Book of the Week-Robert the Rose Horse

This week we are looking at a personal favorite of mine: Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner illustrated by P.D. Eastman

As always, P.D. Eastman has illustration that are classic and stand the test of time. Eastman has illustrated so many books, but the style is recognizable no matter who the author is. That may be what drew me to this book as a child.

Joan Heilbroner wrote a very funny story. As a child, I read this book so much that the pages in my copy are falling out (and have been since I was about 5). I LOVED this book as a child. As an adult (who has been told many time that I am more child-like than most), I can get into the mind of a child. I see where they find the humor in this book. As an adult, eh, it's okay. Children love it because it's just plain funny.

Seriously, what's funnier than a horse who sneezes and causes the world to go topsy turvy! It's a great library center book. It's also fun for a read aloud (even at circle)!

I wish I had a picture of either the author or illustrator, but I haven't been able to find a good one. If you have one, please forward it to me so that I can post it.

Challenging Behaviors-Stripping

Here's a new one: A child gets mad at a situation and, in response, strips down to her underwear. What do you do?

First, let me tell you this is a child who is very typical in her development. She does have anger management issues, but is not suffering from any disabilities or developmental delays. She seems to be looking for new ways in dealing with problems every time they approach. Almost like she's thinking, "How will they react if I do this?"

So, yesterday's test was to strip! While they were outside! I get the questions, "What am I supposed to do?" Well, I am a big believer in natural consequences. I am also a big believer that the natural consequence mixed in with you staying so calm it's frustrating to them is an even better situation.

What is the natural consequence? You need to have your clothes on in order to play outside. Therefore, "you can put your clothes on, or you can go SIT inside until you decide to get your clothes on." When she refuses to put the clothes on, VERY CALMLY, pick up the clothes, take her by the hand, and WALK inside and place the clothes on the floor next to her. Tell her, "When you get your clothes on, you can go back outside and play. If you need help, you can ask me when you are ready." Then, get out some paperwork you need to do and, VERY CALMLY, begin working. Every once in a while look up and ask, "Are you ready yet? Do you need my help?" If there is no response, or the response is to yell at you, turn back to your work.

The appearance you are giving is, "You're tantrum isn't going to get in my way. I am still going to go on with what I need to do." If she begins playing with toys, VERY CALMLY, walk over, put them away, and reiterate, "You can't play with your clothes off. Once you get dressed, then you can play." Stick with it!

The first time, it may be over very quickly or it may drag out. It depends on the child. The second episode it will take a very long time. However, if you are consistent, they will know the consequence of their behavior. They will also know that they are the only one that is disrupted by it. So, they will go on to try other behavior to try and disrupt you. The more you let their behaviors only affect themself, the more they are going to think before trying something new.

Teach them about the World

We want to teach children about other cultures. We want them to grasp the concept that there are other people around the world who do things very differently. So, how do you teach your children about all the cultures of the world?


When I worked at one agency, we managed to make pen pals with a different classroom in the agency. That was fun for the children. They got a kick out of hearing what the other classroom was learning about. That began to broaden their world; they began to understand that the world was larger than just what they knew.


But how to make it even larger? And on top of that, possibly learn about new cultures. I started a new experience that I have been writing about here. Then, I got a brilliant idea. This is a free website that I had found in which you can send postcards all around the world. You also get postcards in return. Last week when I requested an address, it gave me a 3 year old girl and I thought, "What a great class project!"

So, here's how I imagine it working:
First, talk to the children about people all around the world. Put up a world map on a wall to be kept throughout the year. Put a globe up as well. Get some books with pictures of people from the different countries.

Sign up the classroom at postcrossing. Put the classroom name and school address in the information instead of your name. Then, in the information, write something about this being a preschool classroom that is learning about different cultures. That you would love to get a return postcard with pictures of their country or even letters talking about some of their traditions or a favorite recipe of theirs.

You have to request (and send) addresses before you will receive any. So, return now to the classroom experience. At circle time, discuss this new project with the children. Let them know that you will be sending postcards to different people around the world and they will be getting postcards in return. Point out the places of the first address you will be sending to. Ask them what they would like to know from someone who lives in that country. Write out the post card putting in questions that the children want to know. Add in there a request for a possible return card or something if you like (but remember, you will also be getting postcards from others as well).

Take a "field trip" to the mailbox at the center to put it in. Maybe some other time during the year you could take a field trip to the post office and bring some postcards you are sending. That would be a great experience!

