The Power of the Adult Voice: The Literacy Connection

Growing up, my sisters and I often got into trouble for "minding grown-ups conversations", We rarely understood what they were conversing about but it didn't stop us from wanting to hear the conversations. The boisterous sounds of laughter drew us like large magnets to the outside corners of the door as they shared the events of the day or an old joke with each other. As we carefully tried not to be noticed, nothing could keep us from the exhilaration and sheer pleasure of listening to the adults. On some occasions they would intentionally share a story about, "when I was your age or back in the day". These stories relied on exaggerations, gestures such as pointing to objects, and intonation as they shared their experiences. As a result, it made the stories so intriguing that I would create mental pictures in my mind to bring the story to life.

Down through the years adults have knowingly and unknowingly engaged young children with the power of their voice and the feelings expressed as they shared stories. Every household have adults who tell entertaining stories that he or she own. There are lots of benefits to adult storytelling. For example, the listener has the ability to create mental images to try to comprehend or indentify with the story. Storytelling offers reciprocal value to those who tell the story as well as those who listen.

The success of the storytelling experience lies in nurturing and communicating directly with the listener to capture their minds and their attention. When adults tell stories, it can play a role in children having the opportunity to increase their vocabulary and listening comprehension skills. Storytelling will always be a source of enjoyment. It leads to opportunities for children to try and retell the stories and talk about their experiences as it relates to the story. Do you have a memory of the adult who provided authentic storytelling from your childhood? Have you shared a "when I was your age story" with the young children in your life?

Coin Toss Math Game

Objectives:

• Number Recognition


• Counting Beyond the Number Ten


• Comparing Numbers


• Social Skills

Materials:

• One Piece of Color Paper


• Black Marker


• Two Coins


• Counters or Paper Clips

Preparation:

1. On a piece of color paper draw a playing board divided into eight sections.


2. With the child's help choose eight numbers between one and ten.


3. Write one of the numbers in each of the playing board.

How to Play:

1. Place the board between you and the child with the right side up for the child to read the numbers.


2. You and the child will take turns tossing the coin onto the game board trying to land on one of the numbers (if the coin goes off the board or land on a line, toss the coin again.


3. When the coin lands on a number have the child count out that number of counters or paper clips and set to the side. Then you take a turn.


4. Have the child toss the coin a second time and count count out more counters. Then you toss a second time. There should be only two tosses per player.


5. Each player count their counters out loud to see who has the most counters.


6. Play as often as the child desires.

You can keep the game interesting by coming up with different counters (i.e. beans, pasta, Popsicle sticks, etc.).

Read Me a Math Story: Math Books To Read Aloud

When you think about reading aloud, how many of the books you chose are math books? There are several really good math story books that have mathematical content. Many teachers are familiar with books that concentrate on the numbers one to twenty. There are lots of books that focus on bigger numbers, shapes, time, logic, patterns, and more. There are two objectives that are covered when math story books are read to children:

1. The children will learn more about math.


2. The children will learn that math is everywhere.

Here is a list of math books perfect for reading aloud to children:

Who's Counting? by Nancy Tafuri

Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hobam

Counting Wildflowers by Bruce McMillan

The Seasame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook by Emily Perl Kingsley

Babar's Counting Book by Laurent de Brunhoff

A Book of Seasons by Alice and Martinn Provensen

Farmer Mack Measures His Pig by Tony Johnston

What Time Is It Litttle Rabbit? by J.P. Miller

The Purse by Kathy Caple

The Stopwatch by David Lloyd

Count On Your Fingers African Style by Claudia Zaslavsky

Number Families by Jane Jonas Srivastava

The Biggest, Smallest, Fastest Things You Ever Heard Of by Robert Lopshire

Encouraging and Supporting Independence in Young Children

During the preschool years, children begin to gain independence when given opportunities and support. When children are young it’s a natural instinct to assume they need help with just about everything from wiping their nose to putting on their clothes. We often think it saves time not having to clean up spills or run behind our daily schedule. Actually we’re hindering the opportunity for our little ones to gain independence.

Watching your child grow and develop independence is a very rewarding experience and eventually will provide less work for you. If we as adults continue to consistently do everything for our children we are in fact teaching them to depend on others to fulfill their needs.

There are lots of opportunities for teaching independence that parents and teachers need to take advantage of. We have to resist the urge to do everything for young children. When you feel the urge to do something for them, take a second to ask if there is a way the child can help accomplish this task or even better do it without help. Start small and allow the independence to flourish. Following are some things that you can encourage your child to do independently:

The Two –Year- Old

• Feed self using fingers or spoon
• Get drink from fountain
• Take off coat
• Wash and dry hands
• Put toys away
  

The Three-Year-Old

• Eat Meals
• Brush and/or comb hair
• Pour from pitcher to cup
• Button and unbutton large buttons
• Use facial tissue
• Put on shoes and socks
• Brush teeth

The Four-Year-Old

• Lace shoes
• Toilets self including cleaning and dressing
• Wash face
• Engage zipper
• Put toys away
• Hang up coat

The Five-Year-Old

• Dress self completely
• Make simple sandwiches
• Prepare bowl of cereal
• Water plant
• Set Table
• Sweep

Number Collage

Most young children have no problem reciting numbers one to ten but have some difficulty counting objects one-to-one correspondence. They haven't yet mastered saying a number when touching or moving an object. Helping your child make a number collage will give them the opportunity to work with concrete objects and to discover the logic of how to count one-to-one correspondence.


Materials
Magazines
scissors
glue or glue stick
large sheet of paper
color marker


Steps

1. Write the numbers one to ten on small sheets of paper or use the numbers from a deck of cards
2. Have your child pick a number from one to ten.
3. Tell your child they are going to make a number collage with that number.
4. Set out the magazines, , scissors, glue, large paper, and the color marker.
5. Write the number the child chose in the middle of the large sheet of paper with the marker.
6. Encourage your child to look through the magazine and find the number of pictures for the number they chose.
7. Once the child has cut out the number of pictures for the number he chose, have your child count the pictures.

