What Would You Do?

Management Physical Development Lesson 2 Explore What Would You Do?	WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG ACTIVITY ID: 27681 Name Certifier Date
Read the following scenarios and think about how you would respond based on what you know about children’s developmental milestones. Chris, a caregiver in a Toddler classroom, comes to you with concerns about Tyra, who is 14 months old. Chris says that while Tyra is playful and active with the other children, she has not begun walking independently yet. She will sometimes pull herself up and cruise along tables and other surfaces, but she prefers to crawl or scoot on her knees to get across the classroom. Chris is concerned that she may have a gross-motor delay and would like to bring this up to Tyra’s family as soon as possible. How would you respond to Chris’s concerns about Tyra? Thank Chris for sharing his concerns, it is clear that he really cares about Tyra and her wellbeing. While many children begin walking sooner, Tyra is still within the developmental window to begin walking. Ask Chris if her knee-walking prevents Tyra from accessing materials or activities in the classroom or outdoor spaces. If not, the best course of action may be for Chris to continue encouraging Tyra to walk. He may want to mention what he is noticing and ask Tyra’s family about what they see at home, but it is too early to assume that Tyra has a developmental delay. Cristina, a toddler caregiver in your program, comes to you to discuss 2.5-year-old Benedict. Benedict prefers to eat with his hands instead of using the utensils provided at mealtimes. Cristina is frustrated because she sees this as a missed opportunity for Benedict to work on his motor development, and she is tired of always having to clean up his messy hands after he is done eating. How might you respond? It is clear that Cristina makes it a priority to support children’s physical development in her room. Mealtimes can also be stressful for caregivers who are feeding and caring for multiple children. Ask Cristina if she has any ideas about why Benedict may be choosing to eat with his hands. Is he unable to hold the utensils and feed himself, or is he using his hands as a preference? Does he enjoy the sensory experience of feeling the food with his hands? Does his family come from a culture where it is more common to eat with their hands? What other opportunities does Benedict have to develop similar motor skills? You are observing in a school-age room during craft time, and you notice that 6-year-old Ainsley is holding her pencils, crayons and markers with a fist-grip. You also observe Ainsley struggle to cut paper with scissors, because she is not confident with how to open and close the scissors. When you ask the staff member working with Ainsley about this, they are unsure about how to help Ainsley work on her pencil-grip and scissor skills. How could you respond in this scenario? How could you support this staff member to make sure that they are assisting Ainsley in refining her motor skills while at your program? There are many tools and resources designed to help children like Ainsley develop fine motor skills. If the school-age room does not already have pencil-grips available for children to use during craft and writing time, make sure that you order them and make them available to children who need them. It may also be a good idea to ask Ainsley’s parents about the strategies they use at home or at school to help Ainsley use a proper grip on writing tools and scissors. Reach out to your Training & Curriculum Specialist to make sure that this staff member is receiving the support and resources they need to be confident when working with Ainsley on developing these skills. Follow up with this staff member and continue to check in on Ainsley’s progress. You are meeting with a family whose infant will be joining your program soon. Sophia is 10 months old and is not yet crawling. Sophia’s parents are very concerned about her physical development, because their older child has had some significant developmental delays that they feel were not identified and addressed in a timely manner at their previous program. How would you respond to these parents? What will you do moving forward as their child transitions into your program? It is important to respect these parents’ concerns and be clear with them about the processes used to identify and address developmental delays in your program. Now is the time to reassure these parents that their concerns will be taken seriously and be clear in communicating your program’s policies for addressing suspected developmental delays. Ask clarifying questions and gather as much information as possible from Sophia’s parents, so that you and your staff can be informed and prepared to work collaboratively with this family moving forward. It will be important to communicate with staff members who will be working with Sophia about her parents’ concerns, and make sure that staff members are trained in program policies and practices related to supporting physical development in infants and how to communicate with families and supervisors about any concerns that arise.

WWW.VIRTUALLABSCHOOL.ORG

ACTIVITY ID: 27681

Name

Certifier

Date

Read the following scenarios and think about how you would respond based on what you know about children’s developmental milestones.

Chris, a caregiver in a Toddler classroom, comes to you with concerns about Tyra, who is 14 months old. Chris says that while Tyra is playful and active with the other children, she has not begun walking independently yet. She will sometimes pull herself up and cruise along tables and other surfaces, but she prefers to crawl or scoot on her knees to get across the classroom. Chris is concerned that she may have a gross-motor delay and would like to bring this up to Tyra’s family as soon as possible. How would you respond to Chris’s concerns about Tyra?
Thank Chris for sharing his concerns, it is clear that he really cares about Tyra and her wellbeing. While many children begin walking sooner, Tyra is still within the developmental window to begin walking. Ask Chris if her knee-walking prevents Tyra from accessing materials or activities in the classroom or outdoor spaces. If not, the best course of action may be for Chris to continue encouraging Tyra to walk. He may want to mention what he is noticing and ask Tyra’s family about what they see at home, but it is too early to assume that Tyra has a developmental delay.
Cristina, a toddler caregiver in your program, comes to you to discuss 2.5-year-old Benedict. Benedict prefers to eat with his hands instead of using the utensils provided at mealtimes. Cristina is frustrated because she sees this as a missed opportunity for Benedict to work on his motor development, and she is tired of always having to clean up his messy hands after he is done eating. How might you respond?
It is clear that Cristina makes it a priority to support children’s physical development in her room. Mealtimes can also be stressful for caregivers who are feeding and caring for multiple children. Ask Cristina if she has any ideas about why Benedict may be choosing to eat with his hands. Is he unable to hold the utensils and feed himself, or is he using his hands as a preference? Does he enjoy the sensory experience of feeling the food with his hands? Does his family come from a culture where it is more common to eat with their hands? What other opportunities does Benedict have to develop similar motor skills?
You are observing in a school-age room during craft time, and you notice that 6-year-old Ainsley is holding her pencils, crayons and markers with a fist-grip. You also observe Ainsley struggle to cut paper with scissors, because she is not confident with how to open and close the scissors. When you ask the staff member working with Ainsley about this, they are unsure about how to help Ainsley work on her pencil-grip and scissor skills. How could you respond in this scenario? How could you support this staff member to make sure that they are assisting Ainsley in refining her motor skills while at your program?
There are many tools and resources designed to help children like Ainsley develop fine motor skills. If the school-age room does not already have pencil-grips available for children to use during craft and writing time, make sure that you order them and make them available to children who need them. It may also be a good idea to ask Ainsley’s parents about the strategies they use at home or at school to help Ainsley use a proper grip on writing tools and scissors. Reach out to your Training & Curriculum Specialist to make sure that this staff member is receiving the support and resources they need to be confident when working with Ainsley on developing these skills. Follow up with this staff member and continue to check in on Ainsley’s progress.
You are meeting with a family whose infant will be joining your program soon. Sophia is 10 months old and is not yet crawling. Sophia’s parents are very concerned about her physical development, because their older child has had some significant developmental delays that they feel were not identified and addressed in a timely manner at their previous program. How would you respond to these parents? What will you do moving forward as their child transitions into your program?
It is important to respect these parents’ concerns and be clear with them about the processes used to identify and address developmental delays in your program. Now is the time to reassure these parents that their concerns will be taken seriously and be clear in communicating your program’s policies for addressing suspected developmental delays. Ask clarifying questions and gather as much information as possible from Sophia’s parents, so that you and your staff can be informed and prepared to work collaboratively with this family moving forward. It will be important to communicate with staff members who will be working with Sophia about her parents’ concerns, and make sure that staff members are trained in program policies and practices related to supporting physical development in infants and how to communicate with families and supervisors about any concerns that arise.

�Թ��

�Թ��

�Թ���

�Թ��