Counting

There is a kind of counting that involves nothing more than saying the numbers in a certain order much like reciting a poem. 'one, two, three, four, five.' There is also a kind of counting that involves coordinating this poem with a hand movement: every time you say a number, you touch one of the objects in front of you. Then there's a kind of counting in which you have to understand that the last number you say tells you something not only about the object you touch but about all the objects you've touched so far. When you count to ten, you have ten objects. Of the different kinds of counting, some are easier than others. You can teach the child at least one kind by the time he's three, rote counting. You may even start on one of the other methods, but don't make the mistake of thinking that simply because the child can say, 'One, two, three, four, five...ten' he should be able to bring you three counters (one-to-one correspondence) from a pile of ten or count out the number of objects out of the pile. These tasks are miles removed from rote counting.

Cooking Experience: Making Pumpkin Pie

Cooking is a fun and natural experience for teaching various skills. When children are participating in cooking experiences there is a connection to literacy, math, science, social studies, and the arts.

• Literacy: Review recipes with children to expand their vocabulary and language.
  
• Mathematics: Involve children in solving problems about number concepts by posing challenges for them to solve.
• Science: Ask questions that will encourage children to conduct physical science investigations.
• Social Studies: Ask parents to share their family recipes to expose children to people and how they live.
• Arts: Decorate the walls with children's paintings and drawings of foods they have cooked.

Carpet Counting

Young Children generally understand the concept of one. They have been asking for 'one' since learning to speak. The same is true for the number two, which has been a part of children's knowledge bank since discovering they have two hands to hold whatever it is they want and realizing that two is one more than one. We used our circle time carpet to do a hands-on math activity. First, we talked about and identified the numbers 1-10 on the carpet. Then the children were asked to choose a number and count out the same number of counters and place them on whatever number they chose. When all of the numbers were represented, together we counted the objects as reinforcement and self-checking. Later I observed the children doing the activity as a free choice activity.

Reducing Fatigue and Stress in The Early Childhood Environment

A child-appropriate environment generates good feelings among children by reducing the elements that cause fatigue and stress. Activities and materials are matched to children's age levels, interests, and needs. There is a healthy balance between play, rest, and quiet activities. Environmental factors that affect behavior such as heat, light, and noise levels are closely monitored and adjusted when necessary. A great deal of attention also is given to health and nutritional factors that influence children's behavior. In 'keeping the Peace: Practicing Cooperation and Conflict Resolution with Preschoolers, Susanne Wichert describes an idea environment.

Portfolios: A Great Assessment Tool

There is just one secret to making assessment work for children. Deal with each child as an individual. Use assessments that best benefit the individual and, remember, like any other aspect of a child's development or education, it is the process. Think of it as navigating a ship. One plans the course and then adjusts and adjusts and adjusts. Finally, a destination is arrived at, and then another leg of the journey is planned.

• Observations about the children's progress can be done using anecdotal notes.
• The teacher observes as children participate in various activities.
• Teacher writes down her observations about the child's progress.
  
  EXAMPLE:
  10/14/06 Connor found his name card today.
  11/01/06 Connor wrote several C's on the dry erase board.
  11/15/09 Connor showed me a C in a book today. He said, 'This is like my name.'
  
  Photographs Can Be Included: Include a picture of a child in a center, involved in activities. date and write comments as appropriate. If more than one child is in the picture make copies and place them in the appropriate children's portfolio.
  Samples to include in portfolio: name writing sample, drawings, video clips, anecdotal notes, artwork, parents observation notes, checklists, etc.
  
  Note: Sometimes young children want to take their work home. No problem, copies of various samples work just as well.

We're Going On A Math Adventure!

In early childhood, math skills and concepts are primarily learned through constructive play experiences that activate the child's senses and engage the child's mind.




The children have mastered numerous math skills (i.e. classifying, sorting..., comparing, and one to one correspondence). We're working on number recognition 1-20.

The children really enjoy pretending to be police officers. I incorporated dramatic play with number recognition by asking the children to find missing numbers on the 'playground' (our circle time carpet).

The children were encouraged to ask their friends for help if they were having trouble locating the number.

I documented the numbers children were able to identify.

Connect Four: Their Way

There are a lot of board games that have suggested ages for players. However, young children enjoy playing games that's recommended for older children. Don't be afraid to modify the rules to help develop various skills. For example, my children are fascinated with 'Connect Four'. The recommended age is 6. I encourage the children to play the game and as they play 'their way' some skills I observe being developed are: sorting the colors, eye-hand coordination, social skills, problem solving, and counting.

Classroom Activities and Ideas That Work Year After Year

1. Send home 'Something Good Happened Today' notes on a regular basis. Decorate and set out an 'I Can' can for children to fill.
2. Put out 'Material of the Month' (use recycled materials) and ask children to create an invention. Start a classroom museum.
3. Do a complete body tracing on large rolls of butcher paper and watch the fun begin as children color in their features and clothing.
4. Compile a child-dictated recipe book to give to parents as a gift.
5. Prepare stone soup as a class community, with each child contributing a vegetable to the pot.
6. Organize a book swap. Each child brings two books to trade."

