Writing child observations, reflections and linking everything together doesn't need to be confusing or complicated. Try these simple tips for educators!
Wow! Things have been very busy and my poor blog has not been kept up the way I had wanted it to. I told myself that I wanted to post at least twice a month if not weekly - but that has definitely not been a priority on my list of to-do's. There have been many exciting things going on. Summer has ended, school is back in session, college classes have started, and thing are in full swing! As we ended the summer season it was time to get back into a more formal routine at the center I work at. Summer is a little more relaxed and so we needed to jump back on the wagon and get on to some more structured and intentional planning on my part. Getting into the grove and figuring out a plan for how I wanted to structure my experiences that I plan for my kiddos took me a few weeks of trial and error but I think I have finally figured it out! I have developed a method that works well for me and my classroom. I started a weekly plan for myself as well as an overall plan that was already in place. Here is an example of my weekly lesson plan format. Something else that has been a focus of mine that last few weeks is the appearance of my room. I want my classroom to have a pleasing appearance and so I've been trying to make a few changes that will help make things look a little less cluttered and crowded but still functional for the kids. I am also focusing on the Reggio inspired influence in my classroom. There are many things that are taken into account when planning the set-up of your room, which is something that I already had done. I just wanted to make minor changes to the organization of the items on shelves, and the way things were displayed on the walls. Those minor changes can make a HUGE difference in the functionality of a space. Here are some pictures to show how my spaces are arranged. The following pictures are of our science/math manipulatives area. Here I have focused on how things are displayed on the shelves and the overall layout of the space. Using as many baskets or natural looking containers as I could helps give that Reggio inspired influence that I love. Adding real pictures of animals helps children to make the connection so that when we visit the zoo later this month they can point out these different animals! Here I have focused on the way things are arranged on the shelves. The way things are set out entices the children to want to come and explore. I also used the same focus when it came to the Block area. This is a very high traffic and popular area so the organization is key to maintaining this area. The materials are there but the shelves don't look as cluttered as they once did. Having the unit blocks stacked neatly and each having their own space as well as utilizing the tops of the selves helps with organization. Also making sure things are in baskets ties in that Reggio touch. Props and extra materials to add to block building. Musical instruments and smaller hollow blocks. The space as a whole which doubles as our Circle Time area. Housekeeping is another area that we include in our centers. Here are some pics of how we have ours set up. This dresser hold all of our dramatic play clothing. This shelf hold some misc. items as well as the baby dolls and accessories. Kitchen appliances and a table rounds out the dramatic play/housekeeping area. Our art/writing area doubles as our eating space so organization and placement is extremely important. This self holds art materials that are accessible to children throughout the day. We try to keep the essentials here with some added variety. Window and drapes add a homey touch as well as more space for art and writing materials. Our writing area A wall to display art work. Child sized sinks for handwashing. There are a few last things that we have included in our classroom - here they are! This is a planter where we have a vine growing. Adds a natural touch to the space. This was a parent participation activity to help make a natural alphabet display for our classroom. This area by the children's cubbies holds artwork from the day. They can pick it up before they leave and leaves more space in the child's cubby for their personal belongings. This is our Safe Place which offers the child a place to go if they need to calm down or just want a few minutes of alone time. Well...this is just a little of what I have done to help make my space somewhat more appealing to the eye but still very functional for day-to-day living that we do in this space with our children. I hope that this finds you some inspiration if you also have an early childhood classroom. Well...I need to get off and get to my homework! Happy Blogging!!
The science center in my classroom is always a busy place. Students can observe, experiment, create, construct, classify, compare, and question. Students are natural-born scientists. They are curious and eager to explore the world and everything in it! As teachers, it is our job to nurture their scientific spirit and help students form questions, investigations, collect data, and share their conclusions. Make your science center amazing to enhance their experiences! Plus, I have a few freebies for your center too!
Help your kids adopt the easiest pet ever — a ROCK! (I know. Why didn’t you think of this before?) Once your child adopts a rock, he can dress...