The uniqueness of each picture will help your child understand that every picture gets a number of its own. This activity takes some time. Don't expect to complete a collage for all numbers at one time. When your child has completed a number, post the collage in an area where your child can review counting the pictures one-to-one correspondence.

I Don't Wanna Eat It!

I was giving Connor his afternoon snack which was a fruit cup. I sat the cup in front of him then a few seconds later he said, "I don't wanna eat it". I responded, "You have to eat it". He said again with a sigh, "I don't want to eat it." Getting a little frustrated, I said in a very firm tone, " You have to eat it and it's not an option". Connor replied in an urgent tone, "Mommy, I don't want to eat hair". I immediately went over to inspect his fruit cup and there was a piece of hair in it. Needless to say, he didn't have to "eat it".

Connor's Point of View

Connor was standing on his guitar. His dad walked in the room and said, "That's why you won't have anything because you don't take care of it". Connor replied, "I just had something to eat".

Self-Awareness and Ethnicity in the Curriculum

Culture influences the way people think and interact with others. Because the role of culture is so important, you should weave aspects of different children's culture into your curriculum and activities which promote the development of a positive self-image and ethnic awareness. Following are a few suggestions that can be included in your program curriculum:

1. Help children to recognize their own names by hearing and seeing them in print:
2. Encourage children to look at themselves and talk about features, identifying physical characteristics which are similar to others and those which are unique to them.
3. Make any or all of the following items for children to identify: silhouettes, hand prints, footprints, and an outline of the body traced on large paper (child can help fill in features).
4. Display photographs brought from home.
5. Help children identify with their ethnic groups.
6. Introduce culture and customs of different ethnic groups.

Sample Daily Schedule

A daily schedule establishes the consistency that helps young children to predict the sequence of the day and fell more secure and in control of their day. Following are some guidelines for developing your daily schedule:

1. Try to schedule more challenging activities in the morning when most children are more alert.
2. Plan at least 40-50 minutes a day for each choice time so that children can become deeply involved in their play.
3. Allow 50-60 minutes fro each outdoor period.
4. Schedule nap time directly after lunch. Children tend to be sleepy after eating.
5. Arrange for a quiet activity after nap time, so sleepy children can continue to nap while those who are up can play.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

8;30-8:30 Planning and preparation time

8:30-9:00 Arrival

9:00-9:15 Group meeting

9:15-10:30 Free choice time and small group

10:30-10:40 Group time

10:40-11:40 Outdoor play

11:40-11:50 Story time

11:50-12:45 Lunch

12:45-2:15 Rest time

2:15-2:45 Snack

2:45-3:00 Group activity

3:00- 400 Outdoor play

4:00-5:00 Small group

5:00-6:00 Closing and departure

The above schedule is intended as a guide to help organize the flow of your program day. Not all programs operate the same number of hours . Therefore, you can adapt the suggested schedule to fit your individual program.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is hearing and understanding the different sounds of spoken language. It includes the different ways oral language can be broken down into individual parts, for instance, separate sounds and syllables. A key finding in recent research has been the importance of developing phonological awareness during the preschool years.

The skills that make up phonological awareness lie on a continuum of complexity. The simplest level of phonological awareness includes skills such as playing with rhymes, noticing how words begin with the same sounds, or clapping out individual words or syllables of a song, rhyme, or chant.

It is common to confuse phonological awareness with phonics, but they are not the same. Phonics is connecting a printed symbol with a sound, unlike phonological awareness, which is hearing sounds. Phonics activities become appropriate for preschoolers only if they understand that speech is made up of a sequence of sounds.

Things You Can Do at Home to Help Your Child Learn to Read

The best things parents can do is to form positive attitudes about reading so that your child will want to learn to read.

1. Read books to your child every day for at least 20 minutes; look at the words and illustrations and discuss the story after you read it.

2. Re-read the books your child requests; ask your child to 'read' the story to you.

3. Talk with your child a lot.

4. Tell family stories.

5. Check out books from the library with your child's own library card (My 3 year old son cries whenever we ride by the library and don't go in. He loves the library).

6. Buy books for you and your child, buy books as gifts for others (Resale shops are great for this).

7. Sing songs regularly.

8. Repeat rhymes.

9. Set up a cozy area for reading only in your home.

10. Keep book baskets everywhere in your home (i.e. bathroom, kitchen, livingroom, patio, etc.).

11. Keep books in the car for 'waiting' times.

12. Include your child in meaningful correspondence (letters, postcards, Thank You notes).

13. Take part in meaningful reading (instructions, recipes, directions, etc.).

14. Keep a variety of reading materials available (newspapers, magazines, etc.).

15. Model the love of reading by reading for pleasure.

Look What I Can Do At Age Two!

Two year olds are absolutely adorable. However, they are rambunctious, extremely active and doesn't sense danger. They lack social skills and if you expect too much they'll make you think they're 'terrible twos'.

Below are some developmental milestones for two year olds (remember all children develop at different rates, use the milestones as a reference, your child may be developing at a different rate so give or take a little).

FINE MOTOR:

-Turns pages in a book singly
-Imitates drawing a circle, vertical and horizontal line
-Fingers work together to scoop up small objects
-Construct simple two and three piece puzzle
-Enjoys short and simple fingerplays
-String large beads
-Builds tower of up to 8 blocks

GROSS MOTOR:

-Kicks large ball
-Jumps in place
-Runs without falling
-Walks up and down stairs alone
-Marches to music
-Tends to use arms and legs as pairs
-Use whole arm usually to paint or color

EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL

-Takes toys from others
-Plays near other children, but not cooperatively
-Unable to share
-Acts negatively at times
-Seeks adult attention
-Expresses fear of dark
-Observe others to see how they do things

INTELLECTUAL:

-Talks mostly to himself (I still do)
-Uses 'me'
-Enjoys showing and naming objects
-Uses a two to three hundred word vocabulary
-Speaks in phrases or three word sentences
-Answers yes and no questions
-Follows two step directions
-Constructs negative sentences (no mine, no mine)
-Uses modifiers such as some, all, one
-Understand concepts big and little
-Uses such adjectives as red, old and pretty

How to Spot a Dedicated Teacher

1. She follows up on children, especially the ones she's concerned about.

2. She keeps up-to-date professionally by reading, participating in workshops and attending conferences.

3. She can be found diligently preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences.

4. She makes new games, plans new centers and learns new songs regularly.

5. She goes scavenger hunting at flea markets and garage sales for things for the classroom.

6. She goes into the classroom prepared; she doesn't just 'wing it.'

7. She remembers to highlight each child's birthday or un-birthday (the ones only the child knows about:)

8. Her car (and trunk) are full of wonderful 'stuff' that she collects for use in the classroom.

Make a "New Colors" Book

Objective

To understand that colors are made up of combinations of other colors.


