 "W" What A Week! We began our week looking at the story of creation in Genesis. We decided to also learn about the letter "W" for world. Pictured above is just one of the ways we made the letter "W" with wood.This involved teamwork, planning, and once we all agreed that it did, indeed, match the letter "W" we had found in the word "world," we also had the pleasure of "w"alking along all its wonderful winding whimsy! Ha! (sorry...we got a little wrapped up in "w's!")  During our morning circle and story time we also observed that God made the sky. This led to some questions! One of our little three's asked if God made rainbows. So, from there, we decided to make our own puzzle rainbows. We practiced tracing the shape of the curve with our glue bottles, fingers, and paintbrushes. Then...in proper two year old fashion, the glue landed here...and there....and we ended this activity with lots of sudsy, soapy, water table play!  Never let a mess keep a child from their truest form of learning...PLAY!! A wonderful "follow-up" activity to this is always "wash" time. This can be in the sink, the water table, the sprinkler, or washcloth practice learning how to clean our own faces and the faces of our babies or one another. Everything in pre-k world is an OPPORTUNITY for hands-on learning through the power of play!!!  We practiced tracing the curve shape of the rainbow with the tips of our glue bottles, markers, fingers, and paint brushes.  My little two's are FASCINATED with glue puddles :)!!  Deep in thought...She had arranged and arranged her "sky" several times and wasn't quite pleased. She wouldn't glue until she made her plan! What an easy transition to go from ooey-gooey-gluey fun to some splashy-splashy water exploration that doubles as clean-up! What did the rest of the week look like??
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 It had been raining for a couple of days causing the temperature to drop from barefoot and muggy to jackets and jumpers. We hadn't been outside due to the weather and once the rain stopped the children were biting at the bit to PLAY! Indoor play is fun, but nothing can ever beat the fresh air, swinging trees, birds chirping, locusts humming, and white fluffy cloud whimsy.
They BEGGED me to allow them to play at the water table. One of their favorite activities is using the hose to fill, then dump, then refill the table again and again. This does make for a muddy mess, but to them mud is just another bonus. And let's face it...everything IS washable for a reason.. I had to say no due to the temperatures. I hate telling them "no." I try to say "yes" to everything I can and save the "no" moments for safety issues, so they will understand that it means something more than just "not right now." But, in the 50 degree temps, water play just wasn't on the menu. So, they set out to adventure. They found droplets on leaves, itty-bitty mud puddles under the rocks, worms brought to the surface of the ground...and, therefore, more birds willing to hang around within closer proximity than normal. Then, this toddler twosome came running to me all out of breath leading me back to something that desperately required my attention. They ran to the wheel barrow filled with rain water. My little blondie was asking permission, while you can see my baby of our little school family was just ready to jump in! You can't hide a treasure from the heart that is searching... These little precious babes were actually on a mission to find a puddle big enough for play. I had said "no" to the water table, so they found water on the leaves, under rocks, under the flower pots, in tiny little tid-bits here and there. But, this was the MOTHER LOAD! This is what they had been searching for. At this point...I couldn't turn them down. Yes, they got soaked... Yes, it was chilly... But, with toddlers the water splished and splashed away at record pace. And...yes, they were soooo happy. And, isn't that what life's all about; finding the treasures our hearts are looking for. Their little hearts just longed for their favorite play past-time...mine was longing for their giggles of glee. We both found what we were looking for... What is your heart searching for today? Don't give up...find it under a leaf, find it under a rock, it might be that you begin finding it in small spaces; keep searching until you find it in GREAT MEASURE. And, when you find it, don't keep it hidden. Share it with a friend, share it with the ones that love you. You never know when the treasure you find may become just what their heart treasures too... I wish you well and I hope you get to play today. -L When we started talking about |
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Children love mail. They love the thought of getting mail just for them, just like Mommy and Daddy. My own children see the mailbox as some magical treasure box waiting to surprise them with a package. Last year one of our wonderful families gave us this mailbox puzzle as a gift. The postcards are hardwood, at varying sizes and lengths with little wooden "stamps" that Velcro to the top. This also makes fitting the right postcard into the appropriate slot even more challenging. As pictured it has a key to open the front so all the postcards can be "collected" just like at the post office. This is an amazing problem solving, pretend and play, developmentally age appropriate preschool "toy." It goes VERY well with our post office books. The ones above shared with us how the mail is collected and sorted, then delivered to homes and offices.
Letters, Numbers, and a GREAT Clean-up Game!
As we do each week, we learned our new letter. This week, it was the letter "V" for visitor. We made letters with glitter, sticks, playdough, leaves, chalk, our fingers, our legs, and crayons and markers. We counted letters, leaves, fingers and toes, added "one more" and took "one away" with every meal, craft and clean up opportunity. Which...by the way...is a GREAT way to get children interested in "clean-up" time...simply make it into a counting game. When we put our blocks away, I am in the floor counting blocks as they into our box. If one of the younger children "takes one away," we subtract that block and keep on counting. This accomplishes the task of cleaning in a fun learning environment that encourages group involvement and increases awareness of math vocabulary terms while giving concrete examples of what the number means. After several days of this type of clean-up practice, even our littlest ones can count to twenty fairly independently and will begin doing so by themselves while putting cars, blocks, babies, or crayons away.
