Just a happy feeling to share

I went back to one of the centers I used to work at today for lunch. It was so very nice to get to sit with everyone while we had lunch and talk and catch up on the latest bit of news. It's fabulous to be amongst old friends. I was always sorry that my path in life didn't keep me there; but alas someone up above has a different mission for me in the bigger scheme of things.
Anyway, I just want to say how great it was to be there today! It's such a fabulous location, great for the children, and they are making some great jumps in appropriate practices with children. They are to be commended for the hard work and dedication that they have there. I was lucky to have been part of the team; and I keep them in mind daily as I do my job, hoping to bring my employees to such a great high standard as these people are.

Homemade Friday-Sand Timers

This is really about different things you can do with tornado tubes. You know the little plastic piece that allows you to screw together two soda bottles, filling one with water, and make a tornado? Well, they have many more uses. One great fun use is to make sand timers. You can find them anywhere, but I usually like to stop by this booth at the conferences and pick some up. I also like to use the smaller bottles because they are easier for the children to handle. I find the big 2 liter bottles are very awkward for the little hands.

Anyway, to make a timer, I like to get some nice clean, dry sand. You can even buy colored sand at some craft stores that work wonderfully! It can get a bit pricey, but in the end I think it's worth it. So, with this sand, you have to make sure the the bottles and sand are very very dry. I would go so far as to leave the bottles open in the sun daily for a few days (making sure to bring them inside when the sun goes away) and, if you are using sand from your playground, lay it out on a tray and do the same as with the bottles. Then, use a funnel to fill one bottle with the sand. If you want, you can add glitter or confetti to the bottle as well. This is always engaging to the children when they are looking at it. Next, screw the bottles to the tornado maker. You now have your very own sand timer.

Let the children experiment with how much sand they want to put in. Use different types of sand and see which one falls faster. There's endless possibilities!

Set of play dishes

I had a set of these in the classroom with my last classroom as a teacher. I got them here. I think the first day one plate broke. After that, the set lasted until I left. I don't know if it's still there; but I would think it has lasted. I am a firm believer in trusting children. You give them things to use, show them how to use it respectfully, and everything will be fine. 90% of the things that broke in my classroom (sound bottles, picture frames, dishes, etc...) was because of me, not the children.

So, these dishes are sturdy. The stand up to the accidental droppings on the carpet. When they do break, it is usually into large pieces that are easy to clean up.

I would say that if you are just starting out in trusting children and want to give yourself some practice in trusting them, this is a great item to start with. Plus it's reasonably priced. I tell you, once you begin to trust children, you will do most of your classroom supply shopping at IKEA. They have some GREAT things!

Favorite song

I just realized I have yet to give you a great circle time song! I think that I will try and make a regular posting on songs for the classroom. We always need new creative ideas right? So, here is my kids absolute favorite song. It's a counting song and is loud and soft all at the same time. So here it is:

5 dinosaurs sleeping on the cave floor (hold up5 fingers and speak very softly)
They woke up and started to ROAR! (stretch like you're waking up and ROAR LOUDLY!)
There's no more room (point finger and move it back and forth)
No more no more (continue wagging finger in the air)
There's no more room on this cave floor (point to floor)
So they tossed (roll arms in front of you)
And they turned (roll arms opposite way in front of you)
And they pushed galore! (push hands out in front of you)
And 1 dinosaur rolled out the cave door. (hold up one finger then roll arms again)

Continue until you get to 1:
1 dinosaur sleeping on the cave floor
He woke up and started to cry
He missed his dinosaur friends
So he goes to the cave door and shouts!
"Dinosaur friends! Come back!"
Then all the dinosuars rolled back into the cave and...
They all went to sleep.

The children love the last verse! The one's who actually remember after a few times get proud that they can remember that it changes! This is a huge hit!
This is also a great song to act out. Have 5 children stand in front of the group. The "actors" love it because they get to roll across the floor.
I have also succefully used this as a transition song dismissing the children from circle. I change the last line to say "and Rosy dinosaur rolled out the cave door." The child then rolls out of circle and then goes to an activity or whatever is next (hand washing for lunch, skill builder time, outdoor time, etc...). It's a great transition activity.

Question of the Day

Two years ago, our agency decided to by the Question of the Day for every preschool classroom. We mandated it to be used every day. Let me just say now, I am never for mandating something to be used in a classroom because each child, teacher, and classroom is different. What works for one does not necessarily work for the other. For that matter, what works one year does not necessarily work the next (even with the same classroom and teacher...the children are different). That being said, the Question of the Day is a useful tool in the classroom. The way the classrooms use it is at circle time they ask the chidlren the question of the day, the child then takes their nametag and puts it under the answer they choose, and then you count it...like a graph. It is a very useful tool! It helps with language, math, and social skills. However, if I were in the classroom this is how I would use it:

When the children arrive, the question would already be posted. At this time, they would (with their parent) find thier name tag. They would then read the question and make a choice for an answer. This would bring in the parent involvement and give the child a responsibility that needs to be completed (kind of like homework). Then at circle time we would discuss the results. I would allow any child to comment on why they chose their answer if they wanted to, giving them an opportunity to create conversation and also to wait their turn to talk. Used right, this tool could be a huge resource of stimulation in the classroom. Name recognition, lanugage, communication, social skills, counting, patterning, comparisons, etc...

