Working with Families

             When thinking about teaching, most people do not think about families.  They think about the teaching a child certain knowledge and information that he or she will need in the future; however, that is not the full job of a teacher.  A teacher must also work with the families. Families are very important when it comes to learning about the child.

The social-emotional development is extremely important when it comes to developing a “whole” child.  This age is a huge learning phase for a child.  Children will learn and build a foundation of their social and emotional skills.  I have learned that at this age, children watch and pick up on what others do and say.  This is relevant in social and emotional skills.  Children watch adults and their peers to see how they interact and react to situations and other people.

I believe that most children build their foundation of social and emotional skills from home.  Because children spend a lot of their time with their parents, the parents have the most impact on the child.  A child will watch and copy how their parents act.  I see many of the parent’s attributes in my students.

To help fill this gap in between home and the classroom, I think one of the most important things a teacher can do is keep families involved and up to date in their child’s learning and development.  Keeping families up to date has many benefits.  Parents will be able to continue practicing and working on the knowledge and information that Logan has been learning recently in class.

Another good strategy would be for the teacher to have parents get involved in the classroom.  They could come in and do an activity, story, or lesson plan with the kids.  This way, the parents will have a better understanding of what goes on in the classroom.

Supporting Children and Families with Social and Emotional Disabilities

At our center, we welcome specialists to come in and work with the kids on a weekly basis.  Not only does it help the child to grow socially or emotionally, it also helps us as teachers learn how to work with the child.  I have personally watched as they work with the child and take certain activities or even simple gestures that the child responds to in the future.

I think it is very important for teachers to either do some research on their own time or take a workshop on different social and emotional disabilities.

Helpguide.com has a site on Learning Disabilities in children.  This site lists symptoms, types and testing.  It also provides charts that make diagnosing easier for teachers.

Pacer.org has a section on emotional disabilities and signs to look out for.

Brighttots.com is one of the best sites I found.  It has vast information on Social and Emotion Disorders including facts, skills, behaviors, aggressions, development, social problems with peers and family and where to find support.

Buffalo.edu is also a good resource for information on Emotional Disorders for children of all ages.

Having a student in your classroom that has a disability can be frustrating for any teacher at times.  I personally have been very interested to watch Disability specialist work with kids that I haven’t been able to get through to for months.  I like to watch methods of interacting and getting the child involved and then trying to use them.  This has been very beneficial for me and other teachers that I have seen do the same thing.  If you have a student with a disability, I encourage you to look into having a specialist come in or going to a workshop that can help you learn methods of teaching and interacting with that child.

Blessings Basket Art Project

These days, many schools are beginning to cut arts program from schools.  I feel that the arts are still very much needed in our schools.  The arts are not just a way for children to express themselves.  They arts can also teach children many valuable lessons they need in the classroom. The site Americans for the Arts states that the arts “strengthen problem-solving and critical thinking skills” (Benefits of Arts Education). In the article Young Children and the Arts, it states that the arts…

·         “Plays a central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development.

·         Motivates and engages children in learning, stimulates memory, facilitates understanding, enhances symbolic communication, promotes relationships, and provides an avenue for building competence.

·         Provides a natural source of learning. Child development specialists note that play is the business of young children; play is the way children promote and enhance their development. The arts are a most natural vehicle for play” (Goldhawk).

Since Thanksgiving is coming up in only a few days, I did some exploring and found a great Thanksgiving craft for you to do with your students from IncredibleArt.com

Procedure:

·         Ask each student to list 5 things they are thankful for, it can be anything from “Mommy and Daddy” to one of my personal favorites; “Pokemon” (remember these are 3-5 year old kids, and the little things ARE important!)

·         Teacher provides orange construction paper for students to draw an illustration of one of the things on their list.

·         Use poster board or any heavy paper to create the traditional “Turkey” handprint; parents LOVE these!

·         Print out copies of the poem about being thankful. (If the kids are old enough, they can write out the poem themselves.

·         Paint (or write) each child’s list on individual rocks.

·         Assemble, see photos.

 

Gender Issues in the Classroom

In one of my classes this past week, we started talking about gender issues in the classroom. One issue my teacher brought up was about boys being interested in acting and dressing up. She gave us this example:

“Maria's preschool classroom contains a vast array of developmentally appropriate materials. Her environment is rich and varied and challenges the children in all areas of their development. Recently, Maria welcomed a new child into her classroom. "Aamir" was active and interested in the other children as well as all the opportunities the classroom had to offer. It became evident over time that Aamir's favorite area of the classroom was the dramatic play area. Aamir would spend an entire morning pretending, dressing up and carrying out elaborate scenes with whoever was in that area.

After a few months of being in the classroom Aamir's father came to pick him up. One look at his son in the dramatic play area with high heels and a skirt on sent him into a flurry of embarrassment. He demanded that his son take off what he was wearing and chastised him for playing with "girls toys."  He told Maria "I do not want my son playing like that."

Maria tried to explain the value of this type of play for Aamir but Aamir's father left too quickly for any real dialogue to take place.

What should Maria do? What can she say? How would you handle this situation?”

I think this is a very important situation for all teachers to think about.  There really is no specific answer for every situation.

While dealing with parents can be very difficult, creating a non-gender specific classroom is not.  There are many ideas to help teachers reduce stereotypes in the classroom.

·         Monitor your own behavior as a teacher.  Kids pick up on adults actions and words.  For instance, when a child gets hurt, make sure you treat the girls and the boys the same.

·         Recognize each child’s individual abilities without considering their gender.

·         Encourage the boys and girls to do the same activities and even work together.  Such as encouraging the girls to play basketball and the boys to play house.

Below I have included some resources for finding non-gender books to use in your classroom.

Children'sBooks that Break Gender Role Stereotypes

GenderEquality Bookstore

                Amazon.com:Gender Equality Kids Books

Creating an Anti-Biased Classroom

                When talking about Anti-Biased Classroom, there are many attributes that work together to create this type of unbiased environment.  Three areas that Louise Derman-Sparks works with are the aesthetic display of the classroom, the toys that are provided to the students, and teacher interactions.

                The look of an anti-bias classroom is one of the world. The classroom does not focus on just one culture but many cultures. To create an aesthetic environment there should be many images of families and children of all cultures as well as the acceptance of these other families and cultures.  The children should take part in art and look at books pertaining to cultures that are not just their own (Brown, DeBord, 1999).  Art is a great way to teach students about different cultures.  Display from artists of different cultures and encourage the children to do their own art similar to the art they see. Some other fun anti-biased activities to do in the classroom could include trying a new recipe from another culture.  Not only will this introduce children to a different culture, it will also give children to opportunity to try new things that they may have not be able to try outside the classroom.

                The second category to creating an anti-biased classroom is providing the right toys.  The article 4 Toys That Promote Diversity, from the Scholastic Parents website, suggests toys that encourage exploration of cultures.  But more importantly, this article talks about toys that will not only educate students on other cultures but will also make them feel comfortable working with these new resources. 

                To create a successful anti-biased classroom, the toys should be divided into four areas.  The four areas suggested for stocking your play centers include: Wooden or plastic figures of diverse people and animals, food boxes from ethnic grocers, unique props for dramatic play, and coins and money from different countries (Scholastic, 2011).  This is a useful step for child care professionals to begin creating an anti-biased environment in their classroom.

                 The anti-bias curriculum seeks to be active and committed to teaching children how to properly embrace and address diversity in areas of color, language, gender, culture, and physical ability. From a very young age children are aware of these differences and observe the attitudes and messages being reflected by those around them. In turn, the children take on these attitudes. It is the goal of the anti-bias curriculum to address negative attitudes and teach children to interact effectively with all people they meet.

                  In order to have an effective anti-bias curriculum, teachers must raise their own awareness. I can be very helpful for teachers and potential teachers to be part of support groups. These support groups include other staff members, parents, and other teachers, and they face questions like: When did I experience bias in my life and how did I respond or react? The group works toward facing any biases those in the group have personally.

