2. "The hardest part of infant-toddler
education is trying to explain it to people who think learning only comes from school-like activities" (Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2007, p. 41). Using examples from this week's readings, describe three activities/interactions that exemplify quality infant/toddler "learning." Three learning activities that exemplify quality infant/ toddler learning are: small/large group times, play/ learning centers, and daily routines. In small/ large groups they are able to demonstrate sharing experiences. It also gives great communication skills such as singing, talking, and listening with their peers. Play/ learning centers give the, freedom to explore their personal areas of interest. Daily routines get them in the habit of what is required of them daily, all while promoting phonological awareness.
3. The authors of the article "The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3" ask whether it is possible to predict how children will do in school based on their lives at age 2. Consider what you have learned from this article. Then respond to the authors' question and explain why this information is important to infant/toddler teachers, care, and education programs. The preschool data that was provided rated infants/toddlers vocabulary growth. These tests also measured language skills and were strongly associated with reading comprehension. It is important because the observations not only shed light on the growth of poverty, middle, and higher class students. It proved that no matter what their environmental factors were, learning could still go on.