It’s First Friday!

Well here it is!  There were so many great questions and so little time!  I’ve supplemented with some links below.  Please add your links and input in the comment section as well!

(By the way, on my computer the video seems a bit smoother over at YouTube for some reason.  It won’t hurt my feelings if you watch it there– just promise to come back and join in the discussion!)

On-Task Behavior and Developmentally Appropriate Practice (0:10)

As a parent, how do I know what is DAP in my child’s various classrooms? (1:27)

Resources for Developmentally Appropriate Practice:

Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice by Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp

DAP Statements from NAEYC

DAP: What Does it Meant to Use Developmentally Appropriate Practice (From right here at NJC!)

Should food be used as sensory or art medium? (4:22)

Letter of the Week Dilemma (8:33)

Why Don’t You Teach Reading?  A Look at Emergent Literacy

A Culture of Literacy: Teaching Preschoolers the ABC’s and More  (More articles linked there.)

Preschool Tattle-Tells (10:23)

How do I stay consistent with my child’s behavior when I know it’s caused by physical factors? (11:50)

Parenting with Positive Guidance: Building Discipline from the Inside Out

Children and Nature  (14:01)

Why Our Children Need Nature

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Blogs:

Children & Nature Network

The Grass Stain Guru

Add your links and tips below as well!  And keep those First Friday Questions coming to notjustcute@hotmail.com, with Q&A in the subject line!

High Quality Early Education: Dollars and Sense

Let me start off by making one thing clear.  Young children deserve a high quality early education because it is our responsibility as adults to care for them and give them what they need.  It’s a matter of moral responsibility.  Children need quality experiences to be whole and healthy and to meet the outer limits of their grand potentials, both as children and as adults.  That said, there have been a series of interesting articles recently, coming from unlikely sources.  It’s not NAEYC or Zero to Three issuing these papers, it’s economists and business leaders. 

These writers are getting attention for pointing out the overall return on investments into early education.  It’s all broken down by dollars and economic growth.  That may not be my first motivator, but I figure you have to find whatever common ground will get people involved in advocating for children.  If someone needs to see dollar signs and numbers to help them realize that the early years are not just cute, there are definitely dollar signs and numbers to be found.

In general, the research points out that, *gasp* children who receive high quality early education are more likely to be productive members of society over a lifetime.  One study found the investment to be worth more than 10-fold over a lifetime!  For every dollar spent in the early years, there’s a $10 return.  This rate of return appears to steadily decline over a person’s lifetime.  So, money put into high school programs have a much smaller rate of return.  It all goes back to the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” 

Additionally, I found it interesting that many statements in the articles point to the fact that the benefits of preschool are not just academic.  In fact, many of the cognitive benefits even out over time.  As found in the Perry Preschool Experiment and the report from the Society for Human Resource Management (links below), the benefits of preschool are largely about social skills: team building, self-control, and motivation.

I found these articles extremely interesting (particularly the one about the $320,ooo kindergarten teacher — you just might find me back at the nearest elementary school when that one comes to fruition).  If you’re looking for some weekend reading, check these out!  Then think about what you can do to advocate for children— whether that’s in your own home, your own school, your community, or the world. 

 “Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Future…Means Meeting the Developmental Needs of Young Children Today”  – Society for Human Resource Management

“The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers” –  The New York Times

“How Preschool Changes the Brain” – Wired

Top photo by Anissa Thompson.

Spiders Vs Insects- Breaking it Down for Preschoolers

 

Spiders and insects are often lumped together, but there are some significant differences that even young children can begin to recognize.  Noting the difference between insects and spiders isn’t just important for discerning between the two “in the wild”, but the act of comparing and classifying is perfect for practicing logic, reasoning, and science skills. 

This three-part activity may take a lot of words to describe here in the blogosphere, but it’s really quite simple, very effective, and loads of fun!

Build-A-Bug

To start, you need to be prepared with playdough and pipe cleaner segments.  Use them to create as you discuss the parts of an insect, and then of a spider.  Let’s start with the insect.  (Find more info on insect body parts here.) 

Insect

Point out that insects have three  body parts (head, thorax, abdomen).  Create three balls with the playdough and connect them together, looking a bit like an ant.  Explain that sometimes these body parts are similar sizes, but sometimes they look differently.  For a beetle, the thorax is smaller and the abdomen is longer and wider (manipulate playdough accordingly).  Or you may have a very long and skinny abdomen like a dragonfly.  But every insect has three body parts (go back to three fairly equal balls like an ant). 

