Objectives
- To understand how children grow and develop.
- To enjoy children’s development and have realistic expectations of them.
- To provide children with age-appropriate activities.
Process
Refer to the previous four ‘Child development’ workshops before doing this one. Have the full set of development cards available, covering:
- language development
- intellectual development
- motor development
- social–emotional development.
Have the group spread the cards out on a large surface, like the table or floor, and create the ‘whole picture’ of a child’s development in the first 3 years.
Expect and encourage a lot of talking and discussion. Check in during this process to offer suggestions or feedback. Once again, encourage the use of the available resources to support the positions.
Resources to support sequencing could include:
- SKIP Whakatipu booklets: ‘Pēpi says’ sectionsOpens in new window
- SKIP Tips for under-fives bookletOpens in new window
- Parenting Resource website developmental summaries (select an age and stage)Opens in new window
- Well Child/Tamariki Ora My health book: ‘Learning and growing’ sectionsOpens in new window
- Plunket: Thriving under five booklet: Each age has a section on ‘Development’, ‘Growing and learning’, and ‘Play and learning’.Opens in new window
If the technology is available, an interesting addition to these child development sessions would be watching the DVD Babies together(79 min). It’s a French documentary film made in 2010 by Thomas Balmès, and follows 4 newborns through their first year of life in 4 different countries and cultures.
Resources
- All of the ‘Child development’ cards