Playing Post Office and a Sense of Community
We also practiced delivering mail ourselves by boarding our bikes and cars, making post office delivery stations, and hand-delivering some of the letters we made below to our friends. It was SOOOO SWEET! They were just as excited to receive their "special letters" as if they had collected them out of the mailbox for real. This was a great little practice for including all our friends in a fun game that helped everyone feel loved, included, and involved.
Letters, Numbers, and a GREAT Clean-up Game!
As we do each week, we learned our new letter. This week, it was the letter "V" for visitor. We made letters with glitter, sticks, playdough, leaves, chalk, our fingers, our legs, and crayons and markers. We counted letters, leaves, fingers and toes, added "one more" and took "one away" with every meal, craft and clean up opportunity. Which...by the way...is a GREAT way to get children interested in "clean-up" time...simply make it into a counting game. When we put our blocks away, I am in the floor counting blocks as they into our box. If one of the younger children "takes one away," we subtract that block and keep on counting. This accomplishes the task of cleaning in a fun learning environment that encourages group involvement and increases awareness of math vocabulary terms while giving concrete examples of what the number means. After several days of this type of clean-up practice, even our littlest ones can count to twenty fairly independently and will begin doing so by themselves while putting cars, blocks, babies, or crayons away.
Playing Post Office and a Sense of Community
We also practiced delivering mail ourselves by boarding our bikes and cars, making post office delivery stations, and hand-delivering some of the letters we made below to our friends. It was SOOOO SWEET! They were just as excited to receive their "special letters" as if they had collected them out of the mailbox for real. This was a great little practice for including all our friends in a fun game that helped everyone feel loved, included, and involved.
I've Been Kissed By A DOG!
We practiced writing "letters" to those we loved. My little Ally decided to write one to her dog, Sheppy. It said, "Dog, I love you!"
Something tells me I she wouldn't at all mind being, "kissed by a dog!"
Something tells me I she wouldn't at all mind being, "kissed by a dog!"
Proof of love...
This is a game our little 2's have recently discovered...I like to call it the "Proof of Love" game. The little one on the ground has "thrown" herself off her bike MANY times saying "Uh-Oh!" and if left too long without anyone noticing, she would actually burst into tears. If, however, just after "falling" someone would rush over to her aid, she would happily hop up and continue on her way. She was just wanting to know that someone noticed and cared if she was in need. Once the appropriate amount of attention was given, she was fulfilled and content to continue on her journey.
What I found interesting was that she really would get her tender little heart broken if she was left without the necessary attention even though she wasn't really injured. This is a common game for toddlers and they usually do begin to "clue in" to the "rules" after a few "rounds." Once the "rules" are established everyone is happy to play the game. What I love about small children do not seek to "toughen" up the child by ignoring him or her. They simply respond to the other's need regardless if it is "real" or "imagined."
There is a quote that I love from a fairly new children's author that I believe sums up this common toddler "game."
“It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” L.R.Knost
What I found interesting was that she really would get her tender little heart broken if she was left without the necessary attention even though she wasn't really injured. This is a common game for toddlers and they usually do begin to "clue in" to the "rules" after a few "rounds." Once the "rules" are established everyone is happy to play the game. What I love about small children do not seek to "toughen" up the child by ignoring him or her. They simply respond to the other's need regardless if it is "real" or "imagined."
There is a quote that I love from a fairly new children's author that I believe sums up this common toddler "game."
“It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” L.R.Knost
I wish you well and I hope you get to play today
-L
-L
We began our week with homes, houses, and habitats as our theme, discussing A New Home from our children's Bible, a lesson from Genesis 12-17.
After introducing the children to this story we decided to paint pictures of the homes we lived in. Naturally, this also gave us opportunity to observe the colors gray, green, black, brown, and white.
We had LOTS of colors available including our glitter, because my little preschoolers LOVE glitter.
As all the other children happily painted their interpretations of the homes they lived in, my little one proudly exclaimed, "I'm painting the OCEAN!" She had no interest in our objective and she enthusiastically completed her colorful waterscape that we displayed on our window for many days.
Throughout the course of the day and week we also discussed different books we have around the classroom that talk about houses, homes, and habitats. The children LOVE, love, love the story of the Three Little Pigs and The Big Bad Wolf. We read this book in addition to MY personal favorite, The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton each day as a part of our circle/table times.
After introducing the children to this story we decided to paint pictures of the homes we lived in. Naturally, this also gave us opportunity to observe the colors gray, green, black, brown, and white.
We had LOTS of colors available including our glitter, because my little preschoolers LOVE glitter.
As all the other children happily painted their interpretations of the homes they lived in, my little one proudly exclaimed, "I'm painting the OCEAN!" She had no interest in our objective and she enthusiastically completed her colorful waterscape that we displayed on our window for many days.
Throughout the course of the day and week we also discussed different books we have around the classroom that talk about houses, homes, and habitats. The children LOVE, love, love the story of the Three Little Pigs and The Big Bad Wolf. We read this book in addition to MY personal favorite, The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton each day as a part of our circle/table times.
