ECCE

 ECCE(Early Childhood Care and Education),
Prepared by Ministry of Woman and Child Development,  
Re-Edited this document by Podmeswar,

Suggestive Developmentally Appropriate Activities during Birth – Three Years

 

Birth to 3 months

 

Approximate Age

Birth to 3 months

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

 

Learn about the world through all their senses

 

Track people and objects with eyes

 

Respond to faces and bright colours

 

Reach, discover hands and feet

 

Lift head and turn toward sound

 

Cry, but are often soothed when held

 

Begin to smile

 

Begin to develop a sense of self

 

Protection from physical danger

 

Adequate nutrition (through exclusive breastfeeding is best)

 

Adequate health care (immunization, oral rehydration therapy as required, hygiene)

 

An adult with whom to form an attachment

 

An adult who can understand and respond to their signals /

 

Things to look at, touch, hear, smell, taste

 

To be held, sung to and rocked

 

Opportunities for infant massage as it promotes health benefits, and encourages bonding

 

 

 

4 to 6 months

 

Approximate

Age

4 to 6 months

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

 

Smile often

 

Prefer parents and older siblings

 

Repeat actions with interesting results

 

Listen intently and respond when spoken to

 

Laugh, gurgle, imitate Sounds

 

Explore hands and feet

 

Put objects in mouth

 

Sit when propped, roll over, scoot, bounce

 

Grasp objects without using thumb

 

 

All of the above, plus

 

Opportunities to explore the world, play with a variety of

Objects

 

Appropriate language stimulation

 

Focus on Health, nutrition and early psycho social stimulation through free play and a lot of adult child interaction. Egs.(infant games, traditional songs & syllables, access to variety of play materials, individualized adult attention and interaction, opportunities to explore, early introduction to stories, infant books, drawings etc.) in safe, spacious and clean environment

 

Play and interact with children frequently to stimulate their cognitive, language, social, and motor development.

 

Exposure to music and rocking.

 

Calling child by name to develop self-identity.

 

7 to 12 months

Approximate

Age

7 to 12 months

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

 

Remember simple Events

 

Identify themselves, body parts, familiar

voices

 

Understand own name, other common words

 

Say first meaningful words

 

Explore, bang, shake objects

 

Find hidden objects, put objects in containers

 

Sit alone

 

Creep, pull themselves up to stand, walk

 

May seem shy or upset with strangers

 

All of the above, plus

 

Respond to the child’s nutritional requirements by providing appropriate quantity and quality of food.

 

Introduction of supplementary foods

 

A safe environment to explore

 

Conducting variety of activities with children and giving space to explore according to one’s innate interests.

 

Developing self-confidence through providing enough opportunities to explore, touch, taste, smell and respond to the environment.

 

Cleaning children and washing their hands at regular intervals to promote good hygiene and inculcate healthy practices.

 

Regular and constant positive interaction with children to promote development of language, imagination, manipulation, concepts with activities like clapping, peek-aboo, push and pull toys, rolling hands, reading picture books, singing lullabies and rhymes etc…

 

Opportunities to hear stories, be read to

 

Establishing bonding and warm relationship with children and building trust by giving lots of love, care and affection and praising child’s achievements

 

 

1 to 2 years

Approximate

Age

1 to 2 years

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

 

Imitate adult actions

 

Speak and understand words and ideas

 

Enjoy stories and experimenting with

Objects

 

Walk steadily, climb stairs, run

 

Assert independence, but prefer familiar

People

 

Recognize ownership of objects

 

Develop friendships

 

Solve problems

 

Show pride in Accomplishments

 

Like to help with tasks

 

Begin pretend play

 

 

In addition to the above:

 

Health care must also include deworming if required

 

Support in acquiring new motor, language, thinking skills

 

A chance to develop some independence

 

Help in learning how to control their own behavior

 

Opportunities to begin to learn to care for themselves

 

Opportunities for play and exploration

 

Play with other children

 

Read to/tell stories daily

 

Provide opportunities to establish contact and engage with other children and adults to promote a sense of self and social development

 

2 to 3 years

Approximate Age

2 to 3 years

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

 

Enjoy learning new skills

 

Learn language rapidly

 

Are always on the go

 

Gain control of hands and fingers

 

Are easily frustrated

 

Act more independent, but are still dependent

 

Act out familiar scenes

 

 

In addition to the above:

 

Opportunities to children to dress themselves, use toilets, wash hands, brush teeth, comb hair etc.

 

Providing children with objects that encourage sorting, matching, imagining, pushing, pulling etc.

 

Naming body parts and other common objects in and around child’s environment.

 

Provide opportunity to make choices and engage in different tasks

 

Giving opportunities to learn think and understand from concrete to abstract.

