UNICEF. Early Child Development Kit: ATreasure Box of Activities. Activity Guide

100 Pages·2016·2.56 MB·English

Early Child Development Kit:
ATreasure Box of Activities
Activity Guide
Acknowledgements
ThisdocumentwaspreparedbytheECDUnitwiththehelpofCassieLanders,UNICEF
consultant.
Illustration
ThedocumentwasillustratedbyJoanAuclair.
Disclaimer
Opinionsandstatementswithinthisdocumentareentirelythoseoftheauthorandshouldnotbe
attributedinanymannertotheUnitedNationsChildren’sFund(UNICEF),itsaffiliated
organizations,orthemembersofitsExecutiveDirectorsorthecountriestheyrepresent.
ThetexthasnotbeeneditedtoofficialpublicationstandardsandUNICEFacceptsno
responsibilityforerrors.
Thedesignationsinthispublicationdonotimplyanopiniononthelegalstatusofanycountryor
territory,orofitsauthorities,orthedelimitationofborders.
For more information, please contact:
Early Childhood Development / Programme Director’s Office
UNICEF House
3 UN Plaza
NewYork, NY 10017
USA
E-mail:Arnaud Conchon, [email protected]
Tel: [phone]
Introduction

Early Child Development Kit:
A Treasure Box of Activities
Activity Guide tochildren.Theyplayduringdailyroutines.They
playduringlearningexperiencesyouprovide.
Thinkaboutababywhostartsapeekaboogame
Welcome!
withyouwhenyoupullhershirtoverherhead.
Thetoddlerortwo-year-oldwhoimitatestheway
Howmuchareyoungchildrenaffectedbyevents
youreadtoherasshereadstoherdoll.Orthe
thattakeplacearoundthem?
three-or-fouryearoldwhoscribblesandmarkson
alargesheetofpaperyouputoutonthetable,
Alot.Youngchildrenareactiveplayersinthe
thenannouncesproudly,“Iwrotemyname.”
world.Eventhoughtheymaynotunderstand
themeaningofwhattheyseeorhear,children Sometimesitmaylooklikenotmuchishappening.
absorbtheimagesthatsurroundthemandare Fillinganddumpingsmallobjectsfromacanmay
deeplyimpactedbytheemotionsofthepeople seemboringtoyou.Playingblocksseemslikejust
theyrelyonforloveandsecurity. stackingthemandknockingthemdown.
Parentsandcaregiversplayaveryimportantrole
inhelpingyoungchildrencopewithandrecover
fromtraumaticandstressfulexperiences.
Providingyoungchildrenwithsensitiveand
responsivecaretakesalotofemotionaland
physicalenergy.Buttheeverydaymoments
sharedbetweenachildandcaringadultscanbe
mutuallyhealing.Duringdifficultanduncertain
times,simplyfindingcomfortineachother’s
presenceisthefirststeptohelpingyoungchildren
copeandheal.
The Power of Play
Butplayisfilledwithopportunitiesforchildrento
Childrenarecuriousfromthemomenttheyare learnanddevelopnewskills.Whenchildrenplay,
born.Theywanttolearnaboutandunderstand theyusealltheirsenses–hearing,seeing,tasting,
theirworld.Duringthefirstfiveyearsoflife touching,smellingandmoving–togather
children’sbrainsaregrowingfasterthanatany informationabouttheirworld.Latertheywill
othertimeoflife.Children’searlyexperiences gatherinformationthroughlanguage.They
shapehowtheirbrainsdevelop.Children’searly organizeandreorganizethisinformationintotheir
learningsetsthestageforschoolsuccess. firstpicturesofthemselves,others,andtheir
world.
Goodearlyexperienceshelpachild’sbrain
developwell.Themoreworkthebraindoes,the ThroughthefungamesinthisTreasureBox,
moreitiscapableofdoing.Whenchildrenplay, children–botholderandyounger–willdevelop
theirbrainsworkhard. newskillsfortalkingandthinking,movingand
doing,feelingandlearningaboutthemselves,and
Playingishowchildrenlearn.Playcomesnaturally gettingalongwithothers.
Early Child Development Kit:Activity Guide | i
Learning through Play
Lookathowmuchchildrenarelearningastheyplaytogetherwithblocks:
Talking andThinking
Theymaylearnto:
Connectwordstoactionsastheytalktogetheraboutwhattheyaredoing.
Participateinconversationsaboutwhattheyaredoing.
Understandpositionwordsastheywalkonapathofblocksnexttothetable.
Understandconceptssuchassoft,hard,big,small,heavy,light,roughandsmooth.
