Whoa!

It's been on my heart so to speak to start blogging again... So here I am, with a month and a half left in 2015 and a goal! 

So I am a big reader. I love to read and try to read every day. I live in a fairly small community so professional development is very limited unless I want to travel. So I read a lot of books about child development and best practices in Early Childhood. I wanted to share a few with you. I'm not being paid in any way shape or form for this... these are 100% my opinions. As I finish books, I will add to this. 

First up is: Use Your Words: How Teacher Talk Helps Children Learn by Carol Garhart Mooney.

There is no doubt that as Early Childhood Educators we talk A LOT. This book gives a lot of practical, sound advice for how we use our words to make the most of it in the following areas: giving directions and instructions, correcting behavior, developing skills and concepts, and conversations, discussions, and stories. This book is an easy read at 118 pages with skills you can use the next day. I highly recommend. 

"The ideas presented here are not new. As you read this book, I'm sure you will find yourself saying, "I know that." A trip through most preschools, however, shows us that we all need to remind ourselves to use our words more carefully!"

If you believe that Early Childhood Education is all about Relationships, then you need to add this next book to your professional library ASAP: The Dance of Interaction A Guide to Managing Children's Challenging Behavior by Jeanine Fitzgerald.  My copy of this book is almost unreadable. It's highlighted, marked, written in, notes sticking out of it. I have read this book over the holiday break two years in a row because it's such a good reminder about how relationships are the most important factor in what we do. She examines relationships from all aspects and gives you solid information and strategies to use. The book is broken into three sections: The Anatomy of the Dance, Understanding Your Dance Partner, and Learning the Steps. Don't expect a magic pill to correct challenging behavior, but expect to do a lot of reflecting on yourself, the child, and how your interactions can benefit the child or encourage those pesky behaviors.

"My purpose for writing this book is simple- to share some child development theory and many experiences that will empower you to become an unforgettable, positive influence in the life of every child you touch, even those whose behaviors you find disturbing, frustrating, or challenging." 

I am currently reading: Beyond Behavior Management- The Six Life Skills Children Need by Jenna Bilmes. So far I'm loving this book as well. I'm only two chapters in right now but will update this when I'm done. 


What good books have you read lately? Please comment and let me know! I am always looking for the next book to read. 

Have a great week! 

Self Control & Art - Spray Painting!

Here is a fun, inexpensive project to do in the warm summer sun-- Spray Painting!

Materials:

1. White twin flat sheet (~$5 at Walmart)

2. Spray Bottles (~$1 at Walmart/Target/Dollar Tree)

3. Tempera Paint

4. Water

5. Clothespins

Mix a squirt of washable paint with water into the spray bottles.

Shake it up real good! Test the color darkness, add more paint if you like.

Hang up your white sheet with the clothespins and explain:

We spray the sheet, not our friends or ourselves.

(This is where self-control comes in!)

**Bonus-- strengthens little hand muscles for fine motor control!**

When you're done, just throw the sheet in the washing machine and you have a blank canvas for next time.

This is always a hit with my preschoolers (and the two year olds loved this as well!), and it's simple enough you can pull it out as a last minute-outside boredom buster this summer. I am planning on letting them full on paint the sheet at some point this summer during a water-play day so we can hose off the ground/ourselves if need be. :-)

What kinds of art activities are you doing outside this summer?

It's Summertime! :)

It's hard to believe yet another summer has unofficially began. Our building today was buzzing with school-agers excited about being off for another summer and some preschoolers who were excited to about graduating to Kindergarten. There was definitely more noise today than last week.

I was fortunate to be trusted to develop my own Summer Camp for my group this summer and since a majority of them are going off to Kindergarten in the Fall, I felt like I had a big task ahead of me-- to keep them busy, engaged, and keep those "Kindergarten readiness" skills sharp. I wanted to share with you what I decided on doing....

