Thoughtful Thursday

Positive Reinforcement: What's the Real Story?

Applying positive reinforcement is more than just telling a child “good job” or “I like your painting.”  Instead effective positive reinforcement is sharing a genuine interest in a child’s efforts as he or she is engaged in a specific process.

For some, the ability to focus a genuine interest on a child’s efforts comes naturally. For others, like me, it requires a little more thought. I naturally want to say to children, “I love this” because I do – or – “you make me so proud” – because they do – or – “your dress is so pretty” – because I think it is – or “you did this so fast, you must be a genius!” – because I am genuinely amazed. Although this isn’t necessarily bad, it isn’t what is meant by focusing on a child’s efforts. It isn’t what is meant by effectively and productively providing positive reinforcement.

Ellen Galinsky illustrates the value of positive reinforcement in her book “Mind In the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs.” An example is a research study of children being given a challenge to solve a puzzle.  To very briefly summarize the research, some of the children were praised for their effort as they worked on the puzzle and others were praised for how smart they were. Both types of praise sounded genuine and thoughtful but when the children were asked if they would like to solve a more difficult puzzle, only those who were praised on their effort chose to work on the more difficult puzzles. Those who were praised for how smart they were chose to stick with the more simple puzzles.

What I gleaned from this was to start by focusing on what a child is doing rather than how you feel about what the child is doing. For example, The next time a child shows you a painting he or she just painted – instead of saying  ”Your painting is so pretty” try saying “Wow, I see you chose to use red, blue and yellow paint!” The second statement may not seem like a compliment but positive reinforcement isn’t necessarily complimenting children – it is instead the building of a child’s confidence, understanding, and interest in what he or she is doing. It is focusing the child’s attention back on his or her own choices and efforts as he or she participates in or completes a task.

You try it. How would you respond to this child's creation?



Taken from Deborah Stewart and Bam Radio Show with Rae Pica, Ellen Ava Sigler, Ed.D.,  and Margaret Berry Wilson. The topic was titled, “Creating Praise Junkies: Are You Giving Children Too Much “Positive” Reinforcement?”

Transition Tuesday

Try this fingerplay to get the wiggles out.

Animals and Insects

Here is an ostrich straight and tall

(Arms above head with wrist bent forward for ostrich’s head)

Nodding her head above us all.

Here is a bull snake on the ground,

(Move hand back and forth)

Wiggling around with a hissing sound.

Here is an eagle flying high.

(Spread arms and move like wings.)

And spreading his wings across the sky.

Here is a porcupine with quills on back.

(Spread five fingers behind fist on other hand.)

Each quill is sharper than a sharp tack.

Here is a spider upon the gate.

I counted its legs and there were eight.

(Hold up eight fingers.)

Here is an owl with great round eyes

(Circle eyes with fingers.)

And here are some flickering fireflies.

(Wiggle fingers.)

Make & Take Monday

Puffy Ice Cream Art

Materials:

• Shaving Cream
• Glue
• Hard paper (Oslo paper/Easel board paper)
• Small cup
• Popsicle stick
• Brown Paper or Brown Crayon
• Paint of various colors
• White paint

Directions:
Step 1: Mix a little white to make the color a little bit more “creamy”. Also prepare some paper cones for the kids. If you do not have any brown paper, you can let the kids just draw/color the cones themselves.

Step 2: Spray the shaving cream  For those kids who can, it would be better to let them press it themselves.
Step 3: Pour the glue. There isn’t really an exact amount as to how much you should put - equal amounts of glue and shaving cream.
Step 4: Let the kids pick a color/flavor! Drop some “flavor” into the cup.
Step 5: Let the kids mix away!
Step 6: Let them use their hands and spread the cream unto the paper. It’s really tons of fun to see their reaction from the unique texture.
Step 7: It takes around 2-3 days to properly dry

Don’t they look so real and yummy? Don’t be tempted to eat them or you’re in for a tummy ache!

Taken from Little Running Teacher

Feature Friday

Pandora - Internet Radio

Pandora is an Internet  radio and music recommendation service that helps people discover new music. Listeners begin by selecting an artist, song, or genre they like, and Panodra responds by playing music with similar attributes. Teachers will find favorite children's music artists like Greg and Steve, Raffi, and Hap Palmer, as well as many other types of music suitable for young children including jazz, classical, and folk. Pandora offers two types of subscriptions - a free plan (supported by advertising) or a fee-based subscription plan (with no advertising). Go to http://www.pandora.com/.

