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Spider Discovery Basket

Lesson Plan:

​Activity:

Spider Discovery Basket

Lesson plan developed by Ms. Erika Geelhoed, BA Ed

Age Group:

Mobile Infants

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with toddlers or preschoolers.

Spider Discovery Basket

Objectives:  

Children will:

• use problem-solving skills.
• develop gross and small motor skills.

CDA Competency Standard:   

II.5.2a

• Materials and equipment stimulate children’s thinking and problem-solving
  • a) Materials and equipment provide a variety of opportunities for cognitive development​​

Materials: 

• small laundry basket
• white string
• Halloween toys (stuffed animals, play spiders, etc.)

Procedure: 

• Prepare for activity by creating the web basket.
  
• Weave string back and forth between the holes and tie securely.
  
• Place the Halloween items in the bottom of the basket.
  
• Present the basket to the children. 

**Supervise the children closely as they play to prevent them from getting wrapped up in the string**  

Assessment: 

• Observe and record the children as they try to pull items from the basket. What were some of their strategies? Did they become frustrated? 

Online Early Childhood Education

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Prime Times for Learning

According to The University of Georgia/College of Family and Consumer Sciences:  New research in brain development shows that we learn certain skills most easily during particular “windows of opportunity.” These are times – a few weeks or months when a part of the brain absorbs new information more easily than at any other time in life. Not surprisingly, most of these windows open and close during the critical first few years of life These windows are “prime times” for learning because each part of the brain actually grows a little larger, and a lot more active, in response to what the five senses absorb.

• Visual development: birth to 4 years.  During this time, babies need to see shapes, colors, objects at varying distances, and movement.
  
• Language development: birth to 10 years. Since the prime time for language learning is the first few years of life, babies are also able to learn second or third languages much more easily during this period.
  
• Emotional attachment: birth to 18 months.  The emotions such as empathy, happiness, hopefulness, and sadness are shaped by how the infant is nurtured.
  
• Music and math skills: 1 year to 5 years. Research has shown that the cortex, the area of the brain that hears music, is the same area that does mathematical calculations.