Materials
red, blue, and yellow paint
paintbrushes
newspaper
water jars
white paper
markers or crayons
smocks


Steps

1. Set out paint, paintbrushes, water jars, and white paper on a tabled covered with newspaper.
2. Let children each experiment with mixing different combinations of the primary colors to amke a new color.
3. After creating a new color that they like, children can paint a clean sheet of white paper with it.
4. Children can create a descriptive name for their colors and caption the page. Combine the pages to form a "New Color" book.

Key Questions for Critical Thinking
How did you come up with the name of your new color?
What did you notice about mixing primary colors together?

Teaching about Letters

Children who enter kindergarten knowing many letter names tend to have an easier time learning to read than children who have not learned these skills. In fact, it is unreasonable to believe that children will be able to read until they can recognize and name a number of letters.
It's important for young children to be able to:

• Recognize and name letters.
• Recognize beginning letters in familiar words (especially their names).
• Recognize both capital and lowercase letters.
• Relate some letters to the specific sounds they represent.

As you plan your instruction, make sure that the children in your care have many opportunities to learn to identify, write and to find out how letters function to represent the sounds in words.In your learning environment, you should have at children's eye level displays of the alphabet, such as large alphabet cards. Alphabet blocks, large plastic of paper letters, and materials for making letters, such as yarn, pipe cleaners, and play dough, also should be available. A writing center can be created in your environment where children can experiment with different writing tools. And, of course, you should have a collection of alphabet books to read a loud and alphabet songs to sing with the children.

Here are some things you can do to help children learn about letters:

• Encourage the children to notice that letters are all around them.
• Encourage the children to play with letters.
• Give children large alphabet tiles and encourage them to spell their names and other words they like.
• Say to the children, "See the letters on this keyboard? Press one and watch the letter come up on the screen."
• Play games with line segments where children try to guess which letter you are writing as you draw parts of the letter one at a time.

In order for children to master recognition of the alphabet, they must be allowed to experiment and explore with letters and print frequently and in many different ways. To read, children recognize letters and know how to connect the individual letters.

Never Pass on Your Passion

If you do what you love, you'll always love what you do. This doesn't mean you'll love everything you do. It just means that if you follow your internal compass, which points in the direction of your passions, it will always steer you toward your right path in life.

Many of us start off with passion but lose our way. Cultivating your passion for something is as important as getting to know yourself. One energizes the other.

Separation Issues

Preparing a child for what to expect upon entering a preschool or child care program leads to a smooth transition. Even with preparation, a child may still be fearful and anxious. Staff and parents need to work together to acknowledge the child's fear and to assure a successful experience.

Activities that relive stress of separation are:

1. Handle separations honestly. Have the parent tell the child when she is leaving and when she will return. Acknowledge a child's feelings of uncertainty, fear or anger. Provide whatever supports will be useful to the child (stuffed animal, favorite blanket, etc.). Realize that a parent's ambiguity or concern over separation may magnify a child's fears.


2. Point out familiar toys or activities. Let the child proceed at his own pace. Encourage parent to stay with child until he feels comfortable and if possible only leave for short time periods at first.


3. Have the child bring an object from home or parent's possession to help bridge the gap.


4. Make a time calendar with familiar daytime activities such as playing, eating, napping, and the parent's arrival to take the child home, and let the child move the spinner as the day progresses.


5. Read children's stories dealing with separation. Have an adult tell the child about her own separation experiences. Act out separation experiences with puppets.


6. Parents need to acknowledge their own feelings such as guilt and sorrow about separation.

(Barbara O' Sullivan)

The Floating Egg

FYI

Density is how tightly the matter of a mixture is packed together. For example, an egg is more dense than plain water, so the egg sinks. Salt water, however, is more dense than an egg, and so the egg floats! Are you more or less dense than sea water? Note: If the egg is stale it will float in the water because gas forms inside the egg when the egg is going bad. You can use this trick to check the freshness of an egg.

MATERIALS

4 glasses of water

salt

sugar

flour

fresh egg

STEPS

1. Fill each glass three-fourths full with water.


2. Stir a few tablespoons of salt into one glass of water, until it dissolves.


3. Stir the same amount of sugar into the second glass of water.


4. Stir the same amount of flour into the third glass of water. Leave the fourth glass of water plain.


5. Guess which glass of liquid the egg will float in. Now try them all!

Make a Loaf of Bread (Science)

FYI

Bread has an ingredient called yeast. (Yeast remains dormant until mixed with water.) The warm water activates the yeast, which begins feeding on the sugar. The yeast organisms makes carbon dioxide, which is gas. These bubbles of gas get trapped in the baking dough, so make the dough rise.

MATERIALS:

1 TABLESPOON SUGAR

1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL

1 TABLESPOON YEAST

1 1/4 CUP WARM WATER

3 1/2 CUPS FLOUR

1 TABLESPOON SALT

2 BOWLS

1 BAKING PAN

PASTRY BRUSH

OVEN

STEPS

1. Mix the sugar, oil, yeast and water in a bowl. It should start to froth.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour and salt.
3. Add the liquids to the solids. Mix and then knead with your hands until smooth and elastic. Brush the ball of dough with oil, and cover with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place for an hour.
4. Ask an adult to preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
5. Roll the dough into a round roll. Brush with butter if you like. Place in a baking pan and bake for 40-60 minutes, or until the top is brown and the loaf sounds "hollow" when tapped. Cool, then eat!

The Classroom Teacher

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had forty people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.