Start two graphs:

1. To guess how long they think it will take to arrive to it's destination. Have each child guess and record their answers. Put it next to the world map. Make sure to take a picture of the postcard you sent so they can remember and track it.

2. Make a graph for each card that is sent and how long that it took to travel to it's destination. When you get the confirmation that it was received, count how many days it took and then make a bar graph.

When you start receiving post cards, be sure to ask the director to let you know and your class can go on another "field trip" get the mail. Be sure to display the post cards around the map as well. I would even get some yarn and lead it from the picture to where it came from.

When you put in that the card was received, be sure to ask the children what they want to tell the person to thank them for the postcard.

You can even plan some art activities to make postcards to send to people as well.

This is a project that I am very excited about. I am going to try it out in one of our classrooms and give you updates regularly. If you try it out, keep me updated and let me know how it's going. Share your activities that create from this, I'll post them up here.

New classroom of children

Okay, maybe I should have posted this a few weeks ago; bad timing on my part. Many preschools are starting this week; those that are academic year. And one issue that always needs to be addressed is this: How do I set up the classroom before I know the children?

How do you make sure that there is enough interesting things to do for everyone, but that's not overwhelming? How can I make sure that each child has something that they are interested in so that they will be less apt to cry when mom leaves the room? How can I get them interested in something? Not only that, but how do I get ALL 24 INTERESTED IN SOMETHING?

It's not an easy task. It's daunting! You have no idea who these children are. But, you do know one thing: each classroom has "one of those" children. Translate "one of those" children into:

One of those who loves cars
One of those who loves dinosaurs
One of those who loves dress up
One of those who loves puzzles
One of those who reads books all day long
One of those who is active
One of those who is quiet
One of those who need one on one
One of those who needs to touch; is very tactile
One of those who hates to get messy
One of those who........(fill in the blank)

So, set up something for everyone. Make sure you have books about cars, dinosaurs, princesses, etc...

Put out farm and jungle animals in the block area; along with the large cars.

At the art center, do car painting, have crayons, markers, paintbrushes. Have it all!

In the sensory table put in birdseed and spoons, cups, small funnels. Add some small treasures like buttons, jewels, or other items to find in the birdseed.

Put some shaving cream on the table with table building blocks and small cars.

Make sure to have princess dresses in dramatic play; plenty of baby dolls and play food in housekeeping; and stuffed animals all around.

Even though you don't know the children, you know the children. There may be one that doesn't fit the mold, but when he or she comes in, take out what he likes.

If possible, poll the parents before hand. Have a questionnaire that gets filled out by the parents while they are enrolling that asks what they are interested in. What is their favorite thing to play with? What is their favorite food?

Make sure there is something for everyone. Will there still be a lot of crying? Yes! But having something for everyone will make the first day much more likely to be a success. Make sure to have everything available that first week. After that, then start to fine tune the curriculum accordingly.

For those of you who run a year round program and have children starting one at a time randomly throughout the year, make sure to have something special for that new child on their first day. This goes for children new to the center as well as those who are transitioning from the younger classrooms. Make them want to come back. Make each child feel like you did everything just for him or her. They will all want to come back because here they feel special.

Book of the Week-Eight Animals Bake a Cake

Eight Animals Bake a Cake by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Lee Chapman.

This is a great book! It's easy to read for any teacher, even those of us who are not fluent in Spanish. We can still read it without butchering the words. This is the same author of Say Hola to Spanish. She has done another great job creating a book that both English and Spanish speaking children can both enjoy.

There is a different illustrator this time, so the look of the book is different. This isn't good or bad, just different. The animals have an interesting look to them, but it seems to humanize them for the children; so it works. Each picture tells the story in itself and ease each a work of art.

Back to the story line: The animals are coming together to create a cake. You don't really know that (other than the title) until they all get together. But there are so many lessons in the simple text. There is the bilingual language; the social skills of coming together; the conflict resolution after the cake gets ruined; the science activity that is sure to evolve from this reading into making a cake; the team work; and so much more.

A fabulous book to read for those three year olds who are working on social skills. There is also a recipe for the cake in the back of the book!

However, there is no pictures. So, here's the author:

Challenging Situations-Parents who are too involved

Yes, you read that right. What do you do if a parent is too involved? What I am actually talking about stemmed from a conversation I had this week. A teacher told me about a parent who wanted a call every time that their child hit, kicked, or misbehaved in any way. If she came to pick up the child and heard about any incident in the day that she didn't get a call from, she got very upset. So what's a teacher to do?

