Five Ideas for fast connection to your kids and the great outdoors!

Five Ideas for fast connection to your kids and the great outdoors!

Hi there, I am really passionate about a lot of things when it comes to children. One of the things I am really passionate about is getting kids away from the screen and outside.

As a teacher I saw children in my class who could not socialize, were unable to engage in dramatic play, and sometimes they did not have the fitness to join others at play.  We all are busy, we sometimes think that the educational games on the iPads and phones are helpful, and we sometimes forget how long we, ourselves, spend on screen time. There is a lot of research coming in about the negative effects of screen time, including language delays and later problems in school with math, reading and bullying.

Alternatively there is also a lot of research about the benefits of nature and connecting as a family. Some research shows that children who regularly go outside are healthier and slimmer, have greater imaginations, and are better able to handle stress than their counterparts (see below for more information on that).

So this summer take a break and have fun, here are 5 ideas to connect with nature and more importantly, your child! Every day or on the way home from work, activities, or even from your weekend trip, stop at a park (no playground needed) or natural area.

1.     Play Tag. Children love to be chased; it is actually a developmental need. Children will often run away from adults as a psychological way of asking, “am I important enough for you to come find me?” In addition, playing tag is good for cardiovascular health, agility and there is no age limit.

2.     Play Follow the Leader and take turns leading. This promotes following directions and creative thinking. When children are following they must see what you are doing and then do it too, this increases critical thinking skills and body awareness. When they are leading they must think of what to do, do it, then see if you are doing it. Lots of multiple learning modalities in this simple game. You can also introduce balance, hoping, and skipping; all higher level movements.

3.     Roll down a hill or Spin in circles until your dizzy. Not only is this super fun, it also stimulates the vestibular system in the brain. The vestibular system is responsible for giving our brain information about movement. It allows us to keep balance, and stabilize during movements.

4.     Lay in the grass. Look up and watch the clouds, make pictures with the clouds. Look down and see a whole world under the grass, look for bugs, imagine trails, hear what your child tells you. Slow down and enjoy your child’s wonder at the world.  

5.     This last tip is for those who don’t have time or access to a park. Pull off the road, safely, to a parking lot or other place. Park where there are no other people parking, like the back of the mall or something. Turn your radio or phone to your favorite song; turn up the sound and dance like no one is watching. Or better yet, as I recently saw on Facebook, dance like a toddler because they don’t even care if there’s music! I used to call this a dance break and did it whenever the kids started getting cranky.  Just one song and then race back into the car, usually much happier than before. Showing kids your silly side can really help you connect and having fun is what being a kid is all about!

Be prepared for lots of giggles and a special bonus to these simple and fun activities is that they are mostly also recommended activities for longevity by aging research.  Love those dual benefit, win-win activities!

Here are some links to research and other information for those of you who want more information on this topic:

Screen time and children

http://www.screenfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/screentimefs.pdf

This is a summary of actual research and what it showed researchers.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/screen-time/art-20047952 The Mayo clinic is a favorite go to for answers.

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/12/26/505905246/screen-time-reality-check-for-kids-and-parents 

More good information and lots of links to other resources

Connecting with children and nature

https://www.nwf.org/Home/Kids-and-Family/Connecting-Kids-and-Nature 

Lots of information from the same people who brought us Ranger Rick!!

https://blog.nwf.org/tags/green-hour/?_ga=2.118271881.1688176907.1529867677-593605983.1529867677  More tips from National Wildlife Federation

http://richardlouv.com/ 

Richard Louv brought us the book Last Child in the Woods a favorite book of outdoor enthusiasts who love children.

30 Million Word Gap and Five Tips to get your kids talking!

I recently found a new article that looked at the 30 million-word gap. For about 20 years we (educators and politicians) have based interventions and curriculum on this study originally completed by Ms. Hart and Mr. Risley. They followed 42 children starting at 7 to 8 months of age until 3 years of age. They determined that there was a strong correlation between the number of words heard by children and their vocabulary at age 3.

This research is very interesting to me because it often is used to compare the middle class with the poor. This is actually beyond that, research shows that it is not the vocabulary you have but rather the way you use the vocabulary you do have.

New research shows that it is so much more than just hearing words. Making baby Einstein videos obsolete!  It is actually the conversations, or turn taking, children engage or are engaged in with caregivers that increase vocabulary and critical thinking skills. Here is a video about this:

Add video:  https://youtu.be/XPbSlNLg_gk

John Tulenko of Learning Matters reports on Providence Talks

Or

With video 4 min

https://youtu.be/CNJQGbNbI-8

Here are 5 tips to increase vocabulary and conversations with your child

1.     Talk to and sing with your baby. From the very beginning, as a newborn, talk to your child about what you are doing. Sign songs and play rhyming games.

2.     Point to objects and label them with names, for example look out your window and point out the birds, talk about what you see them doing.  Talk through diaper changes and bath time.

3.     Give choices. Giving a limited number of choices to young children is a great way to boost their vocabulary and their critical thinking skills. Even before they can answer you, ask them, “Do you want the striped onsie or the Polk a Dot onsie?” “Do you want Oatmeal or eggs & toast for breakfast?”

4.     Have conversations with back and forth exchanges: This can start when your baby is babbling, mimic what they say and add something new, see if they call it back t you. Also act as if they are saying real words, this has been linked to positive outcomes for children. Later ask them questions about what they notice, or what they see, hear, feel, think…

5.     Give time: Give plenty of time for children to process the information and formulate an answer. One training I went to shared research that it takes 45 seconds longer for children to process information. Ask a question or pose a topic for debate and wait, count to 10 or 15 before saying anything more.

It is amazing to hear what your children come up with when you talk to them and they are given the space and time to answer. It is very rewarding to talk to young children and the best part is building that relationship. The extra benefit is that when your baby turns into a teen they will still talk to you.

Here is more information about this topic:

http://news.mit.edu/2018/conversation-boost-childrens-brain-response-language-0214

This article is where I got the above video

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/04/22/key-to-vocabulary-gap-is-quality-of.html

more information about the study and an intervention program that is making a difference

http://resourcesforearlylearning.org/educators/module/20/7/19/

a Module for teachers, caregivers or those interested in learning more about promoting vocabulary.

RE-invention of myself and my vocation!

What is vocation? The Merriam-Webster dictionary states:

"Definition of vocation

1. a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action; especially 
2. a divine call to the religious life : an entry into the priesthood or a religious order
3. the work in which a person is employed : occupation : the persons engaged in a particular occupation
4. the special function of an individual or group"

My vocation has changed, my special function has been recreated. I am now on a new path.

I have spent several years now recreating myself, reinventing who I am and how I define myself. I am, and always will be, a work in progress. The turning point for me was becoming a guardian grandparent of my amazing and sweetest little one! forever our lives were changed, turned upside down and I have been trying to stay above water since.

Becoming the guardian of my grandchild is a challenging adventure, one in which I must succeed at while not knowing the goal. I had to overcome many obstacles, such as guilt because maybe I did it wrong the first time, learning how to juggle raising a young child again, and maybe the hardest giving up the roll of grandmother and all the fun that comes with that.

I do think I have found a balance, and in the interim I have learned a lot of new information and skills that I want to share with the world, parenting skills, grandparenting soul searches, and Community Resiliency Model skills. I have launched a new business and started a mission of bringing health and whole food to the children and families of the world.

My hope is that you will follow along, maybe some will join my mission and together we can make a better, loving community for our children and our future.

Mr Rogers was brilliant!

“The greatest thing we can do is help somebody know they are loved and capable of loving” Mr. Rogers

I was really touched by this video. It’s a trailer to a movie about Mr. Rogers. We still need this kind of person here and now. 

Have a Blessed week and remember to help somebody feel loved, and capable of loving!

Nature is needed

My Sweetest Little One

I just read an article titled, "Coming to our 30 senses" by Richard Louv. It is amazing what we have been learning about our bodies through science and technology.

