Elicited Transitioning Strategies Help Toddlers Throughout the Day When you look at a typical toddler schedule, it might go like this: Drop-off, breakfast, free-play, potty, snack, circle time, outside, potty, lunch, nap, potty, free-play, pick-up. It may seem like a full day but consider this: between each activity the children must transition. Transitioning can be […]
Category: Early childhood
Alternatives to saying “Good Job!”
Teachers Work to Change Their Daily Language This presentation will include 10 main tips for changing our teaching language from general to detailed, expressive and meaningful. Suggestions: 1. Use sentence starters: Example: “I see you…” or “I heard you…” Use thought openers: Example: “Show me how you….”, “Tell me more about…” 2. Notice and provide […]
Golden Beads: A Golden Ticket for Teaching Math
Use of Beads Helps to Introduce Mathematical Concepts The Golden Beads are used to give a concrete introduction to the decimal system. The Golden Beads, like all Montessori materials, are very tactile, attractive, and easy to understand. The material consists of: “unit” beads, which are just individual bead “tens” bars, which are made of 10“unit” […]
Co-Teaching
Use of Two Teachers in the Classroom Creates a Calm Environment for Children to Learn Co-Teaching is not easy and for some can be uncomfortable. Once you have the right two individuals come together, they form a bond that is beneficial to the learning and development of young children. Co-Teaching is a practice that has […]
Turning Caps/Lids into Tables
Children’s Involvement in Collecting Plastic Caps and Creating Tables Enhances Environmental Awareness We first became aware of Green Tree Plastics, Inc. and their ABC Partnership program when two former CUMNS Kids students asked for help in gathering plastic caps and lids for their elementary school’s bench project. As we got involved in helping them, our […]
Authentic Assessment in Early Childhood Education
Gathering Information About Children Through a Variety of Ways Latin derivative of the word “assessment” is “to sit beside and get to know”…Let’s get to know our children by using an ongoing process of gathering information through observation & regular documentation then sharing & requesting input from a variety of professionals. We will look at […]
The Shot Heard Round the Town: Engaging Young Children in the Work of Social Justice
Students Concerns Spark Community Involvement When students became concerned with gunshots they were hearing in their neighborhood, we were called into action. Leaving this teachable moment as just a classroom discussion left us feeling unsatisfied. As early childhood educators, we were not able to give our students the answers they desired on gun violence. We sought […]
Celebrating Me, Celebrating You: We Are Alike and Different
Students Learn About Culture and Diversity This unit is literacy based, integrating culture and diversity. A center-based, hands-on approach is used to facilitate instruction and differentiation, while promoting tolerance, diversity, and acceptance. Children move from center to center in heterogonous groups. A class library is also available for self-selected reading of fiction and nonfiction texts […]
All Pro Dad’s Breakfast Program
Fathers Join Children for a Monthly Breakfast at School This practice is encouraging and increasing parental involvement by creating a forum for fathers to connect with their children. During this time, fathers and children set monthly goals for spending time together and sharing their feelings for each other. Fathers are given strategies for becoming the […]
Aluminum Can Recycling
Children Learning About Recycling as They Help the Ronald McDonald House Our 4/5s preschool class collects, crushes and recycles aluminum cans. Can crushing is an active center in our classroom each day. Our children learn to work together to achieve a common goal, and take pride in their accomplishments. Learning to recycle and care for their environment […]
My Friends and Me
Making Discoveries with Friends Enhances Personal and Social Growth MY FRIENDS AND ME is a program of group activities and versatile materials to help nurture the personal and social development of preschool children. With FRIENDS, children participate and are encouraged to make discoveries about themselves and their friends and to develop healthy, realistic attitudes about […]
Environmental Design for Infant Care
Classroom Design Meets the Needs of Infant Care Best practice for infant care focuses on the unique characteristics and needs of each individual child. Our best practice is exhibited by the environmental design which includes those individual needs/characteristics. The design of our infant room acknowledges and reflects the field of study’s researched elements of such […]