Now, the product itself is very well made. Yes, you could probably make it yourself with a poster board and some velcro, but this was definatly worth the money. All the pieces are laminated; this means you can write the children's names on the tags and reuse them next year. Here's a handy tip: use permanent marker so the names don't wear off. At the end of the year, or when the child leaves, rub a dry erase marker over the letters and wipe off. Anytime you get permanent marker on a wipable surface, dry erase will erase it! It also comes with a box full of potential questions, front and back, and they are catagorized and sorted. It's easy to decide what kind of question you are looking for and then find it. Want a question on colors? How about animals? Transportation? Yes or no questions? It's got them all. What? You can't find the question you want? Well it also comes with several blank pieces so that you can make up your own question. The answer cards are also catagorized and have lots of options. Again, there are some blanks for you to make your own answers. I like to mix it up and make it fun for the children. For example: How did you come to scholl today? Car, walk, bus, airplane. The children find this funny, and even funnier when one of the characters actually chooses airplane.

Let them pick their answers. This is one of those "there are no wrong answers" activities. So what if they want to say they came by plane? Does it really matter? They have their reasons. Maybe they pretended their car was a plane this morning...maybe that was the only way mom could get them in the carseat!

I would say that this is an activity that should be in every classroom (whether you buy this product or not). I would also say that this product is well worth the money and is an asset to the classroom experience.

Weddings

Okay, there is a personal reason for this post. Today is my husband's and mine 2 year wedding anniversary. I decided to give you some helpful tips for the classroom that will touch on this. When I was preparing for our wedding it just so happened that there was a classroom full of 4 year old girls who were enchanted by weddings. Of course, this was encouraged by Disney and the princesses; but I was at least able to give them some realities of weddings. In the library, we put wedding magazines and planner books. The parents and teachers from the center also brought in pictures from their weddings. With these pictures, we displayed them around the classroom as well as put them in a book to be looked through; a photo album. The best part was having the pictures of the parents, it was a great touch for the children to see their parents on wedding day.
This also helped show different culutral aspects...no two wedding pictures were the same. I would strongly encourage you to incorporate this into the classrooms. This would give a realistic look at weddings and marriages rather than the Disney version. It's also a great way to get parents involved in the classrooms!

Book of the week-Hug!

I was introduced to this book about 5 years ago by my assistant teacher at the time. I fell in love with it immediately! There is only one word in the entire book. Want to guess what it is? "Hug" by Jez Alborough is an amazingly descriptive book for only having the word hug on every page. The pictures truly tell the story. A young chimpanzee look all around his world and sees all sorts of animal parents and children hugging...and comments on what he sees. However, as the book goes on, you can see the distress on his face; obviously looking for his own hug. In the end, he gets what he needs, a hug from his mommy! This is obviously a book that is easily memorized, but it is also easily memorizing. I can spend hours reading this over and over to any child who wants to hear it; children spend their time looking at this book over and over. It is a great book! I want to thank Jez Alborough for writing and illustrating this fabulous gem to any library.

Homemade Friday-Hovercrafts

Before I conitnue on this post, check this out. It was just a great feeling I got in the yard yesterday out with the children.

So, on to hovercrafts. This is a really cool, teacher supervised activity. It's teacher supervised because it involved balloons. I only allow balloons in the classroom as teacher directed activities. There are too many dangers with them. What you are going to need is just three items: old CD's, superglue, balloons, and waterbottle tops (the pop-top ones that pop open and shut work best.) Take the waterbottle top and superglue it onto the center of the CD, right over the hole in the middle. Make sure that you don't superglue the top closed or this won't work.
Once the glue dries, close the water bottle lid, blow up the balloon (don't tie it closed). Place the blown up balloon over the bottle top. Sitting on the table it should be: Disc, bottle top, balloon.
Now, pull the bottle top open and let go! The disc will hover over the table! Way cool! We add all sorts of weather to the environment to see what happens: blowing wind from different sides, does it go over a puddle of water, all sorts.
What is happening is the air pressure from the air escaping the balloon lifts it off the table, causing the disc to float.

This is a very fun science experiment!

Reviews

We do evaluations twice a year all at the same time, no matter what your anniversary date is. Well, reveiws were done yesterday around here and I discovered some tips during some reviews that I think are helpful to everyone; so I am passing them on to you:
First, you should set goals at every review. On the annual is when the goal should be reached, the mid-year should be when they are looked at and updated or changed if needed; depending on the individual's circumstances. Everyone should have goals or room for improvement. This doesn't mean you are doing a bad job, it just means these are areas of improvement needed. My staff hits the spectrum of options on this. I have one teacher who, at any review (classroom or evaluation) actually doesn't want a great score. She wants to be dinged on something: "I can always improve somethine." So making goals with her is real easy because she is receptive to them. Then on the other end, I have an employee who thinks that making goals means she is not doing something right. "So, I'm not going my job?" is literally the question she asks me everytime. No! You are doing your job, but to get better at your job, these are the areas we are going to work on this year. After a long discussion, I finally hit on a point that, I think, drive it home: "Even our exacutive director, the man who runs the company, sits down every year and makes goals for himself. He even looks to see where he can improve!" So, on this first helpful hint I leave you with this: a review is only a tool to help you become better in your field, no matter what your field is; it is not necessarily a reflection that you are doing a bad job, only a reflection on ways to make you a better person in the end.

