Journaling

As an administrator, I have tried to find creative and effective ways to keep track of the going-on in the center. Let's face it, we need to remember every time someone came in late (or not at all), every time a parent complains (or even compliments) a teacher, and every other little nuance from the big (finger caught in the door) to the little (child sent home ill).

Why do we need to keep track? Because it never fails when you need to know this stuff, you forget it. How many times was that employee out this pay period? I know it seemed like a lot, but was it really that many or that few? This parent said she has mentioned something 5 times, I can remember one, but did she come in more than once? When did that report go to licensing? Or even When was the last time I heard from licensing? It seems like I just did staff evaluations, are they really due again? And on and on and on...

Well, I have found a great way that really works for me: I keep a journal. I tried keeping one on the computer, but for some reason that wasn't working for me. I tried all sorts of different ways: in word, in outlook, one document a day, one document that I just added to daily, and many more. None of that worked for me; it might work for you.

At one point I had an index card for everyday sitting on my desk that I made notes on. I put the date in the top corner and then noted things throughout the day on it. This worked for a while, but it took up too much space (I know only a small index box, but still), and it was pretty inconsistent. Again, this idea might actually work for someone else.

I have since moved on to the one that works best for me: an old fashioned pen and paper journal. You can pick one up at the dollar stores. This has worked fabulously. The last 15 minutes of my day I spend writing in the journal...NO MATTER WHAT! I do this as a "closed office" time. Don't answer the phone, close the door, pretend I'm not there. I think that is really the key to this: it's been made a priority in the day.

This really helped when I had an employee who was constantly calling in sick, or late, or coming in asking to leave early, on a regular basis; by regular I mean at least every other day if not every day. Even though they were "reasonable" excuses, it was just too much. It also helped when I had a parent who didn't bring in her paperwork even though I had asked repeatedly for a month.

It's been a great tool. This is something that teachers can even use in the classroom to help out in recognizing behaviors and patterns of children in the classroom.

How do you keep track of daily information in your center?

On observation and question

I made an interesting observation this morning while outside with a classroom, let me explain:

I have two different funding sources at one center; neither of these funding sources can share space at the same time so we rotate outdoor time accordingly. In both contracts 3 and 4 year olds share the yard; and the 4 year old children are great at teaching the younger children tricks (both good and bad).

In one group (let's call it group 1) all the children at some point has mastered the ability to hang upside down from the monkey bars and get very skillful at maneuvering them: swinging from, sitting on, hanging from, and other various tricks. This began last year about this time when the children who were getting ready to go to kindergarten began exploring this way. This years pre-k class quickly picked it up. About 9-10 months ago the three year old class quickly caught on. After all, if you want to play with the big kids, you gotta play like the big kids. Group 1 now has a new child (just turned 3) who will be staying in the 3 year old class next year when the rest of the 2's class moves up. Today, she was able to swing her legs up to the bar, but not quite confident in letting go just yet. I say give her a week.

In group 2, the children have never experienced how the other children play. I was interested when two of the older (and more athletic) of the group went to the monkey bars this morning and couldn't accomplish this task. Try as they might, they couldn't even get their legs up to the bars. After 45 minutes, one child was able to figure out how to "walk" up the pole with her legs to get them up, but couldn't do it without this aide.

It got me thinking about how the center dynamics and "traditions" evolve. I had a child who started spinning out of circle one day. She would stand up and twirl her way to the next activity. It did no harm, so I didn't stop her. After a week, a few more children began spinning out of circle. By the end of the month most, if not all, of the children picked up this habit. For two years after, even after this child had graduated and moved on, the children were still spinning out of circle. It was passed down from one year to the next; completely encouraged by me or the other teachers in the classroom. I left and I have no idea if the children still do this; but I am guessing that the new teacher was very confused by this behavior.

So, what odd traditions have you had passed from one year to the next? Or, has there been a skill that the younger ones have had because of the older influence?

Flags

Last year I bought one of these for each classroom at this time from the Dollar Tree. This is certainly one of the best things I bought. They are large and beautiful, and really keep us firmly set in who we are. The children have really learned to respect this flag and to know what it stand for. I had picked them up because we needed flags for our classrooms. Since they had been rolled up and packaged, I wasn't sure how big they were or anything; but we needed something and they were $1; so why not? I was very surprised at the size and the quality of them. They have lasted this long, and I expect them to last for a very long time.

How did your children celebrate Memorial Day?

Trusting children

I have written posts before about trusting children and putting real items in the classroom. Let me tell you what I have witnessed in my own center throughout this year:

I have a teacher who, like me, trusts children. She just doesn't know how to do it. She wants her classroom to be totally child centered; she wants the children to be responsible and respectful in their environment. She wants them to contribute to that environment, but also knows that she can contribute items in the classroom and they will learn, with some instruction, in proper use of those items.

This teacher also has a class of children with many behavior challenges. She has two children who are drug babies, three who are being raised by grandparents (two of which their parents are in prison), three who have speech delays which has lead to more aggressive behaviors (if I can't tell you to leave me alone, a well place shove, bit, or kick gets my message across). That's half of her class. Include in that the one's with parents who need parenting classes to get it through that no, it's not funny when your child uses bad words, hits, kicks, and wrestles with others. She really has a difficult class.

I have challenged her to start bringing in many items that she was afraid to bring in. First was the pet. Then the wind chimes; and slowly we have added many other items that she was afraid to bring in. Almost every time she looks at me as if she wants to say "You're kidding right Miss Jenni? You do know my class. They are going to destroy this!" However, to her credit, she brings in what I ask her to; or does whatever activity I suggest; and she gives it 100%. She doesn't do it halfway hoping it isn't successful so that she can come back and say "See it didn't work". Most of the time she is surprised! To be honest, sometimes I am too.

So, what have I observed over the course of this year? Anytime we trust the children with something fragile, they surprise us and they actually calm down! Children who are rough and tumble will sit quietly holding the gecko and will protect him. They show more compassion for this small pet than any person. They are gentle and caring and protective.

Given a book that is special, they turn the pages carefully. They make sure that everyone else does too, and the calm down and relax, and are very serious in their duty to be careful.

Sitting at a table with a tablecloth changes the entire atmosphere. Having a real glass vase with flowers encourages them to be careful. Real picture frames are treated with respect. It's like having these "fragile" items around forces them to be more careful; and in doing so, makes them more able to focus and keep control of their bodies and actions.

Have any of you noticed this?

Update on winchimes

Here is an update on my windkit: The windsock is long gone. The pinwheel has recently been retired because the front clip which kept the wheels on was accidentally broken when a wayward ball hit it; it was still in pretty good shape. The colors were faded, but the material was in good condition and it probably would have lasted a lot longer. Well, accidents happen.

Last to go just this week (7 months after it was put up) we took down the windchime. This had been put back together too many times to count. The middle rod is now being used as just a wind decoration because it was easily transformed by a long piece of string hung over a tree branch. However, the string that was holding all the parts on was worn and frayed. The tubes that make the music had to keep being tied back on, the middle rod kept falling off, and the string holding it all to the anchoring hook was frayed and sun worn. Is this a result of being in a preschool playground? I'm not sure. The children treated this item with respect and really didn't pull on it. I'm thinking it was more sun damage than child damage.

So, what have I done? I have gone to the dollar store where I bought two windsocks, two wind chimes, and two twirly things that spin in the wind. One windsock has since been torn, the other is in good shape. The children are fascinated by the windchimes as these have little plastic replicas of birds and stars. I'm curious to see how long these last.

Book of the Week-Shark Trouble

This weeks book is a classroom favorite: Shark Trouble by Sam Lloyd (illustrated by Jack Tickle). If you are an animated reader and can improvise in a sing-song voice, this is going to quickly become a favorite. The previous title (Yummy yummy food for my tummy) is the repeated line throughout. Of course the child children will enjoy shouting along with you as the sharks come "YUMMY! YUMMY! FOOD FOR MY TUMMY!" They quickly memorize this book, or at least the idea on each page. The children love sitting down and playing teacher read it to their friends. This is one of the best books to spark that interest in reading and literacy. This is one of the first books I introduce at the beginning of the school year and it stays on the shelf throughout the year...and yes the pages are tapes together so many times because of the use it gets (not the abuse, but the use).

Now, unfortunately I can't find a picture of the author to share with you or the illustrator. If you find one let me know so I can put it up!

Need your help again

Go to this page and hear a sweet story. Now, let me ask for your help. My husband is being arrested for MDA. He is trying to raise money and is challenging his center and the parents to raise money for this cause.

I am asking you to help out because, well let's face it, no one wants their husband to go to jail. So, you can help too! Only $5 will make a huge difference.

Get my husband out of jail!

It's for a very good cause; we have put in the starting $10, but we're a long way off!

Let's round out the series

Okay, you have collected your evidence; organized it; and put it into your assessment. As I promised, I am going to now help you make a classroom curriculum that is can be made for each child in your classroom. If you really want a quality classroom, this should be your goal.

Anyone can throw a bunch of activities onto a lesson plan; but to make a quality lesson plan, it should take a little bit of thought. Rule number 1: put things on the lesson plan that are pertinent to the observations and goals you have for your children. Basically, don't put some activity on the lesson plan because it's cute and you got the idea from a book last night. Put some thought into your plans.

First, look for an area of your assessment that your children need to improve upon. (Let's say that your preschool children are scoring low on patterning). Maybe 40% of the children scored low.

Now, out of that 40%, choose 2-4 children to target in that area. These children are not the only ones that will be invited to this activity, but these are the children that you are going to use to base this activity on. (Let's say that three of your boys are inseparable and spend most of their time in the block area building roads). So, you are going to target these three boys.

Now, ask yourself this question: if these were the only three children in the classroom, what would I do to help them understand patterning? Well, we know they love block play and building roads. Maybe you have some of these. They would be perfect! Maybe you have a bunch of cars in solid colors. This will help them learn patterning.

Next, go to your lesson plan form. Find the area that this activity will be implemented: blocks; maybe manipulative or math; whatever works for you. Decide what the activity is. In the example we have been using (three boys who love the blocks and cars who need more patterning) I would do one of two or both of the following:

Block Area: Make roads for cars. Have cars go through the intersection by color patterns.
Manipulative: Use Neon Snap Track. Make patterns with the color of the road connections

Continue with all areas of development and areas of the lesson plan. Keep a list of the children in your classroom at hand as you are doing this as well. Make sure that there is at least one activity the will enhance each child's development daily (weekly for some activities); and make sure there is at least one activity a day that each child will enjoy.

This process will take a while to begin with. It may take you 3-4 times longer than when you just threw things on a paper. However, after a while, the process will become quicker and easier. As you get more comfortable with your observations and assessments, things will come quicker; ideas will come to you as you are doing an observation. Lesson plans will become easier and will actually right themselves. You will see the quality of your classroom soar! Work through this tough beginning; it is worth it!

Has anyone started using this process? How's it working?
Do you have any questions? How can I help?

Preschool Slideshows

As I have recieved many inquiries about slideshows for preschools and preschool graduations and all sort of things, I am including a "sort of" copy of the slideshow I will be including at our graduation carnival. Yes, the pictures are smudged for obvious reasons. But you can hear the good music that I have decided on for the background, and the genreal idea of the type of shots I used.

A few notes:

I try and take a variety of pictures with 1-3 children in a shot.

This year we were able to have children's pictures from the start of their time here and I put this slideshow together pretty much chronologically until I got to the last half of this year.

I had some "filler" shots that include larger groups that you maybe can't quickly recognize your child, but I needed a few more slides.

Depending on the number of children depends on the number of shots. I spliced together the two songs and then went from there as to the number of slides I would be able to put in. Each child has no fewer than 2 no more than 4 slides. You can't make an exact number as some children as in every group shot and others are in hardly any. I did have to take out some of my favorite pictures for the reason that I had a few children who would have been in 15-20 slides if I hadn't taken them out; they are just that social.

It does take time to put together; I have worked on this a few hours a day over the last month. I would say I probably put in a good 20-25 hours on it. But I make it easy on myself as I have a great system throughout the year as I collect pictures on my computer, I save copies into a "slideshow" file. When it comes time to complete, I go through this file first and determine which children I still need pictures for and go back into each child's file of pictures to get what I need.

The longest part is putting them together in a decent order so that no child is in a row of three slides and that there is a good mix

Cooking activities

I love cooking in the classroom. I have at least one activity every other week if not more often. We have done the jello to a home made salad from our garden. Mini pizza's a great! We made mashed potatoes one year as well. We never make things from boxes, everything is from scratch.

So, when we made egg salad one day for lunch, we made the mayonnaise (egg whites, oil, lemon juice) and boiled and peeled the eggs ourselves. I brought in a bag of potatoes to peel (using our fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills), cut up into cubes (for the most part the teachers did this, but we did allow some very capable children help while strongly supervised), and then, after boiling, we mashed the heck out of them.

We made a cake one year as a going away party for an assistant teacher, made from scratch. What was even more impressive about that was that the children managed to keep it a surprise for more than 1 week! We also made lemonade and sold it to the parents and the rest of the center as they came to pick up their children. A great lesson in math and money.

I will go into more details in how to do a cooking activity in the near future; and we will finish up our observation to lesson planning soon as well. Today, however, I want some suggestions:

What kind of cooking activities have you done? Leave the recipe as well so others can share with their classrooms as well.

Book of the Week-Clap Your Hands

This weeks book is Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley. It is one of my favorites for every age group! Once you read this, you'll never stop! Because your child will ask you for it over and over and over and over again. This is a book you don't just read, you move to it...right along with all the other characters in the book. Each character is beautifully drawn on a white background. It's excellent! It really adds to the book watching these characters move around the pages. Each character (like each child) has their own interpretation of the movement suggested on the page. It's great! So, stand up and read this book! You'll have a blast!

This is a great book to have secretly stashed in your circle time box to get the wiggles out when they start getting restless. If children are starting to get rambunctious during free choice, just sit on the floor and start reading; they will come over! Every classroom (not just every center) should have this book. Introduce the young children to different movements, get the wiggles out of older children, and just have fun!

Here's a picture of the author (since it's not included in the book):

Evidence is collected and organized...now what?

Well, now that you have collected your evidence and your observations here comes the fun part: putting it into your assessments.

Like I said, we use DRDPr; this will also work in any other assessment process as well. I do know that some assessments require you to sit the children down and test them one on one. This is not a true assessment of their abilities. I'm not endorsing you to go against your programs policies or procedures, but I am encouraging you to speak up and suggest a better way of doing things. I have seen so many other assessment pages and know that the same information you test for can be gotten through observation. Can they count to ten? Watch while they play; you'll quickly find out.

Do one assessment at a time. Take out one child's file and their assessment pages. If you know the child, you will quickly be able to complete these assessments; you could probably even do so without looking at the portfolio of observations and work. I go through and quickly mark all the items that I know without a doubt. After that I go through the portfolio and find what I need for each item to mark off.

As you go through the portfolio, you also want to mark on the assessment any evidence in the comment area (this way you can easily refer to the evidence if needed). If you find that there are items that you aren't sure of or that you have no evidence of you will know that this is something that you need to plan to do in the classroom and do some more observations.

Next, how to put this all together into a lesson plan. This will give you quality lesson plans that serves the needs of each individual child in the classroom.

Toothbrush holder

We are taking just a quick break today from our lesson to talk about this fabulous product. Everyone should be teaching the children to brush their teeth. We do it everyday after lunch. If a child wants to brush after breakfast, we do encourage it; but they must brush after lunch. This product allows you to put this up on the wall where they can access it on their own. You can also purchase a screen cover s that it is protected from the dust and stuff that is floating around them. The children are able to find their name and toothbrush, get it, use it, and return it all on their own. They are very sturdy and last forever! Then again, there isn't alot that we ask out of this product; only to hold toothbrushes quietly on the wall.

A few notes about toothbrushing in the classroom:

We don't use toothpaste. You don't need to. The purpose of brushing teeth is to get the food particles off the teeth. This makes it a task that doesn't need much supervision.

When children first start, we go over proper toothbrushing practices and help them learn the right way to do it. Do they sometimes just stand at the sink sucking water? Yes. That's okay. We just tell them, "Okay, you're done. Put your brush away."

We don't do it for them. The idea is to teach them independance. Besides, there are too many children to try and help each one. We leave the intense brushing for the parents at home.

We don't push the issue. If they really don't want to, we don't make them. This is something that we want them to make a part of their routine: I eat, I brush. We don't want to make it a chore.

When I was first told that we needed to brush teeth, I was intimidated and thought that this was going to be a very time consuming event that was not going to end pretty. Now I have seen that it really isn't. We have made a very simple routine after lunch. The children ask to be excused (may I be excused please?) and the teacher responds, "Yes you may. Go scrape your plate, stack your things, and don't forget to brush your teeth." And they do it!

So, do you brush teeth at your center? Is so, how do you handle it? If not, what is your reluctance?

You've collected all this evidence...now what?

Okay, so you have collected all this evidence. What do you do with it now? First, like I briefly mentioned, find a way to organize it and use it. My favorite way is to get one three-ring binder for each child with sheet protectors. You can get these donated by the families, especially around back-to-school sales. We put everything in chronologically. What's fun about this is that, if you start it when they start, you will have a fabulous book as a memory of their years with you when they leave. It's amazing to see how they grow through the pictures, how their artwork develops, and everything else. I put these out in the classroom so that the parents can look through them if they want, and the children can also take them out and look through them.

As the children get older, we let them decide some of the things that go in them. Sometimes we will tell them something has to go in. Other times we let them decide. For example, if we are doing self portraits we will most likely tell them that this has to go into their binder; but they are also given the option to do more than one so they can pick one to go in the book and the others can go home or be displayed. As they get older and more familiar with the binders, they will actually say, "Miss Jenni, I am made this picture of my favorite animal. I want it to go in my book." They now become participants in documenting their growth and development.

Now, on the back of the pages (not the front) I make sure to mark the date. I will also write any pertinent information: quotes that they said, indicators that it represents, other notes.

Now, when it is time to complete the assessments, Take out the binder!!! This is the best part. Go through the binder and, if you have collected enough evidence, you will have everything you need to determine where they fall in all areas of development. Can they count to 10? You probably have a written observation about him sitting at the table, grouping animals at the zoo, and telling you he has 12 elephants, 5 hippos, and 15 giraffes. Yep! He can count to 10! Can she write her name? Well, on the last 3 pieces of art work she has requested to put into the binder she has written the first 3 letters of her name consistently. So, she's getting closer. She also requested that these things get put into her binder, so she is obviously proud of her accomplishments (see how one item can meet several developmental areas?).

Collecting evidence is where it all starts. Making assessments easier to complete is the next step. Next, we are going to look at how we take these assessments and turn them into curriculum.

How do you collect and store observations and evidence?

Evidence and Observations

We use the DRDP-r to assess the children at our school. When I first began using the DRDP's more than 5 years ago, I hated it! I have only begun to appreciate their usefulness in the past 3 years. I finally figured out that it goes hand-in-hand with lesson planning. This week, we are going to take a look at how it does just that (in a blog sort of way).

Each component works separately on it's own; but, when used together, it will take your classroom to the next level of quality. Today, let's look at collecting evidence and observations. This is the most important, in my opinion, to the entire process. When collecting evidence, and observations are included as evidence, you want to make sure you are able to use what you have collected to represent a true assessment of a child's skill.

Observations must be made without emotion. A written observation should be a written description that could represent a picture:

example: Seth picked up a pencil with his right hand using a pincer grasp.

He then used the pencil on the paper in front of him and began to write at the top left corner. He wrote S then e then an h. He looked at what he wrote then put a horizontal line across the vertical line of the h.

Seth turns to the teacher and exclaims, "Look teacher. I wrote my name."

Please note, I didn't write the teacher's response. It doesn't matter what or how she responded to this observation. Also note that I kept emotions out of it. Here is an example of an observation I would not accept.

example: Seth is very happy today because he can write his name. He excitedly gets a pencil and begins to show the teacher. He writes Seh, forgetting the t. He notices that he missed the t and tries to repair it by making a line across the h. He gets very proud of his accomplishment and says "Look teacher. I wrote my name." The teacher says "Yes you did. Good job!"

We have no way to be inside Seth's head to know that he truly is happy or excited. Maybe he feels pressure from the parents to show off this skill and is a very good actor in showing his emotions...maybe not. Either way, you need to keep the emotions out of it for it to be true evidence to be used in the assessment.

There are many types of evidence to collect: observations, video clips, pictures, voice recordings, one sentence notes, documented conversations with parents, writing samples, art work, and other creative types of things that you may come up with.

When taking art work or writing samples from the children, be sure you clearly label when it was done on the back and any other notes (which hand did they use, did they make any comments about it while they were doing it, etc...).

When taking evidence from a parent, be sure to clearly write down what was said: "Mom came in on 5/12/08 and said that Kayla tied her shoes all by herself when she got dressed this morning. This is the first time mom has mentioned this. Kayla hasn't tied her shoes at school yet."

Make sure to keep this evidence in a well organized place. We keep them in 3-ring binders for the children to look through as well. We put everything in the books according to date. I am hoping to also move to a computer system where evidence will be able to be scanned or typed into a file for each child. In each file, there would also be sub-files for different categories of indicators: math, social, self-recognition, etc...

You want to have a variety of evidence collected. Don't just have all picture documentation, or all written observations. You want to have a good variety. I also have my teachers keep a checklist (actually two) to make sure that everyone is getting evidence collected for. The first one they turn in weekly to me that just shows me the type of evidence that has been collected (pictures, videos, written...). The second one they do monthly to make sure that at least two things have been collected per child in the month.

If you keep up with your evidence collecting, it will make your job so much easier when it comes to completing the assessments. We will talk about that later this week.

Please note: If you do not utilize the DRDP assessments, these notes will work for any assessments you do. This includes, but is not limited to, Denver Assessments, Galileo, PQA, ELSA, COR, and many more. They can all be utilized in pretty much the same way to study children in a natural environment to see what they can or can't do without testing them.

What do you use?

Mother's Day

Mother's day is always on a Sunday; but we always seem to do something for mom's on the Friday before. This year we kept it pretty low-key. Each classroom made a special gift for the mothers. One class made crowns and a book of pictures both drawn and from the camera. Then, when the mother's came in, they took a picture with their child wearing their crowns. The pictures will be given to them Monday morning.

Another class made a card with questions answered by the children about their moms: What's your mom's name; how old is your mom; what color hair; what does she like to eat; what makes her happy. What was interesting about this was that almost every child responded "Me!" or "Taking me to the park" or something that involved doing things with them...ain't it the truth!

The last class (out oldest) made picture frames with hand prints in the center. They turned out very nice.

At my husband's center, they have Muffins for Moms.

What do you do at your centers?

Book of the Week-Everyone Poops

This is a book that many people have at least heard of: Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi. There are those who thing it is absurd and won't even pick it up; then the other extreme find it absolutely hilarious and love it. I fall closer to the later side, but not quite finding it hilarious. It's a great book. So many times we have children who won't go to the bathroom because they get the message that pooping is dirty.

This book makes it okay to poop. It's a natural thing. Everyone does it. As it says in the end "All living things eat, so everyone poops!" That is so true. The more comfortable we make children about their bodily functions, the easier it is for them to transition into different things. Poop is natural. This also give them a natural way to talk about this function; making it less likely to be discussed at the lunch table.

Do you have a child who is reluctant to potty train? How about a child who freaks out every time they have to go poop? This book helps them understand that it's okay; it's natural and everyone does it. Children need to know that it's okay.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a picture of the author...you know what I think of this. So, if anyone has a picture or is able to find one, please send it to me.

Center Pets

So, I have a question for all of you:

Where do you draw the line of center pets?

My husbands center has a pet pig. I never would have dreamed it up, but it has turned out to be a fabulous addition!

We have a gecko, fish, and a turtle.

I have had so many rats I can't even keep count anymore. These are great, especially if you have a teacher who can train it. One of my rats was trained to wake the children up from nap. They loved waking up to that tickley little face next to theirs! The children who were real grumpy when they woke up enjoyed it the most! She would also play in the block area with them and we even had her paint with them one day (when we were talking about animal footprints).

