TThhee A ABBCC’’ss ooff DDAAPP DDevelopmentally evelopmentally AAppropriateppropriate PPracticesractices

Cynthia DanielCynthia Daniel

AA AAppreciate childhood as ppreciate childhood as

a unique and valuable a unique and valuable stage of the human life stage of the human life cycle.cycle.

AAppreciate and support ppreciate and support the close ties between the close ties between the child and family.the child and family.

BB BBring each child’s ring each child’s

home culture and home culture and language into the language into the shared culture of shared culture of the school so that the school so that the unique the unique contributions of contributions of each group are each group are recognized and recognized and valued by others.valued by others.

CC CCreate a caring reate a caring

community of learners.community of learners.

CConstruct appropriate onstruct appropriate curriculum.curriculum.

CConsistent, positive onsistent, positive relationships with a relationships with a limited number of adults limited number of adults and other children are a and other children are a fundamental determinant fundamental determinant of healthy human of healthy human development.development.

DD DDevelopmentally evelopmentally

appropriate curriculum appropriate curriculum provides for all areas of a provides for all areas of a child’s development: child’s development: physical, emotional, physical, emotional, social, linguistic, social, linguistic, aesthetic, and cognitive.aesthetic, and cognitive.

DDevelop, refine, and use a evelop, refine, and use a wide repertoire of wide repertoire of teaching strategies to teaching strategies to enhance children’s enhance children’s learning and learning and development.development.

EE EEnsure that learning nsure that learning

experiences are experiences are meaningful, relevant, meaningful, relevant, and respectful for the and respectful for the participating children participating children and their families.and their families.

EEstablish and stablish and maintain regular, maintain regular, frequent two-way frequent two-way communication with communication with children’s parents.children’s parents.

FF FFunctions as a unctions as a

community of learners community of learners in which all in which all participants consider participants consider and contribute to and contribute to each other’s well-each other’s well-being and learning.being and learning.

FFoster children’s oster children’s collaboration with collaboration with peers on interesting, peers on interesting, important enterprises.important enterprises.

GG GGroup children for roup children for

the purposes of the purposes of instruction, instruction, supporting supporting collaboration among collaboration among children, and building children, and building a sense of a sense of community.community.

HH HHelp children and elp children and

adults achieve their full adults achieve their full potential in the context potential in the context of relationships that of relationships that are based on trust, are based on trust, respect, and positive respect, and positive regard.regard.

HHold children old children accountable to accountable to standards of standards of acceptable behavior.acceptable behavior.

II IInteracting with other nteracting with other

children in small children in small groups provides a groups provides a context for children to context for children to operate on the edge of operate on the edge of their developing their developing capacities.capacities.

IIdentify children who dentify children who have special needs have special needs and plan appropriate and plan appropriate curriculum and curriculum and teaching for them.teaching for them.

JJ JJudgments about udgments about

developmentally developmentally appropriate practice appropriate practice are constructed are constructed EACH EACH DAYDAY by teachers in by teachers in relation to a specific relation to a specific group of children and group of children and within a specific social within a specific social and cultural context.and cultural context.

KK KKnow the social and now the social and

cultural contexts in cultural contexts in which children live to which children live to ensure that learning ensure that learning experiences are experiences are meaningful, relevant, meaningful, relevant, and respectful for the and respectful for the participating children participating children and their families.and their families.

LL LListen and isten and

acknowledge acknowledge children’s feelings children’s feelings and frustrations, and frustrations, respond with respect, respond with respect, guide children to guide children to resolve conflicts, and resolve conflicts, and model skills that help model skills that help children to solve their children to solve their own problems.own problems.

MM MMethods of assessment ethods of assessment

are appropriate to the are appropriate to the age and experiences of age and experiences of young children.young children.

MMoving from either/or oving from either/or to both/and thinking in to both/and thinking in early childhood early childhood practice.practice.– ““Children benefit from Children benefit from

engaging in self-initiated engaging in self-initiated spontaneous play spontaneous play oror from from teacher-planned and teacher-planned and structured activities.” Both structured activities.” Both are beneficial for children. are beneficial for children.

NN NNecessary supports ecessary supports

need to be available need to be available to both teachers to both teachers ANDAND children to ensure that children to ensure that children’s individual children’s individual needs are met.needs are met.– It promotes continuity It promotes continuity

of children’s of children’s educational educational experiences and experiences and feelings of belonging to feelings of belonging to the group is given high the group is given high priority.priority.

OO OObserve children’s bserve children’s

spontaneous play and spontaneous play and interaction with the interaction with the physical environment physical environment and with other children and with other children to learn about their to learn about their interests, abilities, and interests, abilities, and developmental developmental progress.progress.

PP PProvide opportunities rovide opportunities

for children to be for children to be genuinely successful genuinely successful and to be challenged.and to be challenged.

PPose problems, ask ose problems, ask questions, and make questions, and make comments and comments and suggestions that suggestions that stimulate children’s stimulate children’s thinking and extend thinking and extend their learning.their learning.

QQ QQualified personnel is ualified personnel is

an essential element an essential element to children’s to children’s education.education.– Teachers must be Teachers must be

experts in child experts in child development in order development in order to construct age-to construct age-appropriate appropriate curriculum.curriculum.

RR RRecognize that ecognize that

children are best children are best understood in the understood in the context of their context of their family, culture and family, culture and society.society.

RRedirect children to edirect children to more acceptable more acceptable behaviors or use their behaviors or use their mistakes as learning mistakes as learning opportunities.opportunities.

SS SSocial relationships ocial relationships

are an important are an important context for learning.context for learning.

SSet clear, consistent, et clear, consistent, and fair limits for and fair limits for children’s behavior.children’s behavior.

TT TTeachers respect, eachers respect,

value, and accept value, and accept children and treat children and treat them with dignity at them with dignity at all times.all times.

TTeachers make it a eachers make it a priority to know each priority to know each child well.child well.

UU UUse various strategies se various strategies

that encourage that encourage children to reflect on children to reflect on and “revisit” their and “revisit” their learning experiences.learning experiences.

UUnderstand that nderstand that children develop and children develop and learn in the context of learn in the context of their families and their families and communities.communities.

VV VValue the quality of alue the quality of

children’s lives in the children’s lives in the present, not just present, not just preparation for the preparation for the future.future.

VVariety of materials ariety of materials and opportunities for and opportunities for children’s learning children’s learning experiences should be experiences should be provided in the provided in the learning environment.learning environment.

WW WWhole-group meetings hole-group meetings

or discussion times give or discussion times give children an opportunity children an opportunity to build a sense of to build a sense of community and shared community and shared purpose.purpose.

WWork with parents to ork with parents to resolve problems or resolve problems or differences of opinions differences of opinions and be respectful of and be respectful of cultural and family cultural and family differences.differences.

XX eeXXtend the range of tend the range of

children’s interests children’s interests and the scope of their and the scope of their thought through thought through presenting novel presenting novel eeXXperiences and periences and introducing introducing stimulating ideas, stimulating ideas, problems, problems, experiences, or experiences, or hypotheses.hypotheses.

YY YYoung children oung children

construct their own construct their own understanding of understanding of concepts from their concepts from their experiences, they need experiences, they need many challenging many challenging opportunities to use opportunities to use and develop the and develop the thinking skills they thinking skills they bring with them and to bring with them and to identify and solve identify and solve problems that interest problems that interest them.them.

ZZ ZZones that include ones that include

safe, age-appropriate safe, age-appropriate equipment and play equipment and play spaces should be spaces should be provided, whether provided, whether inside the classroom inside the classroom or outside on a or outside on a playground.playground.

TThhe e EEnndd