[Emma]

Observing and documenting a child’s development helps early learning providers by helping us gain a better understanding of the individual children in our class and better meet their needs. Through observation, early learning providers are able to see what skills children have met, exceeded, or need some more work on, as well as learning about the unique interests, temperaments, and needs of each child. This knowledge helps the early learning provider plan activities, themes, and curriculums that support the needs of each individual student.

Documenting these observations helps the early learning provider reflect on their curriculums and activities to see if they are best supporting the children’s needs. Documenting also allows early learning providers the opportunity to have a visual representation of the growth that each child has made during their time in the classroom. Documentation is also very useful when it comes to bringing up specifics when talking with parents during conferences.