Positive Guidance and Social Skills

Willoughby Wallaby Woo

September 9, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

I’m sure you can find other versions of this song, but does anyone really do it better than Raffi? Willoughby Wallaby Woo, is a great song for practicing new names in a class. As an added benefit, it is also great for getting kiddos to laugh! As you can hear in this YouTube clip, it’s a simple silly song, using consonant substitution (a great pre-reading skill) to fit each name into the song. This is particularly fun if you have an elephant puppet to set above each child as you sing that child’s name. (If the elephant reference doesn’t make sense, you need to listen to the clip!)

You can download the song from Raffi’s Singable Songs for the Very Young album, available at iTunes. You might as well pick up a few more Raffi classics while you’re there. The man is a genius!

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

August 28, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

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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Meeting with the Taller Half

August 25, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills, Unit Themes 4 Comments

Before 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

August 24, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills 3 Comments

Arrival 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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