Lauren Burgess

Carol Perkins

EDEC 340P

22 March 2017

Assignment Seven

Windows of Opportunity are defined as periods in the development of the brain when

specific types of learning take place, according to Donna S. Wittmers book Infant a Toddler

Development and Responsive Program Planning. These windows allow for growth in all areas of

development, but it is extremely important in terms of brain and cognitive development because

these periods are at their prime from birth to age three. Early-life windows of opportunity have

been discovered for vision, hearing, math and logic, cognition, problem solving, and emotional

development (Wittmer 11), so it is important to capitalize on windows to maximize learning.

Curly, a nickname for a young girl who was playing today, was intrigued by the toy bugs

in the classroom. She would pull a bug out of the bucket and say, What is this? and I would

respond saying oh this is a spider (or beetle, bumble bee, or fly). According to page 43, Curly

falls under the 18 month to36-month-old category. At this age, she can categorize objects into

two distinct groups, but what I saw is a little girl learning to categorize more than just two

groups. Even though she would sometimes place the bugs that had wings with butterflies

(note: there were no butterflies in the bin), she was comprehending that wings equal butterflies.

She was grouping and labeling the bugs by legs, wings, and beetles. Even though this is an odd

grouping system, she was basing what she was learning off physical features and from my

opinion when she did not recognize a bug (mostly the beetles). Afterward, she would take the

butterflies and fly them through the air with her hands. She knew that if this bug has wings, it
can fly, therefore it is a butterfly. She was utilizing her prior knowledge to create a play scenario

by flying the bugs in the air while the ones without wings were grouped onto the floor as spiders

or beetles. She had discovered which bugs are which, and their capabilities over a few minutes of

sitting down and playing with them.