Another characteristic of all insects is six legs.  Insert the six pipe cleaner  segments as you count them out.  Lastly, most insects have a set of antennae for smelling or feeling (insert another set of pipe cleaners or toothpicks).  Add that many insects also have wings and discuss a few examples.  Now you have a lovely ant-like sculpture.  Set that one down and let’s get to the spider!

Spiders

For your spider discussion, follow in a similar way, narrating and building as you go, showing how the parts may differ for different types of spiders (big round abdomen or long skinny abdomen, etc.).  A spider will have two body parts (the cephalothorax, or head, and an abdomen), eight legs, and usually eight eyes (I create the eyes by pricking the dough with a toothpick, leaving eight holes).  Spiders will not have antennae or wings.  You may want to include other spider facts you can find here.

Map It Out

Now that you’ve discussed the difference between the two, map it out on a Venn diagram.  These diagrams are great for sorting information with young children.  A Venn diagram teaches sorting and classifying in a very visual way.  (If you need a quick refresher on Venn diagrams, click here and scroll down to “Example”.)  Children are usually very quick to catch on to this logical, graphic organizer.

When doing Venn diagrams with preschoolers, I usually use two hula hoops or a very large embroidery hoop and just lay them on the floor, though you can also buy Venn diagram pocket charts like this one, or just draw circles on a white board.  Then, place your two creations, one in each circle to represent their own side of the diagram.  Then sort index cards with words and pictures into the parts of the diagram.  I used these for my cards, but you may want to make different ones depending on the additional information you deliver:

Has 8 legs./Has 6 legs. (Spider/Insect)

Has 3 body parts./Has 2 body parts. (Insect/Spider)

Needs food. (Both)

Is alive. (Both)

Can have antennae and wings. (Insect)

Can have 8 eyes! (Spider)

Create!

As the culminating activity, have the children create their own insects or spiders.  Each child gets a lump of playdough and access to toothpicks, pipe cleaner segments, and tissue paper or wax paper (for wings).  Explain that they might want to create something they’ve seen before, like an ant, or a black widow spider, or a butterfly; or they might want to create a new kind of insect or spider that we’ve never even heard of!

As they create, talk to them about what they’re making, incorporating some of the information you’ve presented (“Oh, I see you have 8 legs on your creature!  Does that mean it’s a spider?”), but keep in mind that these are their own personal creations.  Assess the children by talking with them, not just by looking at what they’ve made.  Some children will create a picture perfect spider with two body parts, eight legs, eight eyes, and a set of chelicera to boot!  With that child you may simply point out those attributes and ask if it is indeed a spider.  Another child may have a creature with eight legs, a set of wings, and three body parts.  With that child, you may point out that this is a very unique creature!  It has both insect parts and spider parts!  Then ask the child to point out which is which along with you.

Now you’ve not only gone over specific scientific information, practiced some counting, sorting and categorizing, and done some finger-strengthening creating, but your lucky children each have an insect, or spider (or spider-insect) to take home as a lovely pet! 

For more bug-themed ideas, check out this brainstorm! 

Ant image by rick1611.

Eric Carle Author Study: The Grouchy Ladybug and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle

The Grouchy Ladybug always catches me off-guard, because it seems to be missing the “Very”.  You know, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Busy Spider, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and…..The Grouchy Ladybug.  I guess he’s just a little grouchy.

Well, this ladybug, who’s feeling a little bit grouchy, lands on the same aphid-laden leaf as another ladybug, who’s not feeling the least bit grouchy.  One ladybug suggests they share, the other insists they’re all for him (I’m sure you can guess which was which).  The rest of the story follows the grouchy ladybug as he goes from one creature to the next, each bigger than the one before, trying to pick a fight.  He ends up trying to pick a fight with a whale, whose tail smacks him all the way back to that same aphid-laden leaf.  There, the polite ladybug offers again to share, and this time Mr. Grouchy realizes his life is much easier when he tries to get along. 

I can see where some might shy away from this book, as each page includes the dialogue, “Do you want to fight?”  But I think you can really turn that around and talk about how grumpy the ladybug is being, that he’s making poor choices, and that he’s having a bad day because of those choices.  I like to point out how much more cheerful the ladybugs are when they’re sharing with each other.

