Self-Care 101: What is self-care? The importance of self-care. Types of self-care. Daily self-care checklist for Beginners.
Abuse is not always straightforward and in-your-face, however, quiet verbal abuse can have the same impact on your psych nevertheless, maybe even more.
Learn somatic stretching - a mindful practice that focuses on the mind-body connection, relaxation, body awareness, and tension release.
Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of
Learn when to cut back lilacs for optimal growth and beautiful blooms. The best time to trim lilacs to promote healthy growth.
What can you say instead of "I'm sorry for your loss"? Here are ten alternative (and better) things to say to a grieving friend or family member.
Are you trying to get rid of your upper arm flab fat? These arm toning exercises will help you get rid of those flabby arms.
Here are 22 circle time ideas for toddlers and preschoolers that are easy, fun, and perfect for social development!
ADHD in women presents very differently than in men. If you need tips to stay focused and organized, this post has lots of ideas to help!
One year ago I finished breast cancer treatment. Here is what no one told me about my first year as a breast cancer survivor!
Toddler circle time can be tricky with short attention spans and lots of energy. Here are some tips to make this time more successful.
Experience fast sciatica relief in 8 minutes with these simple techniques. Get effective, quick solutions for your sciatic pain today.
Are you looking for a low-impact workout that can help you build strength, improve flexibility, and enhance your overall well-being? Look no further than Pilates! This incredible exercise method, developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, has been gaining popularity among fitness enthusiasts for decades.Pilates is known for its ability to strengthen your core, improve posture, and increase body awareness. It's a fantastic way to challenge your muscles without putting excessive strain
When you plan a detox, two things are always discouraging - the amount of time it takes for the plan to work, and the hunger pangs that follow the detox/diet program. But, looking at the bright side, they
Looking to make big changes in your life and don't know where to start? In this article, I will give you a full breakdown tutorial on how to do a life audit. We'll go over the benefits and how it can completely transform your life for the better! First.... what is an audit? An audit
Get started with a preschool question of the day in your classroom! These fun questions will make your morning routine meaningful and fun!
A monthly reset is a chance to start over and give yourself a new focus for the new month. Here are 10 tasks for a successful monthly reset!
How to start reinventing yourself, you ask? In this guide, I am sharing the key principles to reinvent yourself and transform your life.
The Chicken and Dressing Casserole is more than just
Two Points: This is MY method, and not necessarily right for you, your teaching or care philosophy, your set-up, or your students. Curriculum participation by my students is VOLUNTARY. I invite them to participate, but if they choose not to, then that is fine. I usually offer them a choice of a few of the activities and let them decide where we start and where we go. An engaged child learns, a dis-engaged child rebels. The 3-year rotating curriculum is theme based. Some times we stick to the plan, but usually I observe what they are interested in learning about, what they are asking questions about, and suggest up to three different themes they can choose from for us to study. I make my own 3-year rotating curriculum for many reasons: Packaged curriculum is often only one year. Since I teach for 3 years, this would be redundant. Most packaged curriculum focuses on skills my students master early. My 2s count to 20, know 11 colors, know most of their phonics, uppercase and lowercase letters, 10 shapes and some of their numbers and I still have 3 years of curriculum to teach them. They often are worksheet intensive. My students usually are cognitively advanced from their fine motor skills. I have 4 year olds that still can't write well. If I had relied on worksheets for the last 2 years, there is no way they would have the skill sets they have. Worksheets are also not considered Developmentally Appropriate Practice [DAP] for children under the age of 8. We use them here for writing practice starting at age 4. [Yes, worksheet-intensive public schools are not using DAP for kindy through 3rd grade!] They can be expensive. If you are purchasing worksheets, why would you spend even $1 a week/$52 a year when you can purchase a 400 page Scholastic preschool workbook from Sam's Club for $8 that covers probably more material, is most likely aligned with the public school expectations, and is colorful. Colored copies are NOT affordable to make from packaged curriculum. Most [ALL!] preschool learning should be interactive. Pinterest is a better source for ideas. My students change every time I do a theme. I have to be able to tweak it to the interests and capabilities of those currently in my care. Plus, I'll find more interesting activities on Pinterest, have an idea for a new game, etc. It's a constant evolution to keep my curriculum relevant to our current group, situation and resources. However, curriculum planning and creation is very time consuming. Even with older curriculum I spend several hours going over it prior to teaching - updating, creating new materials, purchasing and setting new classroom decorations. While I have had my 3 year curriculum, this year I found myself wanting a more specific schedule to focus on specific skill sets for this particular group of children. Most of these skills can be incorporated into our themed curriculum, or they take 5 minute sessions to pop into our day. I have two groups, the younger preschoolers are 2-3 years old and the older ones are 4-5 years old, all at the same developmental and skill set level within their group. This makes it easier, as I can tailor everything to just 2 groups. If I were to have additional levels of children, then it would be tailored to each level. Children here are taught at their developmental level, not age. Asychronastic development is normal, so I may be teaching a child at various levels depending upon the subject matter. For the younger preschoolers, I came up with this structure. For the older pre-k students, I came up with this one. For instance, both of them have Measurement & Comparison on Friday for Reasoning. However, for the younger students, this would be a