Early Education, just like any specialized field, has its own set of lingo. If you’ve ever heard your child’s preschool teacher throw out phrases like, “Dramatic Play” or words like “Scaffolding,” you know what we mean! Just in case you forgot to google these after your parent teacher conference, here’s your cheat sheet…
What in the world do we mean by….
Dramatic Play – when a child pretends to be or do something. In other words, playing pretend.
Domains – as in, “our curriculum covers all learning domains” – this just means subjects, like math and science and reading.
Fine Motor Skills – fine motor = small muscle movements like pinching, holding, and twisting. For a young child, this includes things like using a utensil or crayon and picking these up with their fingers.
Gross Motor Skills – gross motor = large muscle movements like running and jumping. Gross motor development can mean learning to walk or learning to hop with two feet off of the ground.
Scaffolding – scaffolding occurs when a grown up helps a child do something. This can mean helping them hold a pencil, read a book, or solve a problem. The goal is that once the building is “built,” the “scaffolding” can be removed. Get it?
What are some common words you hear your child’s teacher use that leave you clueless?