Second helpful hint: When doing a review remember that this is a reflection on soley on person. So, no matter what the questions are, the answer needs to be that, taking away all other people in the department, does this person meet this requirement? Of course you do have to take into considerations other when it deals with communication and teamwork, but even that can be brought to the same point: does this person does everything in his or her power to meet the teamwork, even though someone else isn't meeting that requirement? When you are the reciever of the review (i.e. my teacher or assistant) don't bring up the point that "Miss J does this and this". I, as a supervisor come back with "Yes, but you know your job, and it is your responsibility to do your job, no matter what anyone else is doing." Worry about your own job, I see what others are or aren't doing and that will reflect on their review. Now, if you want to, at a time seperate from your review, discuss with your supervisor what "Miss J" is doing; then make a time to do that. An evaluation is not the time, it only makes you look bad.

Another helpful tip: As an evaluator, don't have any surprises for your evaluatees. They should know why you are scoring them the way you are. When I have someone with a low score, I simply say "You got a moderate on your attendance. We talked about that last week; and we made a plan to improve it which you have been working on." Leave it at that; unless of course it isn't getting better.

Tip for the evaluatee: As an evaluatee, be honest with yourself. Do you really deserve a 5 or is that wishful thinking? Do you actually go above and beyond your job duties? That's when you get a 5. Do you come to work everyday without fail, give your supervisor at least a 2 week notice of doctors appointments, call the night before when you are sick, and make appointments around your work schedule? Or do you come in the day of an appointment and say "I need to be off at 10 for an appointment today that I've had for a month and forgot to tell you." Or do you call in sick 30 minutes after you were supposed to already be there? This reflects on you. How about teamwork? Do you do everything in your power to keep the communication open with your classroom or department? Or do you 'forget' to tell them things leaving them to answer to a parent at pick up for a child's chipped tooth that they came in with? I'm telling you now the patterns I see are as follows: an employee who deserves the 4's and 5's will turn in their self evaluation with 2's and 3's because they honestly believe that they don't deserve those scores, they see where they need to improve. The employee who gets evaluated with 2's and 3's, without fail, turns in their self evaluation to me with all 5's marked. It is a rare occasion, and a rare person, who will actually turn in their evaluation with the same or close to the same marks that I give to them. An evaluation is a tool for you, not your employer. It will only help you in the end become a better person, not just a better employee at this company.

If you go into an evaluation with these things in mind, on both sides of the desk, you will have succesful evaluations. What you really have to think is: what is the pupose of this (or any) evaluation? And the answer is simple: to become better!

What tips do you have?

Discovery Tubes are okay

Lakeshore has these Discovery Tubes that they sell for $59.95. You get all four of them for that price and they are pretty cool. When I worked for Head Start we always had more money than we knew what to do with (grants and stuff) so we were always ordering. When you do that much ordering, you end up buying a lot of things that you want not need. And this is why I ordered these. They were really cool. The children all liked them; however, you can make them. The plus, they are very sturdy. These were dropped, stepped on, stacked, toppled over and they never sustained any structural damage; that is to say that they may have been scratched but not cracked or broken. They definitly have a long life! But, like I said, you can make them for much less.

That would also play into the minus. With these, the children don't really know what has gone in them to make them work. One good activity to do with them may be to try and "recreat" the bottles. Putting out different materials and see if they can figure out how they were made. They only truly comlete their purpose if the children understand how they work. It's great to look and see things sink or float, but what are they sinking of floating in? Why does the blue and clear materials seperate, what are they made from? And what about the gravity one? How does that work?

In the end, I would say they are pretty neat to have in the classroom and are worth it if you have money to spare. If not, make them yourself! They are just as fun and fasinating.

Curriculum Ideas-Patterning

When I was teaching in the classroom, I would constantly see my children making patterns out of EVERYTHING! I was walking through my classrooms the other day and noticed I saw NO ONE making patterns...and thinking about it, I can't recall the last time I had seen it. Of course, the simple way to make patterns is on the calendar. 30 days of making patterns with shapes, colors, or anything else. But what else can we make patterns out of?
Well, there is the standard stringing beads or counting bears; but I want to make patterns elsewhere as well.
Lining up boy girl boy girl. How about more complex: 2 boys 1 girl
Standing according to our shoes: laces, velcro, slip ons
How about in the sand box: dig a hole, pile the sand, dig a hole, pile the sand
Obstacle courses: Over, under, around, over, under, around
Setting the table: napkin, fork, plate, cup, repeat

What ideas do you have?

Book of the Week-Twinkle Twinkle Little Start

I was first introduced to Iza Trapani through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I loved her version of the song! The girl I was a nanny to at the time also loved the book. We would read it over and over. It's an excellent bed time story. The pictures are soft and comforting. They really fit well with the words. She also takes you on a different adventure for the song. What would it be like to be a star? What would you see? Where would you go? Well, this is a peek into those answers. She has several books in which she took popular children's songs and added or changed the verses to take you on all sorts of adventures. One great thing is that she includes the original verse at the beginning and the end. After that, everything in between is consistent with the rhythm and rhyme of the original verse. These are fabulous books that have brought many happy story times, bed times, and reading times. Of course, because they are songs, the children easily memorize them and are able to read them to you themselves. If you are completely "tune" deaf (can't remember the tune to save your life), the music is in the back of the book...which may not do you much good since most people who are "tune"deaf are also tone deaf and can't read music anyway!

Again, I just wish there was a picture of the author/illustrator on the book, but alas, it hasn't caught on yet. So, just for you, here is her picture:

Update

I meant to update you on the progress of our injured child. She is doing better and her twin sister has returned to school. She hasn't returned because they still need to keep her hand fairly clean; and, although we would do our best, we just can't garuntee that it would stay as clean as necessary. She is still going to the doctors for follow ups and is going to the children's hospital in the area to see a specialist just because she has been going to a clinic (unfortunatly they don't have insurance; a common problem when grandparents are raising grandchildren we've discovered). Grandma has asked to be sent to the hospital to make sure that it really is doing well and will continue to do so.
She has been to visit when they drop off her sister and seems eager to come back to school; that is good news!

Things homemade friday-Block people

This is the best idea I have ever seen! I wish I had some pictures to share, but I have a description in how to make them. I walked into a classroom the other day and the teacher had made Block Play people with the children in the classroom on them! The kids LOVED them! It was the greatest idea ever, and of course my over working mind came up with all sorts of ideas.

First, take a full body shot of each child in the classroom individually. Print them out so they are about 3-4 inches tall. Glue the pictures onto cardstock to give them some sturdiness. Then cut out around the shape of each child. (The children had all posed differently for their pictures and it was adorable! Some were laying down, some were jumping, it was great!)
Next, get some 1x1 boards and cut them to a 2-3 inch height. Glue the pictures of the children onto the peices of wood. Make sure to put the picture close to the base of the wood, but not past it. You want the pieces to be able to stand on their own.
Then the play begins! These were in the block area and the children had a blast with them. It's fun being able to put yourself into your block play.

Of course, here is where my ideas ran to:
Add pictures of the teachers in the center
Make pictures of all the family members of the children. How fun would that be!
Use the children's pets!
Did you have a guest speaker come to the center? Add them in, they can "recreate" the experience.
This is an endless idea! You can make your own theme sets.
Another thought would be to strategically put the pictures on with velcro so that you can easily change the pictures to fit different themes, however they are so cost effective, it would be okay to just glue them.

What would you make?
Take pictures and send them to me if you do this! I would love to see what you make!

Heart day!

Yes, I am mean. I don't let my classrooms celebrate Valentine's day. I do this for several reasons: 1st, it is to commemorate a religious saint!!! I have to keep religion out of it; therefore I can't teach the children the real history of this holiday. 2nd, do I really want all those kids bouncing off the walls on candy?. 3rd, Valentine's day is supposed to be a day that celebrates love and a day for lovers; well, do the children really love each other? They aren't even developmentally able to for friendships, no less love! and so the reasons go on and on.
What do I do instead? Well, my two year old class is talking about mail and where does mail come from? And how do you mail a letter? And if we time it right, they get to see the postman deliver our mail and maybe even ask a few questions.
My 3 year old classroom is talking about the colors red, white, and pink. We are mixing red and white to make pink; we are hunting for things around the center in those colors, and they are dressing in those colors to come to school. This will also lead to making patterns by standing in line according to the colors in our shirts.
The Pre K classrooms are writing letters to another center to create pen pals. They will get to mail these letters out themselves. So, we are practicing our writing skills, plus learning a new form of writing skill: writing a letter.
So you see, we still do something special, we just leave the Valentine's for the parents and home.

Another Recal!

There have been a lot of recalls lately. The majority of them have been for lead paint. I told you a while ago about the recalled paint brushes. This week it is a growth chart. What's nice is that the suppliers keep track of the things that we have bought in the past years so they notify us personally. I have taken to checking this site daily to see what else is recalled. There are things that parents will donate to the center that have been on that list. There have also been things that I know the parents have bought and so I post it for them.

Apparently it's the black paint on this item. Of course, the only danger to the children is if they are licking the paint, but you never know! I can say that we purchased this so long ago that it is no longer in use anyway. I will probably not be calling the 800 number for my refund. We got good use out of it, we used it enough to make it worth the cost. It wouldn't be right of me to ask for that refund.

Restlessness

Have your students been restless lately? Some of our have. Plus I have been too. I am a strong believer in the phases of the moon. When it's full or new, there tends to be a restlessness in the air; both are different types. When there is a full moon, it's almost like there needs to be chaos for chaos sake; you know, I have to knock down his tower because I want to break something and hear someone cry. Versus a new moon, it's like they just can't get settled; this is the I can't even sit the entire time to eat my breakfast I have to stand I have to sit I have to lay down I have to stand again! I noticed myself being a bit restless on sunday but just thought it was from sitting cooped up in the house the day before working at the computer all day.
However, then I saw my stepson, and he was just as restless as me. Trying to be funny just to be funny; full of the jokes and the pranks, needing to cause disruption at every turn (and mind you he is 22!...that's years!). So that's when I turned to see what the moon looked like. Well, it's not really that.
Then last night, I'm talking to my husband and the world shakes a bit. This morning on the radio, there was a report of a total of 4 earthquakes throughout the night, basically all centered around the same area in Baja. It only took me all day to figure out that it was all related! No wonder everyone has been antsy pantsy the last few days. With all that energy building up in the earth! It makes complete sense!
How have your kids been the past few days?

Joey Jump!

I used to go outside an see children taking our long handle shovels, lay them on the ground, put a ball in the handle, run to the other side of the shovel and stomp on it as hard as they could. The ball would go flying over their heads and they would laugh hysterically! I would turn to the teachers and suggest that someone should get a dad to cut some 2x4 boards into 2 foot long planks and screw a fat dowel of somesort into the bottom of it. They should even put them at different distances from the middle. Then the children could stomp on those...instead of the shovels which will eventually break from this kind of use. I really wasn't upset that the children were using the shovels, they had a need to explore these types of force and reactions and all that science stuff. However, after suggesting this for about 6 months, I was looking through the kaplan catalog and came across this. I don't know why they call it a Joey Jump, but I am thrilled they have it. I bought 2! They were deliverd less than 2 weeks ago, and it is probably the best thing I ever bought. It comes with 2 bean bags, which is great. The children have stomped on it, I can't tell you how many times. I introduced it early in the morning when there were only 3 children around because I knew it would be a popular item. I figured that if I introduced it that early, the ones who were there would be done enough with it that they would let others play with it; and as children trickled in the same thing would happen. Best plan I ever had! It worked exactly as planned, the two boys who were there when I introduced it played with it for a while, then went and found something else to play. When some more children came, they actually stopped what they were doing, excitedly showed the arriving children this awesome new toy, and went back to their other activities. And so it went the rest of the morning until breakfast.

Of course, after the first day came the real fun! You could see the exploring going on with these toys; you could almost hear the thinking: what if I put both of them next to each other and jump on them at the same time? What if I put two bean bags stacked on the end? What if I line up the bean bags all the way across the board? How about a ball? Lets stomp on it together! Who's can go farther?...and on and on!

This hasn't ended their play with force at all, it has only expanded it! Now maybe the teachers will see the importance of this play and get some parents to make some more of these!

Folow up

Last Friday I posted this. It was a long weekend. One thing I hate more than anything is failing a child. That's exactly how I had felt; that I had failed her somehow. Did I not train a teacher right? Should I have been in there at this time? Could I have changed something in the classroom that may have lead up to this? Did I do everything I could while administering first aide? And on and on and on.

Of course, having a weekend to think about it didn't help either. Nothing like a sleepless night worrying over something you have no control over; there is nothing I can do for her now except hope and pray that her finger heals well. However, there are things I can do in the classroom. Where I did fail her was not redirecting a teacher's behaviors that may have lead to this incident. I had been in that classroom in the past and seen the same girl hovering by the door after drop off. Instead of addressing the teacher, I addressed the child; encouraging her to go to the tables and help the assistant teacher set up. The next occasion, I helped her find something to do again, and addressed the teacher "She needs to find something to do away from the door." But she must not have taken me very seriously. Note to self: make teachers aware of the gravity of a situation before it gets out of control.

So, I have learned from this. No, I would never have known that I needed to be in the classroom. We were covered and I had things to get done in my office (reports and such). It's not my responsibility to be in the classroom watching over the children, that's what I entrust my teachers to do. However, it is my job to make sure that they are doing everything they can to keep the chidlren safe...could I have done more? I guess I will never really know. I will, however, always think I could have done more. It's just my nature. I was put on this earth to protect and love children...in my mind I failed this time.

It's not the first, and probably not the last; however it is the last time I will fail in this way. I do learn from my mistakes, as we all do. I will now be able to look back on this, wish it didn't happen, but know that I will make sure it doesn't happen again.

The child is doing okay. They were able to sew on the skin and are hoping for the best the the circulation will continue through the finger; they are keeping a close eye on it for the next week or so as it heals. It will take a while to heal completely, but it will be a long road. She was most definitly in a lot of pain this weekend; curbed by the pain relievers they gave her. I wish I could take the pain for her. I'll update you as we know more.

