Standard 1.

Promoting Child Development and Learning Students prepared in associate degree programs use their understanding of young childrens characteristics and needs, and of multiple interacting influences of childrens development and learning, to create environments that are healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging for all children. 1c: Using knowledge of development to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging environments Rationale Following licensing health and safety standards, creating environments which include materials that represent children, families, cultures, and individual needs, as well as changing the materials in the environment regularly to challenge children are all ways I create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging environments. To demonstrate my competence of NAEYC standard 1c, I chose to use pictures of my learning centers that I organized in 2010. I carefully choose materials that support development and early learning in the academic disciplines and encourage socialemotional, cognitive, and language development and contribute to a child-centered environment (Reynolds, 2001). Reflection Offering learning centers in my childcare program has helped me to recognize areas of learning to which I am not naturally drawn. Having my learning centers helps me to focus on each area of learning. Now, as I implement my curriculum, I use more learning centers, which leads to a more balanced, healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environment for all children.

References Reynolds, E. (2001). Setting Up the Problem-solving Environment. In Guiding young children A problem solving approach (3rd ed., pp. 26-27). Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company. (Original work published 1990) Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2001). Creative Drama in the Early Childhood Curriculum. In Creative expression and play in early childhood (3rd ed., pp. 218-219). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. (Original work published 1993)