5.1: Introduction to Planning for Preschoolers

Learning Objectives

By the end of this introduction, you should be able to:

• Summarize the developmental characteristics of preschoolers
• Describe the purpose of early learning standards
• Identify the domains that we categorize curriculum into to plan and implement

What Preschoolers are Like

To plan for children, it is vital to start with one aspect of developmentally appropriate practice, which relates to the developmental characteristics of children based on their age. Here are some representations of what children are like at each age in the preschool years.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): What Preschoolers are Like.

You will notice that consideration for the other two aspects of developmentally appropriate practice, which are also critical to our work, understanding individual children and seeing children in the context of their families and larger culture, are included throughout each domain-based chapter.

Kansas Early Learning Standards

The Kansas Early Learning Standards (KELS) outline competencies—knowledge and skills—that most children can be expected to demonstrate in a high-quality program at various ages. In other words, the standards serve as destination points of learning that, with appropriate support, children move toward and often reach in various early childhood programs.

The standards are designed to promote understanding of young children’s development of knowledge and skills and to help when considering appropriate ways to support children’s learning. In essence, the standards serve as a cornerstone for educating practitioners about children’s learning and development. The standards are designed to be used in combination with other sources of information: formal educational course work on early learning and development, information on individual differences, including those related to disabilities, knowledge about the contribution of cultural and linguistic experiences to early development, and English-language development, insights from children’s families, and the practical experiences of early childhood teachers and program directors.

The support needed to attain the competencies varies from child to child. Many children learn simply by participating in high-quality preschool programs. Such programs offer children environments and experiences that encourage active, playful exploration and experimentation. With play as an integral part of the curriculum, high-quality programs include purposeful teaching to help children gain knowledge and skills.

Two major considerations underlie the “how-tos” of teaching. First, teachers can effectively foster early learning by thoughtfully considering the learning standards as they plan environments and activities. Second, during every step in the planning for young children’s learning, teachers have an opportunity to tap into the prominent role of play. Teachers can best support young children by both encouraging the rich learning that occurs in children’s self-initiated play and introducing purposeful instructional activities that engage preschoolers in learning playfully.

Professional development is a key component in early care and education, helping to foster children's learning. The standards can become a unifying element for both teacher candidates and practicing professionals. Early childhood program directors and teachers can use the standards to facilitate curriculum planning and implementation. The standards are designed to help teachers be intentional and focus their efforts on the knowledge and skills that all young children need to acquire for success in various early childhood settings—and throughout life.

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Some of the most engaging play is sensory-based. What might these children be learning here?

Note: Other Learning Standards

The Kansas Early Learning Standards are not the only standards or competencies that an early childhood professional might use in their work. Many states have standards linked to their state's department of education. Commercial curriculum packages also include standards that an early childhood professional might use. It is impossible to predict which set of standards might be helpful to you in your future career. Therefore, we will explore a few sets of standards in our class to highlight differences in structure and terminology, but will exclusively use the KELS in our planning and instruction.

Dividing Development and Curriculum Into Domains

We know that children certainly do not develop in isolated domains (as the images earlier in this introduction might suggest). Their development is holistic, and the domains are interrelated. What happens in one domain or area influences and/or is influenced by what happens in other domains or areas. We also recognize that learning is an integrated process and that the curriculum should reflect this. Children do not just learn about one curriculum area or domain. A spontaneous or planned experience will touch on numerous curriculum areas.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Domains of Development

But to make these domains easier to explore, we study them separately, while keeping in mind that they are interconnected and interrelated.

The Kansas Early Learning Standards are divided into seven domains. Our book will feature these as eight separate chapters. This table summarizes the relationship between these.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Curriculum Domains

Kansas Early Learning Standards	Textbook Chapter
Approaches to Learning (ATL)	(not included)
Physical Health and Development (PHD)	Physical Development Health and Safety
Social-Emotional Development (SED)	Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Literacy Skill Development (CL)	Language and Literacy
Mathematics (M)	Mathematics
Science (S)	Science
Social Studies (SS)	History and Social Science
Creative Arts (CA)	Creative Arts