(Donald D. Quinn)

Play

The real joy of life is in its play. Play is anything we do for the joy and love of doing it, apart from any profit, compulsion, or sense of duty. It is the real living of life with the feeling of freedom and self-expression. Play is the business of childhood, and its continuation in later years is the prolongation of youth.

(Walter Rauschenbusch)

Simple Songs for Preschoolers

• Baa Baa Black Sheep


• B-I-N-G-O


• She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain


• Did You Ever See a Lassie


• The Eensy Weensy Spider


• Green Grass Grows All Around


• Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush


• There's a Hole in the Bucket


• If You're Happy and You Know It


• I've Been Working on the Railroad


• Mary Had a Little Lamb


• Old MacDonald Had a Farm


• Pop Goes the Weasel


• Ring around the Rosie


• Row, Row, Row Your Boat


• Skip to My Lou


• Three Blind Mice


• A Tisket, A Tasket


• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star


• The Wheels on the Bus


• You are the Sunshine

Making Families Feel Welcome In The Classroom

It's the start of a new school year. How will you welcome the families you serve into your classroom? Families that feel welcome in your classroom are more likely to return and become involved in the program. The environment you create in your classroom and the ways you introduce the program can make families feel they belong and they have a role to play.

The most important message families can receive when they enter the building and your classroom is that this is also a place for them. The environment can carry positive messages.

How to Covey Positive Messages

Make the entrance way attractive, neat, and inviting. Include decorative touches such as plants, pictures, and displays of children's work.

Provide space for mail/message boxes for each family. To help you sort messages easily by language, color-code the mailboxes according to the home languages of the families in your program. This practice will make it easy to put the messages in the right place.

Incorporate artifacts that represent your families' cultures into your displays such as handmade quilts, musical instruments, etc.

Provide places for family members to hang their coats and store their belongings during their visit.

Keep a bulletin board with up-to-date information on program activities, upcoming meetings, and community events that may be of interest to families.

Place a suggestion box in a prominent place and provide slips of paper and pens.

Mount an attractive display of photographs of the children in your class and their families.

Place an adult size rocking chair in the Library Area.

Have a sign-in sheet for families to sign in their children each morning. Children can sign in themselves on a separate sheet.

Display books and pictures that reflect the diversity of your program.

Offer resources that parents can read and check out.

Post signs in the classroom showing what children are learning in each interest area and how adults can support what the children do.

Take time to assess continually whether your environment conveys the messages you intend. Let families know their ideas and contributions are always welcome.

(Resource: The Creative Curriculum for Preschool)

Encouraging Children to Write Their Name

The most important word a child learns will be their name. This will no doubt make learning letters more meaningful. Most children begin to show an interest in writing their name at 3.5 years of age.

*Introduce only if your child shows an interest.

*Write your child's name on a sentence strip.

*Make the sentence strip accessible everywhere in your home with pencil and unlined paper in shallow containers.

*Their name should be printed with first letter upper case and the remaining letters lower case.

*Use first name only (add last name after first name is mastered).

*Accept any form of writing.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR WRITING NAMES

*Your child should not be expected to write on lined paper.

*Lines impose unnecessary constraints on their early attempts to write.

*When your child first begin to write their attention is on producing the features of the letters.

*If you expect them to also fit these between two lines it becomes extremely difficult.

*They are being asked to attend to too many aspects of print at once.

*Control will be achieved gradually as your child have more and more opportunities to form letters.

*Provide other fine-motor activities (puzzles, molding clay, beads, etc. ) for your child to help strengthen the muscles in their hand.

Look What I Can Do At Age Six!

Welcome to school life! Below are some developmental milestones for six year olds (remember all children develop at different rates, use the milestones as a reference, your child may be developing at a different rate so give or take a little).

FINE MOTOR:

Tie bows
Hand preference established
Reverses letters while printing
Paints houses, trees, flowers and clouds

GROSS MOTOR:

Plays hopscotch
Enjoys playing ball
Plays simple organized games

EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL:

Engages in cooperative play involving role assignments
Enjoys being praised and complimented
Enjoys 'show and tell' time
May be argumentative
Competitive and wants to win

INTELLECTUAL:

Identifies quarter, dime, nickel, and penny
Counts objects
Completes a 15 piece puzzle
Acts out stories
Plays board games
Recognizes words in books
Identifies right and left hand
Prints numbers 1-100
Repeats an 8-10 word sentence
Counts to 100

Look What I Can Do At Age Five!

Your child is now getting ready for kindergarten. They have gained security about who they are and their place in the world. This is a fascinating age group.Things are beginning to change in their learning involvement.

There are little if any opportunities for the free exploration they experienced as preschoolers. Support your child by allowing them to continue to explore and do a variety of open-ended activities at home. It will help make the transition into school life smoother.

Below are some developmental milestones for five year olds (remember all children develop at different rates, use the milestones as a reference, your child may be developing at a different rate so give or take a little).

FINE MOTOR:

*Copies most letters
*Traces objects
*Draws crude objects
*Colors within lines
*Copies square, triangle, rectangle, and diamond shape
*Models objects from clay
*Laces shoes

GROSS MOTOR:

*Tries roller and ice skating
*Catches ball with hands
*Jumps from heights
*Jumps rope
*Walks on stilts
*skips
*Climbs

EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL:

*Prefers playing in small group
*Protects younger children
*Plays well with older siblings
*Respects other people's property
*Becomes competitive
*Develops sense of fairness
*Verbally expresses anger"

INTELLECTUAL:

*Names the days of week
*Write numbers from one to ten
*Retells main details of stories
*Recognizes the cause and effects of actions
*Uses a vocabulary of 2000 or more words
*Tells original stories
*Follows three step directions
*Recognizes and distinguish between square and rectangle shape
*Recognizes numerals

Look What I Can Do At Age Four!

Your four year old is growing and developing with leaps and bounds! They like doing things on their own. They can do some really incredible and amazing things. Just look how far they have come.

Below are some developmental milestones for four year olds (remember all children develop at different rates, use the milestones as a reference, your child may be developing at a different rate so give or take a little).