So it's pretty self explanatory- Mondays we work on a big art project, Tuesdays we are going to be "visiting" different places (reading books and doing an activity related to that culture), Wednesdays is all about hosing them down- I mean them experiencing full-on water play, Thursdays we will be cooking, and Fridays we break out the Science experiments. I decided against a weekly "theme" to keep it open to ideas. I have 14 weeks of activities lined up, but if there is something in particular they really enjoy I am open to extending that.  In fact since I'm still getting to know these kiddos, I hope this lends itself to a lot of creativity on their parts.

We will also rotate centers and different materials through out the room as I don't expect all 17 of them to sit and do the same "camp activity" every day. I'm still working on room organization, and layout, and the walls (those dreaded walls...). I'm really excited to see how this goes. :)

What are your summer plans?

Transitions, transitions, transitions...

Transitions are probably one of the most difficult parts of a preschool day. Getting 15-20 kids to get on the same page and follow rules (ie. no talking in the hallways) is hard, especially when they are excited about what's next, or even when they don't want to be doing what's next.

So, here are my tips on transitioning with Preschoolers--

Number 1 and probably most important-- consistency in schedule and routines. If preschool children know what to expect they are more secure. If a child knows it's time to clean up but after rest time he will have a chance to play with the toy again, he will feel much better about putting that toy up. Keep your routines consistent too-- but don't be afraid to change up a song here and there.

2. Warn children before a transition. Give them a 5 minute warning. Do they know what 5 minutes really is? No, but they will at least know that they are going to be changing activities shortly. Children with special needs may need more than one warning.

3. Practice routines with children before they occur. This is especially important when a new routine is happening- field trip, guest speaker, picnic lunch, program, etc. I like to practice every day things as well with them every once in awhile like hand washing, or walking in the hall in our classroom. This way I can pretend like I don't know what I'm doing and they can correct me.

4. Don't freak out if a transition doesn't go quite right. It takes an adult doing something 8 times before it becomes a habit-- I imagine for a preschooler it takes a lot more! Remember they didn't come programmed on how to manage transitions in a preschool classroom-- they need to learn them just like how they learn to count to 10 or spell their name.

I've been gathering new ideas for transitions because I'm getting tired of the tricks I've been using, and I'm not a fan of shaming or pointing out who is not following an expectation. Here are some of the things I've found...

Dr. Jean has a wonderful YouTube video with some really good ideas- be sure to have a pen and paper handy while your watching it to jot down the ideas!


Here is a great blog post with ideas on transitions from Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers.

Jenny at Ignite Learning with Conscious Discipline uses the S.T.A.R. technique before clean up times or stressful transitions, you can read about it here.

What are some of your favorite ways to transition? Has there been anything you've tried that has failed miserably? I had a wonderful co-teacher who liked to do the "clean up train", she would announce she was the clean up train, and all the children would come over and form a train. She'd walk around the room making train noises and stop at each center and let the children off to clean up that center. It worked marvelously with the group we had that year. I tried it with my kids a few years later, huge flop. None of them wanted to get off the train! :)

Until Next Time- Play, Create, & Get Messy!

 

One door closes, another opens.

{Photo Credit}

After a very quick and successful job hunt, I'm back to work. Monday I start my new position, teaching a classroom of 3-5 year olds. I'm very excited to be joining the staff and I have nothing but positive things to say about the director. I can't wait to meet my new kiddos and get back into the swing of teaching.

I'm very excited (how many times can I say excited in this post?!) to have a mixed age group. While having just 3-4's was nice because almost everyone was on the same page, I like having a mix of 3's, 4's and 5's. I think the 3's learn from the 4's and 5's, 4's and 5's are also able to sustain play and initiate play themes allowing the 3's to follow along. 4's and 5's are so ready to do a lot more things that I can hopefully incorporate right away and keep everyone happy and challenged.

Plus Monday starts their summer camp, so I'm joining in right as the "academic" slows down and the having fun begins. :)

I'm packing my "first day-don't know what to expect-but don't want to be unprepared" bag this weekend... walking into an established classroom with kids who have been through a few teacher changes is always a little scary, but I know it's nothing I can't handle.

Have a great weekend!

Bullying in the Workplace.

As Early Educators we are charged with some very important work. We all know that most brain development happens between age 0 and 5 years old. We know we can lay solid groundwork for future learning and life skills. We have an understanding that children are born without social skills and these skills must be taught. 

