Typical Skills Children Learn in Family Day Care
| Activity | Specific Skills Learned |
|---|
| Finding Toys or learning materials to work with by self or with others. | Cognitive: Makes decisions about interests and abilities. Self help: Finds toys by himself or sets up environment for play. Social/Language: Learns to share, barter, manage conflict, and ask for help. Emotional: Learns about acceptance and rejection. Expresses needs. |
| Block play | Physical: Learns to balance blocks and line them up (small motor coordination). Cognitive: May count blocks, sees pattern and design. Learns to build and plan structure. Matches blocks that look alike. Social: Learns to share and cooperate. |
| Dramatic play | Social: Plays adult roles. Develops self-image and coordinates with others. Language: Learns to express self in another role. Cognitive: Decides appropriate dress and appearance for role; uses visual perceptions to assist self, others, and play environment. Learns and remembers behaviors to imitate. Develops abstract thinking abilities. Self-help: Dresses self. Sets up play environment and finds props. |
| Setting the table | Cognitive: Counts silverware, glasses and napkins, or places one object by each setting. Follows pattern of place settings. Social: Cooperates with other children. May teach younger children to help. Physical: Picks up and places objects (small motor coordination). |
| Sitting down to eat | Physical: Pours milk, passes the dish (small motor coordination). Cognitive: Measures to pour. Understands directions. Social/Language: Learns appropriate table conversation and manners. |
| Story time or listening to music | Cognitive: Listens and retains information. Follows story line (sequencing) with eyes and/or ears. Recognizes words, pictures, instruments, and rhythms. |
| Fingerplays or songs | Cognitive/Language: Learns words, gestures, and melody (sequencing, repetition, speech and listening skills). Follows directions. Physical: Coordination (small and large motor) for gestures and fingerplays. |
| Dance | Cognitive/Language: Listens to music and rhythms. Learns to understand simple movement directions and their relationship to the music. Physical: Coordinates movements (large motor). |
| Climbing/riding | Cognitive: May count the rungs to the top of a climbing structure; plans his climb. Maps out direction and distance to ride: watches for others in path. Physical: Large motor coordination, balance. Social: Takes turns, interacts. |
| Sand play | Cognitive: Measures sand and maps out roads (spacial relationships). Physical: Pours, dumps, pushes, gathers, scoops, packs (small and large motor). Social: Shares, interacts, cooperates. |
| Putting away toys | Cognitive: Sorts toys, follows directions. Physical: Places object on the shelf, replaces lids, opens and shuts doors. Social: Takes turns, learns to handle toys carefully. |
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