Child Development Certificate Online Curriculum

The Starting Your Program course is designed to help you make a smooth transition to Penn Foster, including learning how to use all the tools and resources that are available to you. The goal is to help you become a confident, independent learner

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Further express your goals and expectations
• Navigate the Penn Foster learning environment, including your Student Portal
• Describe what it takes to be a successful online learner
• Identify your preferred study aids and learning styles
• Determine personal financial goals
• Practice some important study and time management skills
• Access and use helpful resources, such as the Penn Foster Virtual Library, and various help features

This is a survey course that discusses the similarities and differences in young children, the components of quality early childhood education programs, and the role of the professional early childhood educator.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Plan the steps needed in developing an ideal model of a childcare setting
• Analyze the effects of environment and adherence to routines on the developmental appropriacy of a child
• Prepare a holistic curriculum for developing linguistic, analytical, and social skills in early childhood education
• Record observations of child interactions in an early childhood facility
• Prepare a report of an interview with an ECE Site Supervisor

This course presents a variety of theoretical viewpoints to provide you with a well-balanced view of a child’s developmental process. Current studies and research provide you with an understanding of the principal topics of child psychology as well as recent trends in socially relevant problem areas.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the liberal arts, natural sciences, and social sciences
• Identify the important processes, time periods, and issues in development
• Explain the elements of biological, physical, and perceptual development
• Explain how the elements of cognition and language impact development
• Analyze socioemotional development and how this relates to the self and identity
• Analyze how social contexts impact development and growth
• Compare child development in two separate age groups

Each day seems to bring more dire news about health, especially children’s health. Children are watching more television, spending more time in front of screens and spending less time engaging in physical exercise. There’s bad news about the American diet, which includes contaminated, fatty, and processed foods. We’re alerted to the presence of various toxins in the air, water, soil, and food. This means higher rates for cancer, heart disease, childhood obesity, and diabetes. We aren’t in very good shape, and children are inheriting our polluted world and bad habits. Early childhood educators and staff have the potential to create enormously positive changes in the way children eat, exercise, and avoid injurious habits. The good news is that children love to stay physically active, and they’re far more open to new foods and different diets than most adults are. Physical fitness and healthy habits almost come naturally to children!

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Identify the environmental and biological threats to children’s health and safety and how to protect children from them
• List developmentally appropriate toys and materials
• Describe the importance of nutrition, physical activity, and mental and physical health education
• Identify the basic concepts of nutrition and food for children
• List the resources available for children with special health needs and facility design considerations
• Consider how a center director would ensure health, safety, and nutrition of children in a program

The current emphasis on producing high-quality, comprehensive programming for young children requires early learning professionals to develop excellent observation and assessment skills. To do your best work on behalf of children, you must be able to accurately determine the skill level of each child. As early-learning programs and elementary schools begin to work cooperatively to provide seamless transitions for children, your observations and assessments will follow them throughout their school years. The first two chapters of the textbook describe the purpose of observation and assessment in the early childhood classroom, and the process of collecting and recording these observations in the Child Development Checklist. Chapters 3 through 11 cover the specific sections of the checklist and provide practical suggestions for fostering children’s development in each learning area. The final chapter discusses how you can share your observations with the children’s family members.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Analyze the importance of observation and understanding the development of self-esteem related to assessment
• Categorize the assessment methods of social and emotional skills and motor development
• Distinguish between the teaching processes related to cognitive development, language, and emerging literacy
• Point out the importance of developing creativity and sharing assessment data with families