It is no lie that working with other women can be challenging. In fact, this topic came up many times in my college courses. Avoid the teacher's lounge. Avoid getting caught up in gossip. Avoid the Debbie Downers. ETC. Which is all fine and dandy when you work in a large school or center. When you work with only 10 other women in a small center, this isn't entirely possible. The more I reflect and think about my most recent past work experience (and others), the more I see how I and others were victims of bullying or relational aggression in the workplace.

Since leaving my former place of employment, each night I have had a bad dream about a situation I had found myself in there. Sometimes the situation was dramatized a bit more, but overall I wake up feeling anxious, until I realize I'm out of that situation completely. I think back to how I was treated, and how I saw others being treated, and it makes sense now. (I'm hoping this realization will help me to move past all of this.) And yes, I can recall instances when I myself took part in the bullying so please do not think I think I'm perfect.

I'm struggling with the why part now -- when you work with young children, most of the time you have some inkling of compassion, nurture, and understanding. Why when working with the children this comes to the forefront, but when working with another woman it's placed on the back burner? Unlike young children, we as women have a pretty good understanding of what its like to walk in another woman's shoes.

So with any problem I come across in the classroom, I set out to research, and didn't find a whole lot. Here is what I did find....

Dr. Michelle Callahan's 10 Tips for Dealing with Bullies at Work

Woman-On-Woman Bullying from WorkplaceBullying.Org

And this Amazon List of books on this topic: List About Adult Women and Relational Aggression  

Childcare Exchange also offers this: Dealing with Difficult People

This book seems to have gotten the best reviews on Amazon- In the Company of Women, so I'm adding it to my reading list. My goal is to first and foremost-- never find myself in a situation where I am using bullying/relational aggression towards coworkers (male or females) and second never find myself in a position again where I am the victim.

So now I'm calling on you-- have you experienced relational aggression in the workplace? How did you handle it? How did you move past it?
If you would prefer to share your experience with just me and not the public, please email me... swimpancakes@gmail.com.

 

Not Sure What to Title This...

Life is the best teacher- it gives us the problems to work through first, and we figure out the lesson after. As someone who works in the Early Childhood/Child Care field that is not a school district teacher, I feel that it is easy to be taken advantage of. We truly do this job not for the income, but for the outcome- the kids. (I'm really trying not to use too many cliches but they really are the best way to say this...)

As a result I think sometimes we get into this fog of "do what's best for the kids, do what's best for the kids" and we lose sight of "do what's best for YOURSELF". In our minds whats best for the kids is us- our relationship with them, the safety in consistency, and the community you've built... and we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of, or treated poorly by co-workers, supervisors, or bosses. We suffer through this because we want what's best for the kids. We don't want to leave the kids. We are pushed and pushed and pushed, until finally we are pushed out-- sometimes out of the field completely.

I was put into a situation this week where my bubble was popped, the fog was lifted, and I saw clearly for the first time what was really going on around me. The focus of the center as a whole was not where it should be (what's best for the kids, and growing as teachers) but rather on foolish things. I was so focused on doing what I thought was the right thing, I became unaware of how I was being treated. Until a co-worker was screaming at me for something that was her fault.

"Walk away from anyone and anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy." If you are in the field of Early Childhood or Child Care, please ingrain this quote into your mind. While you think you are doing what's best for the kids by sticking out a situation that you are uncomfortable with- you are not. Do what's best for you, surround yourself with people who appreciate you and your style of teaching and challenge you to be better-- this was a hard lesson for me to learn this week.

For me I hope this environment and opportunity is close by. I had it once at a wonderful place, but life took me in another direction. I am determined not to settle on a job, but rather to find someplace that serves me, grows me, and makes me happy.

If you are fortunate enough to be in a place that appreciates you, challenges you, and is most importantly-- doing what's best for the kids- savor and enjoy every moment.

Engaging Preschool Hearts...