In addition to highlighting social skills, you can easily use this book to focus on a variety of math skills like size (with the animals in gradually increasing sizes), time, and number recognition.  You can throw in a science discussion as well, as you talk about the relationships between the aphids, the leaf, and the ladybugs.

While there are plenty of directions you could take for your activity, here are two I’ve used.

Counting by 2’s Ladybug Style

Draw a simple ladybug shape and put the same number of black dots on each side.  Make corresponding number cards.  Use the cards as a counting and matching activity, to reinforce counting by twos, or basic addition.  I like to set out the number cards, and then give the children the ladybugs and have them find the right “home” for the ladybug.  By watching how they accomplish this task, I can learn a lot about their math skills.

Number Time

 

I’ve also made these simple clocks to use as an extension of this story.  (Each page begins with the time, on the hour.)  I used a sturdy Chinet plate, wrote numbers (somewhat unevenly, I now notice) around the edges of the back.  Then, I drew the minute hand, pointing at the 12, and inserted a movable hour hand using a brass brad. 

You can use this quick clock to work on telling time on the hour, but I think the major skill here is simple numeral recognition.  I may give a clock to a child and ask her to show me 3 o’clock.  Or I may do the reverse, showing her the clock and asking for the time.  In either instance, the child is learning about telling time, but she’s also making critical connections between the written and spoken labels for each numeral.

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle tells of a poor soul, trapped on his back, desperately trying to flip back over.  With some coaching from an elder Click Beetle, and  a lot of perseverance, the young whippersnapper finally finds his feet on the ground.

Take the opportunity to talk about patience, practice, and persistance with this story!

After reading, do some movement activities! Naturally, somersaults are at the top of the list!  (Make sure that you have the children attempt the skill one at a time to avoid collisions!)  You could also do an obstacle course with a low balance beam, tunnels for crawling, and a hula hoop as a target for one big, long jump!  Throw in some expressive movements, by challenging the children to move like spiders, butterflies, or grasshoppers.  Activities like these use large motor skills, support physical development, and truly help children make active connections to reading!

Find links to all the Eric Carle activities in this unit.

For more bug-themed ideas, check out this brainstorm! 

 

Butterfly Noodles

Isn’t it funny how children are much more interested in eating something when it’s has a fun name?  I have a hard time getting my children to eat Farfalle Alle Erbe Panna Rosa (a tasty little recipe from my sister-in-law you can find here), but if I call it “Butterfly Noodles”, they’re all over it!

Particularly when we’ve been talking about bugs, I like to serve up some butterfly noodles for lunch or as a snack.  You can serve them a million different ways!  Ok, a million may be an exaggeration, but you get the point – they’re versatile!  You can go with plain, just cheese, sauce from a can, family heirloom sauce recipe, chopped fresh tomatoes and basil – whatever it takes to get the kiddos to eat it, and you to feel like they got something healthy out of the deal! 

For some extra fun, I like to mix up a box of farfalle (bow-tie) noodles with a box of fusilli (spiral) noodles for a stellar favorite around here, known by the gourmet name of “Butterflies and Caterpillars”. 

Bring your little ones in the kitchen with you for all kinds of developmental benefits as they help prepare their own snack or meal. 

With this snack, I often talk to the children about whether or not they would really want to eat insects.  Most say no, but then we talk about how, in some places and cultures, insects are eaten!  Most children are more than happy to simply pretend.  And so am I.

For more bug-themed ideas, check out this brainstorm! 

Top photo by Patrick Moore.

Eric Carle Author Study: The Very Busy Spider and The Very Lonely Firefly

 

Eric Carle’s The Very Busy Spider will always be one of my favorites because it was one of the first books I regularly read to my first son.  It’s a simple story of a spider slowly building a perfect web as the barnyard animals come one by one to invite her to play.  By the end of the story, the web is finished, the pesky fly has been caught, and the spider is ready for a good night’s sleep.  The patterned text is great for reading with young children – invite them to join in with you! 

True to his hands-on approach, Eric Carle created a raised spiderweb that can be felt as you run your fingers across the page.  You can encourage the children to examine how the web was made as it grows gradually from page to page.  Point out to the children that a spider’s web is usually very well designed.  Talk about the types of lines in the design, and the steps the spider went through to create the final web.

After reading the story you can help the children create their own webs by soaking white crochet string in liquid starch and then having the children arrange it on wax paper.  You could even shake some glitter on to give it that sparkly dew look.  After drying overnight, the webs should be stiff and can be peeled off of the wax paper!  Don’t expect the children to make their webs look like the one in the book – these are their own webs to spin!