I had a pet tarantula once too! This was also a very fascinating pet that the children loved!

I've heard of hamsters, mice, frogs, and birds. For the most part, this general rule seems to be something that is caged. Then this happened today.

So my question is:

Where do you draw the line at a center pet? Would it be okay to have a dog as a pet? How about a tortoise? Goat? Cat? Iguana? Tell me what kind of pets you have had.

Natural consequences

I am a big believer in natural consequences. I am also a big believer in making sure children understand what the natural consequence is for their actions.

Sometimes this is easier than others. You left your jacket at home, so you are cold. You decided to throw your food on the floor, now you have nothing to eat. You wet your pants, you need to change them.

Other times, this is a bit more difficult to connect because there could be so many outcomes. I'm going to use today as an example. We have a rule at our center that children must wear their shoes at all times outside. This is for safety reasons. Their feet could get hurt; between wood chips that could get stuck in their feet, tricycles that could run over toes, and everything else. I had one child decide that she was going to take her shoes off. When I asked her to put her shoes back on, she decided that this was the time to go running around the yard. Very quickly her two buddies decided to join in by kicking off their shoes and running with her.

Here's the natural consequence: you took off your shoes, so you have to sit at the table. You don't want to wear shoes? Okay! I don't want your feet to get hurt. Therefore, you can keep your shoes off and sit at the table.

Now, the rest of the consequence was a bit more because of their running from authority. Since they were quickly gaining an audience of other children in their class, I decided that it was best dealt with inside...away from nosey eyes. One child, after a bit, decided it was in her best interest to listen and came with me quietly inside. The teacher that was left outside corralled the other two quickly after and sent them in after.

It was simple: you are going to sit at the table...with nothing to do...but sit and stare...and wonder when I will be kind enough to let them up. I'm not stupid, I talked to the child who was first to take her shoes off (and first to come in). She had gotten sand and water in her shoes and that was why she had taken them off. This is fair; I would have wanted to do the same. So we talked about letting the teacher know of the situation and solving the problem. After a discussion in which she took full part in (I listened she talked); I went and got her shoes. She put them on and went back out. Why did she get to go and not the others? Because, even though it took a bit, she did come willingly and came inside on her own free will; no matter how reluctantly she did so.

The other two girls continued sitting...waiting...wondering when I would let them go too. I explained a simple fact: "When you take off your shoes outside, your only option, to keep you safe, is to sit at the table until you decide to put your shoes on again." Immediately, one of them piped up, "Miss Jenni, I want to put my shoes on." Hmmm!

"Well, here's the dilemma: You are sitting at the tables inside. You left your shoes outside. You can't possibly get up and get them, because you would have to walk in the yard without shoes...that's not allowed. What are you going to do?"

This lead to, as I planned, a conversation about listening to the teacher when she gives them instructions, keeping shoes on, and how much they have just missed in this little episode (everyone else is outside playing). After a long talk, I get their shoes for them (I had secretly brought them in with me beforehand), they put them on, and went outside. They went out with the firm instructions that they are not allowed to play with each other for the rest of the day (there was only an hour left in the day).

Was this a time out? In some definitions of the word, yes. However, this was more a consequence of their actions. You can't play and run around without shoes on. That leaves only one choice: sitting at a table. They were not left to sit at the table for a set amount of time until they could get up. No, I sat with them the entire time and, when appropriate, had conversations with them about the incident. When was it appropriate? When they began to realize the extent of how far I was willing to go. When each one came to the realization that I was willing to wait at the table until their mom's came, that's when we began talking.

Is it a natural consequence in the clinical definition of the word? No. It is in my definition. What happens when you take off your shoes? The things is, I am consistent. Anytime a child takes of his or her shoes, I have them sit at the table until they put them on again. Sometimes this only takes a minute, sometimes longer. In the end, their shoes get back on. I can out wait them all and they have come to learn that. I patiently, calmly, and consistently enforce all rules: everyone must be safe. (Okay, that's one rule) But that's all I need.

Old toys made new

Remember this item? Well, it was sitting, unused again, still out in the yard. Children would walk around it, but they were pretty much done with it. Instead of putting it away, the teachers moved it. They moved it from the wood chips area to the sand area. The children are all over it again. They are still doing the same thing: finding trucks and riding them down; but the novelty of it has changed because they are now in the sand.

Sometimes simply moving an item from one area to the next is all that is needed to make something interesting again. You should be rearranging the outdoor area regularly. We set up curriculum areas daily with activities. Every month, or at most every two months, we rearrange the tables and interest areas. Sometimes all it takes is moving the table by 90 degrees.

Inside should also be changed regularly. Toys on the shelves should be rotated weekly. The furniture should also be rearranged. Sometimes it's difficult with the size of a classroom, but even if you just switch the block area with the dramatic play area it's enough change to get those creative juices flowing again. You'll find, if you do this right, that behavior problems will go down as well.

