The HighScope Curriculum
for Infants and Toddlers
Arranging and Equipping the
Learning Environment
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Objectives
• Discuss Heuristic Play and Treasure Baskets.
• Develop plans for incorporating non-typical
materials into the learning environment.
• Organize sensory-motor materials that appeal
to all of children’s senses.
• Discuss rationale for outdoor play.
• Identify guidelines for outdoor play space.
• Examine your own care and play spaces in
terms of the guidelines.
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Thoughts About Yesterday…
4 Corners: When it comes to cleaning up around the
house, I’m most like a:
Boat
Bus
Hot Air
Balloon
Train
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Experiencing Heuristic Play
1.
Find a partner.
2.
With your partner, spend some time using
the materials around the room in your own
way.
3.
Discuss what you learned as you worked
with these materials.
4.
Look at the KDIs and discuss what infants
and toddlers learn.
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What does Heuristic mean?
• Of, relating to, or constituting an educational
method in which students learn through their
own investigation. (American Heritage College Dictionary)
• Methods that help in problem solving.
• Experimentation; trial and error.
• A planned activity which offers children the
opportunity to explore various items using and
developing all of their senses.
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Why is Heuristic Play Important?
Discuss:
• Why is Heuristic play
important to young
children’s development?
• What is so different
about it versus choice
time or free play?
• What is different about
the materials?
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Heuristic Play Helps Develop:
• Manipulative skills
• Imagination
• Memory
• Problem solving
• Concentration
• Anticipation
• Sequencing
• Cause & effect
• Key Developmental
Indicators (KDIs)
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Heuristic Play
• Is different from choice or
free play because it is
more focused and
purposeful.
• More engagement and
concentrated play.
• Less noise.
• More problem solving.
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Heuristic Materials Are:
• Open-ended: Can be combined and used in
many ways which leads to more
development.
• Challenging and encourages problem
solving.
• Familiar everyday items.
• Made of many different textures.
• Unique in size, shape, and weight.
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How does Heuristic Play
Relate to Active Learning?
1.
Materials
2.
Manipulation
3.
Choice
4.
Child communication,
language, and thought
5.
Adult scaffolding
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Points to Consider
• Learning occurs when children can manipulate and
choose materials, and can freely use their whole
bodies and all their senses to do so.
• When children are actively engaged and given
choices, this helps to reduce many frustrations and
power struggles.
• When children have a variety of materials to
choose from that appeal to multiple senses, there
are less conflicts and more concentration.
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Watch Infants and Toddlers
Investigating
Heuristic Play With Objects
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You are most important?
Your engagement with
their play only enhances
their learning, so:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Observe
Be responsive
Let babies make the
choices
Allow children time to
problem solve
Imitate their actions
Follow their lead
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Let’s Try it Out!
1)
Divide into groups of 3s. (Teacher, 2 children)
2)
Choose 1-2 interaction strategies and
materials. Role play this with your children.
When you hear the signal, switch roles.
3)
Discuss:
•
Which strategies came easy to you and which ones
were more difficult?
•
What struck you about the interaction that would not
have happened if you were not there?
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So what does this mean for infants and
non-mobile infants and toddlers?
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Active Learning
•
Is different for non-mobile infants and toddlers.
•
Non-mobile children learn just as much as
mobile children if they are not confined in a
seat or play pen and interesting materials are
within reach.
•
The types of materials that we choose for
infants and non-mobile children are what
they learn.
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Treasure Baskets
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What is a Treasure Basket?
• A shallow sturdy basket containing a collection
of everyday familiar and natural items for babies
and toddlers to play with.
Website Resources for Treasure Baskets
• The items in the basket should vary in weight,
www.heritagetreasurebaskets.co.uk
size, texture,
color, taste, temperature and
www.treasurebaskets.org
sound.
• Materials appeal to all senses (taste, touch,
smell, hear, see).
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Look at the following
videotape…
Infants at Work
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What are your thoughts about
treasure baskets for infants?
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Materials and Safety
• What materials would you have out for children at
all times and what materials would you not?
Materials that are not safe
(Think Safety!!)
without the caregiver’s interaction,
• What materials
are you
providing?
only bring
outuncomfortable
when
What other materials
you are could
there!you suggest that
provides the same or similar experience? (Think
outside the box)
• How would you make these materials accessible
to your children (mixed ages)?
