Community Child Development Center Proposal

Community Child Development Center Proposal

I am pleased to present my proposal for the community child development center. Typically, children are a crucial part of our society, and as well known, the early developmental stages tend to influence people’s adulthood in significant ways. As such, the more a person is able to develop effectively in the early stages, the better their adulthood becomes. Experiences that take place during the initial years are considered sensitive periods and tend to influence an individual’s brain capacity (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2008). Early learning sets the stage for later learning in an individual’s life. According to Piaget, infants in the sensorimotor stage learn that objects tend to exist even if they cannot see them. As children interact with the environment around them, they tend to make discoveries regarding how the world works around them. An effective method that could encourage the successful development of a child socially, psychologically, cognitively, and physically is establishing a community child development center. It would comprise activities to cater for different age groups. Various rooms should be incorporated into the community child development center to cater to the needs of different age groups. This paper aims at identifying diverse activities that could be integrated into the community child development center for various rooms comprising infant, toddler, early, childhood, middle/Late childhood, and adolescence.

ROOM #1 – Infant Room

The first scheduled activity for the infant room is reading using expressive sounds and different emotions. Reading is an activity that a caregiver can undertake for an infant between birth and one year. Reading aloud to an infant is associated with enhanced communication as it introduces the child to important communication aspects such as listening. The infant is introduced to numbers, colors, letters, and shapes in a fun manner. By hearing words, there will be a network of words built in their brains (Lewis, 2021). Reading to the baby helps them hear expressive sounds and different emotions that support their emotional and social development. The baby is also encouraged to touch, point, and look, and they can also copy sounds and emotions and learn words which enhances their psychosocial development. The caregiver is able to bond with the child while reading to them, hence increasing their trust. The theory that supports the use of this activity is Piaget’s theory, which states that the reading and language acquisition procedure for children starts through initially assembling sensory and motor info. The child is in the basic trust versus mistrust stage at this age. Accordingly, infants who feel secure, comforted, and nurtured develop some sense of trust (Mossler, 2014). Through reading to the child, this sense of security can be heightened. Typically, reading for children tends to help familiarize them with background knowledge on their young universe, thus facilitating them to make sense of the things they hear and see.

The second scheduled activity for the infant room is interactive floor-based play for children. This is also called tummy time spread for the whole day while the infant is awake. Examples of the physical development milestones in infants below the age of one are holding their head up with some support, beginning to push up when they are placed in a prone position (tummy time), and making smoother movements with their legs and arms. More often, this happens within two months of their age. When they are four months, they start holding their head steady without needing any support; they push their legs down when their feet are placed on a hard surface, they bring their hands to their mouth, then roll over from their tummy to back and start pushing up to elbows when placed to lie on the tummy. When they reach six months old, they roll over from back to tummy and from tummy to back. At 9 months, they crawl, sit without any support, and pull to stand. At one year, they move to a sitting position without any help, and they can even stand alone. The research that supports the use of this activity is gross motor development. Tummy time has been positively linked to this theory. The activity tends to enhance physical development. According to Hewitt, Stanley & Okely (2017), tummy time has had a positive effect on the head shape and development of the infant. When an infant is placed in a prone position, they are given a chance to practice lifting their head, lifting their head and turning it at the same time, moving their legs, and pushing their arms up. This way, the infant’s head, trunk muscles, shoulder, and neck muscles master motor skills like pushing up in order to sit, crawl, sit, and roll (Hewitt, Stanley & Okely, 2017).

One of the items required in this room is a reading book for infants. A book such as Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes written by Mem Fox can be very effective. The author utilizes repetition and rhyme in creating a multicultural manuscript. It talks about the ten little fingers and ten little toes, something that all babies have in common. Books for toddlers are very vital for the city council to consider buying in this room. Piaget’s theory emphasizes that utilizing board and soft books, as well as having books around frequently, helps the infant start comprehending that reading is vital. The activity tends to enhance cognitive development as they listen to the readings.

The infant book item addresses the cultural issue. It states that all babies everywhere have lovable fingers and toes. Whether black or white, all children are presented as adorable, and children can grasp this concept early on. Children can also be able to comprehend the issue of race in education. Other toddler books can be used to teach children about males and females and also teach them parent-child relationships. Tummy rolling makes babies healthy as they gain strong shoulders and necks and avoid the issue of flat spots.

ROOM #2 – Toddler Room

The first scheduled activity in this section is pretend play. Typically, in pretend play, the caregiver can give the child a doll and ask the infant to feed it. At this stage, infants are more likely to imitate the actions of their caregivers, such as making a call. The caregiver should have tools for themself and the baby. The caregiver should then take a toy spoon and bowl and pretend to pour some cereals into the bowl, add some imaginary milk, and feed the doll. The infant should be encouraged to do the same. In doing this, children can enhance mental representations. The theory supporting the use of this activity is Piaget’s preoperational stage. The activity enhances cognitive development by helping children start to represent schemas using symbols. Similarly, make-believe or pretend plays are important in helping the child comprehend the world through various mental structures, including absent objects and images (Mossler, 2014). Language is developed through the efficient use of symbolic representation as it enhances thinking and enables children to plan and use their imagination.

