Ask your average parents what they hope their child will learn in preschool, and most have learning the ABC’s somewhere in their tops 5 goals. Many preschool teachers respond to this by implementing a “letter-of-the-week” curriculum. One week may be the letter “M”, so we eat marshmallows, draw maps, read books about monkeys, and write letters to our moms. While this certainly gives a lot of exposure to the letter “M” and invites a variety of activities and learning opportunities, it creates a very incoherent curriculum. Children learn by making connections. It is a little difficult to make a quick connection between a white, sweet, gooey marshmallow and a folded up map of the nearest bus stops. (Though my own children could probably make some great connections between “monkeys” and “Mom”!) Additionally, when the primary focus is on the almighty “letter-of-the-week”, it is easy to lose sight of other important literacy goals or to begin teaching them in isolation as well. That is not how reading happens. The whole purpose of reading and writing is to obtain and convey meaning. Therefore, reading and writing should be taught through coherent, meaningful experiences.
Backwards Planning – How to Start the Year with the End in Mind
When I talk about starting with the end in mind, I’m not talking about those days where you begin to fantasized about the last day of school, giving all the little darlings a soft pat on the head as you seek refuge at the nearest source of sand and surf. What I mean is starting your planning by thinking about where you want to end up. This backwards planning helps to keep you focused and purposeful, rather than just flitting around from one “cute” activity to the next.
Know Where You’re Going – Using a Developmental Checklist as a Guide
As you begin to plan out your preschool curriculum for the year, it helps to know where your children are developmentally so that you know where you want to “go”. One way I like to do that is with a developmental checklist. You can buy developmental checklists and programs like the POCET or the Portage Guide ,or if you’re a nerd like I am, you can look through position statements and curriculum guides and develop your own. I put together one based on several resources, as well as my own philosophy and program. It seems best to fit my needs. If you accept the caveat that I have not been commissioned by a higher authority to create this as the perfect assessment piece, you’re welcome to use it as well. Just click on Broad Developmental Assessmentto find the PDF file. (Feel free to comment with any questions you may have about using this checklist, or comment on how you’ve adapted it to meet your needs.)
Know Where You’re Going – Using a Developmental Checklist as a Guide
As you begin to plan out your preschool curriculum for the year, it helps to know where your children are developmentally so that you know where you want to “go”. One way I like to do that is with a developmental guide. You can buy developmental guides and programs like the POCET or the Portage Guide ,or if you’re a nerd like I am, you can look through position statements and curriculum guides and develop your own. I put together one based on several resources, as well as my own philosophy and program. It seems best to fit my needs. If you accept the caveat that I have not been commissioned by a higher authority to create this as the perfect assessment piece, you’re welcome to use it as well. Just sign up for the NJC Newsletter. (Feel free to comment with any questions you may have about using this checklist, or comment on how you’ve adapted it to meet your needs.)
Back to School! 10 Things to Consider While You’re Preparing for a New Preschool Year
Fall is in the air! I can smell those freshly sharpened pencils now! Preschool teachers everywhere are charting a course for a fantastic new school year. This week, I’ll be writing on ten topics that will help get that new year started right!
Back to School! 10 Things to Consider While You're Preparing for a New Preschool Year
Fall is in the air! I can smell those freshly sharpened pencils now! Preschool teachers everywhere are charting a course for a fantastic new school year. This week, I’ll be writing on ten topics that will help get that new year started right!
Problem Solving Your Play Time
I thought Stacy brought up a good question in regards to the Dinosaurs Invade the Block Area activity. I thought I’d share it with you and get some of your great ideas as well. [Read more…]
Rock Rumble – Shake Painting with Rocks!
Here’s a fun and noisy way to paint without much of a mess.
To start, you need large containers with lids, paper, and paints (I used craft paint just because I had it and need to use it up. It’s more permanent on clothes, but most of the mess stays inside the cans, and I was doing this on a messy clothes day anyway. You could certainly use the more friendly tempera paint.) Oh, and you’ll need rocks! Lots of little rocks. Doing this activity outside is certainly helpful!
The Spectrum of Preschool Arts and Crafts
I recently got a great compliment from a parent. At least I think it was a compliment. She said, “I love that you have these random art projects!” Now, as I said, I do believe she sincerely meant it as a complement, but it got me wondering. Certainly I can see how creating collages with seeds, fingerpainting with colored shaving cream , and dropping colored water on coffee filters may seem a little random, but random as compared to what? I think when most people envision preschool arts, they see the paper plate snowmen, the construction paper alphabet train, and woven paper place mats. These aren’t actually arts, they’re closer to crafts. Now I’m not saying crafts aren’t appropriate for preschoolers, I quite enjoy making paper plate snowmen and I think the children do to. I just hate to see crafts used at the exclusion of art. Let me explain how I see them as different.
Dinosaurs Invade the Block Area
So this one’s pretty obvious, but sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious. (Like the time the store clerk had to remind me to actually take my bags with me after paying.) You may be thinking, “I just put dinosaurs in the sensory table. Isn’t this pretty much the same thing?” Well, yes and no. You can certainly use the same set of dinosaurs, but you’re going to get a different type of play. In the sensory table, you obviously get sensory play, along with language and dramatic play, but the theme of that dramatic play is likely about flooding or burying. In the block area, the play is constructive and spatial. The language and dramatic play elements are still there, but likely in the sense of the dinosaurs seeking refuge in a home or cave, or being trapped or caged. It may even take on a familial script, or something we couldn’t even imagine yet. The children not only play with the dinosaurs in a different way in the two areas, but they will play with the blocks in a different way than they do without the dinosaurs. So don’t worry about it being redundant. Get those dinosaurs out in your block area too. The children will love it, and you’ll be surprised at how their play changes.
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