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Friday Freebie – Spring Cleaning
Happy Friday! It’s finally beginning to feel like spring, which around here means rain for months, BUT all of this spring weather has me itching to do some serious cleaning! I’ve already purged my closets at home, and now I’ve got my sights set on the closets at school. Spring is the perfect time to get rid of all of the stuff that has accumulated over the winter. It’s a great time to freshen up the classroom because it’s time for a change. Rearrange your furniture, put out new activity centers, spruce up the decor a little, and top off all of your efforts by labeling everything! Well, that’s what…
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Starting a Child Care Center – Location Location Location
On Tuesday I shared business information that you’ll need to consider is you want to start a childcare program, today is a little more fun, it’s all about selecting a location. First and foremost, you’ll have to decide how large your program is going to be. If you are the only teacher for 7 or 8 children, then you might choose to run your program out of your home. On the other hand, if you’ll have a staff of 6 teachers and 50 students, then you’ll need a much larger space. Licensing regulations define the amount of square footage required per child, as well as the teacher to child…
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Collecting and Analyzing Data in Preschool
It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today!Domain: MathematicsStrand: Measurement and DataTopic: Data AnalysisThis standard sounds like it could be difficult for preschoolers to comprehend, and it does require a higher…
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Starting a Child Care Center – Business Aspects
In 2013 I had the opportunity to start a child care program with some talented teachers. Our center has been open for a little over a year (it took us about 6 months to get licensed and running) and I’m at the point where I feel like I finally have things figured out! When we first got started we were all familiar with childcare and licensing, but the business piece was all new. I taught myself most of what I needed to know, and I still learn something new everyday. I’ve had a number of people ask my advice on starting their own child care programs, so I thought I’d…
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April Currently
I was on a roll last week – prepping for Easter and all – and I couldn’t fit in the Currently. But I love sharing this little slice of my life with you, so I wanted to do it anyway, even though it’s not exactly April first. Listening: I’m addicted to Pandora, and I’m all about singing along (it’s a good thing I’m usually alone in my house or car – no one wants to hear me sing!). My favorite station right now is the Pitch Perfect Soundtrack station, it plays songs from the movie soundtrack, along with similar pop songs. Loving: It has been the best three day weekend.…
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Friday Freebie – Bug Observations
Happy Friday! This is my one and only day off for Spring Break, in fact my only day off until Memorial day, so I am cherishing it! I have big plans for my day off, I’m road-tripping to the outlet mall to do some spring shopping, but before I head out I have a really cute freebie to share with you. When it comes to spring, there is one thing that preschoolers love – playing outside. With every group of children I’ve ever worked with, they’ve always been drawn to bugs. They love to find them, watch them, catch them, try to pick them up, you name it. This Bug…
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Last Minute Easter Basket Ideas for Preschoolers
If you’re anything like me, you haven’t bought anything to put in those Easter baskets yet. No problem, I’ve got you covered with a huge list of ideas to make your life a little easier. Crayons Markers Colored Pencils Fun Erasers Coloring books Stickers Shape Punches Hair ribbons Sunglasses Sidewalk chalk Bubbles Jump rope Frisbee Slingshot Bouncy balls Toy cars Modeling clay Watercolors Figurines Notebooks Play dough Card games Travel games Flip flops Books A kite Stuffed animals Reusable water bottles Glow necklaces Water balloons Chap-stick Silly putty Pool or bath toys A new beach towel A tote bag Temporary tattoos Legos New Pajamas Nail polish A toothbrush Special snacks…
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Preschool Math Concepts – Measurement
It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today! Domain: MathematicsStrand: Measurement and DataTopic: Describe and Compare Measurable AttributesThis particular math standard covers three concepts related to size. First, children should be…
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DIY Easter Baskets for Preschool
Whether you need containers for an egg hunt, or are just looking for a great fine-motor/art activity to do the week before Easter, DIY Easter baskets are always a great activity for preschoolers. Here are a few ideas from around the web to help you plan! A newspaper basket, instructions at Captain Crafty Paper mache baskets from Vicki Odell Weave fabric strips in plastic baskets. (Idea from Attic Lace) Paper bag baskets, easy instructions at Teaching 2 & 3 Year Olds Paper Plate Baskets from eHow These are all easy, economical ideas that can be finished fairly quickly. I hope that your students love them!
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Preschool Printables for Easter
Can you believe that it’s almost Easter? I know it’s early this year, but it makes it feel like spring is flying by! I have a ton of great Easter activities to share with you. These would be perfect for the last couple of days before Easter at school, or for the kiddos at your family celebration to do. One of my all-time favorite printables is Fill the Easter Basket. It includes 4 Easter basket mats, each of which has it’s own list of items for children to put in the basket. Children have to look at the pictures in the list, find the objects in a group of Easter-related…
