Early Learning Guidelines Definitions

Accommodations – Changes in the curricular material and experiences to accommodate a child’s particular needs.

Adaptive Equipment – Equipment made suitable to meet requirements or conditions.

Approaches to Learning – General approach to learning includes child’s attitudes, habits, and learning styles.

Assessment and Evaluation – A process through which evidence is gathered in a range of content areas to determine both a student’s understanding and the ability to apply that understanding.

Competence – Possession of required skill, knowledge, or capacity.

Cooperative Play – Making or doing something together that requires the skills, ideas, and contributions of each person.

Diversity – Recognizing and valuing differences; includes the belief that each family has its own structure, roles, values, beliefs, and coping styles. Respect for and acceptance of this diversity is a cornerstone of high quality, family-centered programs.

Developmental Delay – A child birth through age eight who has been identifi ed by a multidisciplinary team as having either a signifi cant delay in the function of one or more of the following areas: cognitive development; physical development; communicative development; social or emotional development; or adaptive behavior or skills development or a diagnosed physical or medical condition that has a high probability of resulting in a substantial delay in function in one or more of such areas.

Developmentally Appropriate – Learning environment and teaching strategies which are based on theories and  research about the growth and development of children.

Domains – Key areas of children’s development and learning.

Dramatic Play Center – Area for children to play, pretend, and use their imagination.

Facilitate – To guide through the process.

Fine (Small) Motor Skills - Skills that use small muscle groups such as hands and fingers and frequently involve hand-eye coordination.

Gross (Large) Motor Skills - The movement and action of large and/or major muscle groups.

Inclusion – The practice in which all children, with a range of abilities and disabilities, participate together and are regarded as equal members of the learning community.

Integrated Curriculum – Connects separate subject areas by presenting information/activities in a thematic, holistic manner to meet the common needs of all learners.

Literacy Rich Environment – Program includes literacy activities in every component of the schedule, every day and throughout the environment.

Manipulatives – Materials that allow children to explore, experiment, or interact by using their hands or by mechanical methods.

Multicultural Curriculum – Understanding of a responsiveness to cultural and linguistic diversity in activities, materials, and actions.

Multi-Sensory – Experiences that allow children to respond to an activity using one of the fi ve senses.

Numeral Awareness – Understanding that a word, letter or symbol represents a number.

Open-Ended Questioning Techniques – Questions that must be answered with a response other than ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Peer – Person of the same age.

Process-Oriented Experiences – Children participate in activities which require them to think, communicate, organize, interact, make decisions and solve problems, both individually and in group situations.

Scientific Skills and Methods – Process used to investigate observations, solve problems and test hypotheses.

Sensory Experiences – How things look, feel, taste, sound, smell.

Social & Emotional Development – Children’s abilities to form and sustain social relationships with adults and peers.

 Transition – Movement or change from one condition, place or activity to another.