I am a big believer that one of the main goals of Preschool is to teach social skills (hence the "... & Hearts" on this blog title). Before ABC's and counting and writing, preschoolers need to learn about themselves- their feelings, their bodies, etc and how to get along with others. Getting 20 preschool kiddos to live in harmony with each other in 1 small classroom can sometimes be tricky, okay, who am I kidding, is tricky! I am constantly coaching and reminding them of the social norms that we adults take for granted. (Please ask him for a turn, say "Can I have a turn please?" Hitting him is not okay.)

In every class is the one kid who struggles with peer interaction. We all have them, you are probably picturing your current kid who walks up to a peer he or she wants to play with and WHACK!, then doesn't understand why that child just isn't interested in playing anymore.

I've got one. Awh, who am I kidding? I have like five of those right now.

I was brainstorming ideas of how to incorporate being friends into more than just our on-going conversations of the day and put it into a formal lesson of sorts. I remember talking about social stories in a Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) training that I went to a few years ago. I headed over to their site and found their "I Can Be A Super Friend" social story, but the pictures were just... odd  not to my liking. So I set out to create my own using a site I've fallen in love with recently:

MyCuteGraphics.com

I used her free clip art to create a customized version of "I Can Be a Super Friend!" for my classroom, and I want to share it all with you for use in your classroom in hopes it makes teaching those oh-so-important social skills a tad easier. My kids are automatically drawn to this book just because of the two super heroes I put on the front. =)

(Click the picture to download on Google Drive)

Print, laminate, and slip a few binder rings on it and it's ready to go! This is the first one I made, and since then I've worked on a few more that I will share.

If you have any questions, or would like the wording changed in some way, please feel free to contact me! I would be happy to help. =)

Until next time-- play, create, and get messy!--

Insect Imaginative Play

Well, it's been awhile yet again. Insert normal lack-of-blogging excuses, and another promise to get better! I will... promise. :)

This has been the biggest hit this week so far. We are studying bugs and butterflies and waiting (kind of) patiently for our baby caterpillars from Insect Lore. I am excited as this is my first time doing the live-hatch kit with a class. But enough about what's going to happen-- this is what my kids have been borderline obsessed with this week- chocolate play doh, plastic flowers, and plastic bugs.

I used this recipe from Mama Miss for the chocolate play doh, but added a smidge more oil. My kiddos LOVE it. It's smooth and smells amazing. We did talk about how it wasn't food and wasn't to eat. (We celebrated successfully not eating it by having chocolate milk at snack.) The plastic bugs were in Target's party section for $3. They are bigger and a bit more detailed than the dollar store bugs so worth the investment. I got the flowers from the Goodwill and a local re-use store for cheap. Tomorrow a fellow teacher friend of mine suggested rocks and twigs so we'll give that a go. I also think we'll make fossils from clay and back them to keep them since the kids seem to enjoy that aspect.

We've been singing a bug anatomy song and today I caught a few of them singing it as they played. Last year I vividly remember the previous three year old teacher photocopying bug life cycle worksheets and them coloring it was their activity (I was in the two year old room at the time). This activity has brought so much more to the table: lots of language and talking about what's going on. Social skills- asking for a turn with a certain bug or flower, suggesting to share their play doh to make a bigger mountain. Math- comparing, matching- lots of them would imprint two bugs into their doh and then matching them back up. Comparing what characteristics each bug has (wings, no wings).

I saw this today on Facebook and it just hits home my point: (substitute worksheet/ditto for textbook)

Photo Credit

Next time I will hopefully be able to report that our caterpillars have arrived! I can't wait to get them and start watching the changing to butterflies!

Until then, play, create, and get messy!-

Top Ten Things to be Thankful for When You're a Preschool Teacher

Top Ten Things to Be Thankful For When You're a Preschool Teacher.

10. A wonderful assistant who seems to be able to read your mind at times, and who doesn't mind helping clean up a giant mess after an activity that doesn't quite go as planned.

9. Rest time, need I say more?

8. Washable paint, markers, dry-erase crayons, otherwise many pairs of pants would end up in the "work-only" stack.

7. That one creative co-worker who is always there to bounce ideas off of, or put a different spin on something. Along those same lines, that one co-worker who knows what you're going through with that one child and is always there to lend a hand.