FINE MOTOR:

-Buttons or unbuttons clothing
-Cuts on a line with scissors
-Completes a six to eight piece puzzle
-Copies a 't'
-Buckles a belt
-Zips separated fasteners
-Draws a person with five parts

GROSS MOTOR:

-Walks up and down stairs one foot per step
-Skips on one foot
-Rides a bicycle with training wheels

EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL:

-Enjoys other children and having friends
-Bases friendships on shared activities
-Seeks approval of friends
-Plays with small groups of children
-Enjoys humorous stories
-Shows more interest in other children than adults
-Excludes children they do not like
-Likes to whisper and tell secrets

INTELLECTUAL:

-Has difficulty telling the difference between reality and fantasy
-Enjoys silly language and to repeat new silly words
-Vocabulary of 1200 to 1500 words
-Begins to identify letters in name
-Begins to be fascinated with nature (i.e. bugs, trees, flowers, and birds)
-Learn simple card games
-Develop an awarness of 'bad' and 'good'"

Look What I Can Do at Age Three!

Three year olds are ready to explore the world around them. As they explore, they will develop a variety of skills. They love to talk and participate in conversations.

Below are some developmental milestones for three year olds (remember all children develop at different rates, use the milestones as a reference, your child may be developing at a different rate so give or take a little).

FINE MOTOR:

-Cuts paper
-Builds tower of nine or more small blocks
-Pastes using a finger
-Pours from a pitcher
-Copies a circle from a drawing
-Draws a straight line
-Uses fingers to pick up small objects
-Draws a person with three parts
-String beads and can arrange by color and shape
-Uses utensils

GROSS MOTOR:

-Catches ball with arms extended forward
-Throws ball underhand
-Completes forward somersault
-Walks up stairs alternating feet
-Rides a tricycle skillfully
-Runs, walks, jumps, and gallops to music
-Throws ball without losing balance
-Hops on one foot

EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL:

-Plays in groups of two or three children
-Begins to take turns
-Sharing becomes evident
-Enjoys independence by doing things themselves
-Yells 'stop it' at times rather then striking another child

INTELLECTUAL:

-Asks'how', 'what', 'when' and 'why' questions
-Uses verbs and adverbs
-Understands the pronouns 'you' and 'they'
-Understands 'smaller' and 'larger'
-Answers 'how' questions appropriately
-Use words to describe space such as 'back', 'up', 'outside', 'in front of', 'in back of', 'over', 'next to'"

The Home: True Center of Learning

The family serves as the social vehicle through which a child's natural genius can be activated and realized in the world. It does this by providing an atmosphere that nourishes children's inner gift and talents. There are specific features present in all positive family climates that help to accomplish this goal, including the cultivation of active learning, positive values, nuturing relationships, and self-esteem.

Being an integral part of your child's exploratory activities, helping guide them in practical ways toward realization of their objectives is a very important part of learning. It's hands-on with the nitty-gritty world of real objects and situations.Sometimes you don't have time to be systematic, you have to just do it!"

Learning Styles: Listening, Looking, and Moving Their Way through Learning

Every person has a preferred way of learning. Some people are visual learners. Some learn better by listening while others have to handle something physically before they can understand it. One style is not better than another. It's simply the way a person learns best.

Following are at least three different styles of learning you may observe in children:

Auditory learners, or children who learn best by listening, are attuned to the sounds and words. They solve problems by talking about them. Auditory learners can follow verbal instructions and explanations. You can build their knowledge base by describing in words what they do: "When you added coffee grounds to the paint, it changed the way the paint feels when it dries." You can ask open-ended questions to encourage children to verbalize their thoughts: "What's that you're making for the baby dolls' breakfast?"The more opportunities you provide listeners to hear and verbalize concepts, the more they will learn.

Visual learners, or children who learn best by looking, are drawn to color, shape, and motion. They actually think in images or pictures, taking in what they hear and see and transforming it into images in their brain. It is as if they have a movie camera in their mind.

Visual learners benefit when you show them how things are done, rather then just telling them verbally: "Come here, Jonetta. Kate can show you how to put the interlocking blocks together so that you can build with them."Visual learners also remember ideas and concepts better when they are attached to an image: "Let's make a graph of all the different types of shoe's we're wearing today." "Zach, I know that you're sad that your daddy had to go away. Why don't you draw a picture about the way you're feeling?" Children who learn by looking need to make visual representations of their thoughts and feelings to learn.

Kinesthetic learners, or children who learn best by moving, are generally well coordinated and confident in their bodies. Touching and feeling things and transforming ideas and information into movement boost their memory and understanding.

Have you ever seen a preschooler twirl around as she tries to remember something? This twirler might be a kinesthetic learner. Something in the process of physically moving triggers her brain to learn a concept or idea. Kinesthetic learners benefit by knowing its okay to get up and move around. You can facilitate their learning by relating concepts to their bodies. "When I push down on your head, Connor, you can fell the pressure. That's what a vise does to a piece of wood....it holds it down in place."

Since not all children learn in the same way, all styles of learning should be taken into account. Traditionally, schools have appealed primarily to auditory learners, and to a lesser extent, to visual learners. Kinesthetic learners have had to adjust their natural way of learning to do well in school.

Rather than expecting children to adjust, teachers should make sure that they present information so that children who are listeners, lookers, and movers can all be successful learners. Moreover, brain research shows that the more ways you allow children to explore a concept, the more likely they will remember what they learn. So, in addition to meeting the needs of all children, you can maximize learning by crafting learning opportunities for children with every learning style: the listeners, the lookers, and the movers.

(Source: The Creative Curriculum, Fourth Edition)

Oh No! My Toddler Doesn't Like Washing His Hands Anymore!!

When I first introduced my toddler to independent hand washing he was so thrilled. The thought of him doing it by himself was so exciting. He displayed such a feeling of accomplishment. Because hand washing can cut down on the spread of germs and prevent some illness, I wanted my child to pick up the healthy hand washing habit.

As a result, we wash hands after using the toilet, before eating, after cleaning nose, after outdoor play and shopping. Sometimes he would come to me with his own explanation why he needed to wash his hands. We couldn’t keep enough hand washing soap in the house. As a result, this process became habitual (yeah, mission accomplished).

As he washed his hands we talked about how to properly wash hands. We discussed rubbing hands together and washing front and back of hands as well as between the fingers. Then there is the rinsing and drying ritual (the whole hand washing process takes about 40 seconds).

