This 15-minute oven roasted broccolini is the best quick side dish that pairs well with so many meals! It’s one of our all-time favorites when we need a simple veggie recipe to serve with dinner. Made with broccolini (also sometimes called baby broccoli), olive oil, and a few simple spices – it cooks quickly in the oven on a sheet pan until tender with slightly charred florets. The recipe is not only delicious but also nutrient-dense, gluten-free, dairy-free, Whole30 compatible, and paleo-friendly!
What to do when my baby hates tummy time? Here are tips to make the tummy time much more endurable - even fun!
Dollar Store quiet bin ideas. Use quiet bins at home or in your preschool classroom to manage transitions or create calm and restful times in your day.
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.
This ultimate list of 33 things to do before having a baby includes everything you need to know before trying to conceive. New moms can use these tips to...
This is the easiest tutorial for a burp rag you could make! Only three steps, and they are the best DIY burp rags!! Great for easy baby gifts, too.
No time to make play dough? Whip up a batch of this super soft, no-cook cloud dough for your kids to play with!
Being a mom is tough, especially if this is your first time entering into this difficult role. Any tips and tricks are much needed and appreciated, I know because I have been there. Therefore,
This chunky crochet raglan sweater is a cozy winter wardrobe staple! It is worked from the top down using #5/bulky yarn so it works up really quickly, and you can try it on as you go.
As your your due date is coming nearer, you can do some exercises to induce labor naturally. Know about the exercises that might help have a smooth delivery.
This ultimate pregnancy to-do list will help track your entire checklist, from prenatal appointment to baby showers, prenatal classes postpartum prep and more!
Why won't your kids obey the FIRST time you tell them? Well, there's a whole lot of reasons—and they make SO much sense!
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
Looking for a get to know you game for your small group? Try this M&M game as your next icebreaker and grab my free printable to make it easy.
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.
Is burping your baby harder than you thought? It can be a challenge to burp a newborn that won't, but these tricks work - for real!
Oh, the newborn phase. You'd think that having gone through it once, I'd be set, but not quite. This is my second time around on going through the newborn phase, and going into it
Easy Dutch Baby with 5 ingredients and 5 mins prep time. The best Dutch Baby pancake recipe made in a cast-iron skillet. Serve it sweet or savory for breakfast or brunch.
Today, I’m sharing how to knit a spectacular one-row stitch pattern, ideal for scarves. It’s fun to knit, reversible, and pretty easy to memorize!
As a new parent, you might wonder, 'how many baby clothes do I need in each size?'. In this article, you'll find everything you need to know!
Are you wondering how to fix diastasis recti years later? You need to know in most cases, it is possible. Here's what you need to know.
Parent-child communication is a challenge. Do you also feel like your child does not listen? Then check out 6 parenting tips to communicate stress-free.
When dealing with eczema you gotta make something fun, right? Because eczema is not fun at all. Not to this momma or her baby who suffers from it.
Paragraph writing is a big challenge for many students. This post includes a step-by-step method to help your students write great paragraphs in no time.
The perfect list of jokes for 5 year olds (older kids will love them, too)! Includes animal jokes and knock knock jokes for 5 year olds.
Practical impulse control strategies to assist both you and your child to cope better with this executive skill weakness or improve it.
1. Put LEGOs in a mesh bag and wash them monthly in the washing machine. 2. Soak tangled Barbie hair in a solution of fabric softener and hot water. Barbie dolls can be sanitized with a 50/50...
Surprises for kids don't have to be huge. It's important to teach them to learn how to appreciate sweet gestures and small things in life.
What if you gave your kids permission for screen time- as long as it was helping them to learn a new skill? Here are 10 summer hobbies for kids- that they can learn on their own via an online class!
Create the perfect list of consequences for bad behavior that's specific to your child and age-appropriate. Be prepared for misbehavior.
A timeline for the year is a must for any preschool Director, Administrator or Owner. Preschool Plan It shows you how to set one up and use it to manage your time!
Are you new to machine quilting? You may have made tied quilts for a while and now want to explore machine quilting. I’ve seen a lot of advice given for how to machine quilt but I think mos…
5 innovative strategies for how to help a child focus in the classroom. #childfocus #notpayingattention #howtofocusonschool #kidsfocus #concentrationgamesforkids
Preschool weekly themes: A list of over 100 ideas for weekly preschool theme ideas, plus a free printable planning page