I grew up in the country, with horses, chickens, and dogs. I have an excellent, almost creepy, ability to smell, and I am often aware of things others aren't. My generation was one of the first to be addicted to TV, I grew up "off Grid" meaning no electricity.

In the article Louv sites a study conducted by the military, in which the young men who grew up in the country, or in tough urban neighborhoods could sense bombs off the side of the road better than those children who grew up watching TV and playing Game Boys.

My favorite part of the article was that people can See with their ears, like Bats and Dolphins.

This is really cool stuff, but how it links to children with sensory integration issues is even more profound.

You can read the article here: Coming to our 30 Senses: In an era of sensory dysfunction, are we creating environments in which our children are less alive? And in greater Danger? 

I wish you well, 

Kristi

Political action!!

 

 

Today, April 14, 2015,  I spoke in front of the Sub-committees 1 and 2 at the California State Capitol.

 

It was an amazing experience.

 

I was speaking on behalf of California teachers, Family child care providers, and exempt Providers in regards to fair pay, fair wages, and fair employment.

 

I said something along the lines of:

 

I support all of the recommendations heard today because...

I am a highly qualified teacher, I have a Master of Education and my teaching credentials, and I choose the Early childhood field. It is my passion!

 

I know this is where the most benefit to our communities are, but most importantly to our families and our children.

 

It has taken me over 13 years to rise above the poverty level, because I chose to be an early childhood educator. I am no longer a teacher, I am an administrator, and that is why I am no longer in poverty.

 

I know hundred's of teachers who are dedicated and live within their limited means because they know this profession is the right profession to be in. It is the best investment of their time.

 

I am worried that next year, when Costco comes to Ukiah California we will loose many of our staff. They will find better pay and better benefits than they will in the field of education.

 

This is a smart investment for California, and it is the right thing to do.

 

Thank you for the hearing and listening to me.

The Rules of lining up...

Children line up for milk at Scheyville, New South Wales, 1957 found at www.abc.net.au/news

One thing that always gets me as both a preschool teacher and as a consultant is lining up for Preschoolers. Of course this is necessary, both to do and to practice. Depending on your program, classroom location, and what you do (i.e. need to walk to the library from the classroom through other classroom areas) will determine the amount of actual lining up practice you do.

Some reasons that lining up are important:

• to safely get from one place to another
• for fire drills and other evacuation practices (or actual emergency events)

Some reasons that are less important:

• because children will need to know how to line up in Kindergarten and beyond
• because Adults need to know how to line up

I say that these last two reasons are less important because

1. What happens in Kindergarten should be the job of the Kindergarten teacher, because that is when it is developmentally appropriate to learn those skills (although that is a debate for another post).
2. While Adults do know how to line up, have you ever seen them have to wait for services because they were not in a straight line, hands to themselves, or quiet?

I was at a bank recently, after helping a teacher who was struggling with transitioning from outside to in, and inside to out. I had suggested a walking rope to keep the children together, as she had some that ran away from the line and others that dawdled.

So I was in the bank and noticed a couple of things.

• No one was in a straight line
• People were talking, including making others wait a few seconds longer while they finished up greetings
• Some people even shook hands in greeting or departure!!! (not keeping hands to self)
• At one point two people arrived and both stood in the same position until one teller was available and then they looked at each other to see who would go next
• Observation of this adult line would make any "Line-up Perfectionist Preschool Teacher" cringe; all those days spent waiting at the door for all the 3 and 4 year olds to be quiet, keep their hands to themselves, bodies still, and in a straight line.
• The bank had a rope to guide us

I had some thoughts about this and wondered if you had recently:

• Observed adult lines?
• at the DMV they have a number system and you have to stand in line
• people talk
• Amusement parks have long series of ropes and mazes for us to go through
• People from all over the world and with many different cultures and ways of learning all know the basic rules of lining up (even homeschoolers)
• Observed what happens when an adult "Cuts"?
• people either ignore it or one person gets really irate and tells them off and everyone feels very uncomfortable
• Observed at a school?
• After kindergarten or 1st grade teachers have given up on perfect lines and are happy to have a quiet line of children going in the same general direction
• I have seen extremes to this; one school had children put their hands on their heads and walk an exact distance apart--I always thought it was more like preparing them for prison
• Observed at a High School
• basically teachers appear to just be happy they are all there and just count by group membership or as they get on and off the bus during field trips.  