Well, we are advocates for the children as well. What I always tell any parent is this: what happens at school, stays at school (and vise versa).

What I mean is, don't come to school and tell me your child can't ride bikes because he wasn't listening to you this morning. What I also mean is, I am not going to tell you everything your child did because we will have dealt with the discipline at school already. We know that children' must be disciplined immediately following an incident; you can't wait four hours and then punish them. First off, that's not teaching them anything but to be on their toes because you never know when something is going to come back to haunt you. Second (and most important) they have already forgotten what they did to get in trouble.

If I am having a problem that I do need parents to reiterate the respect that a child should have for their teachers, I tell the parents to deal with it at school. "When you leave the building, the problems stay in the building." This makes home a happy place; a place they want to be. Not a place that all their troubles of the day is going to haunt them.

If they really feel they must run in, get their child, and don't have time to deal with anything (conversation) except on the way home, I suggest they pick a corner halfway home. From that corner (the one with this gas station at it for example) there is no more talk of school.

The other thing is that the parent has to trust that you can handle the problems children have. If a parent doesn't trust that you know what you are doing, they will ask for a call every time their child does something wrong. Build up that relationship. The best way to do this is to NOT tell the parent every situation their child got into.

A better way to handle this is, when the parent comes in, say something like this, "He had a rough start in the morning, but we talked and we helped him through it and then he had a much better afternoon. He sat at circle and even helped me set the table for lunch!" This way the parent is aware that there were some problems, but that it wasn't anything you couldn't deal with. It works the same if the afternoon was the more difficult, "Well, he has been having a rough afternoon, maybe the last hour or so, but this morning he was such a great helper! He may just be ready for a break from this busy classroom."

Another, and probably most important point: Many parents who want (feel the need) to know every bad thing their child do, probably goes home and punishes the child to no end. Maybe he doesn't get dessert, get to watch a movie, or worse (I don't even want to think about the worse, you can figure out what that is, I've been there and seen it). You are the child's advocate. You already dealt with the trouble and discipline. He's "done his time". He doesn't need to be punished further.

If a parent is insistent that they get that phone call, here's my suggestion: Inform them that if they want a call every time he misbehaves, you will also call him every time he does something wonderful...and that will be even more times than there are minutes in the day.

Get the point across that they don't need to be informed of those few (less than 5% of the day) times that his developmentally appropriate impulse control issues come out. They only need to know what we can't handle. And if they would like some assistance helping at home, you are there to help them.

Food in the classroom

This is a very sore point with me. No, not really sore, but it is something that I stand firmly. I have yet to be swayed the other way and very regularly sway others mine:

Food should ONLY be used in the classroom for cooking projects!

For the most of my career, I have worked in low income centers. There are people out there who can't put food in their child's mouth, yet we send them home with rice glued to the paper. These parents walk in and look at a sensory table filled with macaroni noodles that would last them over a month! But they can't use it because those dirty hands have been all over it, the pieces have flecks of paint all over them, and they are no longer edible.

For those children in a center that don't come from these types of centers, there still is an awareness that other people in the world (other children just down the street) can't put food in their mouths, so we don't play with food.

Another argument for my side that I hear is: we don't play with our food, yet we let them play with their food. That's a weak argument, but it still stands.

My point to every teacher that asks me, "Well, what if we string cheerios on yarn and then they eat the cheerios off the necklace?" is this:

If you want to string something on a string, sting beads. You are getting the same fine motor skills accomplished. Eat cheerios for a snack! Leave the two separate!

There is NOTHING you can do as an activity in the classroom with food items that you wouldn't be able to get accomplished without food. String beads, make collages with pictures, tissue paper, rocks, beads, and all sorts of other things. Put birdseed in the sensory table, not rice and beans!

They don't need to glue macaroni to paper to create art.

You want to do an activity with food? Bake a snack. Cook lunch. Make a fruit salad. You really want to "string" food onto something, make fruit-kabobs (fruit stacked on a long toothpick like thing). You want to "creatively" use food as art; make mini pizzas and let them put the shredded cheese and pepperoni creatively on their dough or english muffin and then eat it for lunch.

Other than that, leave the food for meals!

Circle Time Routine-continued

Yesterday we looked at gathering time, today we are going to look at circle time. Remember, at the gathering time we did:
Roll call, weather, calendar, flag salute, and question of the day

Circle time is reserved for those daily lessons that are different. Basically, what concept are we focusing on this week and how am I going to discuss that with the group. This is the general Circle Time outline:
Gathering Song
Concept Game
Book
Lesson
Dismissal

This is the same routine no matter the age, but the length will differ depending on the age; and of course the depth of the lesson as well.