The second scheduled activity in this section is encouraging walking for middle children above the age of one year. Caregivers can encourage their children at this age to run and walk by sending them or calling them. In the earlier stages, children start walking with stumbles as they put their arms up until they can walk properly. With time, they start walking faster and running. Some even learn to jump, throw, skip and hop. The developmental milestones that come with this activity include climbing up and down from furniture without any support, throwing balls, standing on tiptoes, kicking balls, and running. The research in support of this activity is developmental walking. Typically, the skills required in walking tend to be built in the earlier movement abilities that the toddler has learned. The activity enhances physical development because as people encourage children to walk towards them, they eventually become accustomed to the muscle movements and balance that are needed to walk and do it independently, making them stronger day after day to run.

One specific item that will be required in the room is a push-toy that acts as support and enables a child to gain the courage to walk. Many push toys can be put in the room for the children to use. Typically, theory and research support suggest that the items are vital for the city council to purchase because they help build the baby’s balance and strength while at the same time instilling the confidence to keep moving. Additionally, they inspire imagination in toddlers through symbolic play.

The selected items, which are push toys, tend to promote babies’ health in different ways. Primarily, they help toddlers build muscles in their legs, trunk, and arms. Additionally, they facilitate their practice of balancing and coordination abilities. As children are being given directions with the toys, they learn directional terms like right, left, under, and around. When the push toys include counting, colors, and shapes, their cognitive abilities develop.

ROOM #3 – Early Childhood Room

The first scheduled activity in this room is role play. This tends to be a perfect way for kids to experiment with social conduct, rules, and anticipations. In this activity, children like acting out what they are already aware of, for instance, having breakfast together and cooking. The theories that support this activity are those of Vygotsky and Paget. Piaget’s model reasoned that as children develop, their environment and play ought to inspire additional language and cognitive development. Typically, Vygotsky had the conviction that play enhances emotional, social, and cognitive development in kids. Roleplay promotes socio-emotional development by developing imaginative situations, which enable them to work on their skills.

The second scheduled activity is ball games. This will be an effective approach for the children to establish relationships. In this activity, kids throw balls at each other and have a lot of fun in the process. The theory in support of this activity is Piaget. This is because the activity falls underplay. As stated, Piaget positions that as kids develop, their environment and play should inspire additional language and cognitive advancement. The activity tends to enhance socio-emotional development by being able to cooperate in the process of rolling a ball back and forth. This tends to be an elementary technique of introducing turn-taking and play.

The specific item in this room is balls. Various types of balls would be incorporated into this room, including foam balls, rubber playground balls, softballs, and inflatable beach balls. The city council should consider buying these items because, at the age of 3-6, children are starting to master gross motor skills such as catching, throwing, and kicking. As such, besides developing social skills, they will also be able to grow in these areas.

The activities in this room are in the category of play, and as such, they address various health issues in kids. Typically, play tends to strengthen the kid’s muscles, bones, heart, and lungs. By having fun during play, children also reduce the impact of the stress that they could be facing. By boys and girls interacting in the play process, children can identify gender, for example, when they play games associated with being a father and mother. They could also learn about each other’s culture, particularly in cooking role-play games.

ROOM #4 – Middle/Late Childhood Room

The first scheduled activity in this room is jumping rope. This is where children have a jump-rope contest. Research in support of the jump rope activity was conducted by the Jump Rope Institute, where the deduction was that it helps in the brain’s left and right hemisphere development (Hogan, 2017). Additionally, it enhances reading abilities, special awareness, and memory and makes a person mentally alert. Rope jumping enhances cognitive development by triggering the serotonergic and norepinephrinergic structures and their associations. Moreover, because the children have to pick up their feet simultaneously, the activity creates bilateral motor coordination.

The second scheduled activity is swimming. In late childhood, children can participate in swimming activities. This can also involve competitions in swimming pools to help them become competitive. The research in support of this activity was conducted by Howells & Jarman on how swimming benefits young children. Unintended learning tends to take place during swimming lessons in the form of social skills and language development, thus increasing the learners’ confidence (Howells & Jarman, 2016). The swimming activity tends to enhance socio-emotional development by increasing the children’s self-esteem. Additionally, physical activity enhances academic performance in school.

The item required in this room is a swimming pool. This is where the swimming lessons will take place. The city council needs to purchase this item because swimming cannot take place without it. The goal is to make it available to the learners whenever they need it, and the only way to do this is to have a swimming pool in the center. It will be a socialization medium for the children, thus helping them improve their interactive skills. Additionally, they will be able to have a lot of fun. It is also a form of physical exercise for the learners, which makes it more advantageous.

The swimming activity addresses various health benefits. Typically, it will help build cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and endurance for the kids. Additionally, children can sustain healthy hearts and lungs, as well as appropriate weight. Additionally, parents and their children can bond over the swimming activities and competitions. Children will have a chance to learn a lot in the process.

ROOM #5 – Adolescence Room

The first scheduled activity in this room is instrument playing. In this activity, teenagers will play instruments of their choice, such as guitar and piano. Various studies have proved that learning to play instruments tends to improve verbal memory, literacy skills, and spatial judgment. The activity improves cognitive development by learning new skills. Through the learning process, the teenagers are able to overcome their solitary lifestyles and mood swings. Additionally, they get to go through the instrument learning process, which is a novel stage in life that they attain through their content practice and engagement.

The second scheduled activity is dancing. This is a very fun activity for adolescents to engage in. They will be taught dancing lessons in salsa, freestyle, and Zumba dancing. The research in support of this activity positions that dancing facilitates people to exercise their brains. Moreover, it facilitates teenagers to improve the brain’s neurotransmitter release. Dancing enhances cognitive development by improving the brain’s processing speed. Additionally, it upsurges the strength of a teenager’s memory.

The specific item required in this room is playing instruments such as guitars. Such instruments will enable the teenagers to learn the playing skills. The city council should consider purchasing the instruments because it is the only way for teenagers to learn. Additionally, this ensures that all kids can at least access the instruments because some parents are not in a position to afford them.

Dancing helps improve the adolescent’s health. Many benefits could come from teenagers dancing, such as better lungs and heart health. Additionally, they can benefit from augmented muscular strength, motor fitness, and endurance, as well as enhanced muscle strength and tone. Moreover, at this stage, they find so many things stressful, and as such, the dancing activity helps them minimize their stress levels. Playing instruments can help them learn a lot of educational skills. Additionally, they can be allowed to play instruments that portray their culture and showcase their cultural dances.

In conclusion, the program will be very beneficial, helping children develop physically, cognitively, and socioemotionally. The first scheduled activity for the infant room is reading using expressive sounds and different Emotions. The second scheduled activity for the infant room is interactive floor-based play for children. One of the items required in this room is a reading book for infants. A book such as Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes written by Mem Fox can be very effective. For the toddlers, the first scheduled activity in this section is pretend play. The second scheduled activity in this section is encouraging walking for middle children above the Age of 1 Year. One specific item that will be required in the room is a push-toy that acts as support and enables a child to gain the courage to walk. The first scheduled activity in the early childhood room is role play. This tends to be a perfect way for kids to experiment with social conduct, rules, and anticipations. The second scheduled activity is ball games. This will be an effective approach for the children to establish relationships. The first scheduled activity in the middle/late childhood room is jumping rope. This is where children have a jump-rope contest. The second scheduled activity is swimming. In late childhood, children can participate in swimming activities. The first scheduled activity in the teenager’s room is instrument playing. In this activity, teenagers will play instruments of their choice, such as guitar and piano. Lastly, the second scheduled activity is dancing. This is a very fun activity for adolescents to engage in.

References

Hewitt, L., Stanley, R. M., & Okely, A. D. (2017). Correlates of tummy time in infants aged 0–12 months old: A systematic review. Infant Behavior and Development, 49, 310-321.

Hogan, M. (2017, November 14). 9 benefits of jumping rope you probably don’t know. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/benefits-jumping-rope-you-probably-dont-know.html

Howells, K., & Jarman, D. (2016). Benefits of swimming for young children. Physical Education Matters, 11(3), 20-21.

Lewis, K. (2021). Reading Books to Babies. Kids’ Health. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/reading-babies.html#:~:text=This%20supports%20social%20and%20emotional,recognizing%20pictures%2C%20and%20learning%20words.

Mossler, R. (2014). Child and adolescent development. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint. Mustonen, U., Huurre, T., Kiviruusu, O., Haukkala, A., & Aro, H. (2011). The long-term impact of parental divorce on intimate relationship quality in adulthood and the mediating role of psychosocial resources. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 615-619.

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Before beginning work on this assignment, review Chapters 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12, the primary chapters in the textbook and provide you with the theoretical foundations for this project. Also, review the Exploring Borderlands-American Passages: A Literary Survey.
(https://go.openathens.net/redirector/ashford.edu?

Community Child Development Center Proposal

url=http%3a%2f%2ffod.infobase.com%2fPortalPlaylists.aspx%3fwID%3d100753%26xtid%3d113243) video. Many of the other resources in the previous weeks may also be helpful.
Remember that you have already created nine of the required 15 activities for this assignment in Weeks 2, 3, and 4. You received feedback from your instructor and the Writing Center on those activity papers. You are expected to incorporate that feedback into the nine activities already created. During this last week, you will place those activities in the appropriate room in your proposal and create the remaining six activities.
The focus of the Final Project:
Your community is planning to open a brand-new child development community center. Now that you are an expert in the field, you have been chosen to create a proposal for interactive, fun, and educational programming activities that will be provided for children and adolescents in this center. The chosen activities must be developmentally appropriate and based on theory. You will present your ideas to the city council with a written proposal describing the programming in detail. You have been asked to propose programming for the following five different age groups in the child development community center:
• Infant (0-1 year)
⚫ Toddler (1-3 years)
Early Childhood (3-6 years)
⚫ Middle to Late Childhood (7-12 years)
• Adolescence (13-18 years)
Use this Community Child Development Center Proposal Template