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St. Patrick’s Day Math and Science
St. Patrick’s day is such a fun holiday to celebrate in the classroom because there are some very different opportunities for exploration than we see with other holidays. Because of this, I’ve included some science activities – which means that this is a math and science center for Preschool St. Patrick’s Day! Let’s take a look at some of these materials. Shamrock Observations – This set is designed to help children focus on small details, which is perfect when it comes to shamrocks and finding that elusive 4-leaf clover. There are images of a variety of different shamrocks, and then zoomed in images of the same shamrocks so that children…
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Dealing with Hard Days in the Classroom
We all have tough days in the classroom – but what about when those hard days start happening regularly, or even every day? How can you turn things around and get more of the days that you really enjoy? Let’s talk about this, what can help when you’re dealing with never-ending classroom challenges? I’m big on reflection, taking time to dig deep and think through what’s really behind what’s happening in the classroom. This can be hard when you’re right in the middle of it. If you’re in a place where it feels like nothing is going right and there’s nothing you can do about it, then we need to…
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St. Patrick’s Day Writing Center
I’m so ready to share my St. Patrick’s Day language materials with you! The focus of this center is storytelling, and the items that I have available for the holiday really support that. So let’s dive in! Leprechaun Dress Up – Who wouldn’t want to be a leprechaun?! Chasing rainbows and searching for gold sounds like an amazing adventure, and children can use these materials to act that out. I’ve got tutus, bow ties, feather boas, fun glasses, and headbands. I’ve also included top hats, blazers and vests, and messenger bags in the past. Shamrock Cupcake Letter Match – These cupcakes are just the cutest, and sometimes that’s all it…
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March Clipart and Planner Stickers
We all need a hobby right?! I used to be a scrapbooker back in the day, but that got hard to keep up with – and who prints photos anymore? Now I use my planner as a pseudo-scrapbook, and I’m obsessed with planner stickers. Making this clipart each month is an extension of that for me and I love that I can share it with all of you. The set of March planner stickers that I’ve put together just might be my favorite yet! I use this with my Cricut to print and cut out the stickers that I want. This makes it really easy to get the sizes I…
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REALLY Changing Challenging Behaviors
A couple of weeks ago I shared a free sample of a behavior tracking system that can be used to identify patterns related to challenging behaviors. Now, I want to dig into what happens after you’ve identified those patterns. Let’s reflect so that you can really starting changing challenging behaviors in the classroom. Part of this system is a reflection sheet: This reflection starts by exploring what is working WELL for this child already – what parts of the day are they successfully able to manage their behavior? For some children, this will be easily evident, and for others you might have to continue observing to get an even better…
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President’s Day with Preschoolers
President’s day can pose a challenge for preschool teachers because so many of the concepts that we connect with commemorating this day are extremely abstract for young children. They don’t understand history, what it means to live in a certain country, or the job of a president. In many cases, not only are these concepts difficult for children to grasp, they also aren’t relevant to their day to day experiences. There are still some great ways to acknowledge President’s day and help children make connections that increase their understanding – here are my favorite President’s day lessons. I’ve created a couple of vocabulary sets that help children have the words…
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Easy way to share favorite preschool songs
I distinctly remember having a conferences with a parent who’s only request was the words to all of the songs that we sang in the classroom – she wanted to sing them with her son, but she couldn’t understand the words he was singing well enough to figure out what the songs were! I finally had a chance to put together a quick an easy resource that I could have shared with her, and I’m sharing it with you too. There are so many ways that this collection of common preschool songs can be used! There are two different pieces to this set. The ribbons all have a name of…
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Processing a holiday before moving on to the next one
The month of February might have the fewest days, but it packs in all of the holidays – Groundhog day, Valentine’s day, President’s day, and Mardi Gras. If you look at March and April you’re often adding St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Earth day too. It’s a lot to explore over a fairly short amount of time. We usually think of the time between Halloween and Christmas as the “holiday season,” but October, November, and December don’t have nearly as many holidays squeezed into them as the spring months do! This can make late winter and early spring pass pretty quickly, but it can also be really overwhelming, especially for…
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Conversations with Preschoolers about Current Events
We know that kids are sponges – they’re ALWAYS listening! Because of this, they catch onto things that we don’t always realize they’re hearing, and without context and all of the information their minds make the most interesting connections. It’s fascinating to get their take on the things that are happening in their world because they look at them with such a unique filter! When it comes to discussing current events, it can be a bit of a minefield, we never know what might come up, and we definitely can’t predict what a child will say. There are some ways to navigate these conversations without prompting those comments. Here are…
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Teacher and Mom Approved Lunch Packing Tips!
Before I dive into all things lunches, I have to take a minute to say THANK YOU! You’re all loving my Month of Preschool sets and I’m so excited that I’m able to make your life easier with these – I know how precious your time is and I hope that these are saving you time and energy that you’re able to re-focus on your students. If I could put a great big heart emoji here I totally would! I’m working on April as we speak, so it’s coming I promise! Let’s talk lunch packing… As a teacher, lunchtime was the bane of my existence. Here’s the thing, having families…