Unfortunately, now that he uses the washroom independently, he refuses to wash his hands. It is such a power struggle, one that I can’t afford to lose. The scene is like preparing for war. I first try to encourage him. He almost always resists. I then have to physical lead them back to the sink as he protests, "I don't want to wash my hands!" As I assist him, I reinforce why we have to wash our hands (he gives me his I could care less look). Other times when I remind him to wash his hands, he responds, "I did wash my hands (which are exaggerated, because he actually didn't)."

As a result, I had to come up with ideas to encourage consistent hand washing (still working on it) without power struggles. I know there are products out there that claims to kill germs with just a squeeze or wipe. Personally, I prefer good old fashion soap and warm water.

Is it possible that he's burnt out with mom's obsession with hand washing? I know washing hands after toileting and blowing his nose is not negotiable. However, is the need to wash hands after several other activities mentioned above overkill? Under what circumstances will the quick fixes be sufficient?

Can You Keep That Child Quiet? Suggestions for Increasing Desired Behavior in Preschoolers in Public Places

As parents of preschoolers we often take our children to venues (i.e. church, movies, fine restaurants, etc.) that can teach them various etiquettes and social interactions. Unfortunately, some of the venues are not sensitive to the developmental behavior of young children. In order for children to develop appropriate behaviors they have to be exposed to these unique environments and be taught how to behave.

Dealing with antsy preschoolers can be very challenging. We can’t force young children to sit quietly for too long in these places but we can teach them the correct behavior with a little effort and much patience.

Following are some suggestions to serve as positive distractions for young children:

1. Create a special bag of goodies: Most children have items that interest them and will keep them occupied. Make sure these items are things that are used only on these special outings.

2. If needed step out in the corridor of the venue only as an opportunity for the child to stretch their legs, go to the washroom and to be praised for their behavior thus far. Don’t allow the child to run around or make the break appealing or the child will prefer the corridor then participating in the main event.

3. Use positive reinforcement to increase the desired behavior for the environment. The positive reinforcement can be anything that the child wants or needs. It can be praise, attention, special toy or treat.

4. Use a sticker reward system. If your child accumulates a total of 10 stickers during the event, reward them immediately after with a special surprise.

Overall, it is unreasonable to expect that young children will sit quietly for long periods of time; most importantly, when choosing places to take your child as a family, ensure that the environments are family friendly. If we don't expose them to a variety of environments, they won't know what's expected.

Manners and Young Children

Manners represent our values and our social styles. We need them throughout life in order to fit into a group. It was best stated by Fred Astaire, "The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any." Manners should be taught in the early years. We cannot escape rules and manners, but we can decide which ones matter and which ones don't. Our children will model themselves on our decisions.

Although children begin to acquire manners from infancy, its best internalized by the preschool years. If you have a three or four year old, the most effective way to teach manners is by example. They begin to identify with the adults around them and pick up the manners they see practiced by their parents and older siblings. At this age children have a very strong desire to imitate the actions around them.

If you try to teach manners in a more structured way by directing them to "say this", "do that", or "don't do that", the child may rebel. Learning to do things independently has become important and exciting to children at this age in addition to complying with parental direction. As a result, the best chance of teaching acceptable behavior is to simply model it.

I have included 10 basic manners I try to model for my child. If you think some of the suggestions are a little advance, remember you as the adult will be the example. If you notice your child doing or saying inappropriate things, stop, look, and listen.

1. Do not interrupt conversations: It is polite to wait your turn and not interrupt when other people are speaking. No one can be heard if there are too many voices at once. Gently tell your child to wait until someone is finished speaking. However, it's important that you let your child know you are aware of their presence and appreciates their patience by touching their shoulder, stroking their back or holding their hand. Keep in mind that their attention span is not long and be realistic with the amount of time you expect for them to wait.

2. No name calling: Name calling hurts even if its done in fun. Instead of calling others by anything other than their name if upset, encourage your child to talk about the behavior of the person that bothers them.

3. Always greet someone when they come to your home: When someone comes to your home it is good manners to greet them with a "hello" or "Hi". This makes them feel welcome. If your child is not present when the guest arrive, when ever they make the first contact they should greet them.

4. Say "Please and "Thank you": Encourage your child to say "Please and "Thank you" often. It shows respect and appreciation. If your child is thanked by someone then they should respond by saying "You're welcome".

5. Clean up after themselves: Whether at home or a friends house, always have your child pick up after themselves. If your child have a mess remind them that they need to clean up before they can begin a new activity. Be consistent.

6. Good sportsmanship: After playing a game no matter who wins be pleasant. If your child wins, tell them not to show off or gloat, but be a good sport and tell the other child or children they played a good game.

7. Opening doors for others: When going into buildings, allow elders to go first and open the door for them. When preceding others into a building, don't let the door slam on those behind you. Hold the door until the person behind you can grasp it. If someone holds the door for your child they should say "Thank you".

8. Take compliments courteously: If someones praises your child, teach them to be gracious and say thank you. Don't respond by putting themselves down or pointing out flaws.

9. Exiting/Entering Etiquette: When using the elevator allow those in the elevator to exit first before entering the elevator. If someone is exiting a building or room through the same door you are entering, let them exit first.

10. Respect Differences: teach your child to respect when people do things differently from their family because of diversity in culture, race, or religion. Point out how interesting it is or how different families do different things. Families have their own traditions or rituals and it is important and has valuable meaning.

Activity Title: Parachute Solar System

Book: Spinning In Space by Dana Meachen Rau

We used a parachute and various size balls to simulate planets moving in space. We tossed the balls on top of the parachute and shook the parachute up and down and observed the planets (balls) moving in space.

What we learned:

*Cooperation skills: children had to work together to make sure the balls didn't fall off the parachute.

*Following directions: children had to follow the directions of the teacher (when to raise the parachute and when to lower the parachute).

*Science of movement/cause and effect: children observed and discussed what caused the balls to move. What happened when we didn't move the parachute?

*Demonstrate basic locomotor skills

Questions:* Do people live there (in space)?

