At the recent MCEA Conference, participants in the "Not Yet; In Process; Proficient" workshop generated tried and true, something new ideas. For those of you waiting, here they are!
Language and Literacy Development
Tried and True
1. Writing name
2. Tracing letters in sand, shaving cream
3. Using juice lids with letters to lay their name in the proper sequence
4. Books--reading, making, tapes
5. Circle time
6. Writing Center--envelopes, cards, etc.
Something New
1. What is it from box--students name item, how it is used, do you have one?
2. Family stories--hopes and dreams
Approaches to Learning
Tried and True
1. Blocks
2. Art projects
3. Basket of seasonal items
4. Dress up clothes
5. Construction area with open ended projects
6. Class books
7. Observation during small group activities and discover time
8. Puppet shows
9. Flannel boards
Something New
1. Documentation of conversations
2. Teacher/student reflections
Social and Emotional Development
Tried and True
1. Play a game with someone
2. Make a family book
3. Nancy Carlson's "I Like Me!"
4. Game with emotions--sad, happy, tired, sleepy
5. Playing board games, taking turns
6. Answering questions in a group in front of class
7. Show and Tell
8. Imaginative Play area
9. Conversations during snack time
Something New
1. Role playing situations: lost shoe, disagreements between students, etc.
2. Learning how to ask questions
3. Learning how to listen, then respond
Physical and Motor Development
Tried and True
1. Obstacle courses
2. Playground
3. Stretching song
4. Target toss--circle time activities, games
5. Drawing, writing,painting, art
6. Cutting, ripping
7. Puzzles, manipulatives
8. Sewing cards, bead stringing
9. Parachute
10. Big block building
11. Dancing
Something New
1. Calligraphy
2. Writing letters and numbers in the air
3. Walk like an elephant, horse, cat, etc.
Creativity and the Arts
Tried and True
1. Clay, beads, feathers--make a bird
2. Dancing
3. Painting
4. Acting out a story
5. Painting with various objects, kitchen items, branches, plunger, etc.
6. Sensory table/stations
7. Music activities--traditional and not so traditional instruments
Something New
1. Nothing "closed"
Cognitive Development
Tried and True
1. Colored linking cubes--count, sort, etc.
2. Solid cylinders
3. Manipulatives
4. Counting activities
5. Texture activities
6. Hot/cold, wet/dry
7. Science experiments
8. Plant seeds--gardening, composting
9. Butterfly--growth and development
10. Science/math time during large group time to demonstrate activity
11. Cooking
12. Counting while passing a ball in circle time to see who is in class
Something New
1. My family--how we make dinner; how we buy or grow food
2. Walking in the rain
Friday, October 24, 2008
Building community through communication
At the early childhood back to school workshop, you considered the following two questions:
How will you find out what the hopes and dreams of the families are for their children?
How will you communicate back to families how the work you are doing in your classroom is addressing these hopes and dreams?
In better late than never mode, here are the suggestions/ideas you had for those questions. I would be very interested in knowing whether this has impacted or influenced the work you are doing in your classrooms the past two months. Please take a moment to add your comment to this post.
AND--if you haven't done anything,choose one of these excellent ideas, execute it and document it during November.
IDEAS
1. Mount/draw pictures of your family and the fun things you do together
2. Provide cameras and send home with families to take pictures of home
3. Giving tree--shared information about themselves
4. Asking questions--what makes your family special?
5. Names--what their name means to them
6. Bulletin boards
7. Books
8. Show and tell
9. Star of the week
10. Involve/discuss other significant family figures (other than parents)
11. Favorite places/people in their lives
12. Include ALL adults in the process of sharing/community building
13. Use themes or study topics that lead to discussions of family, i.e. kites, food, play, games
14. Potluck for all families at school
15. Use authentic home/family items in the dramatic play area
16. Spotlight a child each week and encourage families to participate by highlighting the child's "favorites" or reading a book to the class.
17. Send home copies of nursery rhymes, songs, fingerplays or recipes that are being used in the classroom. OR record a CD of favorite classroom songs!
18. Make a display of photos of each child's name
19. Make a comfortable corner or area for parents/children to enter and have a (hopefully) calm separation time
20. Have a bulletin board/display with family photos, photos by teachers of parents with their children, teachers' family photos, too!