• What parts of the schedule and routine would you
offer these materials?
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Logistics of Heuristic Play and
Treasure Baskets
1. Incorporate safe materials in the
environment.
2. Offer these materials at appropriate times
of the day:
•
•
•
•
Group times
Awake times
Choice times
Outside times
3. Allow time for investigation.
4. You play an important role in their learning
so you need to be present.
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Taking a Look at Your Materials
• Look at the listing of
materials on page 21-22 in
TB. Place a checkmark
next to items that you would
like to incorporate into your
rooms.
• Discuss with a partner, how
you can begin to get these
materials.
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Organizing Materials and
Making them Accessible
• Using area cards, place the materials in the
various areas that you feel they should go
• Discuss:
-
What materials did you have difficulty
placing?
What materials would be accessible?
Why is accessibility important for infants
and toddlers?
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Why Make Materials Accessible to
Infants and Toddlers?
•
•
•
•
•
Materials can be stored in more than one area
Making materials accessible promotes children’s:
initiative
curiosity
independence
problem solving
Sample list on pages 265-267 of Tender Care (2nd ed.).
Children need access to messy materials (e.g., water, sand, paint,
dough, etc.).
We as caregivers need to support and provide these
sensory experiences
Some materials may need to be accessible to toddlers but out of
reach for infants:
- Store materials in clear plastic containers with large screwon lids so toddlers can unscrew but not infants.
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Organizing the Environment with Labels
• Infants and toddlers respond to labels as objects
to explore–to pick at, mouth, remove--normal,
sensory-motor behavior.
• Objects are objects, if a bead is taped to a
container it is fair game as well as the other
beads in container. At this age the actual object
does not work as a label.
• Need organization on shelves and containers.
• Older toddlers begin to make connections
between labels and storage on the shelves.
Some may see labels as a form of puzzle to
master.
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Piaget’s Development of Representation
Rattle
Sign
Symbol
Word
Drawing or
Sketch
Photo or
Tracing
Index
Object
Real Thing
Organizing the Environment with Labels
(cont.)
• Use clear containers so children can see what is
inside. Out of sight-out of mind!
• Labels are more significant for adults because it
gives a sense of order and they will be the ones
most likely cleaning up.
• Labels begin to make sense to children when they
begin at age 3-4 to develop a notion of
representation or hold mental images in mind.
• Labels in an infant and toddler environment lend a
sense of organization to adults that may be
translated to children as they learn that materials are
available and accessible to them on a daily basis.
Learn from example.
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Assessing Your Indoor Space
1. Turn back to your drawings of your own
rooms.
2. Using page 37, follow the instructions and
assess your environment according to the
guidelines.
3. Redraw your space to include the new
changes.
4. Share as a whole group.
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Outdoor Play Space for ITs?
Answers these questions:
1. Why are caregivers reluctant to go outside?
2. What do your ITs like to do outside?
3. What learning occurs outside (KDIs)?
4. Why is outdoor play important to ITs?
5. What are the benefits of being outside?
Discuss as a whole group.
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Benefits of Outdoor Play!
1. Air temperature changes
improve children’s ability to
adapt to cold and heat.
2. Cool and colder air improves
appetite and energizes
people of all ages.
3. Exercise and fresh air
support children’s natural
rhythm of sleep and
wakefulness.
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Benefits of Outdoor Play! (cont.)
4. Cooler, outdoor air generally contains more
moisture and is easier on the body’s airways and
immune system than drier heated indoor air.
5. Outdoor play provides a relaxing alternative to
crowded living conditions.
6. Outdoor play provides many opportunities for
sensory-motor learning.
7. Outdoor play puts children in direct contact with
nature and living things.
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What you Need for an Outdoor
Play Yard for Infants & Toddlers
• Turn to page 34 in
TB.
• Watch Outdoor
Play in this video
and look for these
features.
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Assessing Your Outdoor Play Space
1. Turn back to your drawings of your own
outdoor space.
2. Using page 38, follow the instructions and
assess your outdoor environment according
to the guidelines.
3. Redraw your play yard to include the new
changes.
4. Share as a whole group.
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Implementation Plans
• Turn to page 39-40 and
complete your
implementation plans for
your indoor and outdoor
learning environments.
• Discuss assignments on
page 41.
• Complete evaluations.
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