We enjoyed opportunities to watch this reading on Youtube by Scholastic. There are much scarier versions out there!! This one is pretty good and from a reputable company. You can click the arrow in the middle to enjoy it with your preschooler at home too!
We made our own Three Little Pig houses with the straw we saved from our Halloween hay bale from last season (you know us pre-k teachers, we save everything!). We folded construction paper into the shape of a hollow square to give the children a solid base to glue the straw to and placed it on top of another piece of paper. We practiced huffing, and puffing, and BLOWING our little straw houses down to their giggles and glee!! It was SOOOO CUTE :))
This is one of our little straw houses :)
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We did this fun little letter "H" activity after our hay houses and we practiced lots of "H" sound practice! I drew lines matching the popsicle sticks onto the paper and the children simply matched the sticks to the lines to make their own "H."
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One sweet little story...
The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton is on my personal top ten lists for children. I love the detailed pictures, the changing seasons, but most of all the morals of the story. There are a couple going on in this book that older children and adults will also enjoy. First, the longing to discover what we do not know or have that we later learn wasn't as glamorous as we had hoped, leaving us longing for "the way things used to be." In other words...a lesson in appreciating what we have, while we have it.
The second moral of this sweet tale is just because something is old and looks like it is no longer useful, if it is cared for and loved it can regain its former strength, beauty, and usefulness. I LOVE this precious, classic piece of children's literature. It's a long read for a 2 year old, but for 3's and up, it is a must read!
The second moral of this sweet tale is just because something is old and looks like it is no longer useful, if it is cared for and loved it can regain its former strength, beauty, and usefulness. I LOVE this precious, classic piece of children's literature. It's a long read for a 2 year old, but for 3's and up, it is a must read!
Our week went here....our week went there...
The magical appearance of acorns gave us lots to talk about regarding habitats. The squirrels are EVERYWHERE and give us an up close look at the changing seasons with lots of question and answer sessions about what the squirrels are doing, what they eat, and where they live. This has gone along beautifully with our daily discussions about "new homes." Some of our children have also moved recently, have lived in apartments, have slept in tents while camping, and understand that animals live in homes that are different than ours. We also, having an overwhelming abundance of acorns, have been utilizing the acorns sizes, shapes, and sheer numbers for math exercises this week. We compared smaller, medium and large acorns. We practiced counting from 1 to 100...we had WAY more than 100! We practiced 1-10 matching the numbers to the correct number of acorns. Adding and subtracting 1 to see what we had "all together" and "left" gave us some pause. And their all time favorite acorn math activity was to place them all in a row and then to scatter them as quickly as possible, then to place them neatly in a row all over again.
They love the bling! Glitter paint on the letter "H."
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We studied the letter "H" for house. With the barefoot quality weather, however, the children preferred practicing all kinds of letter creation outdoors. We wrote all our little ones names on the stone patio, practiced our downward and sideways strokes on the deck, placed our sticks together in the dirt to make the letter "H," drew our "H's" in the sand, and in the dirt. Another fun outdoor letter activity was trying to spot letter "H's" naturally made by the branches in the trees. We did manage to spot a few, but getting pictures of these prior to them being snapped in two, was...well...unsuccessful :)).
A little counting, placement, and recognition.
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Just a few of my favorite moments...
Sharing can be a challenging practice of patience for little ones (and big ones too!!) Not this time, they encouraged one another to sit together and read their books. They would take turns getting down and the one in the chair would pat the itty, bitty bit of space next to him or her and the other would climb back on board! :)) SOOOOO Sweet!!
This sweet little sugar sat for about 30 minutes just peeling the papers from the crayons. She was so content in her detailed objective that I couldn't resist. After all...we can make them into "new" crayons!
We also made some Three Little Pig stick houses, but I was unable to snap a pic. After this project they wanted to play with the leftover sticks. They lined them up, counted, added them together, made them into triangles, and squares and neatly lined them up again.
That's a Wrap!
We made short work of last week with our many conversations, projects, playtimes, stories, songs, math observations, and teamwork. We had our tantrums and tears, our ups and downs, some teething, bumps and scrapes.
We snuggled and laughed, painted and danced, enjoyed some of the few remaining hot days of the year and played for probably the last time this year in the sprinklers.
Our favorite moment as a school family was welcoming back our friend from her break as we celebrated her second birthday together. Welcome back!!
I wish you well and I hope you get to play today.
-L
We snuggled and laughed, painted and danced, enjoyed some of the few remaining hot days of the year and played for probably the last time this year in the sprinklers.
Our favorite moment as a school family was welcoming back our friend from her break as we celebrated her second birthday together. Welcome back!!
I wish you well and I hope you get to play today.
-L
Children are great teachers when we are listening with our hearts wide open.
My little Ally is a screamer. I’m not talking a little screaming…I mean I thought her colicky baby phase was tough! Whew…this is enough to make a grown man cry and it’s no exaggeration…ask her Daddy! She is passionate about EVERY emotion she feels, love, anger, compassion, generosity, pain, sadness…she swings for the fence.
She is 3.
There IS a certain amount of this that is expected for this age group. It is their appropriate level of maturity, just like the 2’s but with more gusto! However, she seems to excel in this as an art form and there are days as a preschool teacher, daycare provider, homeschool momma that it is
supersonic.