                  There are so many ways to encourage an anti-biased classroom such as involving the parents in the classroom and activities, start teaching your students simple words in other languages, or try new foods from other cultures. Have a ‘Give the planet a hug rug,’ which has children of many different cultures on it, or a ‘Hands around the world rug’ that has the different countries and children of many different cultures holding hands around the edge.  Another recommended idea is to make everything in the room accessible to all of the children, including children that may have a handicap.

                The classroom environment, materials provided and the way the teacher interacts with the students and family are all very essential to creating an Anti-Biased Classroom.  While creating an anti-biased environment can be somewhat challenging, it will benefit the children to learn about and accept other cultures.  In the end, teachers can only hope this will be a step towards a more accepting world. 

The Importance of Music in the Classroom

So by now, you're classroom should be up and running and ready for your students.  Now lets move on to some academic activities that will enrich your students learning, growth and development.

This week I would like to begin working with music.  Music usually appeals to most children.  But more importantly, music is not only something fun for the kids to do, it also benefits their development and growth.  Psychologists, neuroscientists, and Early Child Development experts have proven that music helps children's "brain cells make the connections needed for virtually every kind of intelligence (Kidermusik)."

Kindermusik also states that music helps children to:

• "...gain the phonological processing, spoken language, and comprehension skills that are the foundation of reading."
• "...build the spatial-temporal and reasoning skills required for math, science, and engineering."
• And "...develop social and emotional skills that are essential for school readiness—like the ability to regulate their responses and relate to others in complex ways."

I would also suggest including hand motions in the song that you decide to teach you're students.  This way they are developing the skills noted above while also practicing fine motor skills and challenging their memories.

Below I have inlcuded some videos of one of my students and me.

For additional information, I suggest visiting Kindermusik.

Helpful Charts for You and Your Students

The first bulletin board every classroom needs is one for the parents.  This bulletin board should have the weekly lesson plans, the schedule for activities throughout the day and the lists of snacks that the kids will be having throughout the week.  Having a list of the snacks is very helpful for students who have food allergies.  This way the parents can let the teacher know if there is something the student can't have.

 

The rules are also important to have up for students to see throughout the day.  Obviously at this age, most of your students will not be reading however if you include pictures with the rules, the student will associate the picture with the rule.  Be sure to go over these rules with a new student and periodically with your class as a reminder.

 

There are so many ways of encouraging students to follow the rules in the classroom.  I have included these two ideas because I have personally seen these methods work in classroom I have been in.  The traffic light is used throughout the day.  This a visual reminder for the student that their actions will affect what color they are on.  This is also a way for parents to see how their child behaved throughout the day. I have also seen these method improve parent/teacher communication about their child.

 

Stickers are another way to encourage students.  You can use stickers as an a reward such as giving stickers to every child that helps clean up the toys or when the child uses the potty. You can also use it as an encourager such as giving a sticker to a child that voluntarilly gives their toy to someone who wants it.

 

A set schedule for students is so important.  Children want structure and routine.  Having a set schedule that doesn't very much will greatly help in your classroom.  By putting up a schedule with pictures, toddlers will be able to understand the order of the day.

Job charts are a great way to get students involved in the classroom.  This teacher uses jobs such as "teacher's healper," "weather person'" "table helper," "line leader" and "door holder."

 

I found this idea online and absolutely loved it.  You have so many things to remember throughout the day and this lunch chart will make it so much easier to keep lunch time under control.  You can even add names to the stars to know which child gets which kind of lunch.

Organizing Your Classroom

Organization in theclassroom is very important for a number of reasons. An organized classroom will keep children organized classroom will keep children focused not to mention it will keep the classroom clean.  I have looked through a number of websites and classrooms and collected some of the best ideas to organize you classroom.

Putting up mailboxes in the classroom is a great idea.  By having a mailbox for every child, it will make organizing things that are supposed to go home much easier.  It also makes it easier on you to make sure every child is receiving the papers they need.  Mailboxes are also a great idea to communicate with the parents you don't get to see at the end of the day.

Instead of throwing all your books on a shelf and calling it a library, buy some bins and label them.  Organize your books into "ABCs," "colors," "shapes," "animals," or even into "Dr. Seuss," "Eric Carle," etc.