First, the gathering song. This is the place where you grab their attention. Maybe it's another roll call song. Maybe it's a very active song that pulls them in. One of my favorites is ram-sam-sam. I also like head shoulders knees and toes. I start off singing it normal. Then I have the group sing it really LOUD! Then we sing it really fast. Then real slow or real quiet. I always end it in such a way that everyone is sitting and listening intently.
Then we do a concept game. This can be as simple as singing icky-sticky bubble gum where things get stuck to different parts of the body. Or, play a matching game where you have different colored bowls and pass out beanbags and have each child take a turn tossing the bean bag into different containers. Really what you are doing is teaching the children to wait their turn in the group, though they are also learning a concept at the same time.
The we read the book.
After the book, I point out the vocabulary words of the week in the book and we discuss what they mean. Then we have our lesson for the day; whatever that is. Again, this isn't so much a matter of teaching a lesson so much as the children learning to increase their attention span paying attention to the teacher and sitting in a group without disturbing others.
Last is the Dismissal. This is also always some sort of transition game; again to teach them to wait their turn and follow directions and routines.

Note, whichever book I read, I read the same book all week. I may change it up and read different versions of the same book. For example, if we were reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I might bring in different versions. I also might not read the book everyday, but might do a storytelling rendition or a flannel story or have the children act it out. As long as they get the experience of the book, that's what matters.

So, this is what a typical circle would look like with me:
Gathering Song: Ram-sam-sam
Concept Game: Simon Says
Book: Parts by Tedd Arnold
Vocabulary Words: Panic and Brain (Panic means a sudden feeling of fear; Brain is the soft matter in our head that helps our bodies function) These are the definitions that I use with the children. Then we use them in a sentence. By the end of the week, they should be able to use them on their own in regular conversations
Lesson: Discuss particular parts of the body (maybe joints or muscles) and talk about where they are and what they do.
Dismissal: Crawl in a box

Are there any questions from these last two days?

Circle Time Routines

I got an interesting questions from Penny and thought you could all benefit from it. She wrote:

Hi.I was very interested in your entry about circle time length. I teach Year 1 students and sometimes find that the circle time really stretches over a long period if you include all six elements: check in, mixer, activity, debrief, energiser, check out. Is this what your circle time is like? I've written about my circle time experiences at www.teachingchallenges.blogspot.com

So, here's my answer:

I actually break up circle into two separate times. I have what I call a gathering time and then a circle time. We'll go into what I do at each group, but basically we typically have gathering time, breakfast, then circle. However, some classrooms don't acclimate to this schedule because it is too much time of "controlled" activity. When this is the case I have breakfast, gathering time, free choice activities (which includes skill builders*) and then circle time.

Okay, now on to what we do at each group. First, gathering time. This is really the time that we do the mundane tasks (or what I call mundane). I include roll call, weather, calendar patterning, the question of the day, and the flag salute. It changes a bit for different age groups as appropriate.

A general outline for a three year old gathering time:
Start with a roll calling song ("Where is ____" sung to Where is thumbkin is a great one because it's a call and response; I also like "_____is here today" for the beginning of the year when they aren't used to the routine yet).
Next we do the weather. I'll assign one person a week to be the "weatherperson" and they can bring in the newspaper report everyday if they like and they get to put up the weather, check out the window, etc...
We then sing the days of the week. This is immediately followed by what day is today? We ONLY discuss yesterday, today, and tomorrow at this age level; it's what's appropriate. We take yesterday out of the today slot and move it to yesterday. This gives them the hint as to what today is. Then we move that from the tomorrow and then figure out what tomorrow will be.
If I am doing this before breakfast, I then begin dismissing them for breakfast. If I am doing this before free choice, I let them know what is around the classroom to do (skill builders, new toys, etc...) and dismiss them and ask, "Where are you going to play?" Note: This does not tie them into that space, it only gives me an idea of what they are thinking and how far along they are in their thought process (If they say to the blocks and they get side tracked on the way there to the art table, they still are working off impulses).

