The Final Project will illustrate how family-centered programs, theories, and concepts support the early childhood classroom and the child's family. The family-centered approach asserts that family involvement is important for a young child's cognitive and social development. The Final Project, which will be presented via PowerPoint, will address the following scenario:

You are the director of a preschool program that serves children ages three to five. You are giving a presentation to teachers and parents to encourage partnerships in the education of the whole child. The objective of your presentation is to encourage adaptive skills and to facilitate strategies in which to maximize these abilities that can be taught in the classroom and extended at home.

Address the following points:

Self-help skills.

Pro-social skills.

Self-regulation skills.

For each of the three skill-sets:

Explain the desired skills and how they relate to the classroom and home.

Identify and discuss two to three strategies for teaching the skill-set to children in the classroom.

Explain how you will help parents to utilize the strategies to reinforce the desired ability at home.

Identify and describe a resource (either community or web-based) for the parents to use to continue their learning at home.

The PowerPoint presentation must be 18 to 20 slides in length, not including title and reference slides. You are encouraged to creatively address the material by including graphics, visuals, charts, graphs, and/or sound. Slides should be designed to clearly and concisely address the material. The PowerPoint presentation must be formatted according to APA style (i.e., include the title and reference slides and citations within each slide when appropriate.)

The notes section of the PowerPoint must be utilized to expand on your presented points. The notes section should also include any additional information necessary to explain or show your point of view. You must also use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the course text and include at least four community resources (with websites included).