As an avid believer in Becky Bailey’s Conscious Discipline method (which, by the way, is all wrapped with L.O.V.E.) and one that has had excellent success utilizing this tool in real-life-no-time-for-do-overs application, I know it works. However…for my little Ally…it has not been working. So it seemed. So…I have been struggling with some pretty big mommy guilt that I am failing with the very reason for doing what I love to do, which is getting to spend so much time with my own children.
I have been praying, and praying, and praying for direction, answers, PATIENCE (yes…I know Grandma always said to never pray for this one!!), guidance, searching books, the Bible, my own attitudes for any clue that may give way to an answer. I have been praying my husband’s favorite prayer, “God, can you just give me the answer on a sticky note, preferably attached to my forehead, so I don’t miss it?”
I have been re-reading my Conscious Discipline books, deeply diving into my Bible, and brushing up on my skills. I keep getting the answer…love…love…love…love…love. L.O.V.E. This has applied
to SO many areas of my life lately. I have tried so many methods. I am well trained in appropriate
Early Childhood Education and practices…YES…this child is WELL loved, adored, cherished, and amazing…but, I am talking about responding in love with a child that is kicking, screaming, writhing around just waiting for her head to pop off kind of crazy for hours; and me, quietly, patiently, tenderly responding in love when I am hanging on to my last itty bitty bit of sanity myself.
My little Ally is a screamer. I’m not talking a little screaming…I mean I thought her colicky baby phase was tough! Whew…this is enough to make a grown man cry and it’s no exaggeration…ask her Daddy! She is passionate about EVERY emotion she feels, love, anger, compassion, generosity, pain, sadness…she swings for the fence.
She is 3.
There IS a certain amount of this that is expected for this age group. It is their appropriate level of maturity, just like the 2’s but with more gusto! However, she seems to excel in this as an art form and there are days as a preschool teacher, daycare provider, homeschool momma that it is
supersonic.
As an avid believer in Becky Bailey’s Conscious Discipline method (which, by the way, is all wrapped with L.O.V.E.) and one that has had excellent success utilizing this tool in real-life-no-time-for-do-overs application, I know it works. However…for my little Ally…it has not been working. So it seemed. So…I have been struggling with some pretty big mommy guilt that I am failing with the very reason for doing what I love to do, which is getting to spend so much time with my own children.
I have been praying, and praying, and praying for direction, answers, PATIENCE (yes…I know Grandma always said to never pray for this one!!), guidance, searching books, the Bible, my own attitudes for any clue that may give way to an answer. I have been praying my husband’s favorite prayer, “God, can you just give me the answer on a sticky note, preferably attached to my forehead, so I don’t miss it?”
I have been re-reading my Conscious Discipline books, deeply diving into my Bible, and brushing up on my skills. I keep getting the answer…love…love…love…love…love. L.O.V.E. This has applied
to SO many areas of my life lately. I have tried so many methods. I am well trained in appropriate
Early Childhood Education and practices…YES…this child is WELL loved, adored, cherished, and amazing…but, I am talking about responding in love with a child that is kicking, screaming, writhing around just waiting for her head to pop off kind of crazy for hours; and me, quietly, patiently, tenderly responding in love when I am hanging on to my last itty bitty bit of sanity myself.
How does Annie Lennox apply??
I woke up several mornings in a row with, “Feels like I’m Walking on Broken Glass,” by Annie Lennox playing in loop in my mind. WEIRD!! This is a song I am certain I haven’t heard since my high school days, but God plopped this one on my heart. I knew this was part of MY learning and I would get it if I listened with MY HEART WIDE OPEN!
When a child, or anyone else for that matter, is hurting, it doesn’t take much to rip open wounds and expose raw nerves…like walking on broken glass. It can happen when everything is going great and there is seemingly no reason for an outburst...”The sun’s still shining in the big blue sky, “
because to one who is hurting outside circumstances are irrelevant. All of their senses are immersed in pain.
This is where the love comes in… furthermore, it has to be weapons-of-mass-destruction-grade kind of love that BLOWS the hurt out of the water. It has to be extremely deliberate and premeditated, conscious acts of love. To heal hurt, recover relationships, and restore bonds, it MUST BE extraordinary acts of love.
In real life application of God’s most current lesson taught to me by not only the children I teach but, my very own little one, I have learned there is no substitute for quality time spent.
I woke up several mornings in a row with, “Feels like I’m Walking on Broken Glass,” by Annie Lennox playing in loop in my mind. WEIRD!! This is a song I am certain I haven’t heard since my high school days, but God plopped this one on my heart. I knew this was part of MY learning and I would get it if I listened with MY HEART WIDE OPEN!
When a child, or anyone else for that matter, is hurting, it doesn’t take much to rip open wounds and expose raw nerves…like walking on broken glass. It can happen when everything is going great and there is seemingly no reason for an outburst...”The sun’s still shining in the big blue sky, “
because to one who is hurting outside circumstances are irrelevant. All of their senses are immersed in pain.
This is where the love comes in… furthermore, it has to be weapons-of-mass-destruction-grade kind of love that BLOWS the hurt out of the water. It has to be extremely deliberate and premeditated, conscious acts of love. To heal hurt, recover relationships, and restore bonds, it MUST BE extraordinary acts of love.
