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Whole Child Development

Archives for August 2009

Make Your Own Rhythm Sticks

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement 2 Comments

DSCN2302Rhythm sticks are a must-have for a preschool program!  As long as you have enough dexterity to get your two hands to come together in the same general area (a fantastic feat for very young ones) you can play this instrument!  Use them as part of a percussion band, or for specific rhythm stick activities.  They magically turn any chant or song into a fun phonological awareness building activity!  You can have children tap and count, or tap parts of the body.  Switch up old favorites, like, “If You’re Happy and You Know It” by adding the sticks (“If you’re happy….tap your toes”).  Use them with tempo songs like Hap Palmer’s Slow and Fast, or practice beating rhythm patterns (floor, floor, together…) to incorporate both music and math concepts.  Or simply explore the sounds you can make by tapping the floor, your shoes, a bell, or your other stick.  Try to sound like the rain, builders, or anything else they bring to mind!  They really are so simple, but their uses are essentially limitless.  Every time I bring them out for music time, I have a room full of excited children with eyes beaming!  In addition to their great musical and creative qualities, rhythm sticks are great for redirecting those children that just need to hit things together, or simply work out some energy.  

You can buy rhythm sticks for a lot or a little, but if you’re pinching every penny (and who isn’t these days), or if you are susceptible to sudden flashes of inspiration, requiring that you must have these fantastic instruments for tomorrow’s activity and can’t possibly wait for shipping, you can make them yourself, quickly and inexpensively. 

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Ah-Ah-Ah-Choo! Teaching Preschoolers How NOT to Share

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

sneeze

As teachers of young children, we’ve all been there.  Dodging sneezy spit particles, heading straight for us at 100 miles per hour.  Or stealthily intercepting a cracker before it goes from being coughed on to being shared with a best friend.  We will stay healthier, and the children we teach will stay healthier if we start out the year teaching the children to properly wash their hands with soap, and to “catch” their sneezes and coughs in their elbows.   (This is better than covering with hands, as that simply puts germs on their paws.  That’s not very helpful in a “HANDS-ON” classroom!) 

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Welcome, Children! Get Your Children Ready by Following the 5 I’s.

by Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills 1 Comment

teacher and child

Making a strong, positive connection with each child is a fundamental part of preparing for a great new year.  When children know first that they are loved by you, it is much easier for them to learn from you!  Building that kind of relationship takes time, but a positive first meeting is a huge  step in the right direction!  Here are some ideas for your child orientation meeting. [Read more…]

Welcome, Children! Get Your Children Ready by Following the 5 I's.

by Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills 1 Comment

teacher and child

Making a strong, positive connection with each child is a fundamental part of preparing for a great new year.  When children know first that they are loved by you, it is much easier for them to learn from you!  Building that kind of relationship takes time, but a positive first meeting is a huge  step in the right direction!  Here are some ideas for your child orientation meeting. [Read more…]

Art in the Preschool Classroom: Finding Reality and Fantasy

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Create, Learning through Play and Experience 5 Comments

paintOne of the classes I’ve been taking this summer is “The Arts in Every Classroom” (you can view the same class here).  The arts seem easily incorporated into preschool, as the children are very naturally using music, movement, and visual art as a means of expressing themselves, almost constantly!  This class gave me a few new insights into incorporating the arts that I may not have considered before and I hope to be able to utilize the arts more in the future.  I’m particularly excited to utilize it during my “Experiencing the Arts through the Senses” theme I have planned for January!

As part of the culminating assignment, I needed to teach an art lesson.  Since I don’t start my school year until September, I used two of my own cutie pies as my star pupils.  I thought I’d share what we did here, in case you’d like to implement a similar lesson!

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Meeting with the Taller Half

by Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills, Unit Themes 4 Comments

familyBefore you begin a new school year, it’s always a good idea to invite the taller half of your class, the parents, for a little orientation.  This gets them on board with you as co-educators of their children, and can clarify a lot of issues that could otherwise cause problems later on.  Start now to build a positive relationship with the parents.  Here are a few things I like to cover at my parent meetings.

  • Daily Schedule.  What will you be doing within your daily routine, and what exactly does each of those activities mean?  What type of curriculum do you use?  If you use learning centers, give a little tour and explain what skills each area promotes.  This is a great opportunity to explain your philosophy and goals for the year. 
  • Communication.  How will you let them know about your lesson plans from week to week or month to month?  Will you email or send hard copies?  Are you using a notes folder?  If they have questions during the week is there a number you prefer they use?  If they need to reach you during class, how can they do so?
  • Policies and Procedures.  What should parents do when they are late for arrival or departure?  What is your policy for sick kids?  What about your sick days?  Do you have a sub or a make up day?  What about accidents or large spills.  (Quick tip here:  Have each parent label a large Ziplock bag with the child’s name and put an extra set of old clothes in there to be kept at the school for emergencies.)
  • Get Their Input.  This meeting is a great time to hand out and explain the developmental assessment you will be using.  Get some input from your parents on what their children can do, and what may be within their ZPD.
  • Ways They Can Help.  Parents play a huge role in a successful preschool year.  How do you want them helping?  Do you need volunteers daily or for special occasions?  Do you assign snacks for children to bring?  Are there opportunities for the parents to share their talents or professions in a large group setting?  Have them sign up at the meeting.  Are there ways they can support what you’re doing at home?  Can they send in words for the word wall?  Do you send home samples of the songs and books you use in school so they can do it at home as well? 
  • Schedule the Little Ones.  I like to have a separate orientation for the children.  Schedule that at your parent meeting, fill in the times on invitations to either mail or send home with the parents for their children.  Having a personal invitation is exciting for the children and serves as a reminder for the parents as well.

