with and certainly create an equitable classroom environment for those families, and also advocate for them outside the classroom.