Pre-Arrival Activity - Early Childhood Studies

Welcome to Early Childhood Studies.  We hope that you will enjoy your studies here at Staffordshire University, and we look forward to meeting you in September.

What do you have to do?

We have included some small tasks for you to think about before your arrival at University. These tasks will relate to some of the skills and knowledge that you will be investigating further during your degree.

The tasks will be discussed/reviewed during your induction week, so please be sure to bring this with you on the Tuesday of the induction programme.

1. Below you will find a list of physical skills that you would expect young children to be able to achieve. Using the suggested text books/websites identify at approximately what age(in years/months) you would expect to see a child exhibiting each of these behaviours.

1. Imitate actions that they have observed such as clapping and waving

2. Mounts steps/stairs using alternate feet

3. Explore malleable materials by poking, pinching, squeezing, stroking, patting and twisting

4. Operate equipment by pushing or pulling movements

5. Becomes absorbed in putting  objects in and out of containers

6. Reach out, touch and begin to hold object

7. Watch and explore hands and feet

8. Engage in activities that involve hand-eye coordination

9. Jump off an object and land appropriately

10. Balancing on and pedalling a two wheeler bike 

2. Observe a child practicing one of the skills in the list above. Write a paragraph describing exactly what you saw, where were they, how much help did they have, who else was involved and what equipment (if any) were they using?

3. Investigate the thinking behind the Rudolf Steiner schools and prepare some notes to bring with you on the day.

Below is a list of a few texts/ websites that you might find useful as a starting point:-

Fawcett,M., (1996), Learning Through Child Development, Oxford, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Lindon, J., (2005), Understanding Child Development, Abingdon, Hodder and Arnold

Riddal-Leech, S., (2009), How to Observe Children, Oxford, Heinemann

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears

 
We look forward to meeting you and working with you in the future.

If you have any questions or queries don't forget you can always contact your Faculty Student Guidance Advisor: