Open House!

Hey all!

Remember our open house is Wednesday, August 31 from 5-7 pm! Feel free to bring your school supplies that night. I'll have a special place for you to put them. Also, as a way to help the kiddos learn the layout of the classroom, be ready for a fun scavenger hunt! Collect some stickers and a treat!

I'm excited! See you then!

Outdoors

Outdoors

 In our outdoor area, children have a chance to run, climb, ride, slide, and enjoy the outside! Children gain many skills in our outdoor area including:

• Social skills in sharing and working as a team
• A sense of accomplishment at completing a difficult task
• Gross and small motor development through practicing many tasks, such as climbing, running, skipping, jumping, throwing, kicking, etc.
• Cognitive skills through exploration of natural environment (e.g. counting rocks, comparing an ant and a beetle, measuring the height of a bush or a tree, etc.)
• Expand vocabulary through their exploration

Ideas for Home:

Enjoy the outdoors with your children! Take walks, go to the park, explore a nearby woods. Children are most active when they are outside, which is important to their health. It also provides them with the environment to explore, collect, sort, and understand the world around them. 

There are many activities you can do while you are outside. For example, you could use chalk to draw on the sidewalk, blow bubbles, jump with a jump rope, or play catch. 

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc. 

Computers

Computers

 In the computer area, children can play various educational games and activities on our computers or our iPads. A sense of independence is fostered in the computer area; when children can successfully turn the machines on, locate the program they want to use, open it, and use it all by themselves, they feel good about themselves. Actually using the various machines and their attachments helps them strengthen their fine motor skills; the touch screens on their iPads are perfect for building strong hand-eye coordination. The games and apps on the machines help children build their problem-solving skills and basic math and reading skills. Children also increase their vocabulary by using new terms like icon, app, and cursor. 

Ideas for Home:

If you have a computer at home, allow your children to use it. Even if you don't have children's software, simply letting them type in a word processing program will give them valuable experience with technology. 

Many families have smart phones today. There are a number of effective children's apps that teach a variety of skills can be downloaded onto those phones, and many of them are free! 

Computers play a huge role in the world today. Allowing children to gain experience with computers will help them in the future.

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Cooking

Cooking
 

In the cooking area, children have a chance to make many delicious, nutritious snacks. Cooking allows the children to build upon their cognitive skills. They learn how to measure, and they have a chance to explore cause and effect by watching the ingredients mix together to create the finished product. It is also a great chance for them to practice following a set of instructions.

Literacy opportunities are available in the cooking area too. Most of the recipes we make have recipe cards for us to follow, which allows the children to gain an understanding of how to read a recipe. There are many cooking vocabulary words that children learn in this center as well. For example, they learn how to simmer, dice, knead, grate, and bake. 

The physical actions involved in cooking help children strengthen the small muscles in their hands.

Ideas for Home:

Whenever you are cooking, allow your children to have a role in the process. Starting with simple actions is best (e.g. pouring measured ingredients into the bowl or stirring batter). While you are cooking, make sure you discuss what is happening. Ask questions to inspire their thinking processes.

When children help in the cooking process, they are more likely to eat the final product. This lays the groundwork for their eating habits in the future, so the more involved they can be, the better off they'll be!

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Music and Movement

Music and Movement

Many important physical, social, cognitive, and language skills are learned and practiced in the music and movement area. Music brings out many emotions in children; when they are allowed to express those emotions through singing and dancing, they become more capable of handling them. The movement activities and dancing that occur in this area strengthen the children's gross motor skills, and playing the instruments in the area helps strengthen small motor skills. Children build cognitive skills by practicing various number skills while playing instruments or singing along to music and by thinking symbolically as they dance. The vocabulary used in many children's songs will help children build their own vocabularies, and the rhymes and alliteration found in the songs helps them build basic pre-reading skills.

Ideas for Home:

There are many ways you can incorporate music and movement into your life at home. Simply having a variety of children's music on CD/mp3 and playing it during car trips or during free time at home allows your children to experience music. Letting your children play along to the music with instruments is a great way to engage their attention. If you don't have any musical instruments at home, you can easily make some. For example, you could take two plastic containers, fill one with dried beans, and tape them together for a simple maraca.

Singing and doing fingerplays (e.g. Itsy Bitsy Spider or The Wheels on the Bus) with your children is a great way to introduce them to rhyming words. Don't worry if you don't have the most beautiful singing voice! Your children won't mind at all, and they will love spending the quality time with you. 

Getting your children up and moving is the ultimate goal of this area. Playing simple games like Duck, Duck, Goose or Hide 'n Seek are great ways to make this happen. 

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Discovery

Discovery

In the discovery area, children have a chance to explore many science-related materials. They are allowed to use technology, like magnifying glasses and balances, to learn more about different items. Children use their problem-solving skills to answer questions they might have about different topics of study. For example, they might spend some time observing the classroom plants to learn about what they need to survive or they might observe different kinds of bugs to find out how they are different and how they are the same.

As in the other areas, children are always encouraged to communicate their discoveries. They might do this through graphs, pictures, notes, or photographs. This area not only strengthens their language skills, but it also encourages them to use various pre-writing skills. Often children will be working in groups in this area, which helps them practice social skills.

Ideas for Home:

The best place for you to use some of these ideas is in your back yard. Take your children outside and let them explore. If they seem interested in one particular part of nature (e.g. leaves or bugs) allow them to collect those things for a deeper exploration. If you happen to have a magnifying glass, microscope, or another technologies, let your children use them to explore the items as well.