Taken from Teaching Young Children, NAEYC

Thoughtful Thursday

The Benefits of Play
A great article on play. Taken from Willow Creek Pediatrics

It has been said that play is a child’s work.  While play has been around since the dawn of time, the science of play is relatively new.  What some may consider to be only a frivolous pastime for children has, over the last century, been uncovered as a powerful tool for learning, a key to creativity and innovation, and, some would argue, a biological necessity akin to sleep. Researchers, like Dr. Stuart Brown of the National Institute for Play, assert that play is more than just good fun, and even more than a way to practice and imitate skills for the future.  Play, they submit, is a necessary component to healthy human development.  It helps build emotional regulation, appropriate risk-taking behaviors, abstract thinking, curiosity, and resiliency.  Incorporating neuroscience, they have found that play “lights up the brain” and builds intelligence in a truly unique way. And yet, while the science of play is gaining ground, the actual occurrence of play seems to be diminishing in our culture. As this article in the New York Times  stated, “The average 3 year-old can pick up an iPhone and expertly scroll through the menu of apps, but how many 7 year-olds can organize a kickball game with the neighborhood kids?”

What innovative entities are beginning to recognize is that a culture of playfulness engenders divergent thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to create “something from nothing”. People who are good “players” tend to be more creative, resourceful, and in many instances, it helps people do their jobs better and enjoy them more when there is an element of play. By nature, children seem to be good players. They immediately ask, “What is that and what else can I do with it?”, they see new perspectives through role-play, and effortlessly engage others in a common cause (whether that’s building a fort, storming a castle, or a good old-fashioned game of Red Rover).

So how can child’s play be in danger? What comes so easily by nature can easily be lost to a lack of nurture. Some blame the emphasis on academic achievement which, while the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive, appears to be pushing play from preschools and recess from school schedules. Others cite the fast pace of American culture, moving adults and children alike from one scheduled event to the next. Personalities also play a role as some parents and teachers may be more or less comfortable with relinquishing control and allowing children room to play. Play can be chaotic and messy. It’s often much easier, faster, and cleaner to turn to technology and flip on the TV or start up a video game. But when children are allowed to be bored, they learn to take initiative, show leadership, organize, and problem solve as they decide how, with what, and with whom they will play. They think outside of the box and create something to do when it seems there is nothing.

And, Dr. Stuart Brown contends, play is not just for children. Humans are biologically designed to play --- for a lifetime. Benefits extend into adulthood and include mental flexibility, stress release, and just plain happiness.

So find time for you and your children to play --- together and on your own. We can all reap the benefits!

Workshop Wednesday

Bubble Fun!

Try this activity in your science center or for some outdoor fun.

Replace ordinary bubble wands with kitchen utensils for some fun bubble-blowing experimentation! Stock your science area with a shallow pan of bubble solution and a variety of slotted utensils, such as those shown. A youngster visits the center and explores making bubbles with the different utensils.

Transition Tuesday

Movement Tip

Got the jitterbugs? You know, they’re those invisible organisms that sometimes cover youngsters and provide lots of wiggly energy! Expel these pesky creatures from your classroom with this dramatic performance. Ask your little ones to stand up and shake those jitterbugs off. While the children are shaking (and giggling), open up a trash bag and weave amongst them as you pretend to collect the bugs. Trap air inside the bag and knot it closed. Shake the bag as you carry those wiggly jitterbugs out of the room.

Taken from Mailbox Magazine

Make & Take Monday

Ocean Sensory Tub

Blue aquarium rocks

Plastic aquarium plants

Safari Coral Reef Toob (assortment of ocean animals and plants)

Pack of plastic fish from the dollar store

Coins (for buried treasure)

Bucket

Fishing Net

Fll the whole thing up with water!!  What FUN!!

Taken from Playing House

Transition Tuesday

Try this color activity for transition time.

