Early Childhood Services

1- Developmental information

Public library early childhood services are designed for youth ages 0-5 as well as adult caregivers including parents/guardians and day care providers/preschool educators. Because youth services touch many lives and play an extremely important role in society, a strong, spirited staff, and quality materials are key elements.

The first few years of life are crucial in brain development and affect a child throughout life.  Youth services staff must design and implement appropriate and effective infant through preschool programming, provide quality materials, and advise caring adults on home use.  This will help ensure proper cognitive development, reading readiness, and the foundation for future educational success in children while strengthening the bond between parent and child.

This course will either introduce or serve as a review to basic components of early childhood services.

Ellin Greene’s Books, Babies and Libraries (1991, American Library Association) provides a great deal of information about developmental stages in early childhood which will be interspersed throughout this course.

Some of the terms used in this development section include:

Gene

Material present in living organisms which determines inherited characteristics and activities.

Neuron

Long, wiry cell that carries electrical messages through the nervous system and brain.

Synapse

The connection between neurons, caused by electrical activity.

Dendrite

Part of a neuron that receives electrical impulses.

Axon

Pathway leading out of a neuron, which carries the electrical impulse to the dendrite of another neuron.

Psychoanalytic theory

The id (libido or sexual energy) drives behavior.

Psychosocial theory

The ego drives behavior and develops in response to social institutions, including family and school.

Maturational

Genetic and biological forces motivate individual development.

Caregiver

Term used to include adults other than traditional parents involved in raising children, such as grandparents, guardians and nannies.

Course objectives

In this course you will learn

1. Early child development theories and facts
2. Brain development and the needs of infants
3. Brain development and the needs of toddlers
4. Brain development and the needs of preschoolers
5. The purpose and goals of early childhood services

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