more/less, longer/shorter, big/little, etc. activity, while the older students would be measuring with rulers, yardsticks, tape measures, measuring cups, unit blocks, foot steps or themed units, and graphing the measurements to compare. Same skill set, differentiated at vastly different levels. Even this needs conditional tweaking. All the pre-k's know how to spell their last names now, so that is no longer a relevant skill activity for music and will be changed out. In another post I'll get into the curriculum components and the importance of each. For instance, how counting on Friday teaches 1-to-1 correspondence and creating method processes for counting groups of objects. CLICK PICTURES TO VIEW LARGER I use this MS Word template, available for FREE on TPT, for curriculum planning. Often, the daily skill sets above are either already incorporated, or can easily be incorporated, into the theme planning. For an example of a completed curriculum unit, check out our Owls Theme. Each monthly theme is broken down into 4 sub-themes. For instance: SPACE Astronauts & Rockets The Universe Our Solar System Aliens & Robots We also have a musical component, often classical, and an art component, often a master, and Spanish vocabulary component that we incorporate. This planning form may not include all games, file folder games, manipulatives, room-set up, etc. that I utilize. For those of you trained in curriculum creation, I do NOT do a full curriculum development for each activity. With having these children usually from infant to school-age, I keep an internal evaluation of progression and plan out only weekly learning objectives. Since I am creating the activities for my personal use, I do not need to create written procedures and evaluations. My curriculum is stored currently in file folders in a large office bookcase unit. I would like to get it into boxes so that I could have EVERY theme-related item, including dress-up, room set-up, manipulatives, etc. together for an easy pull. File boxes will most likely be the easiest, but they do take up a lot of space. In each file some of the things I probably have: Completed planning sheets All the books I own for that theme Flannel board Sentence and word walls File folder games Samples of previous crafts DVDs CDs Coloring pages Mini-book(s) Build-a-[theme item] game Curriculum creation is one of my great joys. I love the research and compilation, the creativity and excitement of bringing something fun and educational to my students. Learning is rarely linear. Children take developmental leaps, sometimes in odd directions. As a teacher, it is important that I keep each one challenged without pushing or inhibiting their growth, and that takes constant evaluation and a good eye for when those leaps happen so that we can move on to a higher level of instruction. When we do an activity, I constantly question if they WANT to do another round, another activity, and I usually cut them off while they are still engaged. I want them wanting more, and they will usually ask if they can continue. One of the most important desires and abilities I can instill in them is that of self-directed learning. So as they choose to go off with their rulers after we've spent several minutes doing a measuring activity, conferring between themselves as to procedures and what to measure next, I step back and let them. They know I am here as a resource, rather than an intrusive director. It is my job to ensure that when I invite my students to learn, they glow with excitement and anticipation of a fun, interactive, playful time. The results, so far, have been astounding. A few of my complete curriculum units are available through my TPT store. Apples Dental Ice Cream Penguins Rainbows St. Patrick's Day Valentine's Follow Connie -'s board Classroom on Pinterest. Tags: preschool, child care, pre-k, curriculum, development, teaching, education, homeschooling, homeschool, home, school, preschool curriculum development, planning
These 12 time wasting habits are holding you back! Don’t worry- each habit also includes solutions for addressing each time wasting habit.
This article shows you how to lose weight in your thighs. Get rid of that extra fat and tone your thigh muscles with these 6 amazing workouts and diet tips.
I'm guessing everyone has come across an Ikea hack at some point in their lives. Even Ikea have been known to suggest hacks of their products in-store
Tips for making Life with an ADHD child easierLooking for advice about how to calm a child with ADHD without medication? You've scoured the internet HOPING to find that advice for parenting an ADHD child that will change your life.You've talked to family and friends.You've searched for things like How to help an ADHD Child in Schoolor maybe support for parents of an ADHD child.You've joined the facebook groups, you've talked to friends and family, but nothing works.I understand your struggle. ADHD warriors, we've seen it all, heard it all, and probably punished it all. (right?)I know you've heard advice like 'Get her
Neck pain is becoming more prevalent as we spend more time looking at our devices. These 7 yoga poses can help relieve your neck pain.
What Are Hashimoto's Flare-Ups? https://youtu.be/L6Gvhvh-IkQ You might think of Hashimoto's as a static disease. A disease that causes a set of symptoms that you have to live with for the rest of your life. This
Do you have trouble falling asleep at night because your mind is racing? Stressing, worrying, and overthinking about your day, your life, and all that you have to do? Well I have a simple trick that you can use to help you fall asleep fast and peacefully that works every time!
Are you trying to get rid of your upper arm flab fat? These arm toning exercises will help you get rid of those flabby arms.
Do you have deeply cracked heels ? So don't worry, here are some home remedies to permanently fix cracked heels overnight . ...
This natural remedy for constipation called "constipation candy" was shared with me by a friend who has used it successfully many times with her children.
Morning stretch routines are a great way to get the blood flowing. Here are 8 stretches to help you feel strong, flexible, and grounded.
Open when letters for boyfriend / girlfriend / wife / husband, for your best friend, for your child, mom or dad, for ANYONE! PLUS an example letter that you can use as inspiration.
Foods to avoid and eat for managing Hashimoto's disease. Support symptom relief and thyroid health with an optimized diet.
This gluten-free cornbread requires no special ingredients. Made with cornbread and buttermilk, this is a classic Southern recipe!