21. Teacher photos with their bio and their HOPES AND DREAMS for their classroom of children for the year
22. Have parents talk to the children in the class about how things were when they were little, their jobs, etc.
23. Invite children to bring things from their home to share--and no matter what it is, VALUE THE CONTRIBUTION
24. Introduce new languages and cultures through map experiences, globes, parent visits, etc.
25. Send home a house shape. Families fill with photos, narrative, etc.
26. Keep parents informed: photos, emails, talk to parents, suggest possibilities
27. Invite parents in to share jobs/traditions/special foods
28. Birthdays--give 'compliments' to birthday child as a gift
29. Make cards/draw pictures for the birthday child
30. "Open door" feeling for the classroom
31. Open lines of communication
32. "What does love look like?" and other questions for kids
33. Kids can draw pictures about families to share with parents, give to parents
34. Parents can draw pictures to give to children
35. Meeting question--what part of your house do you like the best? Why?
36. Photos
37. Children's work, not just product but the process and posted not just in the hallway outside the room
38. Send daily emails to parents as appropriate
39. Immediate phone call to parent when child is doing something noteworthy
40. A family photo collage (pictures of family, vacations, homes, cabins, hobbies, pets, etc.)
41. Family holiday traditions
42. Super Star--Star of the Week--highlight one child, line leader, etc.
43. Different kinds of music--music from their cultural or ethnic background, music that families like to play at home
44. Letter of the week--do a country for each letter and bring photos, souvenirs, stories
45. Map of SLP (and beyond) with a sticker showing each child's home location
46. Give each parent a Hopes and Dreams sheet and have them fill it out
47. Family and child information form
48. Map home addresses from the school
49. Star of the Week
50. Photos for sit-upon or placemats
51. Photo album of all class members for classroom use
52. Post family photos
53. Family Book--can check out and take home
54. "Day in the Life of a Preschooler" video--check out to take home
55. Home book--photos with questions that families answer
56. Map of where we live
57. Explore what the kids know about their homes and their parents' occupations and their pets and siblings
58. Observe dramatic play and the role of the parents
59. How did you get to school today? (graph)
60. Invite parents in to share family holiday traditions
61. Kids draw pictures of parents, parents draw pictures of kids
62. Family photo in cubby
63. Comfort item from home in cubby
How will you find out what the hopes and dreams of the families are for their children?
How will you communicate back to families how the work you are doing in your classroom is addressing these hopes and dreams?
In better late than never mode, here are the suggestions/ideas you had for those questions. I would be very interested in knowing whether this has impacted or influenced the work you are doing in your classrooms the past two months. Please take a moment to add your comment to this post.
AND--if you haven't done anything,choose one of these excellent ideas, execute it and document it during November.
IDEAS
1. Mount/draw pictures of your family and the fun things you do together
2. Provide cameras and send home with families to take pictures of home
3. Giving tree--shared information about themselves
4. Asking questions--what makes your family special?
5. Names--what their name means to them
6. Bulletin boards
7. Books
8. Show and tell
9. Star of the week
10. Involve/discuss other significant family figures (other than parents)
11. Favorite places/people in their lives
12. Include ALL adults in the process of sharing/community building
13. Use themes or study topics that lead to discussions of family, i.e. kites, food, play, games
14. Potluck for all families at school
15. Use authentic home/family items in the dramatic play area
16. Spotlight a child each week and encourage families to participate by highlighting the child's "favorites" or reading a book to the class.
17. Send home copies of nursery rhymes, songs, fingerplays or recipes that are being used in the classroom. OR record a CD of favorite classroom songs!
18. Make a display of photos of each child's name
19. Make a comfortable corner or area for parents/children to enter and have a (hopefully) calm separation time
20. Have a bulletin board/display with family photos, photos by teachers of parents with their children, teachers' family photos, too!
