families
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Newsletter ideas!
I spend way too much time putting together monthly newsletters – partly because I enjoy designing something new each month, and partly because I can’t ever think of what I want to say. And it never fails, the day after I send home the newsletter, I think of something that I really should have included. I know there are a ton of newsletter templates available, but that’s not really what I’ve always needed – I need the actual content. So I put together a great big list of potential newsletter topics, this way I can scan my list and choose a few that seem especially relevant and timely. I’ve organized…
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Easy Photo Cards for Mother’s Day
I must admit that when it comes to cards, I am a slacker. This is true in my personal life, and in the classroom. In the classroom I tend to be the teacher who gets out the collage materials and lets the children go to town, and then hopes that the glue will dry in time to put the cards in an envelope. If you tend to plan ahead a little better than I do, here are some really cute photo cards that you can try with your students! Cupcake Liner Flower Cards Photo Message Card Photo Card and Flower Sidewalk Chalk Photo Card Chalkboard Photo Card These adorable cards…
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Mother’s Day Keepsakes
If you’ve been reading Preschool Ponderings for a while, you know that my goal for holiday gifts for parents is that they should be something that Mom or Dad will actually want to use. I’ve seen a lot of crazy gift ideas – bracelets made out of toilet paper rolls, candles made out of melted crayons, popsicle stick picture frames – but there are also a ton of really incredible ideas out there too. Here are a few of my favorites: Keepsakes with children’s photos Photo Coasters Photo Pendants Photo Keychains Photo Magnets Thumbprint art Thumbprint Keychains Thumbprint Magnets Thumbprint Vase Things Mom can use at work DIY Notepads Post-It…
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Creative Mother’s Day Celebrations
I’ll be honest here, Mother’s day is not my favorite holiday to celebrate with my preschoolers. It is a highly personal holiday – each family celebrates very differently, and I don’t want any of my students to feel like their family’s celebration is not the “right” kind of celebration. I do however love to throw a party, and I think that these kinds of events allow families to decide who is going to attend, and to help prepare their child for the event before it happens. I know that Muffins for Moms breakfasts are really popular, because the alliteration is cute and muffins are easy, but if you are thinking…
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Talking about traditions
One of our social studies standards for preschoolers is to develop an awareness and appreciation of family and cultural stories and traditions. The holidays lend themselves perfectly to this standard so I make a special effort to encourage families to share their traditions with our class. Over the years I have had families bring in cookies to decorate with the class, I’ve had families make gingerbread houses with us, decorate ornaments with the children, share favorite holiday stories, and make traditional foods with the class. Each of these experiences has given the children the opportunity to compare and contrast their own family traditions, to see which traditions they…
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Family Engagment – Discussing Thanksgiving
I like to take any opportunity that I can get to involve families in my classroom discussions and investigations, so I created this great freebie in order to find out a little more about each of my individual students’ family Thanksgiving celebration. Send this questionnaire home with your students to find out what each of their Thanksgiving celebrations is like. Ask them to bring it back after the holiday and compare and contrast the foods that they ate, what they liked and did not like, and give children the opportunity to share their own special traditions. This is a great way to help little ones understand that their families have…
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Friday Freebie – Family Trees
Happy Friday! Can you believe we are over a week into November?! This year is flying by! I wanted to do something a little different today – don’t worry, you’ll still get a freebie! I actually shared this brand new freebie in my post on Monday but I wanted to share it again just in case you missed it. This Family Tree Freebie is a fun way to help your students explore their families. Use this set to help children explore their families. Send each child home with a tree background and a sheet (or half sheet) of leaves. Families can write names and relationships on the leaves. This family…
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Books about Families
I’m always full of great book recommendations, here are my favorites for starting discussions about families (Amazon affiliate links): The Family Book by Todd Parr All Families are Special by Norma Simon A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary Families by Shelley Rotner and Sheila Kelly My Family, Your Family by Lisa Bullard What are your favorite books about families? Share them in the comments!
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Using family photos in the classroom
I have always been a huge advocate of incorporating family photos in the classroom, for a number of reasons; It helps children to see their classroom as a place that they belong. It shows that you value all of your students’ families and helps parents feel welcome. Photos can be a great tool for helping children transition into the classroom, especially if they have a hard time separating from their parents. Children can learn a lot about each other from viewing family photos. It isn’t always easy to get parents to remember to bring in those photos, so I created this easy little paper bag album that you can send…
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Family Vocabulary
One topic that I always make sure to cover near Thanksgiving is family. I like to start by introducing some basic vocabulary so that children have a foundation and are able to use the correct words as they describe their own families. Making sure that children understand basic terms can help you navigate conversations about whether a child’s pet dog can also be his brother. It can also help you explain that one child might call her grandmother Nana, and another might call his grandmother Mimi, but they are both still grandmothers. As you introduce these terms it is also important to be a little flexible with your definitions. You…