6. Parents who "get it"- the ones at the end of the day don't ask their kids, "what did you learn at school today?" instead they say "tell me what awesome things you did today, did you play with so-n-so, go outside, or get messy?" Those parents who thank you at the end of each day and appreciate the fact that managing a room full of preschoolers is sometimes hard.

5. A boss who also "gets it". Early Childhood is not school! Okay, well yes it is, but it's PRE-school for a reason! Skill & drill just isn't appropriate. Having a boss who gets this and supports developmentally appropriate practice makes a world of difference!

4. A spouse or significant other that also "gets it"-- he or she doesn't mind the fact that there is that special corner of the house where you are hoarding tp rolls and boxes and milk jugs. Who gets that "I need to run into the craft store/teacher store/Wal-mart" could turn into a hour and $100. Who listens as you explain how today Johnny finally asked for a turn instead of clobbering the kid and stealing the toy.

3. That reliable substitute assistant or teacher who you trust your classroom with 100%.

2. The fact we are PRE-school and there are no worksheets, homework, and tests. We get to do what comes natural to kids- PLAY- and teach at the same time.

1. Those 10 or 15 or 20 snotty nosed, germ infested, loud, creative, wild children you call your class. While they can push your buttons, and don't seem to remember that we don't pick our nose (no matter how many times you explain it), they are the reason you love your job. They are amazing "sponges" dying to try out whatever new manipulative or activity you bring in. They are the ones who accidentally call you "mom" or "dad" but call their parents by your name. They are the ones who pick up a book and want to read it just like you do at Circle Time. They are the ones who are growing & learning every day making your job worth it.

Until Next Time & Happy Thanksgiving!!,

Backwards Lesson Planning

(First off, I know I keep promising to get this blog going, and it will happen! I was just promoted to Lead Teacher at my Center - which is the equivalent to Assistant Director- so I've been busy learning that role!)

This post is intended for new preschool or day care teachers who find lesson planning overwhelming. I know when I first started I was overwhelmed-- having come out of college where we had to write ridiculously long, detailed plans for just 1 activity, now I was expected to put an entire week onto 2 pages! Awk!

Fortunately for me I had a wonderful mentor who taught me this method, and over the years I've fine-tuned it and the documents that go with it and want to share this method with others. And so I introduce:

First I want you to think about how you plan now. What's the first thing you think of? In most cases, it's the theme (or study, or topic, or whatever). This theme usually has to do with what season it is, or hopefully what the students are interested in, or whatever you decide you want to learn about this week.

Then you come up with activities around said theme. If your theme is Dinosaurs, you'll probably plan to paint a dinosaur, count dinosaurs, read a few dinosaur books, maybe even teach different dinosaur names. You'll get through the week and then move onto your next theme and continue like this. For holidays, you'll make cute crafts and decorate your room, and maybe you'll throw in some handwriting practice. Occasionally though you may run into problems finding ideas for a certain theme- like Fall, or Rain Forest, or whatever you've decided upon.

Well, I'm here to tell you this is the wrong way to go about planning. When the most important aspect of your planning is the theme, you may be missing the bigger picture: the child's development. Which is more important- a child leaving your room with vast knowledge about leaves and community helpers or a child leaving confident in their writing, counting, letter recognition, or social skills? We need to stop planning to the theme, and start planning to the children in your classroom.

And here is how you do it. :)

1. Observe & Assess

 What do your children need work on? Observe daily interactions (this is important for Social Emotional learning, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, well, everything!), ask students to do some basic things (like recognize the letters in their name, or count, or identify a shape), and decide. Look at your curriculums' standards or objectives (the Creative Curriculum has an entire book devoted to this!). If you do not have any standards or objectives the state of Georgia has some pretty incredible ones here: http://www.decal.ga.gov/ChildCareServices/GeorgiaEarlyLearningStandards.aspx They go from Infant-Three Years Old, and are easy to look through. They come with examples of each objective so you know what to look for. The state of Illinois has also has comprehensive list of standards/objectives for 3-4 year olds, here: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/earlychi/pdf/early_learning_standards.pdf.