In real life application of God’s most current lesson taught to me by not only the children I teach but, my very own little one, I have learned there is no substitute for quality time spent.
Caution...Work in Progress...
I think we should all be required to wear this as a necklace around our necks :)
So….you are wondering…what has changed? What are you REALLY doing to help her?? It looks like this:
*Putting her first in line, first at meals, first for potty
time.
*Asking her…not just allowing her to help me ALL the time, even when it will take me 5 times too long to complete a
task.
*Asking her…not just allowing her to sit in my lap first for
story times, coloring times, painting times.
*Asking her what she would like to do each day BEFORE the day begins.
*Having meaningful conversations with her to find out what she is
thinking.
*Making time and taking time even when I don’t have the time to
just sit and hold her.
Do you see the theme here? It means putting DOWN my preconceived ideas about what I think she should want, or what one might consider fair, or asking her to wait for me to be available (which communicates she is only important when it’s convenient for me), laying aside my ideas, my
plans, my to-do list, my priorities, and REALLY TRULY seeing her needs…
This is what God does for us and asks of us as well…we may see others around us that seemingly receive more, better miracles, more answered prayers, more provisions… Look at it with the eyes of a loving parent of a hurting child crying out for attention. To consistently and persistently put others needs before my own. Love lays down self... (Matthew 22:33-40) for the love of others. I could choose to ignore the one (physically or figuratively) screaming, kicking, acting out their hurt and leave them feeling abandoned and alone to fix a problem they may not have the skill, or maturity, or tools to fix themselves, or I can choose the kind of self-abandoned love that pours out attention and affection, that heals wounds, fixes broken hearts, protects, endures, and soothes… after all...we are all just a "Work In Progress."
A popular Facebook post says, "Real circumstances reveal fake people." This is so sad and a revealing of pain and hurt. The truth? Real circumstances reveal areas of need...areas where we are a "work in progress" and "caution, handle with prayer."
This also means my laundry isn’t done, my house is a mess, my work isn’t complete…but the ones that matter to me most...that God has placed into my life for the PURPOSE of loving, KNOW they are loved and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I wish you well and I hope you get to play today.
-L
So….you are wondering…what has changed? What are you REALLY doing to help her?? It looks like this:
*Putting her first in line, first at meals, first for potty
time.
*Asking her…not just allowing her to help me ALL the time, even when it will take me 5 times too long to complete a
task.
*Asking her…not just allowing her to sit in my lap first for
story times, coloring times, painting times.
*Asking her what she would like to do each day BEFORE the day begins.
*Having meaningful conversations with her to find out what she is
thinking.
*Making time and taking time even when I don’t have the time to
just sit and hold her.
Do you see the theme here? It means putting DOWN my preconceived ideas about what I think she should want, or what one might consider fair, or asking her to wait for me to be available (which communicates she is only important when it’s convenient for me), laying aside my ideas, my
plans, my to-do list, my priorities, and REALLY TRULY seeing her needs…
This is what God does for us and asks of us as well…we may see others around us that seemingly receive more, better miracles, more answered prayers, more provisions… Look at it with the eyes of a loving parent of a hurting child crying out for attention. To consistently and persistently put others needs before my own. Love lays down self... (Matthew 22:33-40) for the love of others. I could choose to ignore the one (physically or figuratively) screaming, kicking, acting out their hurt and leave them feeling abandoned and alone to fix a problem they may not have the skill, or maturity, or tools to fix themselves, or I can choose the kind of self-abandoned love that pours out attention and affection, that heals wounds, fixes broken hearts, protects, endures, and soothes… after all...we are all just a "Work In Progress."
A popular Facebook post says, "Real circumstances reveal fake people." This is so sad and a revealing of pain and hurt. The truth? Real circumstances reveal areas of need...areas where we are a "work in progress" and "caution, handle with prayer."
This also means my laundry isn’t done, my house is a mess, my work isn’t complete…but the ones that matter to me most...that God has placed into my life for the PURPOSE of loving, KNOW they are loved and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I wish you well and I hope you get to play today.
-L
“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”
― Emilie Buchwald
Over the past three weeks we have begun something new; focusing our themed activities and curriculum with a faith and bible basis. The children, especially my own little one, has started asking lots of questions about God, and I see no better way to answer them than to read them the Bible.
Of course, the Bible is far too complex to understand for a little one, so we have The Beginner's Bible of Timeless Children's Stories by Zonderkidz. It is full of wonderful pictures and easy to understand language.
This week our story was about Gensis 11, The Tall Tower. This was perfect for SO many discussions! As the picture to the left shows, they have been very engaged in our new focus.
On a personal note; I just LOVE watching their little fingers thumbing through the Bible with interest and questions. I couldn't resist taking a quick picture of sweet hands turning the pages to our newest story. It makes a momma and a preschool teacher one happy lady!
Of course, the Bible is far too complex to understand for a little one, so we have The Beginner's Bible of Timeless Children's Stories by Zonderkidz. It is full of wonderful pictures and easy to understand language.
This week our story was about Gensis 11, The Tall Tower. This was perfect for SO many discussions! As the picture to the left shows, they have been very engaged in our new focus.