For 4 year old classrooms, this is how group gathering runs:
Roll call song. Once a week at the beginning of the year and two to three times a week towards the end of the year, I do this strictly as a call the name, raise your hand and say "here". This is to get them in the practice for kindergarten.
Again, we do the weather and then sing the days of the week. Again, we do yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
However, we then follow this up with the calendar pattern. THIS IS A PATTERN BOARD. This is really the reason why we do the calendar; to make a pattern. Yes, we count the number of days, but every month we work on a different pattern. The first couple months we might do a simple two item pattern. But, as the year progresses we may make it more complex.
Then we sing the months of the year and then discuss today's date. This is as far as we go discussing the date. They really don't, developmentally, grasp the concept of the date, so the most important is the yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We then look at the question of the day. I make this part of their coming in routine. The question is already up and as the parents bring them in they sign in, then take their parents to the question of the day and answer the question with them. At gathering time we look at the question that was asked and how the group as a whole answered. Which has the most, which has the least, etc...
At this point, if it's before free choice time, we discuss the choices available.
Then we stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. The children are dismissed after the pledge to whatever is next (breakfast or free choice); again asking where they will be going and possibly what they are planning on doing.


Since this post has been so long, I am going to cut off now and tomorrow I will continue with what circle time consists of.

*skill builders are those planned activities that build on a particular skill such as letter recognitions, patterning, fine motor work, language and literacy, etc...

Book of the Week-Icky Sticky Frog

The Icky Sticky Frog by Dawn Bentley and illustrated by Salina Yoon is one of my personal favorites! Dawn Bentley has a line of "icky sticky" books (all with different illustrators). It's not just the illustrations that captivate me in this book; although the help. It's a fun book for young children. The pictures are great! Super sized animals!

What is great about this story is that it is VERY repetitive; and the repetitive lines are engaging and bouncy! The children love it! I love it! It's a great book! I was shocked at the end of the book, but the children seem to be fine with it so I'm okay with it. It's just very surprising how it ends. I totally didn't expect it!

The one downfall of the book is that sticky tongue that is on the front of the book gets stretched out and ruined pretty quickly in the classroom. I hear it is the same at home as well. The fly is gone after two uses, and eventually the tongue goes too. But, while the tongue is still connected, it is very fun! While the tongue is still connected it needs to be a teacher directed book; it can become a huge hazard for strangulation.

The other downfall...(say it with me)...there is no picture of the author! None of the illustrator either and I can't find a picture anywhere on line of either. So, if you find one end it my way please and I'll update accordingly.

Challenging Situations-The Tantrum

Children have tantrums all the time. It's part of being a child. The key, for all adults, is to not give in. But, what do you do if a tantrum comes out in the classroom? I'm not talking about your typical "crying-because-I-didn't-get-my-way" tantrum. No, I'm talking about that rolling, kicking, screaming, throwing things tantrum!

Here's the scenario:
You are getting your class lined up to go outside. There are 11 children present, you run a 1:8 ratio, and one child (Angelica) is asked to put her shoes on. This isn't an option, the rule is that shoes must be worn outside.

Let me preface this first by saying, personally, I don't make shoes on a battle I'm willing to get into. She will find out quickly when she goes outside that she needs to wear her shoes because the ground is hot. I will ask her to bring her shoes outside just in case she wants to put them on later. However, I do know that at some schools this is a really issue. Besides the ground being hot there are tricycles out there that will run over toes and things. So, depending on the yard and the school, I base my battle accordingly.

Now, back to that "battle". There is no choice about it, shoes must go on. She is told, "You can't go outside until you put your shoes on." Now the struggle begins. Angelica crosses her arms in front of her and plops herself on the floor and shouts, "NO!" When she sees the teacher isn't going to budge she begins her full blown tantrum. She rolls, the teacher is close by so she kicks at her, and she is screaming! You now have 10 children waiting to go outside, and one in a tantrum. It's not fair to ask the other children to wait it out, so here's what to do:

Send the assistant outside with 8 children (You're still in ratio). Tell Angelica, "When you are done and ready to put your shoes on, let me know. I'll be over here with these two children."

With those two other children, pull out a board game or some other special activity so that they don't feel slighted about not getting to go outside just because someone else was having a tantrum. Stay within eye sight of Angelica so you can see what she is doing, but she can also see that you're still there.

Most important: STAY CALM AND NONCHALANT!

The calmer and more nonchalant about it you are, the more control you have. You can even say, "You are allowed to be mad or upset. This is a safe place for you to do that. When you're done, I'm here to help you."

At the times when things start quieting down a bit, repeat "If you are done, I'm here to help you." Sometimes this will cause the tantrum to kick back up again; sometimes it will cause the tantrum to cease and at this point the child is ready to be helped.