These big blooms keep little ones buzzing with activity! In your meeting area, adhere green masking tape stems to the floor. Cut the flower blossoms, centers, and flowerpot from construction paper and use clear Con-Tact covering to adhere the cutouts to the floor. Set a container of five beanbags near the flowerpot. If desired, attach a colorful bee cutout to each beanbag with clear Con-Tact covering. A child stands behind the flowerpot, names a color, and attempts to toss the beanbag onto the matching flower center. In a similar manner, a child can stand on the flowerpot and hop from flower to flower, naming the colors along way.

Taken from Mailbox Magazine

Make & Take Monday

Sidewalk Paint

Now that it is warm, get outisde and PAINT! Try this simple, fun sidewalk paint.

The recipe for this paint couldn’t be simpler: 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of water and some food coloring. Super simple and tons of fun! When the paint dries it looks just like it would if it was drawn with sidewalk chalk and it washes away with water!



Taken from Moments of Mommyhood



Feature Friday

A Special Mother's Day Gift: Pampering Tired Loyal Feet

Make a massaging cream with olive oil and Epson salt.  Mix the two ingredients together until you have an oily paste.

Remove all of your dry calluses with the painter’s sponge before you soak your feet in warm water.    

Next rub lemon juice all over your feet with a cotton ball.  Allow the lemon juice to set on your feet for a few minutes to help exfoliate and remove all the dead skin cells.   

Place your feet in a tub of warm water and allow them tootsies to soak and relax the days strain away.  As you soak your feet play some soothing music or read a good read.  Take the time - just enjoy - after all you deserve it.

After your feet have soaked for several minutes remove one foot at a time placing your foot on the dry towel and massage in the olive oil and Epson salt paste. This will buff away all of the remaining dead skin cell and leave you with smooth soft feet. Once your have massaged your foot well, sit it back in the tub of warm water. Repeat with the other foot. Once both feet have been done towel them off and you will be left with some happy tootsies.

Now take the time for you it can be anything, just do something for you, you deserve it!

Taken from Be Positive Mom and Learning & Teaching With Preschoolers

Our feet should not be left out of our beauty regiment. Our feet can benefit from some tender loving care. After all they get us from one point to the next. So let’s take some time and pamper those overworked, tired feet.

Here is what you will need:

• Dish Pan

• Painters Sand Sponge

• Soft Towel

• Fresh squeezed lemon juice

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Epson Salt

Thoughtful Thursday

Advocating Play

“The growing allocation of kindergarten time to academic content has firmly pushed play to the edges. What counts as play in many classrooms are highly controlled centers that focus on particular content labeled as ‘choice’ but that are really directed at capturing a specific content-based learning experience, such as number bingo or retelling a story exactly as the teacher told it o n a flannel board….It means that in-depth project work that involves research into child-initiated questions just takes too much time….”

“What’s lost with this shift?  Attention to anything but clearly defined cognitive aspects of development….”

“…It’s no longer enough to argue that play is the work of children; we’re now required to prove what children get from play.  What they get must translate to increased achievement or reduced risk.  So let’s nail the evidence base.”

“Are We Paving the Paradise: In our rush to promote achievement, we’ve forgotten how 5 year olds really learn,” by Elizabeth Grauein; Education Leadership (April 2011)

Workshop Wednesday

Balloon Prints

Materials: balloon(s), a piece of paper, and paint

Directions:
1. Pour some paint on a plate. Blow up a balloon.
 (If you use more than one color use different balloons and plates. You can use the same balloon if you want the children to mix colors.)
2. Have the child dip the balloon into the paint and press it on the paper.
3. Continue until you have a "picture".

Examples of Balloon Print Caterpillars



Taken from Moments of Mommyhood



Transition Tuesday

Try this quick poem to get your children's attention.

1, 2 You Know What To Do

1,2 You know what to do.
3,4 Sit on the floor.
5,6 Your feet you fix.
7,8 Sit up straight.
9,10 Let's listen again.

Make & Take Monday

I am back after a busy, but fun, spring break! Today's post is DIY Paintbrushes!

Homemade Paintbrushes

Materials: Pipe Cleaners, Rubber Bands, Yarn, Craft Foam, Sponges, Wooden Clothespins, Old Toothbrushes, Wooden dowels, Cardboard Scraps, Etc.

Directions:
1. Gather your materials.
2. Cut up and rubber band different materials to the wooden handles to make "brushes".

Let loose and enjoy painting with different textures and materials. The kids will LOVE it!

Taken from Pink and Green Mama