Curriculum Ideas-A child's view

This was a very fun activity. When I did this, we used disposable cameras. My teachers now use a cheap digital camera. You can get some really low cost cameras at Walmart most of the time. I've even seen some for under $15. I don't mind letting the children using these cameras. Anyway, let each child use a camera to take 3-4 pictures each. They get to choose anything they want. They can take a picture of their friends, something in the classroom, outside, their parents. Anything they like. Then get the pictures printed.
Once the pictures are printed, the real fun begins. Give each child their choice: They can use one paper per picture, or all pictures on one page, or anything inbetween. Once they have decided where their pictures will sit, have them glue them on. I use glue sticks because it's a little less destructive to the pictures in the end. One teacher even had the children use stickers on the corners to hold them on the page; that was a nice touch. Once they have the pictures in place, they get to tell a story about their picture. At this, I also give the children a choice. They can dictate to me and have me type it up; they can have me write it directly on the paper; they can have me write it on a separate paper which they will then cut out and glue on their page; or they can write with me helping them spell the hard words. This last choice is more for the advanced student.
Once everyone has made their pages we read them aloud to the class. I usually will pick 2 to read at each circle time throughout the day and week. By the end of the week, I have read everyone's books. I then put each of the pages in a clear plastic sheet protector and make a binder with everyone's stories in it. This is a great activity for language and literacy. The stories the children come up with are fabulous. You can also really see where some of them are in their story telling. You'll get some who just tell you what the picture is of; then you'll have others tell you a made up story to intepret their pictures. It's great fun! It's also fun to do a few times during the year to see how their ideas develop.

Book of the week-Parts by Tedd Arnold

Do have a child that worries over things? How about a child who likes to play with words? How about a child who just loves to read books? Are you doing a parent workshop of parenting skills or talking with children? Well, this book is perfect for all of those. This book is great fun to read! The rhyming and rhythm of this book is part of its charm. Tedd Arnold is a great children author. He is one of the authors that I have a collection of, I have a copy of every book he has written. I love all of them. I do have to say that "Parts" is one of my favorites. He also did a great follow up in "More Parts" and "Even more parts". "Parts" focuses on things that children come upon in every day life that may scare them. I had a child in my classroom who freaked out when he got a small cut on his finger. This book was great in helping him calm down. This book has done a fabulous job of making scary things not so scary anymore.

The follow up book "More parts" is also great for talking about the nuansces of lanugage. It talks about a "broken heart". To us, not so bad, to a child who doesn't have enough experience in the world..that can be a very scary image! These are great books to pull out for those children who may be worried about something or who have misunderstood something someone has said.

Again, the only thing I would encourage Tedd Arnold to do differently would be to add a picture of himself on the cover. I love to see those authors!

Shaken up

I have been in this field for a long time. I have had many incidences of minor to major injuries that I can't even count.

A few of them are memorable; such as the child who fell off the top of the slide once and wouldn't get up for about 5 minutes. That was scary.

Or the child who fell outside on the concrete, hitting the back of her head, then passing out. That was worrisome.

There was also the child who was trying to flip like a powerranger and ended up cracking the back of his head. That was memorable because of the amount of blood; but also because he got up laughing and never cried once! And because when licensing came out to check up on it he was doing almost the same thing.

One time I had a toddler flip over the front of a trike landing on her chin, causing a need for stitched. That was my first serious injury, probably why it sticks in my head.

I've also had the typical scrapes, bumps, bruises. However, today I had the incident that shook me up the most! I do have to say, I was proud of one of my teachers. She kept a cool head and reacted quickly. A little girl today got her finger caught in a door. Happens all the time right? Not like this. She got it caught on the inside part of the door (near the hinge). The door closed right on it. In the end, it cut all the way to the bone most of the way around. It was the worst looking injury I have ever seen. I'm a pro at acting like I'm calm and going crazy inside. It's part of being a leader. I know that if I stay calm everyone around will stay calm. I was able to instruct people in getting ice, calling guardians, and doing what needed to get done; all while holding her hand in mine, keeping the pressure on.

I tell you though, all that kept going through my mind was: "Is there anything more I need to do? Am I keeping enough pressure on? What else do they tell you in first aid classes?" When her guardian (grandma) came in less than 10 minutes later, in tears, I was able to stay calm and get her calmed down too, enough to get her to the hospital. Yes, she had to go to the hospital. In all I have experienced, I have never been so shooken up in my life! I am proud that no one really knew it during the episode; that makes me feel good. In the end, I still have to know that I can keep it pulled together enough to get everyone through a crisis.

What was the scariest thing that ever happened to you?

Things Homemade Friday-Costumes

The children had a blast with this one! It was real simple. Get a box. We just use the onesthat supplies come in. The best are the boxes from office depot. But the paper towel cases work well too! Cut out two holes for eyes. We found that cutting the holes for the arms, cut it all the way down so the box just rests on the shoulders is better. It was very difficult for the children to get their arms in and out; some of them would get stuck in it. Then you have a panicy 3 year old who can't think clearly and disaster is in the make...plus then they are apprhensive to try it again. Let the children help paint it. If you can get enough boxes, make one for each child. The teacher here had found some colored celophane to use in the eyes. The children really liked this! They had a blast! This lasted for close to a month before it got beyond reparable; by that time the chidlren were ready to move on anyway. They named this costume "Sponge Bob", can you guess why? It was a great project.