Binders like this are a great way to keep your lesson plans organized.  Keep binders organized monthly or even weekly to keep your curriculum arranged and make it easier on you in the future to look back on previous lesson plans.

Bins will be one of your best friend when organizing your classroom.  As stated before, you can use them to clean up your library.  You can also use them to organize toys or various other things around the classroom.

Use bins to organize your craft materials like markers, crayons, glue, scissors, etc.

You can also use bins in the children's cubbies to hold their extra clothing, sunscreen, etc.

The Importance of Play

"Knowledge arises neither from the objects nor the child, but from interactions between the child and those objects." –Jean Piaget

The value of play is vast.  Children learn by playing.  Playing is a way for children to have personal experience and helps them to physically see how things work.  There are so many domains that children can develop and learn through play. Jeffery Tarwick-Smith states play as “an arena where children learn new skills and practice old ones, both physical and social. Through play they challenge themselves to new levels of mastery. They gain competence in all areas of development-increasing language, social skills, and physical skills…” This means that not only are children able to develop their physical skills by playing, they are also learning social and language skills such as working together, communicating, stretching their minds by using their imaginations, and problem solving. He also states that “Children at play are active explorers of the environment as they create their own experience and grow to understand it.”

Below I have included some videos to show the importance of play in the classroom.

The Importance of Play - Video 1


The Importance of Play - Video 2

Pennsylvania State Codes

When it comes to opening and running a toddler classroom, there are many Health and Safety requirements that have to be met.  I have gathered some basic Health and Safety requirements from The Pennsylvania Code for Child Day Care Centers to assist teachers who are opening a new room and also to help teachers keep their rooms up to code.

·  Measurement of play space needed

·  40 square feet per infant

·  50 square feet per young and old toddler

·  65 square feet per child

·  Protective covers must be placed in electrical outlets

·  Cleaning materials should be kept out of reach of children

·  Trash needs to be removed at least once a day

·  The indoor temperature must be kept between 65° and 82°

·  Numbers of the nearest hospital, police department, fire department, ambulance and poison control center should be posted by each telephone in the facility.

·  First-aid kit containing soap, an assortment of adhesive bandages, sterile gauze pads, tweezers, tape, scissors and disposable, nonporous gloves should be kept in every room but out of the reach of children.

·  Toys and objects with less than a 1 inch diameter are not permitted

·  A facility must have a refrigerator

·  A written plan of all activities that promote development of skills, social competence and self-esteem should be listed.

·  Children must be placed at least 2 feet away from each other when sleeping

·  The correct amount of toilets a sinks must be provided:

Student to Teacher Ratios

Student to teacher ratios in the classroom are very important for being able to not only control the class, but also control every child's learning.  The following numbers are the ratios for all age groups in a daycare:

“When children are grouped in mixed age levels, the age of the youngest child in the group determines the staff:child ratio and maximum group size.”

When children are sleeping, the student to teacher ratio changes:

Materials for Your Classroom

The first necessity of creating your classroom is getting the right age appropriate materials to help students to learn and develop.  The materials that a teacher or school supplies greatly affects how a student learns.  When a student has access to numerous kinds of materials, their learning is endless.  Below I have created lists of important materials to help toddlers develop in all domains.

Dramatic Play

Dolls, tools, puppets, cars, trains, airplanes, construction vehicles, train tacks and kitchen.

Science/Math
Number books, numbered foam mats, plants & class pet

Library/Reading
Touch and feel books, Storytelling puppets, Books in Different Languages.

Blocks
Easy building bricks & large legos

Writing & Language
Alphabet books, labels on the doors, walls, windows, etc.

Art
Paint, crayons, washable markers, paper, stamps, paintbrushes, smocks, scissors, glue & tape

Music
CDs, drum, tamborine, maracas, bells, piano, xylophone

Sensory
Colorful blocks & balls, mirrors, bubble machine, play carpet

Gross Motor
Bikes, balls, parachute, walkers, hold a ring walking rope

Manipulatives
Puzzles, shape fitters, bead maze

Quiet, Cozy Area
blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, stuffed animals, pack and plays, small carpet mats

Other Needed Materials
Strollers, high chairs, changing table, shelves, cubbies.