Mighty Mindz Solar System Exploration (Day 3)

We recreated the solar system out of various size circular lids and placed them in the water table. We discussed the properties of the circles (i.e. size and color). We also discussed why the circles float and didn't sink.

Mighty Mindz Solar System Exploration (Day 2)

The solar system exploration continues. We took a picture walk through a book titled, “A True Book: The Solar System”. The book has very colorful pictures and simple facts about the planets. The first thing Connor said was, “These are planets (pointing to the pictures in the book). Planets begin with “P”. He used prior knowledge from the first activity and applied it to what was in the new book.

Today we are using playdoh to make replicas of the planets. I put playdoh on the table and invited Connor to play. As we begin to manipulate the playdoh, I asked Connor if he thought we could make planets out of the playdoh. He hunched his shoulders. I then asked him about the shapes of the planets. He said, “The planets are circles.” I then said likes make circles and pretend they’re planets.

As we begin to explore with the playdoh the correct size, color, and circle shapes weren’t important. We just focused on three facts:

1.There are nine plants (so we made nine circles).

2.Planets are different size circles (so we made a variety of sizes).

3.Planets are different colors.

What we learned:

1.We can use the book as a reference to form the planets.

2.Connor noticed in the book that it was black behind the planets in the book (we created a black background by using a black blanket).

3.First we formed the playdoh into balls; then we flattened them (we made two forms).

4.We counted the nine planets one-to-one correspondence then labeled them.

5.We used word cards with the planets name to label the planets (I just let him label them his way. I just wanted him to have the experience of labeling objects and the knowledge that print conveys meaning).

6.We talked about the colors we used.

7.We used comparative words related to size like small, smaller, big, and bigger.

Mighty Mindz Solar System Exploration (Day One)

While Connor and I were going through book titles, Connor picked up a book titled, "There's No Place Like Space" by Tish Rabe. He asked as he was looking at the book, "What are these circles?" I responded, "They are shaped like circles, but they are actually called the solar system." Connor replied, "What's a solar system mommy?' Seems as how he expressed an interest I decided to do a study of the solar system with him. I spent the night cutting out various size circles to represent the solar system so that Connor could create his own solar system. I also printed up two copies of the 9 planets in the solar system to create a matching game.

The following morning my grandson came over and all three of us began our adventure of studying the solar system. First, I read the book that sparked Connor's interest. We discussed the shapes, colors, and sizes of the various planets. Then I provided the circles I cut out and explained to the boys that were going to make our own solar system by coloring and painting the circles. While the circles dried, we played a matching game with the cut-outs. We also extended our play by sequencing the planets from the largest to the smallest. When we completed the sequence activity, we counted how many planets there are in the solar system altogether.

I created a bulletin board for the boys and we posted things that were relevant to what we talked about and did in reference to the solar system. Things we posted were: the letter "P" because planets begin with that letter. We also posted the number "9" because that's how many planets there are in the solar system. Finally, we posted all the planets in the solar system so that we can visit them again and again as a conversation piece and opportunity for language development.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring...I'm thinking playdoh planets...this study could go on for weeks or not. I will continue to follow his lead as long as he's engaged. However, as educators we know that this project could take a detour to other interests. But the general idea is to keep him engaged. I will take this opportunity to move him towards literacy and master some other early childhood outcomes.

10 Signs of a Great Preschool

Is your child learning or just playing? Here's what makes for an excellent early childhood education. What an adventure awaits your little one as he heads off to preschool. New friends, new experiences, and new kinds of fun. Though you certainly want your child to enjoy himself, he'll also be practicing important skills that will prepare him for kindergarten and beyond. The overarching goal of any preschool should be to help a child feel good about himself as a learner and to feel comfortable in a school-like setting. As you look around the classroom, here's what you should see:

1. The right student-teacher ratio, there should be one teacher for every 7-10 students and no more than 20 students per classroom.

2. Daily circle time, during this group meeting, children practice important social skills.

3. A language rich environment, children should be read to everyday. The classroom should have plenty of books as well as words posted.

4. An art center, this should be stocked with a variety of materials

5. A block corner to help children develop crucial spatial and problem solving skills.

6. Rotating chores, help develop a sense of responsiblity and accomplishment.

7. Manipulatives, these items build the fine motor skills that are necessary for writing.

8. A water table and a sand table, not only are both of these materials fun, but children can explore.

9. Physical activity everyday, your child's class will probably go to the playground when the weather is nice.10.

10. New materials introduced frequently.

Occasions to Celebrate With Children

1. Beginnings: like the first signs of spring or starting a button, stamp or sticker collection

2. Milestones: like losing a tooth or a 5th birthday

3. Accomplishments: like recognizing their names on their cubbies or learning to tie their shoes

4. Diversity: like highlighting different cultures or sharing unique traditions

5. Family events: like a new brother or a grandmother's visit

6. Appreciation of nature: like a beautiful rainbow or a seed sprouting

7. Exciting news events: like a shuttle launch or a Mars landing

8. Good deeds: like a class clothing drive or a food basket collection

9. Endings: like completing a book fair or the last day of the school year

Things That Hinder the Creativity of Young Children

A learning environment that adopts a "teacher-may-I" method will suffocate creativity. Following are a list of things that if used on a regular basis will limit a child's ability to be creative. Some should not be used at ALL. Please add other things that you as a parent or teacher realize is a creativity smasher.

*Coloring books

*Ditto sheets

*Competition, awards and rewards

*Relying on demonstartions that show the right way" to do something

*No Mess rules

*Shhhhhhh atmosphere

*Teacher hovering

*Models or examples for children to copy

*Asking questions that have only one right answer

*Providing instant answers to children's questions

*Ignoring children's questions or not allowing questions

* A stifling learning environment will restrict choices, supplies and materials.

Effective teachers know their children and their learning environment. Every teacher as well as the students they teach are unique. However, there is one common goal that we share, providing positive and effective learning experiences.

Teachable Moment: Math is Everywhere!

If you are an educator of young children, no doubt you have been presented a fist full of dandelions because you are the "best teacher in the whole wide world". As usual if one child see another child giving you dandelions they want to join in.

