Early Childhood Education
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Elizabeth, early childhood
education specialist, works with Elias on putting blocks
on top of each other and into a container. |
Pediatric Services is committed to empowering children and their
families to achieve maximum independence. Collaboration between
educators and the family are the tools to achieve this goal.
Through intervention and education, children can achieve their
highest potential in all developmental areas.
The child-education specialist develops a program that is tailored
to your family’s unique situation and schedule. Your family
values, relationships, language, and ethnic background are a
respected priorities for us.
Working with the Pediatric Services education specialist, you
have access to many developmental resources. After the developmental
evaluation, we work with you to establish an individualized
plan will to address targeted areas of need — large or
small motor movements, language acquisition, cognition, social
and self care skills, and visual perceptual.
As parents, you are your child’s first and best teacher.
We demonstrate age-appropriate activities in each area targeted
that you can do with your child to promote development.
Large muscles and gross motor skills
Here we address physical development and activities include
those with your child on her tummy, back, and side. We work
on the skills needed to get into and out of a sitting position
as well as various ways to sit. Other skills taught include
pulling to stand, standing, squatting, cruising, and walking.
These activities promote balance and protective extension
reactions.
Small muscles and fine motor skills
These are typically hand and arm skills — grasping objects
and reaching with one hand or two. Pre-writing skills are
included here, as are activities such as pointing, stringing
beads, and manipulating of small items.
Language development
Children must develop communications skills to expresses
their wants and to understand others. Pediatric Services
uses situations throughout the day to focus on communication
and language skills. We will help you discover ways of using
daily routines promote the use of language and the opportunity
to practice communication attempts.
Social use of communication is stressed because of its importance
in the development of language. Turn taking, reciprocal leadership,
and seeking information from others demonstrates comprehension
of the use of language. Modeling responses that stimulate
language and communication, recognition of signals and cues
from the child, behavior regulation, and successful activity
transitions are taught.
Language and communication lead to social competence. We
use modeling and teaching of social games that are appropriate
for your child’s age, including interactive play. Mirror
play, social play, and pretend play (such as pretending to
be on the telephone, dress up, and driving a car) are all
important early social skills. Demonstration of a variety
of uses for a single toy links social play with cognitive
development.
Cognitive skills
These skills allow your child to understand the "how"
and "why" of objects. Cognition is closely linked
with language and fine motor skills in the young child. We
explore the similarities and differences between objects
in the child’s world — wheels, plates, and blocks,
are all round, for example.
These efforts also expose the child to the novelty of items
— how puzzle pieces fit to make a whole picture, how
colors or shapes may be related, matching sizes, and sorting
items by various criteria.
Visual perception
Vision is interwoven into most areas of development. The
ability to perceive, follow a moving object or person, and
imitate fine and gross motor activities are directly affected
by the ability to see.
We teach simple, easy techniques to promote visual acuity
including ways to maximize contrast, emphasize light, and
make judgements based on distance and space.
Educators recommend activities individually or in a group.
We teach specific activities to promote you child’s
development. Working in a team with you, the parent, we are
able to enhance your knowledge to support your child’s
growth and developmental milestones.
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