Children are our greatest gift. They are the essence of love. It is the love in their heart that they bring to you. Delight in that experience with them.

Developmental teaching is...

· Providing a natural learning experience for the child

· Providing and maintaining a positive learning environment

· Providing meaningful experiences throughout the child’s day

· Honoring the process of an activity and the child’s interaction in each step of the process

· Providing a clear beginning, middle and end to each and every activity presented throughout the child’s day

· Providing hands-on, experience based activities

· Honoring the learning modality of each child whether it is visual, auditory, tactile or a combination

· Providing a system of communication for each child whether it is verbal, pictures, signing or a combination

· Building problem solving into each portion of the day

· Fostering independence in the child

· Understanding and supporting the child in times of stress

· Letting the child experience logical consequences of their actions, and gently helping them to become successful

· To refrain from shaming or labeling

· Being firm, but gentle while setting clear boundaries

· Not underestimating the child experiencing a disability, expect more and you will receive more

· Understanding that children have an innate ability to please you – think twice about their behavior. What is the message of their behavior?

· Teaching to the success of the child

· Celebrating accomplishments no matter how great or small