During the tantrum, if she begins to move to a different area, calmly get up, walk over to her, and move her to the safe zone you have designated. Then, just as calmly, state "This is where you will be safe to kick and scream." And calmly walk away. Be very consistent in this. It is what they really are looking for, that boundary.

There really is nothing you can do but ride it out. Don't let it get you upset, that puts the control right back to the child; and it doesn't help at all to get her done or in the next tantrum she will have (and she will have another one).

Also, and most importantly, DON'T GIVE IN! Don't turn around and say, "Fine, just go out with your shoes off." Stick to your decision. That is only telling her that if she cries long and loud enough, she will eventually get her way. It will make her next tantrum go even longer!

If you ride it out and stick to the rule I can guarantee that the next one will be shorter; and they will eventually stop all together.

Once she is done with the tantrum and you say, "Are you ready for my help now?" And she says yes (or indicates in some way; maybe hands you her shoes to put on), respond by saying, "I'm glad you were able to get yourself out of that." Leave it at that. Give her a reassuring hug. Remember, a tantrum is just as frustrating to the child as it is to us. If necessary, calmly walk over to anything that got disturbed during the tantrum (trash can dumped over, toys thrown about, blankets messed up) with the child and say, "Okay, now that you're done with that, let's clean up the mess you made." Help her straighten everything up. This will confirm to her that it IS okay to have her emotions, but she is still responsibly for her actions. Help her clean up her face if necessary. Have you ever washed with a cool washcloth after a good cry? It really feels refreshing!

They CAN'T just stop a tantrum without practice. It's a matter of controlling their emotions. Adults have a difficult time controlling their emotions as well; we have our own little tantrums at times. So, just as frustrating as it is for YOU to watch a child in a tantrum, it is even MORE frustrating for them because (especially at a younger age) they really don't know how to pull themselves out of it.

Once it's done, have those two other children finish their activity and clean up, then you can all go out together.

Cultural Dolls

There are times when you order something thinking it's going to be great. We did just that a few months ago with these cultural dolls.

It's not that they aren't great, it's that I could tell as soon as we took them out that they weren't going to last long. They were made of that plastic that you just know is going to crack and split with just a little bit of use.

Besides the facts that they put these shoes on them and what I can only assume were supposed to be socks. They were really just two pieces of netting sewn together. And, with this same netting, they sewed two pieces together and put it on the "girl" dolls in an attempt (I can only imagine) to give the underwear. I found it odd that it was only placed on the female dolls. If you are going to make this attempt, wouldn't you put it on all of them?

Needless to say, we put this in the classroom that we know takes the best care of their toys (oddly enough that is out toddler classroom) and they are doing a better than I expected; but they are definitely not great. It's the type of plastic that is hard and thin; so when it's stepped on it just stays indented and doesn't bounce back.

We payed more than we should have, but less than we would have had we used a different company. So, the lesson is this: Buy toys from places that you know makes a quality doll. Spend the extra money, it's well worth it.

Book of the Week-Glad Monster Sad Monster

Ed Emberley, a favorite author of mine. I was first introduced to him through Big Green Monster; a definite toddler favorite. When I was looking for some more books from him, I came across this one: "Glad Monster Sad Monster" which is excellent. Especially in a preschool setting.

Children go through so many emotions; and many times they go through many of these emotions at school. He does such a fabulous job of discussing these emotions at a preschoolers level. They can really get a grasp on these feelings they are experiences (or have experienced in the past).

The unique design of the book helps the children become interested in the book and participate. Be sure there is a mirror close by as there is a "mask" to try on with each page.

The only draw back is that it is difficult for a four year old to manipulate by his or herself; the pages will easily tear out left to themselves. (You didn't hear it here, but that may be best if you want to let them explore it on their own). However, if you want to make sure the book stays in one piece, use it at circle time. Show them how to use two people (one to hold and one to "wear" the mask) and make the rule that at least two children have to use the book at once. This would make a great social skill.

My only other complaint is that (say it with me) there is no picture of the author!!! So, here you go:

Challenging Situations-Parent doesn't see the problem

So, little Zachary is having a difficult time in the classroom. He hits his classmates for various reasons, he bites, and maybe he even kicks the teachers. This is an on going behavior that has escalated your frustration and you aren't getting parent cooperation. What do you do?



Many of the times, the scenario looks like this:



This first time you talk to the parents (mom, grandma, dad, etc...) you get a concerned response from them. "What should I do?" or "I'll have a talk with him" or something of that sort.



