Approaches to Learning
Children are born with an inclination to learn. This is reflected in behaviors and attitudes such as curiousity, problem-solving, maintaining attention, and persistence.
Older Preschoolers are eager to learn! They learn through play and are busy developing muscle skills, language, and working toward gaining inner control of emotions and behavior. They typically have a rich imagination and may not have a full understanding of what is the truth or made-up. Preschoolers need clear and simple guidelines so they learn the boundaries of desirable behavior. They may have fears of new people or experiences and difficulty separating from trusted adults. Lots of questions give great opportunities for rich discussions, learning more complex words, and understanding of increasingly complex concepts and reasoning skills.
The South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines serve as a shared vision for all adults supporting young children's experiences prior to entering kindergarten. Positive interactions with trusted adults, engaging with peers, and consistent environments that are safe, healthy, and enhance learning are vital elements to support young children.
Goals and Developmental Indicators describe expectations for what children learn starting with infancy and covering all ages through kindergarten entry. These goals apply to all children regardless of what language they speak, what strengths/disabilities they may have, or specific unique family circumstances. Strategies to enrich the environment, support development and learning, and adaptations provide a variety of ideas to consider.
At the “heart” of the document are tables or developmental continuums that describe children’s learning and development from birth up to kindergarten. You can find these tables under the Learning Domain tab in our main navigation. These Goals and Developmental Indicators are divided into five domains:
Children are born with an inclination to learn. This is reflected in behaviors and attitudes such as curiousity, problem-solving, maintaining attention, and persistence.
Children's feelings about themselves and their relationships with others is the foundation for personality development. These characteristics and skills impact every other area of development.
From birth, children are learning language and developing the ability to communicate. Talking, singing, reading, and responding effectively when children express themselves are great investments supporting learning.
This fascinating area of development includes understanding how children aquire, organize, and use information in increasingly complex ways. Through play, skills are developed as the foundation for exploring and understanding more sophisticated concepts.
Physical growth, muscle development, nutrition, self-care, health and safety practices are included in this area. Safe and healthy practices suppport the ability to learn more effectively in all areas.