Child Development
Department of Early Childhood Studies
3214 Austin Street, Houston, TX 77004
713-718-6303 phone 713-718-6235 fax
CDEC 2307 Math & Science for Early Childhood
Required Component – This assignment is required for completion of this course. If this assignment is not completed with 70% of possible points, you will not
receive a passing grade in this class.
NAEYC Accredited Center – All practicum assignments must be completed at a NAEYC accredited childcare center. To find an accredited center, go to the NAEYC
website, www.naeyc.org Click on Accredited Program Search and a new window will appear. Type the zip code of the area in which you would like to find an
accredited childcare center. Call any childcare center from the approved list of NAEYC accredited centers. Identify yourself as a HCC student and ask permission to
observe their child care center in order to complete the laboratory assignment.
Visit – You will be expected to visit for at least three (3) hours. This may be completed in one three hour period or several shorter times. Complete the lab assignment
required for your class by completing the checklist, answering the questions and/or writing anecdotes. Complete the form documenting your hours. Have someone
from the childcare center sign as documentation of your 3 hour visit.
Student's Name
Phone
Accredited Center Name
Address
City
Date
TX Zip Code
Time In
Date
Time Out
Contact person’s signature
Phone
Total hours
Paper – Complete the assignment per directions written on the assignment sheet and those provided by your instructor. After completion of the lab assignment, write
a minimum one-page summary. The summary must include:
(1) Reactions of your visit,
(2) Comparison of information obtained from your textbook, other readings and in class discussions to the lab assignment. (How are they alike? How are they
different?)
Return the completed assignment and summary to your instructor. Send a thank you note to the contact person of the center that you visited thanking them for
allowing you to complete the lab assignment at their center.
CDEC 2307 practicum I page 2
1. Find and describe one activity available in the classroom, which teaches each of the following concepts:
Mathematics Concepts
Observed Comments and Reactions
One-to-one
correspondence
Classification
Sorting by size
Sorting by color
Counting
Shapes
Spatial Sense
Parts and wholes
Comparing
CDEC 2307 practicum I page 3
2. Observe the children in the block area. Describe the skills you observe or that you feel they could learn through building with blocks.
Blocks
Observed Comments and Reactions
Counting
Size
Shapes
Measurement
Classification
Weight
Problem solving
Physics
3. Describe a play scene from this area including how children are using one or more of the skills you checked.
CDEC 2307 practicum I page 4
4. When children investigate, they develop science concepts or the “big ideas” in science. Describe an activity that you observed in each of the following areas:
Science
Observed Comments and Reactions
Life Science
Physical Science
Earth and Space Science
Health & Nutrition
5. Children learn through real life objects. List the items from nature in the classroom that are used for science experiences. What can children learn for these
objects?
Real Objects
What can children learn?
Revised August 2010