Photo Source: Preschool Playbook If you're looking for a simple art idea to complete this summer with your kiddos, check out this fingerprint idea that was featured by Trish over at Preschool Playbook! Students will have the chance to create adorable little bugs (and flowers) using their fingerprints and markers - for those cute little accents. It's bound to get a little messy if you go the paint route, but by the looks of the finished product it will be totally worth it! Supplies You'll Need: Light blue construction paper Paint Markers Stamp pads (if you don't want to got the paint route) Have your little ones begin the project by drawing in a few stems and leaves for their flowers. Then they can use their fingerprints and a variety of paint colors to add flower petals and bugs (a bee, a butterfly and a ladybug were used in the example). Photo Source: Preschool Playbook Once the paint (or ink) has had a chance to dry, use markers to add the fine details - legs, antennae, eyes, stripes, etc. Photo Source: Preschool Playbook Photo Source: Preschool Playbook The finished pictures would make for a very cheery classroom art display! For additional early childhood classroom ideas, be sure to head over to Preschool Playbook!
Today’s managers and supervisors are faced with many critical decisions daily. A new approach to problem-solving may be the answer.
This fun, hands-on feed the dog counting activity is perfect for teaching number sense and counting skills in your preschool or Pre-K classroom!
Preschoolers can join in the trendy fun of this process art project of painting pet rocks!
Ideas for setting up a Vet Clinic dramatic play area at home or in your classroom. Printables for early childhood play-based learning.
The science center in my classroom is always a busy place. Students can observe, experiment, create, construct, classify, compare, and question. Students are natural-born scientists. They are curious and eager to explore the world and everything in it! As teachers, it is our job to nurture their scientific spirit and help students form questions, investigations, collect data, and share their conclusions. Make your science center amazing to enhance their experiences! Plus, I have a few freebies for your center too!
1-2-3 Come Do Some Super-Fun Firefly Activities With Me Fireflies are a special part of my wonderful childhood memories. Grama used to say that they are "nature's fireworks". Studying them is a super-fun way to learn all sorts of science too, so with that in mind, I designed my new...
Making abstract art allows children to experiment and enjoy the process of creating. Abstract feather painting is a wonderful way to explore!
Ideas for setting up a Vet Clinic dramatic play area at home or in your classroom. Printables for early childhood play-based learning.
Add to your community helper unit with these wonderful early childhood ideas featured by Jessi over at Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi! She features the following crafts and activities that are sure to keep your little ones busy learning all about the helpers in your community. Stoplight Craft Photo Source: Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi Provide each of your kiddos with a rectangle of black construction paper. At the top write "Stop," in the middle write "Slow" and at the bottom write "Go!" Place a small amount of red, yellow and green paint onto small paper plates and provide something for creating a circle (small fruit cup bowls would be perfect!). Have your class create their stoplights by encircling each word with the correct color circle. Stoplight Dance Photo Source: Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi Follow up your stoplight craft with a stoplight dance! Create "stoplight" paddles using popsicle sticks and red, yellow and green construction paper. Play music and have your kiddos dance based on the paddle you're holding up. Dance freely when green is showing, dance in slow motion when yellow is up and stop in your tracks when red appears. This activity is sure to please your early childhood kiddos! Creating Fire Photo Source: Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi After you spend time learning about the firefighters in your community, take a little time to create a 'fire'. Give each of your kiddos a piece of yellow construction paper and a bit of red/orange paint. Have them paint their paper as fast as they think a fire would spread. Then have a little additional fun by giving your students paint scrapers to add a fun design. Healthcare Collage Photo Source: Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi Have your class create healthcare collages by providing them with a variety of healthcare items. Think gloves, bandaids, gauze, tongue depressors, etc. What a great opportunity to then discuss the vets, doctors and nurses who provide care for all the people (and pets) in your community! For additional Early Childhood ideas, be sure to check out Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi!
Eric Carle is a beloved children's author for good reason. The variety of colors, the beautiful illustrations, and the engaging storytelling make his work timeless. Here is a list of fabulous ideas that you can try with your preschooler as an extension of their reading. The Eric Carle activities listed below are inspired by some of his most popular and all-time favorite books.
Change the dramatic play center into a Vet Animal Hospital Dramatic Play area and embed a ton of learning into their play!
When the temperature rises, nothing sounds better than a trip to the beach! To bring the ocean indoors, cool off with this amazing Ocean Process Art activity.