Encouraging Children to Communicate

Children need to learn to use language to communicate with others in order to express their needs, desires, and interests. When children learn to use expressive language, they can share their ideas with others and negotiate solutions to problems effectively. A child learns to speak, instead of hitting and grabbing, to achieve a desired outcome is a big step forward socially.

Children talk when they have something interesting to talk about. That is why communication is lively in the dramatic play and block areas. Materials such as toy telephones, puppets and flannel boards, dolls and dramatic play props, and small barns, fire stations, or dollhouses create lots of conversation among children as they assume different roles. Most importantly, children talk when there is an interested person who listens to them.

Encouraging children to communicate can include staff-initiated activities during group time and free play such as:

- singing songs at circle time
- Doing finger plays or repeating rhymes with a group
- Asking children to share ideas about a story being read
- Asking children to tell about something from their own experiences, such as their pet or their favorite toy
- Circulating around the room during free play and discussing with children what they are doing

Ghostly Goody Box

Here is a fun, easy-to-carry box for your Halloween goodies.

You will need:
- a cardboard beverage carrier
- a black marker
- white paper
- green and orange construction paper
- scissors
- yarn
- black paint
- glue
- tape

To make the ghostly goody box:
1. Tape up any openings in the bottom of the beverage carrier.

2. Paint the carton black. You may have to put on two coats of paint. Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to your, if necessary, to make it stick. Let it dry.

3. Cut out two ghosts from the white paper. With the black marker, draw eyes and a mouth on each ghost.

4. Cut-out two squares from colored paper to make the ghosts' goody bags. Decorate with tiny pumpkins. Glue a yarn handles on the back of each goody bag. Glue the goody bags to the ghosts' hands. Glue one ghost on each side of the carton.

(Source: Halloween Crafts, Colleen Van Blaricom)

Pumpkin Trick-or-Treat Jug

This decorated milk jug will hold lots of Halloween treats.

You will need:
- orange paint
- black felt
- a paint brush
- glue
- a plastic milk jug
- scissors

To make the Pumpkin Trick-or-Treat Jug:

1. Soak the milk jug in warm, soapy water to remove any labels or ink, and to soften the jug for cutting. Dry it off. Cut a hole about two inches from the top of the jug. Make sure not to cut off the handle.


2. Paint the jug with orange paint. If necessary, add a bit of dishwashing liquid to the paint to make it stick. Let dry.


3. Cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth from black felt and glue them on.

Storage Ideas for Art Materials

• Use empty frozen juice containers as paint containers. Cover them with different colors of bright adhesive paper and fill them halfway with the corresponding color of paint. Make a paint caddy by placing the containers in a cardboard six-pack container with a handle.
• Keep modeling dough and clay in covered plastic containers.
• Use baskets or plastic containers to hold chalk and crayons.
• Keep felt-tip markers upside down in their caps. For more permanent storage, pour plaster of paris into a jelly-roll pan or tray. When the plaster starts to set, place the marker caps upside down in it. After the plaster has hardened, return the markers to their caps.
• Turn egg cartons upside down to store blunt nose scissors or paint brushes. Tape the lids of the carton together so the cartoons will not pop open.
• Use an empty coffee can to hold scissors or brushes. Punch holes in the plastic lid of the can and cover the edges of the holes with masking tape so children cannot cut their fingers."

Early Childhood

When you grow up in an environment where...commitment and dedication is not just talked about but lived so fully, so honestly, there is no way that it does not take root in your being. ~ Yolanda King

Toddlers Learning Through Play

Children play throughout the day during routines and experiences. Their play takes many forms, for example, dropping a spoon off the table again and again, crawling in and out of a cardboard box, exploring the way different fabrics feel, climbing in and out of a chair, and singing a simple song. Play filled with opportunities for children to develop and learn new skills.

Play offers children opportunities to
* make choices
* make decisions
* Solve problems
* Interact with one another
* Interact with you
* Pursue their interests
* Experience learning as fun and exciting
* Build language and literacy skills, discover mathmatical relationships, and be a scientist

(Source: Creative Curriculum)

Vocabulary and Language

One of the greatest achievements in the first 3 years of life is the development of oral language. This includes the ability to understand the words that they hear (receptive language) and to put their own ideas and feelings into words so they can communicate with others (expressive language). A child with a good vocabulary and language skills can engage in conversations, share ideas and feelings, ask and answer questions, and work through problems.

Never Underestimate the Influence of a Caring Teacher

I determined that there should not be a minute in the day when my children should not be aware by my face and my lips that my heart was theirs, that their happiness was my happiness and their pleasures my pleasures. ~ Johann Heinrich Pestalozzia

Keeping Children Safe and Healthy

In selecting toys for infants, toddlers, and twos, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is it solid and without breakable parts: sharp or jagged edges; or exposed nails, wires, pins, or splinters?
• Is it made of washable nontoxic materials?
• Is it too large to be swallowed (at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and free of parts that might break off and become lodged in noses, ears, or windpipes?
• Are dolls' heads and limbs secure? Are facial features molded, rather than sewn on?
• Is it free of cords and strings that could be wound around a child's neck?
• Is it stable and free of parts that could pinch or pierce children or trap their hair and clothing?
• Are hinges and joints covered?
• If made of cloth, is it nonflammable or flame-retardant (not merely flame-resistant)?
  (Source: The Creative Curriculum)"