This book is a great opportunity to talk about spiders, their traits, and how they build webs and why.  The activity also encourages creativity and small motor skills while reinforcing story comprehension.

Fireflies are simply enchanting!  The Very Lonely Firefly captures that mystique as it follows one solitary firefly looking for the lights of other fireflies.  He travels past candles, flashlights, and fireworks before finally finding a group of friends.  This book features a light-up page to bring in Eric Carle’s flair for special-effects.

After reading, have your children become fireflies!  Start out by making simple antennae using sentence strips or poster board (they can decorate with crayons if they wish) and pipe cleaners.

Next, comes the fun science part!  Talk about how and why fireflies glow (there’s great information inside the cover of the book, as well as in this video).  Basically, fireflies glow because of a chemical reaction; glow sticks work on the same principle.  So if you have a safe dark place, go there with the children and have them watch as you activate a glow stick, snapping the inner barriers to cause a chemical reaction. (Be aware of anyone who might be afraid of the dark.)  I like to buy the necklace glow sticks and let the children wear them, along with their antennae.  They look like fantastic fireflies!  If you have an open space, free from obstacles and perhaps with a little light for safety, you can have the children act out the story, trying to find their friends in the dark by looking for their lights!  Story-acting is wonderful for comprehension, and the kids love it!

Enjoy exploring the world of bugs through Eric Carle’s eyes!

Previous Eric Carle Book Activity: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Up Next: The Grouchy Ladybug and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle

For more bug-themed ideas, check out this brainstorm! 

Web photo by josowoa.

Firefly photo by jamelah.

Everybody Does the Monster Boogie!

Laurie Berkner has a great monster song that just compels your little monsters to get up and dance!  You can download Monster Boogie on iTunes, and you can listen to it with a little animated video on YouTube here.  One of the great things about Laurie Berkner’s music is that you almost instinctively know how  to dance to it just from the elements she uses.  At the beginning, the music is staccato, and so we march with our scariest monster faces.  Then during the boogie/wiggle chorus, we dance and wiggle as only a silly monster would.  Often the roar at the end is the favorite part!  Music and movement activities are great for transitioning, building large motor skills, as well as enjoying the creative and interpretive aspects of music.  As an extension, you can have the children create drawings of a monster party with all their favorite monster characters boogying down!

For more favorite fall activities, click here!

Welcome, Children! Get Your Children Ready by Following the 5 I’s.

Making a strong, positive connection with each child is a fundamental part of preparing for a great new year.  When children know first that they are loved by you, it is much easier for them to learn from you!  Building that kind of relationship takes time, but a positive first meeting is a huge  step in the right direction!  Here are some ideas for your child orientation meeting.

• Invitation. Start off by  sending an invitation for their meeting with you.  Children love to get things in the mail, but if the budget’s too tight, send each personal invitation home with a parent after the parent meeting.  Make the invitations colorful, and make sure the child’s name is on it!  This makes them feel personally wanted, and gets them excited to come.  (As a bonus, it also helps to remind the parents!)
• Individual.  It is much easier to give each child the attention he or she needs if you don’t meet your entire class all at once.  You may choose to have your class come in small groups on different days during the first week, or organize individual meetings that last 1/2 hour or so.  This will all depend on your class size and your timetable. 
• Introduction.  Introduce yourself, your room, and your schedule.  Formally introduce yourself  to each child and welcome each one using their names.  Introduce them to other children as well, if you are doing multiple orientations at once.  Walk them through the procedures for starting the day.  Do they have cubbies?  Where should they put their bags?  Do they need to sign in?  Then walk them around the room, pointing out the restrooms, and the learning centers, inviting them to join in if they’d like.  Walk them through an abbreviated version of your daily schedule.  Also, on the topic of introduction, at registration, I like to have parents fill out a  form that gives opportunities for them to tell you about their children- their personalities, interests, allergies, fears, and strengths.
• Initiate.  Begin using any transition cues you will be using.  If you play a song every time you want them to come to the circle, use it, and explain what it means.  If you get the children’s attention by saying, “I need good listeners”, explain what that looks like.  Start using the signals and routines you will use, explaining very clearly as you go along.
• Inform. Let parents know that this is the time to use their routines for arrival and departure.  If children are having a hard time with separation, consistency is important.  Additionally, if you do short 30 minute individual or small group orientations, it gives a shorter window of separation so that they can quickly see that their parents will return.  If you keep anything consistent with your regular days, it should be the arrival and departure procedures.  Children gain a lot of security when this is a consistent routine.

