Thoughtful Thursday

"Make the invisible visible." I share this with teachers often. I find that those outside the world of early childhood do not always understand what they see in our classrooms. We often hear comments such as, "They are just playing." or "Isn't she cute dressed up as a princess." Our job as early childhood advocates is to make the invisible visible. What WE can see (know) is not always clear to others - administrators, colleagues, parents, etc. We have to find ways to show the outside world that children's play is their work. One way is to display photos of children in the different areas and list the standards or skills they are learning. You might designate a special board in your classroom for this purpose. You could title it, "Look at What We are Learning!" Change the photos regularly to reflect what you are studying. Another idea is to list what children learn in each of the areas. You might make a list of the developmental skills and post them in an acrylic frame and hang it on the wall or on the end of a shelf for each area. And finally include what children are learning in your newsletters. This could be a photo or a couple of sentences about a specific area. So as we reflect on our practices consider how you can make the invisible visible.