So I asked myself what are the real rules of lining up? What do we know to do by the time we are grown up? What are some different ways, that are developmentally appropriate, to teach these skills?

• We all go in the same direction
• We take turns
• We are safe
• We are respectful to one another

Maybe you know of some more rules or expectations of lining up?

Blessings

Wonderful Article for 21 century teaching

I was creating a training today that involves supporting children with special needs and individualizing for them in the classroom. I found this site from Canada; the Hanen Centre.

So many resources for supporting children with speech and Language development-both children who are typically developing and children with special language needs.

Teaching Children to Think: Meeting the Demands of the 21st Century

By Janice Greenberg
Director of Early Childhood Education Services, The Hanen Centre

Quotes from this very interesting article include:

 "To function and create change in this modern world, individuals need critical thinking skills – the ability to think about ideas or situations in order to fully understand their implications so as to be able to make an informed judgement or decision."
and
"Teachers need to move from primarily being the information keeper and information dispenser to being an orchestrator of learning where knowledge is co-constructed with the student."

This is article and this website are worth the time to read and search through.

Many Blessings,

Kristine

Getting into Nature

Today I borrowed my Aunts minivan and packed my teens off to the river. I had my son, his girlfriend, her little brother, my sons best friend and his girlfriend. I also had my two dogs, a 1.5 year old German Shepherd and a 4 month old dachshund, as well as my son's Girlfriend's dog (a 1 yr old small poodle).

While at the river, they caught a crawdad, swam all day, shot my son's pellet gun at bottles, explored the river and played in the strong current. They created all kinds of entertainment together, played with the dogs, they learned about a lot of things, had conversations both funny and serious, ate sandy food and shared a water bottle. They laughed a LOT!

What they did not do--look at their phones all day, get on the internet or facebook, try to act cool for other kids, judge anyone, hang out eating bad food, or watching tv, or do any drugs of any kind.

This is why it is so important for us to UNPLUG and get outside. They created a whole day together, have a wonderful memory of time spent together, and they will someday share that with their own children.

Here is another blog post from Alison Portis. Children and Nature: raising a nature conscious child.

Many Blessings

felt board pictures

I was in a early Head Start Classroom and saw an really fun idea. The teacher had taken pictures of her children, cut them out, laminated them and put velcro on the back and added them to the felt board for your children to manipulate.


of course my brain went on over drive thinking about all the ways this could be used:
Individualized schedule for a child with an IEP: The child could move their picture from activity to activity.
Children can us them as a way to solve problems.
Teachers could use them to tell stories and encourage language.
They could be used to match names to students.
In place of name tags.
Used for graphing
And of course for free play

We have such clever teachers where I now work as an Education, Disability, Mental Health Implementation Specialist (EDM specialist).

Resiliance

I read an article from the DailyGood today, here is the link. Find the excerpt and video of Amy M. Azzam interviewing Maya Angelou.

When asked how schools can best support children and foster resilience this is part of what Maya Angelou said:

"Teach because it's your calling. And once you realize that, you have a responsibility to the young people. And it's not a responsibility to teach them by rote and by threat and even by promise. Your responsibility is to care about what you're saying to them, to care about what they're getting from what you're saying."

 Resilience is very interesting to me. Personally, for myself and my children, as a teacher as I taught the poorest and neediest children in Head Start, and as a conscious community member as I help to build a community of strong and resilient people. Resilience is how America was born, it prevents you from staying in a poor situation. It is the part of us that says, "I deserve better" and then we do better.

What all of our goal for our children, all children, is to help them become creative, productive members of society. We want them to succeed, to learn, to have the curiosity that creates a better future. Not just some of the children, but all of the children. Resilience is the key for children to succeed, keep going, keep learning the hard stuff.

To be a Teacher, and all of us have an opportunity to be teachers, means we have to care about how we act and what we say. Care about what you say today, build resilience in those around you, especially the children.

Many Blessings :)


Bibliography
Handle with Care: A Conversation with Maya Angelou
Amy M. Azzam
September 2013 | Volume 71 | Number 1
Resilience and Learning Pages 10-13

Found at http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=5720

Chores

Through the years I have had many different ideas and ways of doing a chore chart. It changes a little each year depending on the children and time of year. I have had chore charts that we choose new children for daily and weekly. I have had jobs for every student and only a few. I have included bikes, and high interest toys as part of the chores. I have had children move their name to the chosen job and I have just rotated the position of the names. Really it depends on the class size and abilities of the children.

My most successful chore chart was in a class of 20 students and each student had a responsibility. We titled the jobs as you might find in the community, such as server for the snack helper, auditor for the person in charge of who was at school, and bike police for the children in charge of the bikes. It was fun and the children got to choose the job they wanted to do.

One idea I would like to try out is the idea of having a job for a week, then choosing new jobs and one day is a training day, then they are in charge of the chore. For example if you are the farmer (animal helper—could also be called zoo keeper) you would get training in how to do the chore; where and how the water bottle goes on, how much food to give, and maybe even how to hold the animal properly.

I think this would promote independence, mentoring, and collaboration. I also think it could encourage children to ask for help from peers. Mentoring is an important skill that we should be encouraging more. It builds confidence, citizenship, and how to teach or explain to one another. I also have noticed that many children will not ask for help from a peer, even when that peer is willing to help and does know the answer.

I haven’t done this yet but would love to try it or hear about any teachers who are doing this already.

Blessings!

Visionary schools

    

Henry Ford stated, ”My idea was then and still is that if a man did his work well, the price he would get for that work would be enough for him to care for himself, and that a business ought to start small and build itself up out of its earnings.” Edited excerpt from Henry Ford: My Life and Work; originally published in 1922 as found in The intelligent Optimist, March/April 2013 Vol. 11 issue 2. (Pg 76-77)

            I whole-heartedly agree!! In fact I have a vision of a private preschool that is made affordable to all because the overhead cost of running the preschool is divided among the students. I envision fair pay for each teacher and low student to teacher ratios; I envision good benefits and the highest quality of learning.

            I believe this is possible and one day I will be a part of creating one. It would work like this: Lets just say for mathematical economics that the overhead is $42,000 per month and we can have up to 70 students. That would be $600 per month at full capacity. Lets say we were just beginning and only had 30 students signed up, that would be $1400 per month per student. We could do fund raising too, but if we just stop looking at turning a profit we might actually get to have an excellent quality school and fair pay for our teachers who would want to stay and could afford to stay.

My only concern is having that many children in one care center. However that is based on 24 per classroom with 3 teachers each; that is one adult per eight children.

Cost is figured by estimating costs of 3 lead teachers @ $4000 per month ($12,000), 6 teacher assistants @ $2500 per month (15000), supplies, other costs, and employee costs $15,000 per month.

Math Stories

In my classroom, everywhere I have taught, we always have a time where we are waiting. Waiting to use the sink to wash hands, waiting for everyone to line up to go here or there, waiting to be called to an activity, waiting, waiting, and more waiting. It is all part of group learning, it is part of life. I decided I wanted to make waiting a little more fun so I started excusing children from one activity to the next by telling a math story with a math computation in it.

I was working with 4 and 5 year olds at the time that I created my math stories so I always used numbers under 5 and usually the numbers 1, 2 and 3. By the age of 4 most humans can count up to 5 so this is a good way to build confidence. I would pick the child in the front of the line and make an addition story. For example:

“Once upon a time Sally wanted to go and drive a fast racecar, so she invited Michael and Samantha to be fast racecar drivers with her. How many children were racing their cars?”

I would also use my fingers or have the children named stand to the side, and give time for the children to call out the answers. They usually called out very fast. Children love to have stories with themselves as the main characters so I would have their attention, their excitement, and because I used stories that they were interested in, It was a lot of fun.

            I highly suggest using Math Stories once in a while or all the time. It’s on the spot learning and the children really love it. They learn so much. 

Restaurant play

Sometimes when I am doing something a brilliant idea comes to me about what to do in my classroom. Today I was substituting in middle school, sitting there supporting a student in math, when this idea of having a restaurant for dramatic play came to mind. I also thought of all the things children could potentially learn too.

This is how I create restaurant play in my classroom:

I would begin by setting up a restaurant area next to or near the dramatic house area. I usually try to set it up with the children, and the children add to it throughout. I allow free play in the restaurant for at least one day, observing what the children do and how much they know about restaurants.

I begin bringing the restaurant theme back to the children at circle time. I make a graph of who had gone to some local restaurants. I ask what they noticed about going, attempting at this point to talk about the menu and who worked there. Together we make a simple restaurant menu on a dry erase board with prices, usually 1 to 3 dollars so they can practice adding to 5.

When it is free play time I role model how to order, how to take an order, and how to pay, we always have play money that I have laminated.

Throughout the week we have daily questions about restaurants. Questions like: What’s you favorite restaurant? What do you like to order for breakfast (lunch; dinner)? I have columns of local familiar restaurants using their actual signage, simple 2 to 3 choices, up to 4 depending on age and development and I try to have pictures or I draw pictures so every child can participate at independently at their own level.

Vocabulary words we get to know and use are: Restaurant, menu, prices, dollars, “Order Here”, “Pick Up”, wait staff, bus person, cook, customer.

Skills children will work on are: pre-reading and actual reading, pre-math and actual math (specifically adding to 5 or identifying numbers to 5), writing, language skills, turn taking, sequencing, and cooperation.

Extension ideas for Restaurant play: Make it Chinese, Mexican or Pizza restaurant, make it a coffee shop or café. Add local take out menus, invite a chef or wait staff to visit and talk about what they do and how they use reading, writing and math skills in their job. Make lunch time a restaurant, invite other classes for a lemonade stand, or snack restaurant. Really the sky’s the limit and the children will come up with many of their own ideas.

Negative numbers in preschool

Negative numbers are very confusing to a lot of people. I hear a lot of teachers saying, “you can’t do that,” if a student writes 5-7 (instead of the actual question of 7-5). What I would like to hear is something like “Right now we are only subtracting the smaller number from the larger number.” I say this because it’s my pet peeve about math and when we get into negative numbers we can do that. I used to do it regularly with my bank account when I was a starving student. Why set a child’s mind up for future confusion.

            I also think that the idea of negative numbers should be introduced in preschool. Especially if you live in a climate where it does get below 0. That would be a perfect real life example to bring to the children. As for me I live in a very temperate climate so I just put up a number line that goes from the floor to the ceiling that includes negative numbers. I also talk about if you borrowed apples from a friend and negative numbers are as if you owed someone apples back.

            Just introducing the idea that there are such things as negative numbers is helpful. It is like having a preview of what is coming. 

Mathematical language

            I have found that so many teachers are afraid of math and then they pass that on to the students. Even the semantics of math is troublesome; there are only math problems, no math questions. We don’t have Social Studies problems to figure out, we say instead Social Studies questions. I try to say math questions; I think it sets the brain up to figure out the answer in a positive frame of mind.

Math and mathematical language is something that is very important in a preschool, early childhood setting. Whether you are a preschool teacher, teacher’s aid, or a homeschooler parent, everyone in the world of a young child should be using mathematical language.

Mathematical language is saying descriptive words such as tall, short, long, wide, thin, as well as shapes; it is the positional words like, far, near, behind, above, below, left, and right; talking about money; talking about numbers; asking how high, how low, how long; comparing objects such as this tower is taller than that house. All these things are so easy to say and it increases a child’s mathematical literacy by so much. This is something so easy to do and so important to do too. 

The Path

When I was a student teacher at Mills College I had the exceptional good luck to student teach under the guidance of the Infant Toddler Lead Teacher Bethica. She was amazing, her knowledge and understanding about what the children could learn. I have since lost touch with her but I gained so much from her mentoring.

One of the things that I gained from her was the idea about how the young brain works, an image really. Everyone knows that we have neurons and synapses, and stuff like that going on in our brain. We also know that when a certain pattern of behaviors or actions happen it begins to create a neuro-path way. For example when a baby cries, she gets picked up and comforted. Repeatedly doing this helps her learn that when she needs something she can cry and comfort will soon follow.

One day at the Mills Children’s School, we were discussing brain development. Bethica explained that it was as if a child’s brain were a large grassy field. As we develop, learn, and experience life, it creates paths across the grassy field. The more the a path is used the deeper it becomes (the more ingrained). When we want to change a behavior we need to make a new path and attempt to avoid the old path.

I always thought this was an excellent visualization of how Neural pathways develop. So thank you Bethica for being such a brilliant teacher of young children!!

Solution Kit

A solution kit is a little box containing ideas for stopping conflict, a box, container, or small suitcase that is filled with peaceful conflict resolution ideas. Typical solutions I have put into my solution kit are “take a break,” “take a deep breath,” “tell my story,” and “find a way to have turns.” I have found some already made ones but I think it is useful to have a discussion with the kids and create your own.

I introduce the solution kit from the previous year a week or so after I have introduced the class rules. We go through the solutions, usually after some conflicts have arisen in the classroom, but not while in conflict. Children grasp the idea of the solutions better when they are all calm and relaxed. We talk about a few and how they work, and we role-play or practice doing them together. I might introduce a few each day until we have all of them explained. I also talk about creating new ones if we want to, because these children are so bright they can come up with great solutions too.

As an intentional teacher I plan for when I see a conflict situation arise so we can practice using the Solution kit. The more you help the children use it at the beginning of the year, the sooner the children will be independent in using the solution kit, or creating their own solutions that work. After the first several weeks of school most of my students are independently using the solutions kit, or the skills learned from it. This allows me to focus on helping the children who need a little extra support.

Philosophy of Teaching

I am creating a business plan for my business (obviously!!) and wanted to include my teaching philosophy... So because I love when I can maximize my work I decided that I would share it here.

My philosophy of teaching is an ongoing, ever changing development. As I learn more and educate myself I change my views, my teaching methods, and my curriculum to always be teaching with the best practices for teaching young children.

I know children learn best in an organized, active, and interesting environment. I teach through the environment, by labeling where things go, and keeping things in their place. I create a place where children are allowed to touch, and handle what they are learning about. I create a classroom with child-sized furniture, organized in a thoughtful manner to allow the children to move their bodies and be safe. I provide high quality building blocks, art materials, books, and science materials, so that children can learn by doing. I teach both inside and outside; playing outside is an important part of the whole curriculum. Everything we can learn inside can also be learned outside.

I know that a positive learning environment includes the emotional and social feeling too. I work to create an environment where each child is listened to, where they know they can tell their story, and participate in creating our cooperative learning. I mentor children to create classroom rules that keep us safe and promote personal responsibility. I promote cooperation, collaboration, and peaceful conflict resolutions. I make sure that I, and any adults or older children in the classroom, model this behavior as well.

I know that children learn best through play and co-create with the children the curriculum, always including developmentally appropriate reading, writing, and mathematical activities. I know that children can learn through large group, small group, and individual learning activities; so I provide the time and space for each of these modes of learning. I create spaces for children to practice skills that they are learning, as well as support each child to reach for their highest ability.

I spend time explaining to parents the value of allowing free play, as well as the physical and emotional development of their child, so that they can relax and enjoy their children’s childhood. I support parents in knowing that their children will learn to do all the skills necessary when they are truly ready. I know that parents are the most important part of the child’s education and need to learn to be their child’s best and strongest advocate. Parents are the first and most significant teacher.

I believe that being a teacher is one of the most important careers in our society. To teach young children is a challenging and fulfilling career for me. I am a teacher in all that I do; when I am shopping, looking at magazines, or even in the doctors office I find inspiring and interesting things to bring back to the classroom. My teachers mind is always looking for ways to teach. I am a teacher through and through.