Now, the developmental areas: art (for obvious reasons) and dramatic play (again for obvious reasons); but it also had a lot of discussion (lanugage) both while they were making it and while they were playing with it. Conflict resolution was huge at first and of course waiting for your turn.

A great project for home or school!

Horrified!

I was looking through catalogs this morning because it's that time of year we do a curriculum order when I ran across this:

I'm not going to tell you which catalog it was in; however you may have seen it. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but when I see this I think animals in a kennel. It's bad enough that some people in our field look at children as our little puppets who just need to be dealt with. It's things like this that cause others to think what we are doing is wrong. Could you imagine yourself being placed in one of these? It would break my heart to walk into a crib room and see one of these with children actually sleeping in them. Or worse yet, the child who is awake and waiting to be picked up peering sadly out of these bars. I know what someone is going to say "When space is limited, these are perfect. I'm sorry, I would rather give up space than to have these. I would rather have space for only one crib and wash it every time a child wakes up to make space for the next napping infant.

Have you ever walked into a pet store and seen all those little puppies stacked on top of one another? This is what I think of when I see this product. I beg you, please don't buy one of these. We are taking care of human babies. We are supposed to love and nurture them, not just "keep" them; not just take them out to feed and excersize them. This absolutly breaks my heart.

Foam Floor Puzzles

Six years ago I bought a set of foam floor puzzle pieces. They look similar to the ones pictured, however I got mine from Target...on clearance. I bought 2 sets at $3.95 a piece. This is the best bargain I have ever gotten! My initial thought of use for them was as a mat under a sensory table. It worked perfectly. It was easy enough to clean up, and kept the materials right in the sensory table area. It also helped keep the children from slipping when we were using a material that could make the floor slippery (water, bubbles, instasnow, etc...) Snappy stretch wouldn't stick to it like it does in carpets either. Making cleanup real easy.

The next place I used it was under the art easel. This was because the classroom I used it in was wall to wall carpeting. It was perfect for that too! They wipe up real easy. Even dried up paint just chips right off. These puzzle pieces have been through a lot with everything that has been dropped and spilled on them!

Now, they are outside on our patio area for the children to play with. They spend hourse putting them together. Yesterday, on of the 4 year old's made a hopscotch with them! The pieces are easy to manipulate and the are very versatile. I know you probably can't find them for $3.95 anymore, but I would recommend them in the classroom. If for nothing else, use them for the sensory table!

Pets in the classroom

I have always been a huge beleiver that there needs to be pets in the classroom. Whether it be a goldfish, hamster, rat, or anything else. My husbands center actually has a pet pig in the center. That's cool! Maybe I'll find out more how they take care of her and everything and let you know. Today, I'm going to talk about our pet gecko. My husband had heard about a gecko that needed a good home and we wanted to take him. However, in our little apartment, there just isn't enough space for him. Plus we aren't there enough to give him the attention he would need. Okay, I know, how much attention does one little lizard need/want? So, we decide to take him and let one of my classrooms "borrow" him. His name is Zack, the kids call him Luke, it's a long, actually very funny, story; however for the purpose of this post, just know that the children call him Luke. Now, Luke is a leapard Gecko and is awesome! Most geckos are content to be left in their aquariums alone for the most part. They're cool to look at, and easy and fun to hold. However, Luke is not like any gecko you've ever met. He actually seems to love being in the classroom. He gets held practically daily and gets lots of attention. Over Thanksgiving break I brought him home and we got worried about him because he was just laying limply around his tank. As soon as we held him he perked right up, but would still lay in his tank when we weren't holgin him. When I brought him back to the classroom Monday morning, he perked right up as soon as the children came. So, Luke is a perfect classroom gecko...he seems to really love the kids and the attention!

When we first introduced Luke to the children they stayed at a distance, only a few brave ones would touch him. Now they fight over who gets to hold him first. We make sure they wash their hands before and after holding him. There is a book (bring in the lteracy) next to his tank that is all about leapard geckos and caring for them. The teacher did a fabulous thing for the children when introducing his living space (the location in the classroom). She put a chair next to the table and put it in an area that is away from the commotion and said "This is where we are going to keep him. Luke will also listen to your problems, so if you are sad, or mad, or anything, you can come and talk to Luke about it and he will listen to you." Considering she was 3 children who have a lot of anger issues, one who has impulse control issues, and 4 who have such sad home lives you wish you could take them home with you, this was fabulous! And you know, the children took it to heart. They really do go to Luke with their problems.

Luke has also been a great science lesson, of course. From talking about what he eats (crickets mostly) to his coloring, habitat, and yes his poop, the children have learned a lot from him. Since he eats crickets, they have also learned a lot about crickets. We keep the cricket box on the science table; they learn that crickets like dark places. They also learned that if they take the dar tubes out of the cricket box and shake them, crickets go all around the classroom and center. They also learned it's even funnier if they do it when the teacher's not watching. For about a week we kept finding loose crickets all over the center and couldn't figure out why...until we caught the kids letting them loose. We all had a good laugh.

Anyway, there are a few tips I have when looking for a pet:

First, are they easy to care for. You don't want to be spending more time taking care of a pet then you do taking care of the children.

