Early Childhood News
Quakertown Community School District
Spring Edition 2018
Contents:
Curriculum Update - Play in Full Day Kindergarten
The Importance of Play
Summer Reading Programs
Books:
Choice Time
Tinkering and Making in Early Childhood
Contact QCSD
Play in QCSD Full Day Kindergarten
The program addresses the Social and Emotional as well as the Approaches to Learning Through Play Early Learning Standards. These standards have been aligned to the QCSD College and Career Readiness Skills and also support literacy and language learning standards.
Importance of Play in Early Childhood
- Young children learn best when they are able to construct knowledge through meaningful play, active exploration of the environment, and thoughtfully planned activities.
- The learning environment of young children should stimulate and engage their curiosity of the world around them and meet their physical and emotional needs.
- Language and early literacy development is supported through play experiences.
- Play opportunities support high interest areas such as STEM.
- Play sequences and activities can expand across all key areas of learning when planned and facilitated intentionally.
- Play supports students in navigating their own problems or conflicts as well as develop the confidence to be a leader or facilitator in play.
- Guided play approaches are effective because they create learning situations that encourage children to become active and engaged partners in the learning process.
- Brain Science and Guided Play
Summer Reading Program Barnes and Noble
Summer reading materials can also be found online at www.barnesandnoble.com/summerreading.
Books and Blogs about Play
- blueprints for six proven choice-time centers, with variations
- a guide to arranging your classroom space to maximize play's value
- scheduling suggestions for different grade levels
- ideas to connect centers to curriculum
Making & Tinkering With STEM
Solving Design Challenges With Young Children
Teaching and learning STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is accessible through the use of plans in this book. Children will be inspired, delighted, and challenged as they use everyday materials and STEM concepts to design and build solutions to problems faced by characters in their favorite books.
Click here for more information about Making & Tinkering With Stem.
QCSD Contact Information
Dr. Lisa Hoffman
Assistant Superintendent for Office for Teaching and Learning
215-529-2005
Erin Oleksa
Supervisor of Literacy and Arts
215-529-2015
Janet Pelone
Director of Pupil Services
215-529-2014
Kelly Cramer
Instructional Coach K-12
215-529 -2664
Parent Information for Kindergarten Readiness
Jennell Hilton
QCSD Registrar
215-529-2023
Prior Early Childhood News Editions