During outdoor play, I had a teachable moment. Connor and Jadah both brought me dandelions. I had Jadah put hers in one pile and Connor put his in another. As they brought me the dandelions, I would ask the following questions:

• Jadah brought me 2 dandelions and Connor brought me 3 dandelions. How many dandelions do I have in all?


• Who brought me more?


• Who brought me the least?


• How many more do we need for Connor to bring for the piles to be equal?

This can be done with any objects that the children bring to you. The children where given the opportunity to explore with numbers and counting. I also promoted problem solving by guiding them to find solutions to mathematical questions.

The Value of Outdoor Play

Children's outdoor play is just as important as their indoor play. It should be planned and well supervised. Outdoor play should not be an opportunity for children to run wild without an educational purpose. This is also a great opportunity for teachers to assess children in various areas.

Outdoor play promotes large and small motor development and body coordination as well as language development. This is also a chance for young children to develop social skills. As with indoor activities, outdoor play should involve planning, supervising and helping young children be responsible for their behavior. Teachers are key to promoting meaningful outdoor play to enhance learning.

Molding Young Lives

When my hands mold the clay of this child's life, may the impressions be, in reality, made by the movement of Your hands and directed by Your perfect thoughts.

The Educational Benefits of Board Games for Young Children

Board games are so much fun! At Mighty Mindz, we enjoy playing board games with our children. Not only does it offer a quiet activity but children strengthen several skills as they play board games.

They develop their social and emotional skills by learning to cooperate with one another and take turns. In addition, they develop their physical skills by using eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills as they move their pieces around the game board. Also the children expand their emerging math skills such as counting, number recoginition, ordinal numbers (remembering who's 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on) which also assist in developing their coginitve skills. Finally, the children have to use words to communicate and problem solve when playing board games which helps develop their language and listening skills.

In the pictures above our children are playing Chutes and Ladders. Some other games that we play are Candy Land, Cooties, Memory, and I Spy. These games are developmentally appropriate for prechoolers and don't require a lot of rules and competitiveness.

Teachers Are an Absolute Miracle!

Teachers have to: stand above all their students, yet be on their level; be able to do 180 things not connected with the subject they teach; run on coffee, Cokes, and leftovers; communicate vital knowledge to thousands of students daily and be right (most of the time); have as much, and sometimes more, time for the job as they do for themselves; and have a smile that can endure everything from practical jokes to referendum votes. Teachers are an absolute miracle.

(Author Unknown)

Making a Difference

A child, unlike any other, yet identical to all those who have preceded and all who will follow, sits in a classroom today--hopeful, enthusiastic, curious. The touch of a teacher will make the difference!

(Sharon M. Draper)

Assessing Children's Learning

Teachers should make informal observations as children play in activity centers, share in teacher-initiated activities, and engage in group experiences. Teachers should ask the following questions:

1. Am I encouraging children to think divergently?


2. Do I encourage them to seek alternative solutions and to solve problems?


3. Are my objectives broad enough to include creative thinking as an approach to learning?


4. Are children excercising initiative, independence, and self-management in their attitude toward learning?


5. Is my language program meeting the developmental level of my children?


6. Am I encouraging children to develop foundational skills in math and science?


7. Have I integrated my curriculum in ways that are meaningful and exciting to young learners?


8. What resources can be added to my curriculum and to my program and/or classroom?


9. How can I make better use of parent's interests and talents in forwarding my program?


10. Am I achieving a healthy balance between teacher-initiated activities and child-initiated activities?

(Resource: Nuturing Readiness in Early Childhood Education)

Praising and Encouraging Children's Artwork

Adults can cultivate the arts by affirming children's self-expression. Children receive messages by the way a teacher communicates and responds to authentic artwork. A teacher who throws artwork away because it is too messy or is reluctant to hang artwork on a wall because it does not fit into his visual scheme is not supporting creative expression. Similarly, a teacher who touches up artwork or who directs projects is giving a child a message that her work is not acceptable.

Teachers should take time to sincerely recognize children's artwork but need not lavish them with praise (children already feel good about their work). They should notice special things about children's artwork: "I like the pink flowers so much. I wish I could pick them, put them in a vase, and keep them forever!" She encourages children to be inventive: "Would you like to see what happens when we mix red and white, green and yellow, black and white?" "What can we call this color... it's not red, it's not black, it's not green." She encourages children to try ideas-to design and create using many textures, mediums, and materials. In self-challenging activities that enable a child to feel in control, the child and the process are one. The child creates as the child experiments with materials. Unlike the school-age child, the young child tends not to be concerned about finished products. He is absorbed in using materials in inventive ways. In the untrained eyes of the child, everything is beautiful-especially his own work. It is an adult who introduces self-doubt: "Why don't you add a little yellow to your picture? I think it would make it prettier, don't you?"

(Ellen S. Cromwell)

Establish Feelings and Relationships in the Early Years

According to Ellen C. Cromwell, when children are nutured in cooperative and pro-social play at an early age, they internalize attitudes and patterns of behavior. Ideally, an environment should not be bound by rules but by agreements. The more children are encouraged toward kindness, the more accepting they become. Children behave as they are conditioned to behave. They look to adults for clarifaction and direction. When an environment appropriately models equality and fairness, children become considerate and caring.

As I reflect on Ellen's point of view, it validated one of my most important goals for the children in my care. I always work on creating a positive social environment and help children develop positive relationships with each other. I know for the most part teachers have to give young children guidance in devloping friendships. It is my belief that a learning environment is not a community unless every child has at least one friend.

Children need three types of skills to make and keep friends. They must know how to establish contact with another child, maintain a positive relationship, and negotiate when a conflict arises (Kostelnik, 1990). Is this an easy task for young children? No. However, that's where we as educators have to build the foundation for young children to acquire these most needed skills. It's easy to get caught up in the academic portion of the daily routine and neglect the promotion of a positive social environment.

Opportunities to Build Into Your Daily Curriculum for Young Children

• Pretending


• Discovery


• Creative expressive


• Socializing and talking time


• Storytime


• Story dictation


• Drawing and writing


• Music


• Quiet time


• Cooking


• Show me your idea time


• Playtime indoors and outdoors


• Free choice time


• Movement and dance


• Alone time