The Connection Between Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Curriculum

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Overarching DAP Principles

A – H

·       Adults develop warm caring relationships with children.

·       Child guidance fosters self-regulation. Adults acknowledge children’s positive behaviors, reason with children, and treat their misbehaviors as learning opportunities.

·       Curricula are whole-child focused. Programs address children’s aesthetic, emotional, intellectual, language, social, and physical needs.

·       Programs address the learning needs of all children, including children who have special needs and those who do not speak English as their home language.

I – P

·       Indoor and outdoor environments are safe and stimulating; routines are well suited to the needs of young children.

·       Children have numerous opportunities to learn by doing through hands-on activities that are relevant and meaningful to them.

·       Children are active decision makers in their own learning. They have many opportunities to initiate activities and to make choices about what and how they will learn.

·       Children have numerous opportunities to play throughout the day.

Q-Z

·       Teachers are intentional in their teaching. They have specific goals in mind for children’s learning and use relevant instructional strategies to address those goals.

·       Curricula are integrated across disciplines and developmental domains.

·       Assessment takes place continuously throughout the day and addresses all developmental domains. Adults gather information about what children know and can do through observations, by collecting work samples, and by inviting children to document their own learning.

·       Early childhood practitioners establish reciprocal relationships with children’s families.

Children develop holistically

• Teachers plan daily activities and routines

 to address aesthetic, emotional, cognitive, 

language, physical, and social development.

• Teachers integrate learning across the 

curriculum (e.g., mixing language, physical, 

and social; combining math, science, and 

reading).

Child development follows 

an orderly sequence

• Teachers use their knowledge of 

developmental sequences to gauge whether

 children are developing as expected, to

 determine reasonable expectations, and to 

plan next steps in the learning process.

Children develop at varying

rates

• Teachers give children opportunities to 

pursue activities at their own pace.

• Teachers repeat activities more than once

so children can participate according to 

changing needs and abilities.

• Teachers plan activities with multiple learning

 objectives to address the needs of more and less

 advanced learners.

Children learn best when 

they feel safe and secure

• Teachers develop nurturing relationships with 

children and remain with children long enough

so children can easily identify a specific adult

 from whom to seek help, comfort, attention, and

 guidance.

• Daily routines are predictable. Changes in 

routine are explained in advance so children can

 anticipate what will happen.

• There is two-way communication between

 teachers and families, and families are welcome

 in the program.

• Children have access to images, objects, and 

activities that reflect their home experiences.

• The early childhood environment complies with

 all safety requirements.

• Adults use positive discipline to enhance 

children’s self-esteem, self-control, and 

problem-solving abilities.

• Teachers address aggression and bullying calmly, 

firmly, and proactively.

Children are active learners

• Activities, transitions, and routines respect 

children’s attention span, need for activity and 

need for social interaction. Inactive segments of the 

day are short.

• Children participate in gross motor activities every 

day.

Children learn through

a combination of physical 

experience, social experience,

 and reflection

• Adults encourage children to explore and investigate. 

They pose questions, offer information, and challenge 

children’s thinking.

• Children have many chances to document and reflect 

on their ideas.

Children learn through 

mastery and challenge

• Practitioners simplify, maintain, or extend activities

 in response to children’s functioning and 

comprehension.

Children’s learning profiles

vary

• Teachers present the same information in more than 

one modality (seeing, hearing, touching) and through 

different types of activities.

• Children have opportunities to play on their own and

with others; indoors and outdoors; with natural and 

manufactured materials.

Children learn through play

• Teachers prepare the environment, provide materials, 

observe and interact playfully with children.

• Play is integrated throughout the entire day and within

 all aspects of the program.