Enjoy getting to know your new little ones!  Each is different and wonderful!  Getting to know their individual temperaments and quirks will help you individualize their instruction and guidance.  Equally important, is helping them get to know you and your program.  When the children know what to expect, know they are wanted, and know they are safe and loved, they will thrive in preschool!

For more back to school ideas, click here!

Photo by boletin.

A Culture of Literacy: Teaching Preschoolers the ABC’s and More

Ask your average parents what they hope their child will learn in preschool, and most have learning the ABC’s somewhere in their tops 5 goals.  Many preschool teachers respond to this by implementing a “letter-of-the-week” curriculum.  One week may be the letter “M”, so we eat marshmallows, draw maps, read books about monkeys, and write letters to our moms.  While this certainly gives a lot of exposure to the letter “M” and invites a variety of activities and learning opportunities, it creates a very incoherent curriculum.  Children learn by making connections.  It is a little difficult to make a quick connection between a white, sweet, gooey marshmallow and a folded up map of the nearest bus stops.   (Though my own children could probably make some great connections between “monkeys” and “Mom”!)  Additionally, when the  primary focus is on the almighty “letter-of-the-week”, it is easy to lose sight of other important literacy goals or to begin teaching them in isolation as well.  That is not how reading happens.  The whole purpose of reading and writing is to obtain and convey meaning.  Therefore, reading and writing should be taught through coherent, meaningful experiences.

A Culture of Literacy.  I favor teaching theme-based units and incorporating a print rich environment.  Opportunities for reading and writing are all around.  Here are some examples of what you might find in such a room:

• The dramatic play area contains props that encourage literacy such as menus along with notepads and pencils for taking orders.
• A writing area is available with papers, writing utensils, and letter charts that are available any time a child wants to write.
• Letter puzzles and magnets are available for manipulation.
• A word wall is available with the letters of the alphabet surrounded by environmental print and other pertinent examples of words.  (Finding letters and words in the environment reinforces the concepts of print in a real and meaningful way, while also helping the children to recognize that the letters are the same even though the print type may change.)
• Functional print abounds, such as labels on room areas, names on pictures of the children, and a daily schedule with pictures and writing.
• A book area is provided and is comfortable, inviting, and well-stocked.
• Reading great children’s books is an activity that takes place during self-selected activity time, whole group time, and small group time.  It’s hard to find a bad time to read a good book!
• Adults model writing and reading by posting rhymes, songs, and fingerplays used during the unit.  (Having them posted also helps those of us with feeble minds keep up!)  Adults also model during whole language activities such as group writing and dictations.
• Language is rich and plentiful.  Children learn and use new words simply because they are engaged in conversations, allowed to ask questions, and exposed to new ideas and concepts.

Surely the list could go on!  There are so many ways to incorporate reading and writing into the preschool day!  I truly feel that children learn the most when they are allowed to learn from meaningful activities.  That is best done by following a purposeful, meaningful unit based on enduring ideas  and fascinating concepts.  The literacy components are easily found within that unit when you already have a culture of literacy and a room that invites that experience.

Letter Learning.  Now, back to the specifics of learning the ABC’s.  Learning that letters have shapes, names, and sounds is something that can be enhanced from experience, but I also believe that there are subtleties that require a direct instruction component as well.  Don’t bristle too much at the term “direct instruction”.  I’m not talking about “drill and kill”, I’m referring to very brief mini-lessons.  This may come up as you read with a child and ask him to find the “M” just like the one in his name, and talk briefly about the sound it makes in the word on the page. 

To ensure that I introduce each letter, I also use the quick mini-lessons in The Amazing Action Alphabet by Esther Kehl,   (you can see a sample page from this link)  in addition to our thematic unit.  This flip-book was created with the multi-modal see-hear-do philosophy.  So, in just a few minutes before snack, we go over one letter in story time fashion with the children adding in their actions.  Then we follow it up with a snack, brought by one of the children, starting with or shaped like that letter.  Any packaging is cut out and added to our word wall. 

Using this system, I cover each letter directly in the mini-lessons, and while I may point that letter out as we read a book that day, I don’t make the entire day or unit revolve around it.  In the course of that same day I may have opportunities to teach more informal mini-lessons about several other letters, and I certainly take advantage of those as well!  I leave the flip book out in our book area so the children can explore other letters any time they choose.  Additionally, the children can add other words to our word wall any time, regardless of the letter we’re looking at during our mini lesson that day.  The systematic mini-lesson just ensures that each letter has been taught directly. 