 

Opportunities to listen and articulate short stories and rhymes, indulge in imaginative play and simple problem solving activities

 

Identifying and giving special attention to ‘at risk’ children. Developmental screening of all children is essential to provide critical intervention that allows opportunities for children’s development

 

Early identification of impairments/disabilities and initiating medical intervention and parent counselling and parent training to provide necessary stimulation is necessary for supporting children with disabilities and developmental delay

 

 

Source: Adapted from Kaul, 2009,NAEYC, 1985, 1995 and Donhue- Colletta (1992)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested Developmentally Appropriate Activities for 3-6 years

3 to 5 years

Approximate Age

3 to 5 years

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

Enjoy learning new

Skills

 

Learn language

Rapidly

 

Are always on the go

 

Gain control of hands

and fingers

 

Are easily frustrated

 

Act more independent, but are

still dependent

 

Act out familiar

Scenes

 

Have a longer

attention span

 

Act silly, boisterous

 

Talk a lot, ask many questions

 

Want real adult things

 

Keep art projects

 

Test physical skills

and courage with caution

 

Reveal feeling in dramatic play

 

Like to play with friends, do not like to

Lose

 

Share and take turns

Sometimes

 

Opportunities to develop fine motor skills

 

Hands-on exploration for learning through action

 

Providing children with objects that encourage sorting, matching, imagining, pushing, pulling etc.

 

Opportunities to children to dress themselves, use toilets, wash hands, brush teeth, comb hair etc.

 

Naming body parts and other common objects in and around child’s environment

 

Giving opportunities to learn think and understand from concrete to abstract.

 

Encouragement of language through listening to music, talking, reading, singing

 

Opportunities to listen to stories, learn rhymes, indulge in imaginative play, ask questions, do simple problem solving, experiment to promote active and interactive learning and generally have a ‘feel good’ experience for a positive self image

 

Emergent literacy activities like phonological awareness, exposure to environmental print; sight vocabulary; experiential writing by creating pretend and real letters and by organizing scribbles and marks on paper

 

Experimentation with pre-writing and pre-reading skills

 

Opportunities for self-expression (drawing, painting, work with clay or mud), encouraging creativity

 

Encourage Rhythmic movement

 

Opportunities to learn cooperation, helping, sharing

 

Opportunities for taking responsibility and making choices

 

Encouragement to develop self-control, cooperation, persistence in completing projects

 

Support for their sense of self-worth and pride in

Accomplishments

 

Activities which will develop a positive sense of mastery

 

Identifying and giving special attention to ‘at risk’ children.

 

Developmental screening of all children is essential to provide critical intervention that allows opportunities for children’s development

Early identification of impairments/disabilities and initiating medical intervention and parent counselling and parent training to provide necessary stimulation is necessary for supporting children with disabilities and developmental delay

Continuous opportunities, more free but some guided, for adult – child, child to child interaction and interaction with play materials and environment through a variety of individual, small group and large group activities.

 

 

5 to 6 years

Approximate

Age

5 to 6 years

What Children Do

What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

 

Have a longer attention Span

 

Talk a lot, ask many questions

 

Want real adult things

 

Naturally curious, and have an incredible capacity and desire to learn.

 

Explore and experiment through their senses as

they discover the world around them

 

Keep art projects

 

Test physical skills and courage with caution

 

Reveal feeling in dramatic play

 

Like to play with friends, do not like to lose

 

Become independent and gain more self control

 

 

In addition to the above:

Increasing ratio of adult guided vs. free play activities, and more of large group activities and focused more on specific school readiness, with increasing complexity in all of above.

 

Reading Readiness: e.g. picture –sound matching, shapes, phonetics; increasing vocabulary; verbal expression, developing bond with an interest in reading through picture books, storytelling, charts etc

 

Writing Readiness: e.g. eye hand coordination, interest in writing, left to right directionality

 

Math: Develop skills in sorting and classification according to one or two attributes, seriation, pattern

identification/ pattern making , reasoning, problem solving, forming concepts: pre-number, number concepts, observing and describing shape and space concepts using appropriate vocabulary, counting objects, counting groups and comparing groups using the terms more, fewer or same; understanding of computation

 

Physical and Motor development : Build body awareness, strength and coordination through locomotor activities like running, walking etc.; stability activities like jumping, beam balance walking etc.; manipulative skills like catching, throwing, kicking etc.; and movement and physical fitness activities

 

Creativity and aesthetic appreciation: Use imagination and creativity to design and perform music and dance.

 

Social Emotional- Positive self identity, confidence and independence, manage own feelings and needs.

 

 

Children’s whose growth is faltering, at any age

 

Child does not respond to stimulation and attention

 

Caregivers who know when to seek help and how to provide a caring and loving environment.

 

Extra time from caregivers, playing and talking, and massaging the child’s body.

 

Encouragement to play and interact with other children.

 

 

Source: Adapted from Kaul, 2009,NAEYC, 1985, 1995 and Donhue- Colletta (1992)