On a personal note; I just LOVE watching their little fingers thumbing through the Bible with interest and questions. I couldn't resist taking a quick picture of sweet hands turning the pages to our newest story. It makes a momma and a preschool teacher one happy lady!
I know I just said it before...but I LOVE watching them read. I especially love watching them engage in reading the Bible stories. This little sweetie, in particular, has been fascinated all week with all the pictures in our Bible picture book. She has been FULL of questions that allows for lots of conversation.
This story gave us lots of opportunities. We practiced tall and short, high and low, big and small, but as usual, with a group of small children, the most important skills we practiced were those dealing with social/emotional skill building. In the above picture we used the blocks each day to build taller and taller towers. It was very easy to demonstrate how we can build our towers very high when we work together too. We practiced taking turns and building our towers higher and higher. Our little two year olds made quick work of taking the towers down and were more than happy to make our tall towers into small towers!! Block play promotes a variety of learning opportunities for small children including small and large motor development.
I have included a link here from Teaching Strategies regarding How Block Play Promotes Development. Take a moment to scan over this article and you will see the importance of incorporating block play in a preschool child's DAILY curriculum like we do here at Woolsey Academy.
I have included a link here from Teaching Strategies regarding How Block Play Promotes Development. Take a moment to scan over this article and you will see the importance of incorporating block play in a preschool child's DAILY curriculum like we do here at Woolsey Academy.
To help the 3's be able to practice building together we placed the blocks on top of the table to protect their accomplishments from the 2's! Fortunately it worked....most of the time :)
As you can see from this BIG pile, our little 2's love knocking down their blocks even more (I think) than they like to build them!
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Here we also used the large lego's to help our little hands experience blocks that would not fall apart as easily once connected. This little guy LOVES lego's!
The wooden blocks are absolutely the favorite of all our block styles available to the preschoolers. The weight, shapes, and texture make them a natural choice for little hands to navigate.
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Just a little glimpse into our week...
Each and every day we practice writing in different ways. Since our focus was on "towers" we decided to also practice the sideways and downward strokes of the letter "T." We made stick "t's,' dirt "t's," play dough "t's," and even practiced a bit in our journals and letter "t" practice papers.
A great way to practice upward and downward strokes was on the skinny railings of our deck. My poor hubby can never come home to a pristine house :)! There is always some evidence of writing, shapes, letter, number practice on the walls, the floors, the table, the deck... Children just don't like being boxed and confined into tiny little spaces for learning!! Thankfully, he is a patient man and enjoys seeing the "fruits" of their little labor.
We also sang our Welcome song and practiced singing "Hello" in Spanish and we sang "Hola!" I tried and tried to capture this cute little song on video for you all...but...every time I broke out the video, someone broke out in tears (mostly due to not being able to take over the video phone!).
A great way to practice upward and downward strokes was on the skinny railings of our deck. My poor hubby can never come home to a pristine house :)! There is always some evidence of writing, shapes, letter, number practice on the walls, the floors, the table, the deck... Children just don't like being boxed and confined into tiny little spaces for learning!! Thankfully, he is a patient man and enjoys seeing the "fruits" of their little labor.
We also sang our Welcome song and practiced singing "Hello" in Spanish and we sang "Hola!" I tried and tried to capture this cute little song on video for you all...but...every time I broke out the video, someone broke out in tears (mostly due to not being able to take over the video phone!).
Taking the learning away from the paper..
I love the real play method for teaching. Patterning could have been just another worksheet that I coached our little ones through to show "progress" to their families. But I am interested in true learning. The kind of learning that is buildable...just like these blocks. They are perfect for making a sturdy foundation for which a large tower can be erected. If the foundation is just an illusion of progress, much like most preschool worksheets, then the tower will not stand the test of being built strong and tall.
We utilized these blocks each day during our "tower" study and we do "play" with them everyday. They were even more significant to the children during this week since their focus was to build a tall tower like our story about the Tower of Babel. We took this even further into counting how many blocks" tall" we made each tower, how many "wide," how many we would "have left" if we took "one away" or how many we would have "all together" if we "added one." These mathematical terms are started right here in preschool. They are a MAJOR concept for young children to comprehend and the concrete nature of block play makes for a perfect "black and white" backdrop for this type of real learning.
In the article The Worksheet Dilemma: Benefits of Play-Based Curricula by Sue Grossman
(please click title to read full article)
Dr. Grossman describes the type of response I have personally seen in action in our children as a result "papers" when she states, "Mathematical understanding is more than recognition of numerals and amounts. Sorting, categorizing, putting items in a series, and problem solving are all important math concepts (Raines & Canady, 1990). The teacher may believe that Jamaica understands the concept of "four" if she circles four flowers on the worksheet. But until Jamaica can transfer that learning to other situations, such as the number of places at the table for four people, Jamaica does not truly understand what "four" means. Similarly, Jamaica may be able to print the letters "R," "U," and "N" on a worksheet, but be unable to read the word "run" when she sees it in a book. The mere accomplishment of the worksheet task does not signify the child's ability to read or comprehend."
This is why real learning must be done through play and in play, real learning is achieved. In this environment our children feel accepted, instead of the pass/fail feelings that a worksheet can bring when the worksheet's task cannot be perfectly achieved.
