Includes bibliographical references (pages 140-159) and index.
Contents:
Thinking about school readiness. Foundational cognitive skills and school readiness -- The importance of context in explaining young children's behavior -- Understanding foundational cognitive skills. How executive function helps children learn -- Motor skills in early childhood -- Spatial skills: important but off the radar -- Linking the learning domains and the foundational cognitive skills. Connections between the foundational cognitive skills and nonacademic skills: physical development, social-emotional development, and approaches to learning -- Literacy and the theory of automaticity -- Mathematics skills develop together with foundational cognitive skills -- Getting the most out of play. Taking a closer look at play -- Using guided object play to explicitly teach the foundational cognitive skills.
Summary:
"Hands On, Minds On describes the importance of children's foundational cognitive skills for academic achievement in literacy and mathematics, as well as their connections with other areas of school readiness, including physical health, social and emotional development, and approaches to learning. The author emphasizes how social relationships and interactions, both in and outside the classroom, encourage or constrain young children's development in these skills. The book concludes with a summary of the growing evidence in favor of guided object play, which teachers can introduce to children to exercise and strengthen foundational cognitive skills."--book cover
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.