Thoughtful Thursday

Back to School: 10 Things to Consider

1. You need to know where your children are coming from, and where they are going, from a developmental standpoint. A developmental checklist used throughout the year is a great way to keep track of your students' development. You can create your own or use a commercial made checklist like Work Sampling System of Teaching Strategies GOLD.

2. You’ve heard the old phrase, “Start with the end in mind”. That’s just what you’ll be doing as you do some backwards planning, and create a yearly map. Consider where you want your children to be at the end of the year (your standards) and then work from there. How will you get them there? What activities and experiences will you plan?

3. Take a look at your room. Have you organized your learning areas? Use your interest areas to get the most from your room and give the most to your children.

4. Literacy is a major component of early education. What is your plan for language and literacy? Read to find out what research says about letter learning and language development. Consider how you will make literacy meaningful and relevant.

5. Consider how you plan to teach numeracy. There are plenty of ways to work it in throughout your classroom and curriculum naturally, not just through teacher directed activities.

6. It seems like a no-brainer. The children will arrive and they will eventually leave. But have you given much thought to the procedure? Establishing well-thought out arrival/departure procedures can make or break your day.

7. Establish as part of your daily procedures a sign in procedure. Children will improve in name recognition and writing, as well as recognizing others’ names and finding shared letters. It’s a fantastic tool for teaching writing and letter recognition while taking attendance at the same time!

8. Communication between parents and teachers is critical. Consider ways to make sure information gets to where it’s supposed to go, i.e folders, journals, agendas, etc!

9. Have a Parent Meeting to get your parents on board! Share your curriculum and philosphy of teaching and learning. Answer those questions up front for an easy transition.

10. And saving the best for last, make sure you take the time to get to know your children and develop those important routines and procedures. Taking the time at the beginning will pay off in the end! And also take time for yourself and your family!!

Transition Tuesday

It's the beginning of the year and you are probably spending every minute of every day teaching routines and procedures. One routine is that of transitions. Transitioning from one activity to another is very difficult for young children. They need help making transitions. You can teach simple signals, songs, games, etc. to help the transition process. Below is a song to teach children when you want them to sit on the carpet or rug for group time.

 

Have a Seat 

(tune of “Shortnin’ Bread”)

Everybody have a seat, have a seat, have a seat.

Everybody have a seat on the floor.

Not on the ceiling, not on the door.

Everybody have a seat on the floor!

 

Taken form Dr. Jean

Make & Take Monday

Welcome Back!

It's beginning to look a lot like SCHOOL. It is hard to believe another school year has started. Time flies. Our first make & take is a great sensory idea (wouldn't you know it!) It is a back-to-school tub. Hope your kids enjoy!

Materials:
:: Shredded notebook paper (or shredded construction paper)
:: Pencil case (one with a zipper will encourage fine motor development)
:: Crayons (homemade crayons would be fun too):: Pencils
:: Erasers (which can be added to the pencil tops for a fine motor activity)
:: Pencil sharpener (to be used with the pencils, of course)
:: Scissors (children can further cut the shredded paper)
:: Paper clips (these can be used to make chains, patterns, counting, etc.)
:: Wooden alphabet tiles

Taken from Counting Coconuts

:: Number beads, 0-10 (can be laced)
:: Tiny wooden apples

:: Colorful shapes 
:: Mini homemade notebooks

:: Small alphabet book
:: School bus calendar cards
:: Back to school novelty buttons