In the years of Early Childhood Education research it seems we are coming back full circle to grandma's method of "let the children play." It is a welcome breath of fresh air in the freedom of childhood.
My goal is to make each and everyday a "play day."
I wish you well, and I hope you get to play today.
-L
We utilized these blocks each day during our "tower" study and we do "play" with them everyday. They were even more significant to the children during this week since their focus was to build a tall tower like our story about the Tower of Babel. We took this even further into counting how many blocks" tall" we made each tower, how many "wide," how many we would "have left" if we took "one away" or how many we would have "all together" if we "added one." These mathematical terms are started right here in preschool. They are a MAJOR concept for young children to comprehend and the concrete nature of block play makes for a perfect "black and white" backdrop for this type of real learning.
In the article The Worksheet Dilemma: Benefits of Play-Based Curricula by Sue Grossman
(please click title to read full article)
Dr. Grossman describes the type of response I have personally seen in action in our children as a result "papers" when she states, "Mathematical understanding is more than recognition of numerals and amounts. Sorting, categorizing, putting items in a series, and problem solving are all important math concepts (Raines & Canady, 1990). The teacher may believe that Jamaica understands the concept of "four" if she circles four flowers on the worksheet. But until Jamaica can transfer that learning to other situations, such as the number of places at the table for four people, Jamaica does not truly understand what "four" means. Similarly, Jamaica may be able to print the letters "R," "U," and "N" on a worksheet, but be unable to read the word "run" when she sees it in a book. The mere accomplishment of the worksheet task does not signify the child's ability to read or comprehend."
This is why real learning must be done through play and in play, real learning is achieved. In this environment our children feel accepted, instead of the pass/fail feelings that a worksheet can bring when the worksheet's task cannot be perfectly achieved.
In the years of Early Childhood Education research it seems we are coming back full circle to grandma's method of "let the children play." It is a welcome breath of fresh air in the freedom of childhood.
My goal is to make each and everyday a "play day."
I wish you well, and I hope you get to play today.
-L
I am stepping outside of the preschool box for just a moment... I write about everything, all the time, but usually reserve this blog simply for that which pertains directly to preschool and my little preschool cutie pies.
Sometimes, I write about curriculum, or a personality trait, or the future I see for each of them, but today...it's about God and me and you.
As a parent and preschool teacher/daycare provider/homeschool momma for several little sweet babes, much of my day (about 11-12 hours of it) is spent in the company and service of children. God uses so many moments out of each day to speak to my heart, to tell me about how He sees me (and you), and to share His love for me, as I share it with them. I am so grateful. I could not imagine a life void of the kind love and admiration shown to me by and through these little ones. I do not want to imagine a life void of the love and lessons God shares with me through them either.
This little one on the left is one of my preschool partners. She is sweet and sassy and full of 2 year old"ness!" She, like all her other 2 year old counterparts, make messes moment by moment, all day long, all the time. They dump their food, their drinks, their toys, each other; and I spend much of my day chasing along my 2 year old crew cleaning and cleaning and cleaning up their messes. I consider myself a fairly patient momma/teacher. I think my own children can attest to that as well. I have been trained again and again in what to expect of young children in the childcare setting and have experienced it countless times over many years. To pour out, dump over, refill, re-dump and move on to the next interesting thing in their path is a trait of young children well...well...let me say again, WELL, into later years.
On this particular morning, my little sweetie had poured most of her rice crispies all over herself, the table, the floor and, as you can see, the chair. She triumphantly called out, "I make da' mess, Ms. Donna!", observantly proud of her condition during breakfast. I sighed to myself, grabbed the paper towels and jokingly replied, "I'm not afraid of your messes, Missy!" Right then...into my soul God placed these words, "I'm not afraid of yours either." Wow.....wow...wow...wow....wow...wow...
Peace.
I couldn't be more amazed by a God that isn't afraid of my messes. I make them too, with my words, with my actions, knowingly, unknowingly...as we all do. Sometimes, we just can't help but step into a great big pile of mess of something not knowing how we are going to clean it all up. But can I share this with you?? God is not afraid of your mess either...no matter how deep...no matter if you meant to do it or didn't. He has a way to clean it all up and set your feet on solid ground. You see, just like the picture above, I know this little girly isn't TRYING to spill everything everywhere, she just does because she doesn't yet have the skills to NOT do so. Even when my little ones DO intentionally make messes it is because that is what is developmentally appropriate for them to do so they can LEARN. Yelling at them, being angry, trying to make them clean it up all by themselves doesn't work. They NEED my help, my encouragement, my confidence that, "It's o.k....I am here and I will help you."
If I chose the path of yelling, shaming, punishing them for what is EXPECTED of them developmentally, I wouldn't be TEACHING them anything other than fear. My job is to teach. How? By example... If I show them time and time again HOW to clean up the messes, how to pick up the toys, how to take a HUGE chaotic mess and make in orderly, they, in time, will mimic me and thereby learn to do so as well. Sure, it may take encouragement...LOTS of it :)), but they will learn.
1 John 4:16 is a wonderful example of this, "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love."
Love leads...
