-
Free Developmental Screening Tool
Yesterday I shared some checklists that you can use to introduce families to developmental milestones, today I have a great way to complete developmental screenings. I just found out that Easter Seals has a wonderful program called Make the First Five Count, and part of that program is to make sure that families have access to developmental screening. Parents can go to their website and complete an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Within a couple of days the results of the questionnaire will be sent directly to their email. They can also print a hard copy of the screening tool so that they can fill it out and share it…
-
Understanding Developmental Milestones
One of the most common questions that I hear from parents is “when will my child be able to…” I usually don’t have the answer right off the top of my head because that’s a lot to remember, but I always know where to refer them. Whenever someone asks me about developmental milestones I give them the information for the CDC’s Developmental Milestones Checklists. These one page checklists are perfect for including in your newsletters or reviewing at conferences because they are easy to use and understand. They are available in English and Spanish, and the website also has photos and videos for each milestone so that families can see…
-
Thanks for stopping!
It occurred to me the other day that I’ve been posting nearly every day since 2014, but is has been just about that long since I’ve done any kind of introduction, so here’s a little bit about me: I never wanted to be a teacher. Seriously, I refused to go into education and yet I ended up here anyway so clearly it was meant to be. My degree Human Development and Family Studies and my first job out of College was teaching preschool. I have a total of 15 years in the Early Childhood field, including positions teaching toddlers, preschoolers, before and after school, and doing business administration for a…
-
Friday Freebie – Anecdotal Notes
Happy Friday! August has flown by, and while I hate to see summer go I’m definitely ready for Labor Day weekend. Here’s hoping the next week goes fast! This week I shared some tips and products to help you with assessments, so I felt like an assessment freebie was in order. This anecdotal note file helps you organize and track all of the information that you need in order to assess and plan for individual students. Go download your copy and have a wonderful weekend!
-
Using assessment results for planning
Preschool assessments are becoming the new norm, and there are a couple of reasons for this; Quality rating systems require programs to use them. Parents want to see that their children are learning and that they will be prepared for kindergarten. Beyond these main reasons, assessments can also be valuable tools for teachers to use when planning learning experiences for the children in their classes. Assessments tell you which areas children are excelling in, and where they need continued improvement. You can use this information to select and develop activities that allow children to be successful while still working on necessary skills. For example, if your assessment results indicate…
-
My favorite assessment products
Teachers Pay Teachers is having a back to school boost sale today! Usually when there is a sale I like to share what’s on my wishlist, along with some of my favorite products from my store. Since I already did that here and here, I thought I’d share my favorite assessment products so that you can see what I use. Infant/Toddler Portfolio Pack: This product includes portfolio pages based on Early Learning Development Standards for Infants and Toddlers. Portfolio pages cover the following domains; Cognitive skills and general knowledge (including math, science, and social studies), Language and Literacy, Social Emotional Development, Physical Motor Development, Approaches towards learning (initiative, curiosity, etc.),…
-
Sharing Assessment Results with Families
Assessment in preschool is definitely a thing – it’s a huge part of what early childhood educators do every day, but most casual observers would never know that. This is because it’s not obvious. As teachers it important to be able to explain this unique assessment process to parents and family members so that they have a clear understanding of how we know what skills and concepts their child has mastered. There are two things that make preschool assessments just a little different;First, preschool assessments should be formative assessments. This simply means that you are using the results of any assessment to plan further activities and learning experiences. These assessment results help…
-
What does assessment evidence look like in preschool?
Preschool assessments are different than the types of assessments we tend to see in elementary classrooms. They don’t require testing the children in the traditional sense, because we don’t expect our preschoolers to be able to sit down and answer multiple choice questions. There are other ways of determining what preschoolers know, and which skills they have mastered. These other strategies always produce evidence that we can use to support our total picture of a particular child. So what exactly does this evidence look like? It can take a variety of different forms, including; Artwork that children have created Photos of children participating in class activities Writing samples Cutting samples…
-
Freebie Friday – Respect
Happy Friday! The further we get into August, the faster the weeks seem to fly by – summer definitely has a way of disappearing before I’m ready for it to end! This week I’ve shared a number ideas for teaching children about friendship, opinions, and respect. Today’s freebie is another related activity to add to your files. This Social Story from For the Love of PreK is all about being kind. I love social stories for preschoolers because they are simple and to the point – the message is clear and easy to repeat throughout the day so that children are consistently reminded of the expectations. Go download your copy…
-
Social Emotional Activities for Preschool
Social Emotional skills are a huge part of preschool. Skills like respecting others’ opinions, taking turns, and managing emotions are the foundational skills that children need in order to be successful. These also tend to be the kind of lessons that present themselves in the preschool classroom over and over again, but when asked to put them on a lesson plan, it can be difficult to come up with a planned experience that it actually valuable for your particular group of children. Over the years I’ve created a number of social emotional activities for my students simply because I couldn’t find anything else out there. When I started sharing activities…
