Feature Friday

Organizing Your Classroom Music

Have you thought of using iTunes to organize your teaching music? You can sort your songs into playlists, for example “Alphabet”, “Math”, “Movement”, “Rhythm Sticks”, etc. Now, iTunes even allows you to make folders for playlists (and folders within folders). This is useful because you can separate your “School” music from your “Personal” music in folders. Then, you use the folders to organize your “Songs with Props” playlists (rhythm sticks, bean bags, rhythm instruments, castanets, etc.) You might want to start making a playlist for each month, and organize these playlists into a “Months” folder. It is much easier to find the song you need and you don’t have to change out CDs. You play the songs from an iPod with speakers. You can also make an “On-the-Go” playlist on the iPod, and use that playlist just for the songs you're going to use each week. Include an “iPod with speakers” on your classroom wishlist. You never know what you will get until you ask!

Taken from Prekinders

Thoughtful Thursday

Wishbones Vs. Backbones

"Never grow a wishbone where a backbone should be," advises Debra Sullivan in her article, "Learning to Walk: Changing Yourself, Your Perspectives, and Your Assumptions," in the 200th Issue of Exchange.  Sullivan continued...

"Clementine Paddleford, a culinary journalist and a pilot who flew a Piper Cub around the country in the 1920s, gave this advice to her daughter.  This reminds us that you have to take responsibility for your life and not wait for someone to come fix it for you.  Sometimes we want change, but we want someone else to make it happen.  This can happen in big ways, like wishing a family member would stop making bigoted statements; and it can happen in small ways, like wishing your neighbor would stop parking in front of your house.  If only people would change their behavior or change their minds without you having to say anything or do anything.  Unfortunately, wishes don’t always come true.

"You can wish all you want, but sometimes you have to take a stand.  Babies can take a stand and walk because they have a backbone.  Personal change is about taking a stand, using your backbone, and deciding to take personal responsibility for the change you desire.  And, yes, taking a stand can be scary, but don’t let that stop you.  If you really want something to be different, you will find a way to make it happen."

Workshop Wednesday

Name Finding
Small Group Activity

Combine the experience of scooping and brushing rice with a little name and letter recognition. To play this simple but engaging name activity, start by putting laminated name cards on a tray then pour some rice on the tray too. The children can use their hands or brushes to search for their names and the names of their friends. This is a wonderful way to help the children identify not only their own name but all the names of the children in your class. Once the children get pretty good at recognizing their names as a whole, then you can cut up the name into individual letters and invite them to search for the letters in their name. This is also fun to play with a partner. One child hides all the letters under the rice then the other child searches for the letters. Just the scooping and brushing rice makes for a wonderful sensorial experience. Once children are able to do independently move the activity to the centers.

Hide the name cards under the rice.

Add friends names too!

Cut the letters apart. Find the different letters and put together to spell name.

Idea taken from Teach Preschool

Transition Tuesday

Citizenship Song

As you continue to teach procedures and rules, try singing this song to promote positive behaviors and good classroom citizens.

(Tune: London Bridge)
In our class we follow rules
Follow rules, follow rules.
In our class we follow rules
Like good citizens.

We treat our friends with respect,
With respect, with respect.
We treat our friends with respect
Like good citizens.

In our class we wait our turn,
Wait our turn, wait our turn.
In our class we wait our turn
Like good citizens.

We keep our hands to ourselves
To oursleves, to ourselves.
We keep our hands to ourselves,
Like good citizens.

Taken from Mailbox Magazine (Aug/Sept 2009)

Make and Take Monday

Sorry I have been out of commission. I have recently moved and my computer has been down.
I am trying to catch up for this week. Thanks for your patience.

Colorful Sensory Gel Bags

These bags can be added to your art area, discovery/science area, writing area, or even table toys ... practically anywhere. And the kids LOVE them!

Materials:
Hair gel (from the dollar store - clear or yellow)
Baggies
Food color (the food coloring in the tubes makes bright colors)
Clear packing tape
Trinkets (optional)

Directions:
1. Fill each Ziploc baggie with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hair gel. (The yellow hair gel works as well as the clear gel and it smells great!)
2. Add some food color to get the bright colors.
3. Add trinkets if desired.
4. Use clear packing tape to seal the top of the baggies.

TIP: To remove the Ziploc print from the baggie all you need is to lightly rub the white letters and symbols with a very little nail polish remover and a sponge and the white print will come right off.



Make a baggie with each color and place in the art area for children to explore.



Add trinkets and add to your table toys area.
Have children "squish" around and count the number of objects in the baggie.

Add trinkets related to your current theme and add to your discovery area.
For example, nuts, acorns, apples, etc. for fall.



Use for small groups. Give each child a baggie and have them trace letters, shapes, numbers, etc.

Photos taken from Teach Preschool

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!!

Workshop Wednesday

Name Game

Play this little concentration game to help your children recognize their own name and the names of their classmates.

Directions:

1. Print each child’s name (upper and lower case) on a two separate sentence strips.
2. Cut one name apart leaving one letter of each child’s name on a card.
3. Mix all the letter cards of each child’s name that is participating.
4. Turn all the letter cards over in the center of the table.
5. Have the children place their name card in front of them.
6. Each child takes a turn drawing a card.
7. If the card they turn over is a letter in his or her name then they keep the card and put it on or under their name card.
8. Keep playing until everyone has found the letters in their name.

Taken from Teach Preschool