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Friday Freebie – Calendar Practice
I’ve shared my love for traceable calendars before, so I feel like ABC Helping Hands made this freebie for me! Go download their free year’s worth of traceable calendars and follow the link above to see how I use these in my classroom.
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Developmentally appropriate ways to teach time
Teaching time is complicated and confusing – how can a number mean one thing when a long hand is on it, but something entirely different when a short hand is pointing to it? It just doesn’t make sense, especially not to preschoolers who don’t really understand symbolic thinking. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use the clock in your classroom. I am always an advocate for exposing children to concepts so that they feel comfortable with them when it comes time to learn more. Here are some developmentally appropriate ways to use the clock in your preschool classroom; Arrange your daily schedule as if it were on a clock –…
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Discussing Routines with Preschoolers
Every year my back to school activities include experiences that are designed to help my kiddos get used to our daily routine. One of the activities that I do with them s to discuss routines, and help them put this idea into perspective by considering the routines that they follow at home. I give them each the opportunity to tell me what they do when they wake up in the morning – the kinds of things they have to do to get ready for school. This takes some prompting at first, but after they get going they have pretty good memories, and it’s fun to see what their priorities are…
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Using a picture schedule
A picture schedule is a great way to help all of your students anticipate what is coming next, which makes transitions from activity to activity a lot easier. I created a set of schedule cards that include pictures. These cards are designed for the preschool classroom, but they also include common activities for elementary school classrooms, so they are great for inclusion classrooms and students who need a little extra support when it comes to the daily schedule. My favorite thing about this set is that it also includes smaller schedule cards that you can put on a ring for students to carry with them. They can match the pictures…
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Scheduling your preschool day
As a preschool teacher, one of the most important things that I had to consider each year was my daily schedule. I am the kind of person who follows a schedule closely – there are always exceptions, but most days the schedule kept the day from dragging o, and ensured that I was able to get everything done. My kiddos needed that schedule too. After the first couple of weeks they were able to anticipate what was coming next, and when certain important activities (like lunch, nap, and outside time) were. While preschool teachers everywhere recognize that having a schedule is important, making your schedule is not necessarily easy.…
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Friday Freebie – Parent Letter about Holiday Celebrations
It's a little early for this particular freebie, but it fits really well with this week's parent communication theme, so you can download it and file it away for later in the year. This is the letter that I send out every year before winter holidays (usually the beginning of November so I have plenty of time to get it out, get it back, and start planning). It lets parents know why I like to include holiday activities on my lesson plans and gives them the opportunity to share what their preferences are when it comes to discussing holidays in the classroom.This is a great way to make sure that…
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Family Photo Paper Bag Albums
When I was in the classroom, family photos were a huge part of our classroom decor. I wanted my students to be able to share them with each other, and use them to help transition in the morning. I also love that they make the children feel like their families are always a part of the classroom, and are welcome at school anytime. This is an easy (and economical) photo album project that you can send home at the beginning of the year. Each family can help their child put the album together and then you can do a special show and tell so that the children can share them with…
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Building Relationships with your Students Families
Communicating with parents and families is always easier when you've built a relationship with those families. This can be really hard if you rarely. See them - whether you have student who ride the bus to and from school every day, or you aren't the teacher in charge when your students are dropped off or picked up, there are a million reasons that you might not get as much time with parents as you would like.You can still build relationships with families that will make them feel like they are involved in the activities and events that take place in the classroom. Here are some ideas: Invite parents to participate.…
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Sharing Positive Messages with Families
Kids do great things during the day - they share, they tell funny stories, they help without being asked, they melt our hearts with their sweet comments. In an effort to share these great moment with parents I created Happy Notes, which you can download for free! I really need to be better about sharing great stories with parents, so the idea behind Happy Notes is that you can write down something great right when it happens, then share the note with the child, and they can take it home and share it with mom and dad. These are a great way to reinforce positive behavior, and a perfect way to let…
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The Best Way to Communicate with Parents
That’s a pretty intriguing title isn’t it – what is the best way to communicate with parents? Unfortunately, you’re probably not going to like my answer; there isn’t one best way to communicate with parents. What worked for you last year might not work this year and that’s because each group of parents is very different. That doesn't mean that you have to use your precious time covering all of the possible means of communication. When I realized how much time I was spending on parent communication (newsletters, notes home, emails, phone calls, and posted messages in the classroom) I started something that made my job a million times easier…