2. Decide

Now that you've started to notice what skills your students need to work on, you decide where to start. Obviously start basic and work your way up. Do not try to teach number recognition to children who have no idea how to count. Write down your goals for all of your children in the following areas...

• Social-Emotional Development (example: interacts with peers positively) 
• Gross Motor Development (example: jumps forwards and backwards)
• Fine Motor Development (example: uses fingers to manipulate objects)
• Language Development (example: uses verbal language to express needs)
• Cognitive Development (example: stays on task despite distractions)
• Literacy Development (example: recognizes name in print)
• Math Development (example: counts using 1:1 correspondence) 

These are fairly broad goals that can be broken down for different abilities which is important for groups of children with a wide range of abilities. If you need to record specific goals for specific children (children with special needs, children who are beyond the general development of the whole class, etc), then you can write specific goals for him/her. Remember not to post publicly the individual childs' goals as this is a violation of privacy.

3. Plan Activities

(Side note: Notice so far we have no mention of a theme, and we're keeping it that way. Don't worry theme-lovers, it's coming!)

When planning your activities you need to make sure you offer open-ended activities that address the following areas:

• Literacy
• Math
• Science
• Music & Movement
• Art
• Gross Motor

Your development goal for Math is counting using 1:1 correspondence. Your activities in Math could be: using counters and number mats, or a game where a child draws a card with dots on it, counts the dots, and then counts out the same number of counters. At circle time, you could have a bag with some new materials and have the class count how many there are. Take inventory of the cars or blocks in your block area. Use two of your goals and have every one count how many letters are in his/her name (Math & Literacy). There are tons of activities for counting.

Another example- your social emotional goal is interacting with peers positively. This isn't necessarily you can plan an activity for but more of an on-going thing you pay special attention to. When you notice two students fighting or disagreeing instead of taking the toy/material away, take the time to teach them how to appropriately negotiate turn-taking. Another idea is to incorporate books about interacting positively, how to be a good friend, share, etc. Purposefully only set out 3 pairs of scissors for 4 children and see what happens. Make a lesson.

Now you have activities that address your developmental goals.

So finally, 4. Choose a theme.

All of your activities can fall into theme, or not. Like I said, we're planning to the children's developmental needs not what time of year it is. It may be Christmas time so your counting activity can be ornament erasers as counters and a Christmas tree mat. Or my students' favorite, pom poms as counters and a pig as the mat (feed the pig!). Your gross motor game could be jumping from lily-pad to lily-pad like a frog during your Spring theme. Cater your theme to your development-driven-activity.

If you have an activity planned that doesn't really fit into the theme, do it anyway.

Now I have two free documents to help you with your planning process.

This guide will help you record your developmental goals, and then activities by curriculum area. Download available here from Google Drive.

Remember we talked about individualizing the goals for students. This sheet helps me keep track of goals for students who may need different goals.

  
This document can be downloaded for free from here.

I sincerely hope this helps you and makes the planning process easier. Before I learned how to do this I would spend hours looking for activities to go with the theme. Now I just determine the goals, and then find activities to work on the goals. Super simple.

Please leave me feedback on this process or if you need further explanation! I'm happy to help. :)

Until Next Time, (which will be soon!- not in 3 months...)

What Do I Do When My Kiddos Are Stressed Out?

Have you ever had one of those weeks? They usually occur when you are preoccupied by something else (either work-related or personal) and you manage to get by, but then once it's over and done, your kiddos get stressed out? Well, I just had one of those weeks.

We had a big "inspection" of sorts for a major source of our funding for the organization we are a part of. I mean "your job depends on the outcome of this inspection so you better have your stuff together" type things. We prepared basically all summer for it, and then had a whirlwind of a week before putting in long hours both at work and at home. This past Monday they came, they loved us, and they left. And then we were left with what I like to call stress hangovers.

So, what do you do when your kids are stressed out?

First, throw your lesson plans out the window. Just do it, you'll thank me later. When preschoolers are emotionally out of it, they aren't going to learn a thing! (Except how maybe you handle your own strong emotions and handle theirs!)

