Last week I had the opportunity to attend a few training classes (more fun stuff I get to do for my license...actually I didn't mind going to these...although I really did stand out in the crowd) and just thought I would fill you in on a few things/handouts they gave me.
The first one that impressed me was 10 signs of a GREAT preschool (I thought I was doing fairly well on most of them, always room for improvement...but it made me happy to know I was on the right track!!)
1. Children spend most of their playing and working with materials or other children. They do not wander aimlessly, and they are not expected to sit quietly for long periods of time. (I think 5 minutes in circle time is the most they sit in one spot...and they're singing and doing actions while they are there)
2. Children have access to various activities throughout the day. Look for assorted building blocks and other construction materials, props for pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as matching games, peg boards, and puzzles. Children should not be all doing the same thing at the same time. (I have all of these things, and as you can see in the pictures...they are all over the place playing with all different sorts of toys, etc.)
3. Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend all their time with the whole group. (I do this by pulling them aside to practice their letters and sounds with them...I also help them with the morning work as every staggers in at their own time...I am helping each child (unless I get stuck talking :) ) hold the pencil correctly, scissors, etc.)
4. The classroom is decorated with children's original artwork, their own writing with invented spelling, and stories dictated by children to teachers. (I need to do better about this...I kept their stuff for the holidays...but they are always so excited to take it home...I'll get better!)
5. Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences. The natural world of plants and animals and meaningful activities like cooking, taking attendance, or serving snack provide the basis for learning. ( I am always asking them to count how many girls vs. boys, or how many extra chairs do we have, and who's missing...how many people have "H's" in their name etc....or we learned the letter "D" and became "Detectives", etc. )
6. Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to play and explore. Worksheets are used little if at all. (I only do the one early morning paper to give them some prewriting skills, as well as enhance the letter, or to learn to cut on a straight line, etc...I hope you all agree that I do this! :))
7. Children have an opportunity to play outside every day (sorry my backyard is not great for this...I do try to take them on "detective hunts" or play relay games, or we will fly kites for the letter "K" etc. when possible...hopefully this one is applied more to day care, since they are only in my care for a SHORT 2 1/2 hours!!)
8. Teachers read books to children individually or in small groups throughout the day, not just at group story time. (If they ever ask me to read them a book during center time, I do...but other than that there's not many other opportunities...I do read to them as a group every day though!)
9. Curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help. Teachers recognize that children's different background and experience mean that they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same way. (I am very big on this one...all my projects are usually very open ended...they can paint/color/glue as much or as little as they want, etc. They can make patterns (the more advance) or just scribble. As far as learning the letters we practice saying them, we practice in the air with our fingers, we sing about them, we practice writing them, we try to reinforce them with show n tell...so they are hearing/seeing/ learning a lot of different ways.)
10. Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel secure about sending their child to the program. Children are happy to attend; they do not cry regularly or complain about feeling sick (I hope this one can apply to all of you!!! I know I LOVE to see each of your children every day!!)
THESE ARE FROM THE NAEYC...NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for the EDUCATION of YOUNG CHILDREN...so hopefully you can see these things in my classroom, and I'm not just justifying myself!! :)
They also talked a lot about dealing with parents and for those that are constantly asking "when are they going to learn how to read? When are you going to teach them this or that?" and I thought wow...no one really ever bugs me about that (and of course their response for me to tell you if you did ask was "Everything they do is teaching them to read...their interactions with the other children...the tone in our voices...being read to, etc.) So I just thought I would go over a few of the things I do (or some of our projects) and what they learn when they are "just painting, or coloring" etc.
All of the songs we sing help with:
language
fine motor
rhyming
Theme knowledge
musical expression
imagination
and more!!
During calendar
Explore the concepts of time
number recognition
color recognition
pattern recognition
letter recognition
shape recognition
Observation (the weather)
Language
Spanish (the numbers)
Predicting (the weather)
During our projects:
creative art exploration
Observation
tactile acuity
cutting
matching
LISTENING
following directions
Hand-eye coordination
Counting
spatial awareness
much more!!
During games such as BINGO
Auditory discrimination
Spatial reasoning
visual acuity
During our PRICKLY ball relay (and other large motor games)
coordination
cooperation
gross motor
hand-eye coordination
I don't know if you'll actually read all this so I'll stop now...but there is so much more to preschool than just memorizing the alphabet or knowing numbers and shapes, etc. I hope you guys are always happy with what is being accomplished here...but please know I am always open for comments, suggestions, criticism, etc...I won't know to fix it if you don't let me know there's a problem...so please tell me. You have amazing children who are learning so much each and every day! You are wonderful parents and it shows in all that they do in their "play" and words. Keep up the good work!!
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