assessment
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End of the Year Preschool Resources
It’s the middle of April already – how?! In the preschool world, I know that means that it’s time to think about wrapping up the formal “school year.” That can look like a lot of different things, graduations, assessments, parties, finishing projects and investigations, and looking towards the following year. There are a few different resources that I have leaned on every single year at this time, so I thought they might make your life a little easier too. Here are my favorite materials for the end of the school year. I’ll have an in-depth look at my Kindergarten prep materials later this week, but this is my absolute favorite…
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All Things Assessment for Preschool
On Friday I shared a video that shows my early childhood assessments and how to use them. As you consider these and prepare to complete your own assessments I wanted to make sure that you had all of my resources in one easy place! Here are all of the posts that I’ve shared on assessments and portfolios over the years: Using assessment results to inform lesson planning Explaining assessments to families Sharing assessment results with families My favorite assessment products What does assessment evidence look like in preschool? Assessment strategies for preschool Collecting assessment evidence Google drive student portfolios Anecdotal Notes Please reach out if there is anything that I…
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Easy Portfolios and Assessments for Early Childhood
It’s almost spring (I’m trying to be optimistic here…), and in many places that means that it’s time to think about finishing up assessments and portfolios for the end of the school year. If you’re about to jump into that, let me help! I’ve got another video for you today that walks through why I created my own assessments, and how you can take advantage of this for your program – they really do make life so much easier! If you want to read more about these assessments and some of the different ways they can be used, then this post is exactly what you’re looking for!
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Google Drive Student Portfolios
I originally shared this post a couple of years ago, and it has been the most popular post that I’ve ever written. I can understand why – we all want easy solutions to conferences and documentation, but no one wants to pay for the expensive platforms that curriculum companies have available. This system is my DIY version of that kind of system. Since most parents are a lot more comfortable with google drive and PDF documents it’s been the best way to share information! Here’s the rest of that original post: I’ve always used three-ring binders to compile my students’ portfolios, but this year my classroom did not have the…
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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…
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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…
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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!
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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…
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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…
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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.),…