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Terrific Transitions at Preschool Arrival and Departure

by Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills 3 Comments

signArrival and departure are two inevitable parts of the preschool day.  The preschoolers will come, and eventually, they will leave.  Just because these are absolutes, doesn’t mean they don’t require some planning.  The children’s arrival will set the tone for their entire day, and their departure will indelibly shade the way they remember their day.  Take some time to think through your specific arrival and departure procedures, and to communicate those policies clearly to your parents.  It is much easier to think through the scenarios and prepare ahead of time than to go into crisis management mode later.  Here are some things to consider.

  • Think about the traffic flow.  Are parents parking and walking in or doing a circular drop off?  Be specific about where to enter and exit your parking lot and where it’s OK and not OK to park.
  • Where should the parents and children enter or exit your building?  What if someone is late (for arrival or departure)?  Is there a different door or procedure to use? 
  • What is the transition activity?  You won’t have everyone magically appear at the same time to start your morning meeting, and they won’t all leave as soon as your last activity is over.  Think of activities that they can do as they arrive at different times and as they wait to depart.  For my arrival/departure transition times, I like to have children go right into learning centers as they come in.   At the end of the day, I schedule in about 5-10 minutes of “buffer time” to allow the children to finish their last projects, and then choose between coloring, doing puzzles, or browsing books before parents start arriving. 
  • Some programs have a Greeting Hall or Transition Hall.  Teachers pick up the children from the cars at the beginning of the day and bring them to the hall where they wait (singing songs or reading stories) until enough children arrive to walk to the classroom.  At the end of the day, the children wait in the hall until their parents pull up to the door and the teachers buckle them in.  The parents never have to leave the car, which keeps the process moving smoothly.
  • When parents walk children to the classroom, be sure they deliver the child to a teacher, instead of  just dropping them off.  I’ve seen children dropped off at school, only to find that their class was somewhere else (the library or outside time).  It seems like a small thing to an adult,but to small children it seems like they have been abandoned, and are totally lost.  I’ve also known children to head for the classroom, then turn to follow their parent,who is unaware that the child has changed course.  These situations can all be avoided by walking the child to the teacher.  This process makes the children feel safer, because they are safer!  When the child is brought to the teacher, it also gives the teacher the opportunity to really greet each child as they enter, building their relationship.
  • What happens when the child is picked up by another adult, outside of the usual routine?  Make sure that parents know ahead of time what your policy is.  You never know what kind of family or custodial issues may be going on.  Even if someone shows up for Jenny, and she does indeed call him “Uncle Josh”, he may not be someone Mom and Dad want picking her up.

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No More Lost Notes!

by Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills 6 Comments

There is a reason why the US Postal Service does not employ pre-schoolers.  And yet, we teachers keep trying to use their services as a reliable way to transfer papers between home and school.  We rummage through the 12 pockets in their backpacks, trying to find the book order they thought they brought, and we go through 45 boxes of safety pins, attaching notes on their shirts so that (hopefully) one of their parents will spot it before it’s ripped off, rolled up, and used as a telescope!

I like to do a lot of communicatin via email these days, but sometimes you have to send a paper note.  Book orders, last minute reminders, and home activities often need attention.  I might even send a note to remind parents that they need to watch for the newsletter and lesson plan via email.  (Sounds crazy, but trust me, in the long run it saves paper.)  So how can we help out our little mail carriers?

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What’s in the Number Bag?

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

bagI’m trying something new this year, in an attempt to combine a little bit of a show-and-tell opportunity and a numeracy activity.  I’m calling my experiment “The Number Bag”.  You might want to try it out too, and let me know how it works for you!

My magical, mystical number bag is simply a cloth drawstring bag.  The bag is sent home with a card with a number  written on it (1-5 for starters), along with the activity instructions in case any parents need a reminder.  The child can bring anything they want in that quantity.  For example, for the number 3 they may want to bring three toy cars or three cool rocks.    (I will let parents know that if their child has something really special they want to share, they are welcome to use some creativity to make it work for the number bag.  For example, if the child has a new doll she wants to share, but has the number 3, you might put in three dresses the doll might wear, or a dress with three buttons, and then include the doll to share as well.  Or send the doll along with two other dolls of some kind.) 

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What's in the Number Bag?

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

bagI’m trying something new this year, in an attempt to combine a little bit of a show-and-tell opportunity and a numeracy activity.  I’m calling my experiment “The Number Bag”.  You might want to try it out too, and let me know how it works for you!

My magical, mystical number bag is simply a cloth drawstring bag.  The bag is sent home with a card with a number  written on it (1-5 for starters), along with the activity instructions in case any parents need a reminder.  The child can bring anything they want in that quantity.  For example, for the number 3 they may want to bring three toy cars or three cool rocks.    (I will let parents know that if their child has something really special they want to share, they are welcome to use some creativity to make it work for the number bag.  For example, if the child has a new doll she wants to share, but has the number 3, you might put in three dresses the doll might wear, or a dress with three buttons, and then include the doll to share as well.  Or send the doll along with two other dolls of some kind.) 

[Read more…]

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