We'll be looking at room arrangements and outdoor environments in the next couple of weeks.

Alphabet Sorting Containers

There are so many items that we have in the classroom that I consider a luxury. No matter how much your center has or doesn't have, everyone has luxury items. What I consider to be luxury items are anything that is not an absolute need.

We need: red, yellow, blue, white, and black tempura paint.

We also get: orange, green, purple, pink, magenta, and all the other fancy colors.

We need: markers, crayons, paper, scissors, glue

We also get: feathers, pompom balls, every color of construction paper, fancy scissors, etc...

We need: books

We also get: big books, books on tape/CD

We need: pencils and plain paper (scrap paper would work)

We also get: line newsprint, pencils of every size

Do you get where I am going? There are some things that we enhance what we are doing. It's not a bad thing; really it's not! We can make a lesson out of anything, yet we fall back on some items that aren't necessary. I look for teachers who can make quality lessons with a rock and some leaves. Anyone can sort and categorize colored teddy bears; a thought provoked teacher can sort and categorize anything!

That brings me to the Alphabet Sorting Containers that somehow made their way into my center (They were there when I arrived years ago). Now, we don't need this. Any teacher can ask the children to bring in items that start with a letter and add it to the manipulative area, or the science area. However, today I was sitting with a child who is three and a half. This is a child with lots of behavior challenges. He sat with me for 30 minutes picking up different items from a bowl, saying the name of the item, and repeating the first sound over and over until he figured out what letter that was. Yes, I helped him with some; probably more than not. He is 3 after all and we don't work on academics until the second half of their preschool year. They first have to learn to socialize. The pride on his face when he said "Lion...llll...llllll....llllll...ELLL!" That made this item worth it.

So, I am not saying that everyone should go out and get this item. What I am saying is, if you have a few hundred dollars sitting around and wondering what you should buy (and you don't need 5 more gallons of paint, new paintbrushes in every size, big huge easel paper, play food, or anything else) go ahead and spend your money on this. It is worth it.

However, if you don't have the money...make your own with the children. They will remember it so much more!

Transition Activities

I spent the day in the classroom subbing for one of my teachers. Through this time I discovered I was teaching the assistant a bit more than I expected to be teaching her. The major thing was Transition Activities! It's so much easier to move a group of children a little at a time rather than as a whole group. One activity that I used is here. This is the simplest activity:

Pick anything (shirts, shoes, pants, jackets, etc...) and call out colors. You need to make sure that you don't call blue jeans first or else the entire group gets up at once! But find something that sticks out. Here, I was actually very surprised to find, that most of the children had laces. Only three children had velcro on their shoes, so I started with that. This allows for a slow movement.

When we were coming in for breakfast, I called by color of anything: "If you are wearing orange, go wash your hands for breakfast." The assistant teacher was inside at the sink ready to receive children to wash their hands and direct them.

My favorite, and best controlled for a long transition, is to sing a song that sends one at a time. I used the frog today:

10 little froggies sitting on a well
Jose looked up and down he fell
Jose jumps high
Jose jumps low
And off he goes

This works well for getting ready for lunch. Now, Jose can go put his mat out, get his blanket, and start washing his hands before the next child is done with their verse of the song. You can change any counting song to do just this. The cookie song also works well for this time:

Rachel took the cookie from the cookie jar
(Rachel responds) Who me?
Yes you!
Couldn't be!
Then who?
(Rachel then chooses another child then goes and washes her hands)

These transition times can also be a great time to test the children in what they know. Call them out by a concept:

If your name starts with a B, go find an activity
If your birthday is in March, go find an activity
If your last name is Smith, go find an activity
If you are a boy, go find an activity

You will quickly be able to tell if they understand these concepts; especially when you have that boy sitting down at the end with black, laced, velcroed shoes!

Transitions should be a time that move the children in an orderly fashion from one place or activity to the next. Once they arrive at the next place, there shouldn't be waiting.

Most importantly, unless the whole group jumps up at once, if one or two children wander off before they are called, don't make a big deal. They are obviously not ready to wait. If you see a child is getting antsy waiting, make sure the next one they call is them. Don't torment the child by making her wait until the end because she can't sit still. Do both of you a favor and let her go!

Slideshow Music found!

Okay, I have found the perfect duo of songs for our slideshow. Since I am able to include pictures of the children from the last 3 years, I had to encompas growing up and moving on, etc...
The end is going to be The time of your life by Green day. Man people are going to cry. I was already tearing up with just the pictures; add this song to it, and it's difficult to hold it together:




The beginning, I am using Peter Pan's I won't grow up. This is a fun up beat song to begin things with. Plus it illustrates the fun childhood. It's going to be a great slide show.

Patriotism in the Classroom

I am a very patriotic person. I am proud to be an American; and I show it! Many of the children who come into our centers have parents in the military; I'm proud of those parents. It breaks my heart that these families qualify for state funding; these men and women protect our country, protect our freedom, and they need financial assistance to help them live.