21. Teacher photos with their bio and their HOPES AND DREAMS for their classroom of children for the year
22. Have parents talk to the children in the class about how things were when they were little, their jobs, etc.
23. Invite children to bring things from their home to share--and no matter what it is, VALUE THE CONTRIBUTION
24. Introduce new languages and cultures through map experiences, globes, parent visits, etc.
25. Send home a house shape. Families fill with photos, narrative, etc.
26. Keep parents informed: photos, emails, talk to parents, suggest possibilities
27. Invite parents in to share jobs/traditions/special foods
28. Birthdays--give 'compliments' to birthday child as a gift
29. Make cards/draw pictures for the birthday child
30. "Open door" feeling for the classroom
31. Open lines of communication
32. "What does love look like?" and other questions for kids
33. Kids can draw pictures about families to share with parents, give to parents
34. Parents can draw pictures to give to children
35. Meeting question--what part of your house do you like the best? Why?
36. Photos
37. Children's work, not just product but the process and posted not just in the hallway outside the room
38. Send daily emails to parents as appropriate
39. Immediate phone call to parent when child is doing something noteworthy
40. A family photo collage (pictures of family, vacations, homes, cabins, hobbies, pets, etc.)
41. Family holiday traditions
42. Super Star--Star of the Week--highlight one child, line leader, etc.
43. Different kinds of music--music from their cultural or ethnic background, music that families like to play at home
44. Letter of the week--do a country for each letter and bring photos, souvenirs, stories
45. Map of SLP (and beyond) with a sticker showing each child's home location
46. Give each parent a Hopes and Dreams sheet and have them fill it out
47. Family and child information form
48. Map home addresses from the school
49. Star of the Week
50. Photos for sit-upon or placemats
51. Photo album of all class members for classroom use
52. Post family photos
53. Family Book--can check out and take home
54. "Day in the Life of a Preschooler" video--check out to take home
55. Home book--photos with questions that families answer
56. Map of where we live
57. Explore what the kids know about their homes and their parents' occupations and their pets and siblings
58. Observe dramatic play and the role of the parents
59. How did you get to school today? (graph)
60. Invite parents in to share family holiday traditions
61. Kids draw pictures of parents, parents draw pictures of kids
62. Family photo in cubby
63. Comfort item from home in cubby
Friday, October 10, 2008
Rec Area Schedule
Thank you to everyone who commented about using the Rec Area! There are many excellent suggestions there and I trust you will put these into action (as well as others!) when it is your month(s) to set up and monitor the Rec Area equipment and activities.
I put in a work order to have the Rec Area closet lock keyed to your keys so you can safely store items in there and everyone can access them.
A CD player will be purchased specifically for use in the Rec Area. Please return it to the closet when you are finished using it.
Here are the expectations:
1. In general, the Rec Area should be kept clean and picked up. If anything breaks while you are in there, it is important to tell Marilyn so the item(s) can be repaired in a timely fashion.
2. During your month of providing activities, let the other early childhood teachers whose classes use the Rec Area know what activities you are bringing into the room for their use. Do this preferably by email.
3. Activities should be stored in the closet, returned after use.
4. Rotate activities that you already have or would like to develop. Unfortunately we don't have the budget to add more climbing equipment (for example) at this time but keep this in mind when you are asked to submit capital items. These activities, equipment, etc. will remain in the Rec Area only for the month you are responsible for providing activities. Remember what may feel like old hat to you could be new and exciting to another teacher and class. Also, check through your storage areas--what innovative ways could things in there be used in the Rec Area?
5. Have fun with this! It's another way to utilize the environment and expand your teaching practice.
SCHEDULE:
November Jodi and Susan (Ready, Set, Kindergarten)
December Deb and Beth (Kids' Place)
January Judy and Allison (Creative Play)
February Beth and Kari(PALS+)
March Marcy (Kids' Place Toddlers)
April Kim and Susan (Family Learning)
May Linda (2's Company)
Please let me know if there are any problems or issues with this. Thank you again!!
I put in a work order to have the Rec Area closet lock keyed to your keys so you can safely store items in there and everyone can access them.
A CD player will be purchased specifically for use in the Rec Area. Please return it to the closet when you are finished using it.
Here are the expectations:
1. In general, the Rec Area should be kept clean and picked up. If anything breaks while you are in there, it is important to tell Marilyn so the item(s) can be repaired in a timely fashion.
2. During your month of providing activities, let the other early childhood teachers whose classes use the Rec Area know what activities you are bringing into the room for their use. Do this preferably by email.
3. Activities should be stored in the closet, returned after use.
4. Rotate activities that you already have or would like to develop. Unfortunately we don't have the budget to add more climbing equipment (for example) at this time but keep this in mind when you are asked to submit capital items. These activities, equipment, etc. will remain in the Rec Area only for the month you are responsible for providing activities. Remember what may feel like old hat to you could be new and exciting to another teacher and class. Also, check through your storage areas--what innovative ways could things in there be used in the Rec Area?
5. Have fun with this! It's another way to utilize the environment and expand your teaching practice.
SCHEDULE:
November Jodi and Susan (Ready, Set, Kindergarten)
December Deb and Beth (Kids' Place)
January Judy and Allison (Creative Play)
February Beth and Kari(PALS+)
March Marcy (Kids' Place Toddlers)
April Kim and Susan (Family Learning)
May Linda (2's Company)
Please let me know if there are any problems or issues with this. Thank you again!!
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