Get your kids up and moving with these fun circus themed gross motor cards! You can jump through a hoop like a tiger, fly through the air like a trapeze artist and much more! Click for more products from Early Childhood Resource Center Sign up for my mailing list for new products, updates, freebies and more! ***************************************************************************** Check out my other Gross Motor Cards: Gross Motor Card Bundle: Collection of 19 resources with more being added! BEST VALUE! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Gross-Motor-and-Movement-Card-Growing-BUNDLE-5143659 Ocean Animal: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ocean-Animal-Gross-Motor-Cards-3754631 Birds: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bird-Themed-Gross-Motor-Activity-Cards-3709860 Zoo: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Zoo-Themed-Gross-Motor-Cards-3709859 Winter: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Themed-Gross-Motor-Movement-Cards-4223852 Community Helper: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Community-Helper-Gross-Motor-Cards-4062217 Outer Space: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Outer-Space-Gross-Motor-Cards-4058620 Pet: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pet-Themed-Gross-Motor-Movement-Cards-4058146 Dinosaur: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dinosaur-Gross-Motor-Cards-4873744 Magical Creatures: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mystical-and-Magical-Creature-Gross-Motor-Cards-4873909 Christmas: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Themed-Gross-Motor-Cards-4223838 Halloween: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-Gross-Motor-Cards-3930574 Back to School: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-To-School-Themed-Gross-Motor-Cards-3930552 Summer: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summer-Themed-Gross-Motor-Cards-3834810 Easter: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easter-Gross-Motor-Cards-3708079 Spring: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Gross-Motor-Cards-3708029 Sports: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sports-Gross-Motor-Cards-5903028 Cooking: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cooking-Gross-Motor-Cards-5840640 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhyme-Gross-Motor-Cards-5832158 Nursery Rhymes: Early Childhood Education Preschool PreK Kindergarten Physical Development Activity Game Lesson Plan ***************************************************************************** Customer Tips: How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: • Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase you'll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Each time you give feedback, TPT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I value your feedback greatly as it helps me determine which products are most valuable for your classroom so I can create more for you. ☺ Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: • Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. Voila! You will now receive email updates about this store. ☺ ***************************************************************************** Early Childhood Education, Preschool, Toddler, Lesson Plan, Activity, PreK, Movement, Gross Motor, Printable, Transition Activity, Physical Education
Kids enjoy watching and touching these tiny, fast-moving critters that fly or crawl. Capitalize on their fascination and set up some bug centers in your classroom.
See how I use my daily sign in sheets during arrival time in my preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten classroom. I love starting the day off with these.
Learn how to make these easy cactus rocks. This is a simple tutorial and a fun craft for kids! Make a whole cactus rock family too!
Bird pattern activity boards are a great addition to your spring theme or birds theme unit or lesson plans. The interactive bird themed activity is fun for individual or small group activities in preschool, pre-k, tot school, kindergarten, prep, and early childhood education *Please note that this is a digital product. You will be able to download the PDF file upon your purchase. Nothing will be shipped to you. Due to the nature of digital downloads, your purchase is not refundable.* This resource is part of the Birds Activities Bundle. If you purchase the money-saving bundle, you do not need to purchase this resource. This Bird Pattern Board set includes the following 8 ABAB bird pattern boards 8 AABB bird pattern boards 8 ABC bird pattern boards 8 ABBA bird pattern boards 4 blank bird pattern boards printable birds in 4 colors For each type of pattern, there are 4 boards with birds that are completely colored in, and three boards with birds that have some blank sections. Younger children will enjoy using the full-color boards for color matching. Older children can use the boards with blank sections to practice identifying and continuing the patterns. ❓ DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? Are you looking for some answers before making a purchase? Or maybe you have some questions about an activity you've already bought. Whatever it may be, feel free to reach out to me HERE. I'd be more than happy to assist you in any way I can.
Preschoolers and kindergarteners can practice making 2D shapes with these free printable pet theme play dough shape mats.
Children use this preschool pet crafts project to learn about pets, colors and shapes. Teachers will find a preschool pet crafts template, complete instructions for a 3-D pet and a guide to using the pet crafts to create an unique preschool class bulletin board.
Pets theme fine motor activitiy tray to practice scissor skills. These pet themed printables are perfect for practicing fine motor skills!
This paper straw bendy snake craft is simple for kids to make and it's sooo fun to play with. Since there are so many paper straw colors and patterns
Keep reading for pet activities and centers for a fun theme in your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten room.
How to set up the blocks center in your early childhood classroom (with ideas, tips, and book list) plus block center freebies!