Next, are they child friendly? Can the children touch them, hold them, help care for them, etc...If the only thing they are going to be able to do is look at them through a cage, it might not be a great pet.

That's pretty much it!

One note, if you get a reptile, they need heat. Be sure and leave a note to your janitors to not unplug the tanks! We had this problem a couple times and poor Luke had to go the night without heat. But, he has been a great pet!

What kinds of pets have you had in your classrooms? Is there a particular pet you think every classroom should have? Anything that you think doesn't belong in a classroom?

Responsible dealers

We got these in the mail the other day from Discount school supply. Why? Well, these were reacalled for high levels of paint in the handles, so they did the responsible thing and offered a replacment. The great thing about it is that we had ordered these shaving paintbrushes so long ago, before I was even here, that half of them were either tossed or no good anyway. I have to give Discount School Supplies a big star for being so resonsible that they went back into their past orders and contacted us. When I called, they even knew how many I had previously ordered. So, they sent us two sets of the stubby chubby brushes to replace the shaving brushes.

I have to say, the stubby chubby brushes are great! They are a great size and perfect for making globs of paint on easel paper. I'm anxious to see how well they hold up in the classroom, but I have a feeling that these will soon become a classroom favorite!

Curriculum Ideas-Rainy Pictures

It's raining here today, it's actually been raining pretty steadily off and on for the past 2 weeks. I love the rain! I know, inside with a full classroom...ahhh!!!! However, we make do. We run between the rain drops, go on puddle walks when it stops, and make do. On very fun activity to do is to make rain pictures. There are two ways to do this. One easy way is to get a big sheet of butcher paper, sprinkle on dry tempura powder, and when it rains, watch what happens. This is great outside the classroom window/door for the children to watch.
The other way to do this is more child involved:
Have each child draw a picture with markers. After they have drawn their picture, hang it out in the rain, or place it on the ground. I let my children decide which they want to do. While it rains, they can watch what happens to their pictures. It turns a regular marker drawing into one that looks like a water color painting. It's really cool.
Again, make sure they can see this from the classroom window or door so that they can observe what is happening!

Book of the week-Tank Tank Skunk

This weeks book is Tank Tank Skunk! by Steve Webb. I only have one complaint about the book: I can't find a picture of Steve Webb anywhere. Unless he is the British politician, which he may be. I haven't been able to find much of a history on this author, and I have only found one other book by him (which I have still to check out). As I mentioned before, I like to have a picture of the authors so that the children can make a connection to an actual person.

Other than that one issue, I love Tanka Tanka Skunk! Children of all ages love it as well. I have read this book succesfully with children as young as 12 months all the way up to 5 years old. It is a great book for so many things: rhythm, rhyming, music, animal recognition, syllables, volume (loud and soft) and patterning. The "refrain" of the book is simple and the children quickly pick it up before the first time through. This way they can immediatly participate in the reading of it. This engages them quickly! The pictures are simple and viabrant. It also does what every toddler probably wishes every book did: insists on reading it again, as the last sentence is "Once more from the top...faster this time, please!"

In some ways, it's like the song that never ends. When I want to stop reading this book, I just leave out that last page. It's a great way for children to practice with lanugage and rhyming. The older the children, the fast they try to go every time we read it through.

A great activity with this book is to have some drums and percusion instruments to beat along with as you read. When you start talking about syllables, this is the first book that should come out!

There are common animals, such as a donkey and a duck, and there are also animals that you never really read about in children's books, such as lemur, badger, yak, and armadillo.

Children will also be able to read this book on their own as the pictures tell you the words. They will easily read this on their own.

This is one of those books that is necessary in any classroom or home library! It will last through many years of growth!

Things Homemade Friday-Toddler blocks

Toddlers love to build and break down. It's part of being a toddler. However, the wood blocks are not safe for this purpose. Yes you can buy cardboard and foam block sets, but you can also make them yoursefl! These are perfect for stacking up and breaking down. Throw balls at them, run through them, kick them! And you don't care if they get all smashed up because they hardly cost you anything! It's very simple:

Take 1/2 gallon cartons (empty milk, orange juice, etc...)

I've also use the smaller copacitie's too (quart, pints, etc...)

Make sure to clean them out real well. And let them dry very well too! This is important. I will even leave them in the sun for 3 days just to make sure they are very dried out!

This next step is up to you how you handle it. I like to cut two of the four top sides so when I tape them down it makes a real sturdy closing. I know others who just completly cut the tops off and others who cut each diagonally so that the four sides meet in the middle.

After you cut the top to your preference, I like to fill it with crumpled newpaper. This gives the blocks a little bit of weight and stability, but again this is not necessary. Then tape the end down so that you now have a brick like shape.

Then get some colorful contact paper and wrap them up!



These are also great outside with older kids. They like to build them up into walls and run their bikes through them. It's okay because they can't really hurt them or anything else.



It's also a pretty easy project to collect for because you can usually get parents to bring them in. One time I actually made a whole block set using cartons and frozen juice cans, cracker boxes, and pretty much and food container I could find that was lightweight.