This is probably the same for number 2 through 4 contacts with the parent. By contact 5, you are probably hearing something along the lines of, "He's picking up this behavior from (name of another child in the classroom)." Thus making the parent feel as if that has solved the problem.



Contact 6 and 7 you are very frustrated. You don't seem to be getting anywhere with the parents, and they actually seem standoffish. The child's behavior is actually escalating for two reasons: 1, you are getting more and more frustrated and he is playing off your emotions; and 2, there is no support from the parents at this point and maybe even some negative talk about school at home.



Now your contacts with the parents are tense, you want to get a referral for a behavioral specialist. The parents are now commenting, "Well, I just don't think you have any control with him (or maybe even the class)." They are now questioning your competency because, "We never have these problems at home."



So, how do we change this pattern from the beginning? Simple, in some ways. The first couple of times do the same that you would. Make the parents aware of the situation and see what kind of support you are going to get.



Here's the change: when you get to the 3rd contact, make a phone call. Ask if this is a convenient time to talk or if it would be better for them to call back at a specific time or come by a little early to pick up so that you can talk. Let them know that you just want to make a plan together to help him get over these challenging times.



When you talk to them at this point, make sure you tell them this, "I know you probably don't see some of these behaviors at home that we are talking about. Remember, you only have one 4 year old at home with 4 year old issues. We have 16 4 year olds in the classroom with 16 4 year old issues. They are all competing for the same attention and having to share that attention and those issues with others. Preschoolers don't share well to begin with; but when they have to share issues with each other, it makes it even harder for them."



Once the parents understand this perspective, they are more likely to look at the situation from their child's perspective and understand that difficulty of being in the classroom with other 4 year old children. This is when you talk to them about what you are doing in the classroom to help and how they can help reinforce what you are teaching at home.



You may also want to invite them to come spend a few hours in the classroom to observe and see what it is like. Parents don't understand what we do because they haven't experienced it (just like children don't understand concepts until they have experiences with them).



Take the approach of everyone working together to help this child rather than putting the responsibility of "fixing" this problem onto the parents. It is your job and your responsibility to take care of discipline issues in the classroom, not the parents. Just as it is the parents responsibility to take care of discipline outside of school, not yours. However, as an educated professional, you should always be willing to help out parents who ask and/or need the help.

Changing your schedule

What do you do when the children in your preschool classroom aren't responding. Do they take a long time before finally focusing at circle in the morning? At gathering time before lunch, do they not participate? Do they just have a difficult time settling down after breakfast? Well, there is a simple solution, but difficult for some to make:

Change your classroom schedule!

If they have a hard time settling for group gathering in the morning, change it to music and movement; put group gathering later in the day. Maybe even after nap time. This group may just have a hard time because they are too energized when they come in.

Have a group that doesn't participate in gathering just before lunch, save it for after nap. Maybe they are just too tired and hungry to focus and participate; and they are just looking forward to that rest time.

What about the group that can't seem to settle in after breakfast? Take them outside for an hour and then come in to do your work. It will make everyone happier.

Yes, I understand there are limitations to rearranging your schedules. Maybe you have to share the yard with another classroom. Work with the other teachers and director to see if something can be worked out. The most important thing, however, is to make sure that you hit all the areas and times that you need to have; but you also serve the children's needs.

Do you have a question about your group that you might need help with? Leave a comment!

Sneaky Education

So many times parents come into the center and think their child is "just playing" all day long. They think that we aren't doing anything with them.

Then, after a few months that same parent comes in all impressed because their child is writing his or her name, counting to 100, and recognizing shapes and patterns while on outings. Here's the thing, we don't let our children know they are learning most of the time.

Sure, at circle time the children probably can figure out that it is "lesson" time. But during free choice activities, they really think they are just playing! How do we do it?

We set up an environment that is conducive to learning and the children don't even know it. What to teach patterning? We do it so many different ways. My favorite is with Lego's. In the block area I put out a container or Lego's and I join in the fun:

When I approach I find out what they are making (usually airplanes, robots, or jet fighters). "Can I make one too?" Of course! Then, I talk out loud while I am building. "Hm, green, blue, green, blue, green, oh, I need another Lego for my robots leg." This draws them in. They hand me one (maybe red). I put it on, "No, that's not right. Look at the colors I'm using." They hand me a green one. "No, I have a green one there" They are now intrigued by what I am doing. I comment, "See, it doesn't fit my pattern." Now they are involved with what I am doing and are helping me to create the patterns.

That's all I have to do. I have created enough interest now that the next day when they are playing they are making patterns themselves...and showing me! Slowly, I start pointing out patterns around the classroom; slowly, they start pointing them out to me!