It's that time of year when we see and talk a lot about bugs. What is the attraction for children? Is it because bugs can be so small? Or wiggly? Colourful? I'm not sure but many children that come to the program are interested. Each year we build a garden for snails to live. This week we started. I have been inspired by many 'fairy' gardens I've seen on pinterest so decided to ask the children to design the garden instead of just planting grass. We started with our container filled with potting soil. (Yes there are a few plastic bugs in it.) We brainstormed ideas of what could be in the garden, fences, rocks, pond, toadstools, moss, etc. Then today we put it together. A bench for a chat with visitors, a moss bed, a pond surrounded with pretty glass stones and flat stones for easy sliding. It also has toadstools and wooden boulders. But it needs grass. We sprinkled wheat grass and lawn grass seeds all over. The bottle was empty by the time I returned. Now we wait for the grass to grow. Then invite a few snails to move in.
The perfect gross motor outdoor chalk game for kids to practice jumping, counting, coordination, and listening skills.
This post is part 1 in my inquiry series. To learn more about inquiry click through to see my many other posts about inquiry. If you are new to my blog,
Practice fine motor skills with this robot picture tracing printable worksheet.
A free and easy diy kids printable craft. Build a cat with this 1-page printout. Color, cut and enjoy! Free kids printables, all the time.
My daughter loves 'stuffies' I feel like we have thousands although it's probably only in the hundreds...😏 and I think pretend play ideas ...
A fun color matching game to extend the book Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd; for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten; includes free printable.
This delightful Weather Bear felt set was designed to capture the little ones' attention. AWESOME DETAILS!! PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!!! The felt pieces in this felt board set can be used on either a felt board or a flannel board (fleece also works). THE LIGHT BLUE FELT BOARD THAT I USE TO DISPLAY THESE PIECES MEASURES 20" x 30", BUT IT IS NOT INCLUDED WITH THE FELT SET. (I DO NOT SELL FELT BOARDS.) THE PRICE FOR THIS FELT SET INCLUDES $1.00 FOR THE PLASTIC BINDER POUCH IN WHICH THE FELT STORY IS STORED. THIS TYPE OF POUCH SAFELY STORES THE PIECES AND IS ALSO GREAT FOR STORAGE IN A 3-RING BINDER OR FILING CABINET. 32 pieces are included in this colorful set which is ready for IMMEDIATE shipment. Weather Bear 9.125" h 5.875" W Flip flops (2) each flip flop is 1.125" H 1.875" W Raincoat 4.875" H 5.125" W Rain boots (2) each boot is 2" H 2" W Rain hat 1.5" H 3.125' W Umbrella 3.5" H 3.75" W Shorts 2.625" H 3.125" W Tank top 2.875" h 2.625" W Blue jeans 3.25" H 2.875" W Green shirt 2.875" H 4.625" W Red shoes (2) 1.5" H 2' W Winter jacket 3.375" H 5.37" W Stocking hat 2.75" H 3.25" W Scarf 2.25" H 2.25" W Mittens (2) each mitten is 1.25" H 1.25" W Winter boots each boot is 1.5" H 1.875" W Rain cloud 4.25" H 5.5" W Gray cloud 3.25" H 6.375" W Sun 3" H 3" W White cloud 2.75" H 4.5" W Lightning bolts (2) each bolt is 3.5" H 1" W Hurricane 3.5" H 1.75" W Fog 2.75" H 3.25" W Wind 2.875" H 3.25" W Tornado 4.875" H . 2" W Snowflake 2.5" H 2.375" W Each and every piece is hand cut and trimmed from quality felt in my pet-free, smoke-free home. Great attention has been given to detail on each piece. All of my felt board sets are mailed in bubble mailers and shipped first class parcel via USPS/ with a tracking number for your reference. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING 3 OR MORE OF MY ITEMS, PLEASE SEND ME A CONVERSATION INDICATING WHICH ITEMS YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT, AND I WILL GIVE YOU AN ACCURATE SHIPPING RATE BASED ON YOUR ZIP CODE. (PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR ZIP CODE.) Thank you so much for visiting my shop!! I invite you to check out other items that I have to offer at https://www.etsy.com/shop/JillyPooCreations If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Your satisfaction is very important to me.
15+ ways to transform a play stand into a specialty dramatic play invitation.
