Introduction to Early Childhood

This course is targeted toward individuals wishing to operate a family day care center, and it covers topics including the fundamentals of early childhood development; the importance of play and Developmentally Appropriate Practice; and the significance of building strong family-educator relationships and how to achieve them. Since a Family Policy Handbook is essential for anyone operating a family day care center, this course includes the development of one of three imperative sections of the handbook. The remaining two sections are created in subsequent courses of the Home-Based Childcare series available on Coursera

• Learn fundamentals of early childhood development and play
• Understand developmentally appropriate practices
• Build strong family-educator relationships
• Apply strategies to support family engagement
• Prepare to operate home-based childcare centers
• Develop part of a family care policy handbook