God gives the same encouragement to me...to you...to us. He knows we are going to make messes and He, in His infinite loving kindness is there with the paper towels ready to let us make a mess and help us clean it up so we can continue to grow and learn and become everything He has for us to become in this life.
Why? Because of love...He knows us. He knows who we are and where we are at this moment. His thoughts are FOR us and not against us...He is working out a way for ALL THINGS to work out for our good according to His plan and purpose for our lives. Just like I know each of these little children in my care. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I know where they are developmentally and ask them to try WITH my help. Only when I am certain they have mastered a skill do I ask them to do so on their own, not for my benefit, because let's face it, having a small child "help" takes five times as long to complete a task, but it is necessary for building their confidence.
And...isn't God so much more than me?? Yes, of course He is. Romans 8:28 states that, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." NLT That chapter of Romans goes on to say, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." Romans 8:38NLT
And, so am I, convinced that His love for me and you INCLUDES all the messiness of this life...
I wish you well...-L
Sometimes, I write about curriculum, or a personality trait, or the future I see for each of them, but today...it's about God and me and you.
As a parent and preschool teacher/daycare provider/homeschool momma for several little sweet babes, much of my day (about 11-12 hours of it) is spent in the company and service of children. God uses so many moments out of each day to speak to my heart, to tell me about how He sees me (and you), and to share His love for me, as I share it with them. I am so grateful. I could not imagine a life void of the kind love and admiration shown to me by and through these little ones. I do not want to imagine a life void of the love and lessons God shares with me through them either.
This little one on the left is one of my preschool partners. She is sweet and sassy and full of 2 year old"ness!" She, like all her other 2 year old counterparts, make messes moment by moment, all day long, all the time. They dump their food, their drinks, their toys, each other; and I spend much of my day chasing along my 2 year old crew cleaning and cleaning and cleaning up their messes. I consider myself a fairly patient momma/teacher. I think my own children can attest to that as well. I have been trained again and again in what to expect of young children in the childcare setting and have experienced it countless times over many years. To pour out, dump over, refill, re-dump and move on to the next interesting thing in their path is a trait of young children well...well...let me say again, WELL, into later years.
On this particular morning, my little sweetie had poured most of her rice crispies all over herself, the table, the floor and, as you can see, the chair. She triumphantly called out, "I make da' mess, Ms. Donna!", observantly proud of her condition during breakfast. I sighed to myself, grabbed the paper towels and jokingly replied, "I'm not afraid of your messes, Missy!" Right then...into my soul God placed these words, "I'm not afraid of yours either." Wow.....wow...wow...wow....wow...wow...
Peace.
I couldn't be more amazed by a God that isn't afraid of my messes. I make them too, with my words, with my actions, knowingly, unknowingly...as we all do. Sometimes, we just can't help but step into a great big pile of mess of something not knowing how we are going to clean it all up. But can I share this with you?? God is not afraid of your mess either...no matter how deep...no matter if you meant to do it or didn't. He has a way to clean it all up and set your feet on solid ground. You see, just like the picture above, I know this little girly isn't TRYING to spill everything everywhere, she just does because she doesn't yet have the skills to NOT do so. Even when my little ones DO intentionally make messes it is because that is what is developmentally appropriate for them to do so they can LEARN. Yelling at them, being angry, trying to make them clean it up all by themselves doesn't work. They NEED my help, my encouragement, my confidence that, "It's o.k....I am here and I will help you."
If I chose the path of yelling, shaming, punishing them for what is EXPECTED of them developmentally, I wouldn't be TEACHING them anything other than fear. My job is to teach. How? By example... If I show them time and time again HOW to clean up the messes, how to pick up the toys, how to take a HUGE chaotic mess and make in orderly, they, in time, will mimic me and thereby learn to do so as well. Sure, it may take encouragement...LOTS of it :)), but they will learn.
1 John 4:16 is a wonderful example of this, "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love."
Love leads...
God gives the same encouragement to me...to you...to us. He knows we are going to make messes and He, in His infinite loving kindness is there with the paper towels ready to let us make a mess and help us clean it up so we can continue to grow and learn and become everything He has for us to become in this life.
Why? Because of love...He knows us. He knows who we are and where we are at this moment. His thoughts are FOR us and not against us...He is working out a way for ALL THINGS to work out for our good according to His plan and purpose for our lives. Just like I know each of these little children in my care. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I know where they are developmentally and ask them to try WITH my help. Only when I am certain they have mastered a skill do I ask them to do so on their own, not for my benefit, because let's face it, having a small child "help" takes five times as long to complete a task, but it is necessary for building their confidence.
And...isn't God so much more than me?? Yes, of course He is. Romans 8:28 states that, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." NLT That chapter of Romans goes on to say, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." Romans 8:38NLT
And, so am I, convinced that His love for me and you INCLUDES all the messiness of this life...
I wish you well...-L
Life is made of moments...
"There isn't anything more full of hope, joy and peace than a child's smile... It captures the mundane and makes it extraordinary." - LaDonna Woolsey
I am a Mother Goose Time Blogger. I decided to become one after trying their products because I they are comprehensive and serve my mixed age group well. I do receive products to review from Mother Goose Time and do so with my own honest and thorough opinions. For more information, please contact me at Ladonna@woolseyacademy.com
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