Another thing I do is put a sign in book for the children. Each child signs his or her name when they come in and when they leave for the day. Their name is written in big letters across the top of the page so they have a sample (I don't dot the letters or highlight anything, they copy it on their own). I also have a book in the writing area that has all of the children's names on a full sheet in protective sleeves with dry erase markers available. They can now write any child's name they want. At circle, and other times throughout the day, I listen carefully for that "how do you spell" or "what is this word". I take that cue and then create more pages in this book of "favorite words". These are words that they are interested in learning to write themselves.

We have treasure hunts. Cut out shapes of letters, shapes, numbers, anything and hide them all around the school. Then we have to find them! I also will create a map in which I put the location of the letters on the map and say "Let's go find the letter g" looking at the map we find it there, then we go look around the center for it.

When we are getting ready for a big activity or special event I ask them what we need. As they come up with the list, they write it out. Yes, I am writing it down as well so I can remember what it is if I can't read it, but that's on my own paper they know nothing about. Typically each child gets to write their own suggestions, but we might have a "secretary" who gets to write everything.

At the lunch table we might talk about what our favorite food on the plate is. As we are talking, I am writing down a graph on my clipboard. After everyone says their favorite, we talk about the graph I just made!

Another one of my favorite graph activities is in the manipulative area. I get one dice and a paper with columns of squares (six columns) I write the numerals at the bottom (1-2-3-4-5-6) and put a marker with it. Every time they roll the dice, they color in a square in the corresponding column. They just like rolling the dice, counting the numbers, finding the numeral, and then coloring it in. They don't realize they are making a graph and learning about probability.

When parents ask me what they can do at home to help them learn; they are typically looking for "Sit them at the table and have them write..." What I tell them is: have them write the grocery list and read it when they get to the store, show them how to find the price of an item and have them tell you how much it is (as they get older, have them add up the items as you shop-round up or down for the younger ones $5 and $2 is how much), look at signs on the street and talk about the shapes, read books and have them "read" aloud to you.

What things to you tell the parents to do at home? What is your favorite classroom activity that is teaching the children when they don't know they are learning?

Labeling your Preschool Classroom

I don't know why I haven't hit this topic before today. It's not that I assume everyone knows this; because I clearly remember the day my mentor teacher told me this. I see it in many classrooms (preschool and older) done the wrong way. So, here is the one thing that every teacher needs to know and, for some reason, never seems to be brought up in any college classes:

Always label your classroom in lower case letters!

You are teaching children to read. You want them to read successfully. We don't write or read in all capital letters. For the most part, we read in lower case letters. The capital letters are relatively rare to the lower case. We have adopted the practice in our program to introduce only the lower case letters. We will introduce the capital letters as they come up, but we focus on learning to read and write the lower case letters.

When I walked into a classroom the other day, the teacher was so proud that she had just labeled her entire classroom. It took a lot of work. I could tell! However, it was done in all capital letters. When I pointed this out to her, she understood what I was saying but commented that she had never been told otherwise. She has been a teacher for several years.

So, I beg of all of you, please label your classrooms appropriately. On top of that, teach the children to write in lower case letters first. Yes, the capital letters are easier (they are more direct lines and curves); but they need to learn the lower case first.

Do you have any classroom tips that seem like everyone should know, but really no one thinks about until they are told?

Book of the Week-Big Red Barn

I can't believe I haven't yet reviewed this book. I was looking through my LibraryThing to find the book to review this week and comparing my list of book of the week enteries when I saw that I hadn't reviewed "Big Red Barn" by Margaret Wise Brown; pictures by Felicia Bond. Well, this is a book that every classroom should have in it without fail! Especially in the toddler classrooms; but all across every preschool classroom.

It should be included in the curriculum if you have a literacy based curriculum. It should be read at circle time, nap time, and all day long. It should be on the library shelf for children to look through on their own. The pictures are engaging and interesting to children. The words or memorable.

Any child who has never seen a farm will learn about life on a farm from reading this book. At least, they'll learn about the animals on a farm. This is done beautifully by the words and the pictures. I can't say enough about this book.

Margaret Wise Brown has written many notable book (Goodnight Moon being one of them); but this is by far one of my favorites.

Felicia Bond has gone on to illustrate more books and even author some as well. Among her illustrated works is "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie"; she authored "Tumble Bumble", another fine children's book.

Below is a pictures of Margaret Wise Brown, and under that, Felicia Bond: