{"id":8986,"date":"2024-04-30T16:33:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T21:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/?p=8986"},"modified":"2024-04-30T16:33:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T21:33:32","slug":"things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are various ranges of ages for early childhood development. Some research says this stage is from birth to eight. Some\u00a0say\u00a0the stage is from three to six. Others say between ages two\u00a0to\u00a0five. For\u00a0the purposes of\u00a0this article, I will be referring to children in the three to six age range as this is the preschool to kindergarten time frame.<\/p>\n

Early childhood education is a valuable piece in a child\u2019s development. As a former pre-k and kindergarten teacher and a current elementary principal, I understand the critical learning that takes place from age three to six. At this time.\u00a0children\u00a0are building a foundation of\u00a0learning\u00a0and are rapidly acquiring new skills that they will continue to build upon each year. Children\u00a0who\u00a0are\u00a0enrolled\u00a0in a quality early childhood education<\/a> program are more prepared academically and socially and have\u00a0stronger\u00a0language\/communication skills than those who do not experience this learning.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, when a group of 20 students\u00a0enter\u00a0a classroom, it becomes the educator\u2019s<\/a> responsibility to assess\u00a0the students, create a\u00a0plan for their learning\u00a0and bring them to their fullest potential. I will discuss various things that early childhood educators should do to be successful and ensure all\u00a0the\u00a0children\u00a0in their care\u00a0reach their goals.<\/p>\n

Social-Emotional Learning<\/h2>\n

Our youngest learners are never too young to begin learning about social-emotional health. It\u00a0is vital for our children to learn\u00a0how to take turns, share, express their feelings appropriately, recognize social cues, and self-regulate<\/a> when things may not go their way. When these skills\u00a0are mastered,\u00a0the journey to\u00a0academic mastery can be much more productive and efficient.<\/p>\n

In order to\u00a0help your young learners achieve this goal, early childhood educators should attend professional development to gain the skillset and specific age-appropriate strategies to be well equipped with age-appropriate, research-based strategies and approaches.<\/p>\n

Use of Restorative Practices<\/h2>\n

I am a firm believer that you should not expect a child to behave in a manner that you have not taught\u00a0them\u00a0or modeled. When our young scholars commit\u00a0an offense, it is our duty to first understand their thinking and then teach them the appropriate response before responding in a punitive\u00a0nature.<\/p>\n

According to the <\/strong>IRP (International Institute for Restorative Practices)<\/a>, restorative practices<\/strong>\u00a0are a field within the social sciences that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals and social connections within communities. Ensuring our students\u00a0are given\u00a0time to learn about expectations, diversity, cultures, and norms of different groups of people will aid in building successful relationships\u00a0and will\u00a0strengthen their knowledge of the world.<\/p>\n

Mindfulness<\/h2>\n

Meditation is a great way to start the day and prepare for learning. Mindfulness routines calm the body,\u00a0helps\u00a0you think positive thoughts, and remind you to self-regulate if you become frustrated. Meditation\u00a0is fun, even for early learners, and if used consistently, they will begin to use the techniques unprompted when they feel the need.<\/p>\n

Involve Parents in the Learning<\/h2>\n

We all know that an involved parent breeds a stronger learner.\u00a0 As early childhood educators, it is important to remember that many parents\u00a0could be first time\u00a0parents and are looking to you for guidance on academic and behavior strategies. Even for parents who are not first-time parents, it may have been several years since they had a Pre-K<\/a> or Kindergarten student and standards and expectations\u00a0could\u00a0have changed.<\/p>\n

Create a system of regular communication that includes the weekly learning standards, examples of your expectations, and ways parents can support the learning at home. For kindergarten, you can\u00a0do this by sending\u00a0pictures of your anchor charts, samples of accurate student work,\u00a0and\/or\u00a0video clips of your whole-group instruction.<\/p>\n

For three and four-year olds, educators<\/a>\u00a0can do this through a newsletter and regular parent conferences. It is always fun to invite parents to the class to complete student work. In the early years this is fun and not stressful.<\/p>\n

Learning Through Play<\/h2>\n

Learning through play is one of the most effective ways to teach all skills to early learners. Every\u00a0skill, academic and social, can be incorporated into a play station. Kindergarten\u00a0curriculum and standards are targeted and aligned with the expectation that\u00a0they\u00a0end the year as\u00a0a reader. Play\u00a0gives\u00a0many more opportunities to learn and practice their skills than a worksheet or workbook.<\/p>\n

Differentiated Learning<\/h2>\n

The best educators understand the purpose\u00a0of\u00a0and appropriately and consistently use differentiated learning. The magic happens in small groups or with one-on-one instructional time because students\u00a0are learning\u00a0on their level with a bit of challenge that encourages their growth. They\u00a0respond more freely and feel less pressure than in the whole group. The best learning happens at this time and\u00a0there is better\u00a0retention<\/a> of skills.<\/p>\n

Embrace and Celebrate Diversity<\/h2>\n

As our students grow, they will work in groups with people of various backgrounds. Teaching them that differences are normal is one of the first lessons they should learn. Children are sponges, and they mimic what they are taught and what they hear. When we teach them that differences\u00a0are what\u00a0make the world beautiful, they will grow up embracing and honoring all types of people, essentially improving the environment in which they learn and how they treat others.<\/p>\n

Use Technology, But Not Too Much<\/h2>\n

Our young scholars are tech-savvy, even at the tender ages of three, four, and five. While\u00a0there is value in\u00a0some online programs and games, we cannot overuse technology<\/a>. Early learners should practice\u00a0how to create\u00a0from scratch and\u00a0use\u00a0the skills they have learned to solve problems.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, early childhood educators\u00a0possess the ability to\u00a0create a\u00a0strong\u00a0and unshakeable foundation in the lives of the\u00a0littles. My advice is to stay abreast of the current research on strategies and teaching practices, make your classroom student-centered, strive daily to teach the whole child\u00a0and\u00a0teach with love.<\/p>\n

Have a passion for early childhood education? Explore our available <\/strong>early childhood education graduate programs<\/strong><\/a> and get started today!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are various ranges of ages for early childhood development. Some research says this stage is from birth to eight. Some\u00a0say\u00a0the stage is from three to six. Others say between ages two\u00a0to\u00a0five. For\u00a0the purposes of\u00a0this article, I will be referring to children in the three to six age range as this is the preschool to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[272,284,859],"class_list":["post-8986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-from-educators","tag-doctoral","tag-earlychildhood","tag-masters"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThings Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do - Graduate Programs for Educators<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This guide explores essential tips and strategies for every early childhood educator, from using restorative practices to differentiating instruction.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do - Graduate Programs for Educators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This guide explores essential tips and strategies for every early childhood educator, from using restorative practices to differentiating instruction.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Graduate Programs for Educators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-30T21:33:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1712\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cchiaro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erica Fenner-McAddoo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cchiaro\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0aeae12a08343f45e143b89c4c339b46\"},\"headline\":\"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-30T21:33:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\"},\"wordCount\":1005,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"#Doctoral\",\"#EarlyChildhood\",\"#Masters\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Advice from educators\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\",\"name\":\"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do - Graduate Programs for Educators\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-30T21:33:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"This guide explores essential tips and strategies for every early childhood educator, from using restorative practices to differentiating instruction.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1712,\"caption\":\"An early childhood educator helps her students work on their handwriting.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/\",\"name\":\"Graduate Programs for Educators\",\"description\":\"Masters and Doctoral Graduate Programs for Educators\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Graduate Programs for Educators\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/graduate-programs-for-educators-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/graduate-programs-for-educators-logo.png\",\"width\":934,\"height\":343,\"caption\":\"Graduate Programs for Educators\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0aeae12a08343f45e143b89c4c339b46\",\"name\":\"cchiaro\",\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do - Graduate Programs for Educators","description":"This guide explores essential tips and strategies for every early childhood educator, from using restorative practices to differentiating instruction.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do - Graduate Programs for Educators","og_description":"This guide explores essential tips and strategies for every early childhood educator, from using restorative practices to differentiating instruction.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/","og_site_name":"Graduate Programs for Educators","article_published_time":"2024-04-30T21:33:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1712,"url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cchiaro","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erica Fenner-McAddoo","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/"},"author":{"name":"cchiaro","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0aeae12a08343f45e143b89c4c339b46"},"headline":"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do","datePublished":"2024-04-30T21:33:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/"},"wordCount":1005,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg","keywords":["#Doctoral","#EarlyChildhood","#Masters"],"articleSection":["Advice from educators"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/","url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/","name":"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do - Graduate Programs for Educators","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2024-04-30T21:33:32+00:00","description":"This guide explores essential tips and strategies for every early childhood educator, from using restorative practices to differentiating instruction.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/April-30-Things-Every-Early-Childhood-Educator-Should-Do_web-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1712,"caption":"An early childhood educator helps her students work on their handwriting."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/blog\/things-every-early-childhood-educator-should-do\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Things Every Early Childhood Educator Should Do"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/","name":"Graduate Programs for Educators","description":"Masters and Doctoral Graduate Programs for Educators","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#organization","name":"Graduate Programs for Educators","url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/graduate-programs-for-educators-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/graduate-programs-for-educators-logo.png","width":934,"height":343,"caption":"Graduate Programs for Educators"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0aeae12a08343f45e143b89c4c339b46","name":"cchiaro","url":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.graduateprogram.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}