Second, if you can, take them away from the classroom. My assistant and I were lucky enough to be able to take them to our gym for 20 minutes and let them run some of their pent up emotions out. Take them outside, for a quick walk outside or even around your building, anywhere! If you can- sneak back to the classroom to set up some stress-busting activities.

Lastly, set up a stress busting environment in your room. Hopefully you can do this while your kids and assistant/co-teacher are out of the room-- tidy any leftover messes, put on some music that is soft and mellow, and put out activities that you know your children will engage in. My favorite stress busting activities are:

1. Play-doh: there is just something about play-doh that melts away frustrations and stress. Add something different to it to keep their attention longer. Try scissors, plastic knives (supervise!!!), googly eyes, tangram blocks, cookie cutters, legos... anything!

2. Water in the Sensory Table: Unless you've had water in your sensory table every day for the last month, kids are drawn to water and it also helps relieve stress. We have had dry materials in the sensory table for a bit so I knew that my kids would engage and mellow out with water. I added some rocks, plastic frogs, eye-droppers, and bowls. This wasn't on the lesson plan of course, but like I said, throw them out!

3. Stringing Beads: Messy art can add stress sometimes, so I threw out our messy painting activity and got out the pipe cleaners and beads. The concentration that this requires almost always "tricks" kids into not remembering why they were so cranky five minutes ago.

4. Chill Time: Grab some new books and let them get their blankets off their cots and have "chill" time (this is especially helpful if they are tired!). We have quite a few stuffed animals in our reading area that my kids love to snuggle and read with when they are tired.

My last bit of advice: fake it until you make it to nap time! When I went to rejoin my kiddos I was composed and calm and ready to play and engage with them despite the crazy morning I walked into and the hangover from the last few weeks. When we got back to the room and they started to act out, I calmly redirected. Once they were down for nap, I took a huge sigh of relief, got a candy bar and a huge soda and regrouped for the afternoon. Needless to say my kids woke up rested and happier and hopefully (fingers crossed) back to normal.

Now that said inspection is over, I hope to be blogging regularly!
Until Next Time--

Wordless Wednesday

{Anticipation}

DIY Light Box

I vaguely remember three things about my preschool experience--
1. At snack time my teacher would make "Tinkerbell" dance around the ceiling (now I know it was a flashlight, but where was she hiding it?)
2. The sand table-- oh, I loved the sand table. (Probably because my parents built my brothers and I a sandbox out in the backyard.)
and 3. The light table.

There is something about water, sand, and light that children adore. And who can really blame them? I have just as much fun experimenting along side them with those three same things!

When I started coming across ideas for DIY light tables on Pinterest, I was excited. Most preschool/day care programs these days just don't have the funds to get a $200-$500 piece of equipment they may see as "frivolous". As I searched through the blog posts hoping to see the right idea jump out at me, I became disappointed. I am not a carpenter, and neither is my husband-to-be (however, this is something I'm really interested in exploring). And the plastic box ones... something was just... missing.

Until I saw this post: "The Perfect DIY Container Light Box" at Caution! Twins at Play. Jackpot! I had found the simple solution- a storage box from IKEA, and a light from Walmart was all I needed!

Now, I'm not one of the fortunate ones who has an IKEA within reasonable driving distance. This is probably better for my pocket book because I've been once, and I love that place. (In fact, I'm going again this weekend.) I researched where the "local" IKEAs were and low and behold, there was one not far from a racetrack the husband-to-be was dragging me to. So that problem was solved.

Total cost- the SNÅLIS box & lid at IKEA was about $8, and this LED Remote Control Light light at Walmart was $15 (plus batteries). So for $23 this is a very practical DIY Light Box and really it couldn't be any simpler to make. Putting it together is really quite simple: add batteries to light and remote, secure light to bottom of box, put on lid, whala! You're done.

Today I introduced my class to the Light Box and boy, it was a hit!

I found some simple manipulatives at the Dollar Tree for the introductory period: glow in the dark stars, ocean animals, and other animals. As well as a pack of six simple tops (my kids LOVE tops-- spinners they call them-- so I knew these would be a hit). I also picked up some clear plastic plates to maybe draw on with dry erase markers later.