Usetheirimaginationastheytellastoryaboutwhattheyhavecreated.
Makeaplanastheydecidewhattobuildtogether.
Completeataskastheymakeapathofblocks.
Moving and Doing
Theymaylearnto:
Developawarenessofwheretheyaregoingastheywalkonapathofblocks.
Developbalancewhenmovingastheycarryblocksacrosstheroom.
Usehandandwristmusclestododelicatetasksastheymakeastackofsmallblocks.
Feelings and learning about self:
Theymaylearnto:
Expresstheirfeelingswhentheydiscover:“Iliketobuild.”
Feel“Icandoit!”astheycompleteatowerofblocks–orknock
ablocktowerover.
GettingAlong with others
Theymaylearnto:
Playwithotherchildren.
Cooperatewithothersasonechildhands
anotherablock.
Followasimplerulethatkeepseveryone
safe,suchas“nothrowingblocks.”
ii | Early Child Development Kit:Activity Guide
Why an ECD Kit? What is inside the ECD Kit?
Givingtimeforandhelpingchildrenplayduring ThisECDTreasureBoxisfilledwithmaterials
timesofstressisoneofthemostimportantthings andideasforlearningandfun.Eachitemwas
youcando.ThisECDKitofactivitieswascreated carefullychosentosupporttheimportantwork
tohelpyouhelpyoungchildrencontinueto youdoeachday.Eachonecanbeusedin
developtheirskillsforthinking,speaking,and differentwaysdependingontheageand
interactingwithpeopleandthingsevenwhen interestofthechild.Belowisalistofthe
timesareverydifficult.Wehopethesefunlearning children’streasuresyouwillfind.Thechart
activitieswillhelptostimulatechildren’seager onthefollowingpagelistsadditional
minds,quiettheirhearts,andgivethemhope. activitiesthatdonotrequireanymaterials
Whenyouhelpyoungchildrenfeelsafeandsecure fromtheKit.
theycanbefreetolearnnowandinthefuture.
ActivitiesWith Materials
Babies 1–3Years 4–6Years
1. Board Puzzle * *
2. Chain Puzzle * *
3. Board Book * * *
4. Sponge Balls * * *
5. Shape Sorter * * *
6. Paper and Crayons * * *
7. Stringing Beads * * *
8. Puppets * * *
9. Stacking and Sorting Kit * * *
10. Dominoes * * *
11. Construction Blocks * * *
12. Modelling Clay * *
13. Puzzle Blocks * *
14. Memory Game * *
15. Counting Circle *
16. Jigsaw Puzzle *
Early Child Development Kit:Activity Guide | iii
ActivitiesWithout Materials
Babies 1–3Years 4–6Years
1. WeAre Going to... * *
2. We Can Move * *
3. Familiar Sounds * *
4. CanYou Copy Me? * *
5. We Can Make Music * *
6. IAm Here.Who Is Here? * *
7. I See Something * *
8. QuietTalkingTime * *
9. We Can Move/Hide and Seek *
10. Follow the Leader *
11. FriendsTogether *
12. OneToy,Two Children *
13. Helping Partners *
iv | Early Child Development Kit:Activity Guide
Treasures for Caregivers youtheirs;makingupsillyrhymes;andtalking
abouttheirfeelings.
TheECDkitalsocontainsmaterialstohelpyou
createasafelearningspaceforyoungchildren.
Therearetwodifferenttypesofactivities:those
Lookfortape,pen,pencils,paper,exercisebook
usingthekit’scontentsandthosethatdonotneed
markers,andflipcharts.Awatercontainerand
anymaterials.Lookfortheactivitysheetsthatgive
soapwillhelpyoutokeepthematerialsand
yousomemoreideasonwhattodoevenwithout
childrenclean.
anymaterials.Seeboxbelowforadetailedguide
toActivityCardsymbols.
Activity Cards
Thisisjustabeginning.Weknowyouhavemany
Theseactivitycardshavebeendevelopedtohelp
ideasofmaterialsandfungamestoadd.Use
youusethematerialsintheECDkit.Thereisone
thesematerialswithchildren.Adaptthem.Get
activitysheetforeachitem.Theactivitiesare
ideasfornewtoysandgamestomakeandplay.
arrangedfromeasiertoharder.Eachitemcanbe
Sometimesitcanbetemptingtoputnew
usedindifferentwaysforbabies,forchildren
materialsawayfromchildrentokeepthemsafe
fromonetothreeyears;andchildrenfromfour
andclean.Pleasedon’t.Thesematerialsaremade
tosixyears.
forchildrentotouch,shake,stack,toss,pretend
with,jumpinandoutof,puttogether,takeapart.
