Technology in Child Care

Young children learn through exploring and experiencing their world. Technology can be another resource among a wide variety of possibilities.

Language Development and Emerging Literacy

Literacy skills increase as children make connections with supportive adults and as conversations take place between children as they play. Technology can support language development in easy and simple ways.

Linking Words to Pictures
Children can connect an object on the screen with its written label in the same way that picture books are used. Newer computers and software may also provide spoken text options, where the word or phrase is spoken aloud.

Creating a Story
Children can create stories with the help of an adult, either on paper or using a computer. After drawing a picture (on paper or on the screen) the child can dictate a story to an adult or older child; or she or he can tell the story into a tape recorder and play it back for others to enjoy.

Pretend Play
"Dress-up" clothes let children act like their parents or other adults. Computers, even non-working computers, can be included with materials for pretend play.

Emerging Math Skills

Patterning: Seeing how objects and numbers relate builds a concrete understanding of math. Building blocks, patterns in music, and other common activities provide practice in predicting the next in a series. Patterning or drawing software provides another way to see relationships.

Classification: Learning to identify and sort objects by their attributes is basic to both science and math. Children can create groupings of their own objects according to size, color, and shape. Classification software lets children group on-screen objects by attributes.

Seriation: Once children are able to order an array of physical objects and groups of objects by size, they can practice the skill by ordering objects on the screen.

Numerical Relationships: Young children learn concepts of "more than," "less than," and "the same as" from experiences with building blocks and other manipulatives. Real objects can be used along with software for real-world comparisons.

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