Anyway, I think that it's important to teach our children to have pride in where we live as well. It's a social skill: we are part of a group. They learn to be proud of where they live, that they are part of a larger society, and a bit of history. So, how do I teach this?



First, every morning we have a powwow time. This is separate from circle and lasts about 5-10 minutes. This is where to take roll, talk about the calendar, discuss the day, and (most importantly) say the pledge of allegiance. For those of you who don't know the words:

I pledge allegiance

to the flag

of the United States of America

and to the republic

for which it stands

one nation

under God

indivisible

with liberty and justice for all

We start saying the pledge allegiance about the time the children turn three. The two year old class, I give the option of saying it formerly because of developmental reasons. The three year old say it formerly everyday. We teach them to put their right hand over their heart. As they are saying it, we gently switch hands if necessary. Eventually, they get it right straight away. We also require them to take off their hats if they are wearing them. We treat this as a sacred event everyday; so they look at it as such. Let me tell you, anybody who comes in to substitute for the day hears about it from the children: "YOU FORGOT THE FLAG!!!"

We have had one student whose mother didn't want her saying the pledge of allegiance for religious reasons. This is fine; I respect that (I am an American after all). She was, however, required to stand out of respect for the culture. She didn't have to say it; and mom worked with her in explaining why she didn't participate. But, just as I would go to their church and respect their practices; she needs to learn to respect ours as a culture.

Along with the flag salute, we also sing patriotic songs throughout the year. Of course, we have to stay away from the religious ones (we are state funded); but Star Spangled Banned (of course), Yankee Doodle, This Land is My Land, My Country Tis of Thee, and others.

The other things we do is celebrate National Holidays and talk about what they mean. For the younger ones, this is talked about through their play and what we do: art work in red, white and blue, books available about famous people and times, etc... For the four year olds, we talk about these things at circle time. They learn about Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King, the Presidents, and everything else. They don't go in depth any further than they can handle and understand.

As I subtly mentioned before, we don't celebrate many holidays in our center. Actually, we only celebrate National ones...our Nation. We have special activities just before Fourth of July, we discuss and celebrate Presidents in February, we talk about Thanksgiving and have a special family night for that, and discuss other Holidays that celebrate the history and meaning of the great United States.

We also teach the children where they are from. We begin the year by talking about what school they go to. Once they learn that, we talk about the city that school is in. From there we move on to the state, and finally the United States! Yes, we also talk about it being part of the world and the universe. We have city maps, state maps, and globes in the preschool classrooms. On the city maps, we label where the children's houses are. We also label the school and other interesting things (zoo, field trip locations, etc...). On the state and world maps we mark the city location. This helps them to visualize where we are and how small we are compared to the whole world.

I do think we need to teach the children about the world and diversity; but before we do that, we need to teach them to be proud to be who they are. We are Americans! That's pretty great!

Infant Toddler Experience

Here's a little plug:

My husband has started his own blog about infants and toddlers. He is a fabulous Master Teacher for this age group and has a lot of knowledge in this area...okay, I am biased; I actually think he has a lot of knowledge period. However, he is an excellent teacher. Any child is lucky to be in his classroom and every parent is even luckier. He has a real knack for explaining development to people.



So, check him out!

Book of the Week-Say Hola to Spanish

Say Hola to Spanish by Susan Middleton Elya is a great book to introduce English speaking children to Spanish. Keep in mind, however, that this is an instroduction to Spanish. The Spanish words are integrated into the English sentences in a poetic way to introduce the children to so much vocabulary. It really is a great introduction. When I read this book to the children, they ask for it over and over and over again. This is especially useful when you have a new child who speaks no English; it opens up the door to communication between them and the children who speak no Spanish. A very fun, charming, engaging book!

Catalogs

There is nothing like a catalog. Not for us in the administration. Not even for the teachers as they dream about what they would like to have in the classroom. For the children! They love catalogs. Want to see a group of children sit at a table for possibly hours on end, without fighting, and all talking to each other? Put a couple catalogs in the middle of the table. Some types of catalogs (Avon, coldwater creek, oriental trade) will get conversations that talk about what they like. They discuss the pictures; and just plain enjoy looking through them. Other catalogs (Discount School Supply, Lakeshore, Kaplan) are great fun. They not only talk about what they see and like, but they begin to make connections to what is in the classroom. Most of the time, in my experience, it quickly goes from "Hey this is the same carpet we have" to "Miss N, can we get this?" They make that cognitive connection that the things in their classroom are the things that are in this catalog; that must mean that there is a possibility to have more!
I am always impressed with the language and conversation that comes out of this simple thing. They develop so much language, conversations, social skills, and everything from a simple catalog. They even develop small motor skills (turning pages), literacy skills (which way do the pages turn, what are these words, etc..), and, in an older group, math skills (how much would we need to have to buy these five things you want to get?).