Childrenarelearningfromyouandeachotherall
Theonlywaychildrencanbenefitfromthe
thetime.Therearemanywaysyoucanhelpchil-
treasuresinthisbox–andothersyouadd–isif
drendevelopwithoutanymaterials.Forexample,
theyhavethechancetoplaywiththem.
childrenlovelisteningtoyourstoriesandtelling
Thesesymbolswillhelpyoufindtherightactivityfortherightage.
Babies 1–3 years 4–6 years
Eachactivitysheetalsoincludes:
Caution
WhatYouCanDo
Tipstohelpyoukeepchildren
Ideasforhowtousethematerial
safewhileplaying
tohelpchildren’sdevelopskills
fortalkingandthinking,moving
Bluebandsatthetopand
anddoing,learningaboutself
bottomindicateactivitiesthat
andgettingalongwithothers.
usematerialsfromthekit
What To Look For
Pinkbandsatthetopandbottom
Thingstoobserveinchildrenas
indicateactivitiesthatdonot
theyplay
requireanymaterials
Possible Extensions
Suggestionsforotherthingsyou
mightdo
Early Child Development Kit:Activity Guide | v
How can you use the ECD Kit? • Becreative.Thematerialsinthekitwillhelp
yougetstarted.Makeupyourowngamesand
GatherchildrenaroundthetreasuresintheECD
activities.Singfamiliarsongs,tellstories,play
Kitinasafeandwelcomingspace.Asmanyas
traditionalgames,danceandsing.
50childrencanparticipateatanyonetime.That’s
alotofchildren.Trycreatingsmallgroupsand
• Listen.Yourcareandattentionisthemost
assigndifferentactivities.Sometimes,achild
importantgiftyoucangivetoyoungchildren.
mightneedalittleextraattentionandsome
Helpthemfindwordstoexpresstheirfeelings.
specialtimejustwithyou.Makesureyouhave
Encouragedrawing,tellingstories,and
help.Inviteolderchildren,parents,andother
pretendplay.
adultstohelpyouplanandorganizethe
activities.
• Prepareandplan.Alittleplanninghelpsto
makeyourtimewithchildrenmore
Herearesomehelpfultipstothinkabout.
meaningful.Trycreatingasimpleschedule.
Hereisanexample.
• Createsmallgroupsofchildren.Youmighttry
groupingchildrenbyage—babies,onetothree
yearolds,andfourtosixyearolds.Other Treasure Box Fun:
activitiesworkbestwhenallthechildrenare DailyActivity Plan
learningtogether.Theactivitycardswillhelp
youplanyourprogramme.
10:00 Welcomechildrenandfamilies
• Inviteolderchildrenandsiblingstohelpyou.
Encouragethemtoorganizeandplan
10:15 CircleTime:Selectafuntopic.Ask
activities.Theycanalsobepairedwithachild
childrentotalkaboutwhatthey
whoneedsextracareandattention.Thisisa
know
wonderfulwayforbotholderandyounger
childrentolearntogether.
10:45 Smallgroups:Dividechildreninto
agegroups.Letchildrenexploreand
• Provideopportunitiesforparentstosupport
playwithactivitiesontheirown.
theirchild’splay,learnfromeachotherand
fromyou.Invitegroupsofparentstojoinyou
10:30 Pairs:Olderchildrenspendtime
inthefun.Thepossibilitiesareendless.Think
workingwithsmallerchildrenona
togetheraboutsomeactivitieschildrencando
specificactivity
andwhatchildrenmaylearn.Asyouwork,
encouragefamiliestosharetheirstoriesand
11:30 CircleTime:storytelling.Tryletting
questionswitheachotherandyou.
childrenmakeupanewending!
• Makesafetyapriority.Makesurethespaceis
12:00 ClosingSong
safefromthingsthatmighthurtsmallchildren.
Keepallmaterialsclean.Storethemcarefully.
• Routinesareimportant.Childrenneedlotsof Thematerialsinthisboxbecometruetreasuresin
consistentattentionespeciallyduringtimesof yourhandsasyousharethemwithchildrenand
stress.Trytoorganizeyouractivitiesatthe families.Thankyouforyourtime,energy,and
sametimeeachday.Childrenfeelsafe commitmenttohelpingyoungchildrengrow,
knowingtheywillspendsometimeeachday develop,andheal.
withyouandtheTreasureBox.
vi | Early Child Development Kit:Activity Guide