I have a thicker fleece blanket hanging over the light box-- being supported by our stacked cots and Discovery shelf. This helped, but ultimately it was best when the lights in that part of the room were off.

I had a two-year-old visitor from my old room and she figured out if you spun the top and put the flashlight (we have four flashlights in our Discovery Area) that it made a cool color pattern:

Trying to capture it was hard with my camera. She was fascinated by it. :)

I have more plans for my little Light Box and my Threes-- gel bags with glitter, water beads, slime, wikki sticks, maybe sand. I also want to purchase some more manipulatives, like the Magna-Blocks, but right now I'm keeping it simple. I'm also looking for more ideas, so if you have any, please leave a comment! :)

Until Next Time-

Yes, I'm another Pinterest-addicted Teacher!

I have been very busy getting things ready to go for the new school year. We have decided to switch from "Summer Camp" to "School" the day after Labor Day. While I've been getting the room ready, I've had kiddos coming & going as well. Some are leaving to start Preschool at other programs, and some have officially "aged out" of my room. This also means I've had some brand new threes start. Needless to say, it's been a busy & wonderful few weeks in our room.

I wanted to write a post about this wonderful addiction most everyone is aware of: Pinterest.

Seriously, if you work with preschoolers in any capacity: day care, home day care, school district, private school-- whatever!-- you NEED to be on Pinterest. Why? Because it is full of great ideas from teaching lessons to free printables to classroom management to classroom set up to things to do that break you from your every day boredom. It has proven to me to be a valuable resource over and over again.

I have at this moment in time almost 3,000 pins on my Pinterest boards, and most of them are Early Childhood related. Don't believe me? Check out my boards: Learning With Threes on Pinterest

Now if you aren't familiar with how this site works, here's the quick simple explanation: all of those pictures represent links to websites, or blogs with information about the picture. This information has always been out there, but Pinterest makes it way easier to locate and file. In addition, I'm a visual person so if I see a picture I'm more apt to remember I have a resource on that topic.

So you sign up for a brand-spankin' new Pinterest account and now what? Here are a few tips for newbies to Pinterest who want to get the most out of it:

- Don't use broad headings for your board. You can have as many boards as you need. Avoid using "Preschool" to name a board then pinning everything related to Preschool to it. Try narrowing your boards down by category- "Preschool- Art", "Preschool- Gross Motor", "Infant Classroom Ideas", etc. You'll thank me later when you have 3,000 pins and need to find something quick!

- ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS click the picture to make sure it actually goes to the idea. I don't know how many times I've gone to a blog post and it's not the right one. It's frustrating I know, but there are tricks you can use to find the original source.

-You can follow all of some one's boards, or just a few of their boards. I love my friends to death, but some of their boards just don't interest me-- "Pretty People" for example, I really don't care about "hot" celebrities. You can unfollow boards if it doesn't interest you-- and don't hesitate to do it! This keeps your feed things that interest you!

- Use the search bar at the top left of your Pinterest header to search for pins, boards, and people. Type in what you're searching for, then it will take you to a new page. Directly below this search bar is this: "Pins * Boards * People". Click on them to change what you are searching for.

- Pinterest has apps for smart phones, & I use mine a lot. But sometimes I want to just save a pin until I can get home and get on the laptop before I check it out. For this Pinterest has the "like" button. I click the "like" button when I want to save something but don't necessarily want to pin it just yet-- what if it turns out to be spam? or not the right blog post?-- these pins are saved in your "Likes" and you can go back and look at them, then decide to re-pin or not.

- This is just a personal preference of mine but if you link your Facebook & Pinterest, please do not post your pins to Facebook. This eats up your friends' timelines and odds are if you are friends with them on facebook, you will follow them/they will follow you on Pinterest. This is also true of Twitter!

These are just a few tips and pointers I have as a self-proclaimed Pinterest addict. If you have any specific questions, please leave a comment and I will try to help!

Tomorrow I plan to post about the DIY Light Table that Pinterest helped me build for our room!
Until then--