 Though I have the alphabet posted in alphabetical order, and we often sing the ABC song, I don’t do my mini-lessons in order.  I prefer to cover the most frequently used letters first, starting with the letters in the children’s names.  This makes the letters more meaningful, while also teaching that letters exist in a context other than the alphabet.

I read research once that supported reviewing one letter per day (repeating each letter almost monthly) for higher memory retention than the one a week comparison.  (Makes Sesame Street look smart, doesn’t it?)  Maybe it works for you to do every other day.  Find what works with your program, philosophy, and schedule.

Combining mini-lessons with a culture of literacy and a print-rich environment within the context of meaningful learning units will go a long way to build the  readers, writers, and thinkers of tomorrow!

Interesting Articles:

Early Literacy: Connecting Letters and Sounds   by Susan B. Neuman (Short and Sweet)

N is for Nonsensical  by Susan B. Neuman

Whatever Happened to Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Literacy?  by Susan B. Neuman and Kathleen Roskos

(I promise there are great resources by authors other than Susan B. Neuman, but she happens to be one of the top experts -and obviously a prolific writer- on the subject of early literacy!)

Good Books on Early Literacy:

Preschool Readers and Writers Early Literacy Strategies for Teachers by Linda Weikel Ranweiler

Much More Than the ABCs by Judith Schickendanz

And check out this post I wrote a while back about the importance of Phonological Awareness in building young readers:

The Secret’s in the Sound

Block photo courtesy Garrison Photo.

Know Where You’re Going – Using a Developmental Checklist as a Guide

As you begin to plan out your preschool curriculum for the year, it helps to know where your children are developmentally so that you know where you want to “go”.  One way I like to do that is with a developmental checklist.  You can buy developmental checklists and programs like the POCET or the Portage Guide ,or if you’re a nerd like I am, you can look through position statements and curriculum guides and develop your own.  I put together one based on several resources, as well as my own philosophy and program.  It seems best to fit my needs.  If you accept the caveat that I have not been commissioned by a higher authority to create this as the perfect assessment piece, you’re welcome to use it as well.  Just click on Broad Developmental Assessmentto find the PDF file.  (Feel free to comment with any questions you may have about using this checklist, or comment on how you’ve adapted it to meet your needs.)

Here’s how I use it.  At the beginning of the year, during my parent meeting, I hand out an assessment to each parent.  I explain that I developed this list to guide my activities,  NOT as a judgement of their children.   It is NOT intended as a checklist of all the skills their children should be able to do already, or that they should even be able to check everything by the time they finish the year.  ( In fact, I intentionally put some skills on the list that are actually considered kindergarten skills, just to show the progression of those skills.)  What this checklist does, is show me where the children are on their skills and what they accomplish through the year.  It helps me to stay focused on providing opportunities within the ZPD of the children, to develop the skills that have not yet been mastered, while at the same time not going too far beyond their skill level. 

Here’s an example.  If I notice that none of the children has mastered patterns, I may work that into a small group activity.  If only a few children need exposure to that skill I may approach them as they play at the working tables and use the manipulatives there (such as geo tiles or lacing beads) to introduce the concept individually.  Likewise, if I need to assess how well the children manipulate scissors, or if many of the children need more experience with this motor skill, I would plan a cutting activity at the art table.  The purpose of the checklist is really more as a guide for my teaching than an evaluation of the child.

AT the meeting, I have the parents fill out the checklist, writing the child’s name on the top, and marking each skill they have already observed as mastered.  (They can simply put a check in the date column.)  Then I have them star three or so items to indicate those skills they would most like to see their child develop, so that I have an idea of where the parents assess their own child’s needs.  (These starred items would also be great to discuss at a beginning of year parent-teacher conference.)

Once I have the completed lists, I put them in a binder with a tab for each child, followed by their checklist and a few blank pages.  On the blank pages I can make any notes that may go along with the observations.  I number them as I enter them, and then write the number in the comments column next to the skill, so that I know that there is a comment associated with the skill.

With these checklists as my guide, I can more easily determine which skills I need to incorporate as I do my planning.  With a focused guide I can chart an effective course for learning by giving the children the right opportunities at the right time.

Photo provided by lusi.

Find more back to school suggestions here.