social emotional
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Friday Freebie – Paper Dolls
Happy Friday! I spent a lot of time in front of the computer this week, so I am looking forward to accomplishing some hands-on projects this weekend! Today’s freebie goes right along with all of the other doll posts that I’ve shared this weekend. These adorable printable paper dolls are from Royalbaloo.com I know a lot of people who think that preschoolers are quite gentle enough for dolls, but I love to use paper dolls in the classroom. They teach children to treat materials carefully, and they offer far more opportunities to make choices because there are so many different pieces and I could never hope to have that many real…
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Standards Related to Doll Play
I am all about dramatic play, but I struggle with making sure that my dramatic play centers are interesting and engaging. I like to change them up, but I don’t like to spend a ton of money or store a lot of stuff. On Monday I shared some of my favorite tips for adding authentic items to doll-themed dramatic play, but there are so many great ideas out there that it seemed a shame to stop with my own personal list. So here are some other doll ideas that I’ve rounded up. This cute diaper-changing/hygiene station Easy DIY Diapers Doll clothes storage This amazing cardboard cradle! Dry bath time –…
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Baby Doll Dramatic Play
When we get to the middle of winter, the last thing that I want to do is pull out the same dramatic play materials that we’ve been using all year. That means I have to get a little more resourceful to make my dramatic play centers interesting. Now you can definitely buy some amazing printables and supplies at the Dollar Tree to add to your dramatic play area, and I’ve done that too, but I’m talking about using what you’ve already got. Baby dolls were always popular in my classroom, and I tried not to keep them out all of the time so that it was special when they were…
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Friday Freebie – What’s on the Inside
Happy Friday – I swear, sometimes the short weeks feel like long weeks! TGIF! Today’s freebie is “What’s on the Inside” a mini-lesson from Kindergarten Chaos that would be perfect for any discussion about diversity. Go download a copy and add it to your stash! Have a great weekend!
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Exploring Physical Characteristics
Yesterday I shared an article with some great tips for talking about our differences, you can read that post here. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite activities related to physical characteristics so you could add them to your plans! I’ve shared this one before, but I’m just going to keep sharing because I love it! The visual makes a great impact for all ages. This EASY activity helps children learn to pay attention to subtle differences, which is what makes all of use unique. Use these printable pieces to give children opportunities to explore what different hair and skin colors look like together. What a great idea!…
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Standards related to MLK day experiences
It’s been a while since I’ve talked standards here (but if you want to go back and read all of those posts, they’re right here). There are a number of holidays over the next few months, and sometimes it can be hard to justify celebrating them, or spending time exploring related concepts. I’ve become quite skilled at aligning just about any activity to related standards, so I wanted to share with you in order to help your lesson planning. Here are some preschool standards related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Recognize and identify own emotions and emotions of others – when discussing how being treated differently makes us feel. …
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Talking about differences
I know that many of you will be talking to your students about physical characteristics and differences this week. Some of these conversations may be unplanned, between Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday and the inauguration on Friday, children are certain to be hearing things that they don’t understand or need help processing. I wanted to tak a minute to pass along an article that I read a couple of weeks ago that offers great advice for handling these touch topics. Take a minute to head over to Edutopia and read Teaching Young Children about Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice.
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Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of those holidays that I always plan to introduce to my students, and then the closer the day get the more I struggle to find the right way to discuss it. In some ways, they understand, and in other ways, it is way over their heads. In my experience preschoolers have a hard time comprehending why people would be treated differently because of the way they look – which is one thing that I love about them. So, I’ve rounded up some books that have been really helpful for me, here are my favorites (all links are Amazon affiliates): My First Biography: Martin…
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Tips for banishing pre-holiday behavior problems
If you’re spending this week with young children – your students, or your own children – then I’m sure you’ve taken a deep breath and prepared yourself for chaos and tantrums. While some off the behavior problems you might encounter come with the season, others are a product of messed up routines, missed nap times, and too many sweet treats. Those are the kind of problems that can be avoided with some careful preparation. Here are a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way: Try to keep your routine as normal as possible. If you can’t schedule fun events into your normal routine, then prepare the children in…
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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…