Encouraging your children to ask questions of what they are seeing and guiding them to find the answers will help them gain a healthy curiosity about the world. It increases their attention spans and opens up the doors to many different kinds of books and reading material.

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Sand and Water

Sand and Water

Many important math and cognitive skills are gained in the sand and water area. When children play around with filling cups and comparing which cup holds more/less, they are building measurement skills. They can use many manipulatives to practice patterning, counting, and geometry skills. This is also a great place for children to strengthen their fine motor skills. Since most of the play that happens in this area involves children using their hands to manipulate small and large objects, the muscles in their hands are strengthened each time they visit.

Communication about the exploration that is happening is greatly encouraged. Children describe what they see happening and what they are doing. They make predictions about what might happen if they change something, and they work with classmates to create pretend situations. All of these experiences help build upon the children's language and social skills.

Ideas for Home:

 

Creating a sand and water area at home is easy! Considering your bathtub is a great big water table, bath time is a great chance for children to explore the concepts I explained above. Provide your children with various types/sizes of cups or buckets and allow them to play around in the water.

 

A sand table doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive table filled with sand. You can simply find a tote of an appropriate size and fill it up with any time of scoopable objects (e.g. noodles, rice, beans, etc.) Again, provide your child with various scooping utensils and allow them to play around.

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Library

Library

The library is an important part of our classroom. Like any community or school library, the library is where the children build their interest in reading and writing. This is also the quiet spot in the classroom; children can head to the library if they need some alone time to relax. 

In the library, child have a chance to look at, listen to, retell, and write stories and books. Children in the library are readers and writers in their own ways, and I do everything I can to encourage them to build on their skills in this center.

I read aloud to the children everyday. While reading, I encourage children to think about what they are hearing. We talk about what is happening, make predictions about what might happen, and practice retelling the story. My goal is to instill a great love for reading in each child; the library area is the perfect place for that love to start. 

Ideas for Home:

Read, read, read! Emilie Buchwald once said, "Children are made readers in the laps of their parents." You are an important key in the emerging reading skills of your children. Try to make time every day to read to your child. 

While you are reading:

• talk about the story.
• make predictions about what might happen next.
• read the same story multiple times.
• have your child retell the story.
• let your child experiment with writing by providing paper and writing utensils.
• visit the library together and have your child pick out books that interest him/her.

If you need any tips/help with how reading to your child, please feel free to ask me at any time!

Source:
Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Dramatic Play

Dramatic Play

  

The Dramatic Play area gives children a chance to take on new roles and act out real-life experiences. Props and imagination help them bring outside life into our classroom. 

Many learning opportunities pop up as the children pretend and act. They are expanding their vocabulary by the constant communication, which is an important factor in learning how to read. They are practicing problem-solving skills by working out the problems in organizing and re-creating their pretend scenarios. They are also balancing heavily on their past experiences; they think about what they remember from an experience they had and reenact that experience in their play. For example, in order for children to play "Mommy," they have to remember what a real mommy does to take care of her baby. 

Ideas for Home:

There are many things you can do to bring dramatic play into your home. Provide a few simple props (i.e. a sheet over a table and chairs to serve as a tent for a camping adventure or a large cardboard box children can paint to turn into a fire engine) and let your child put his/her imagination to work.

Here are a few ideas from The Creative Curriculum (2002) you can use at home:

• During bath time, include plastic boats, cups and rubber dolls and play pretend.
• Save food cartons, make some play money, and play store with your child.
• Read stories together and involve your child in acting out different parts of the story.
• Collect some old clothes your child can use to dress up and make believe.
• Say to your child, "Let's pretend we're going on a train ride. What do we need? Tickets? Suitcases? Do you want to collect the tickets?" (p. 293). 

 Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Take A Step Into Our Classroom

Here's a look at all of the interest areas in our classroom. You'll find tips about how children use these areas to learn, and how you can bring the areas and their learning opportunities into your home.

Blocks

Dramatic Play

Toys and Games

Art

Library

Discovery

Sand & Water

Music & Movement

Cooking

Computers

Outdoors

Art

Art

  
In the art area, children will find many different materials they can use to express themselves creatively. The different ways children take to express themselves (i.e. drawing, painting, molding, constructing, etc.) provide significant opportunities for learning. They can express their own ideas and feelings, work on fine motor skills, practice color recognition, and develop self-esteem and creativity.

Encouraging children to talk about what they are working on, again, helps them build important language and communication skills. Through the use of open-ended questions (i.e. what do you want me to know about your picture? what do you think you might use to make the door on that house?), they learn to describe their actions and the intent behind them. Allowing children to share and talk about their creations helps them develop a sense of pride and confidence in their work; they know they will always have an interested audience. 

Ideas for at Home:

When your child brings home an art project s/he created at school, take some time to talk about it. S/he will be excited about the project and allowing some time to talk about it will emphasize your interest in the work. Again, try to use open-ended questions. For example, say, "Tell me about your picture" instead of, "Did you make a house?". 

Art is also something that can easily be done at home. Find a place somewhere in your home that can be used to store different kinds of art materials. Your child can go to that place and grab what s/he needs to make the newest creation. Some ideas of materials you might include are: crayons, markers, pencils paper, developmentally-appropriate scissors, glue, and collage materials.

Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
        Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Toys and Games

Toys and Games

The Toys and Games area offers children the chance explore how things work, learn math concepts, experience teamwork, and strengthen their fine motor skills. This area is full of puzzles, table blocks, sorting materials, board games, and collections of objects.


Just as in the other areas, I ask children to talk about what they are doing in the center. This is a great strategy to help them improve their language skills. Open-ended questions (What did you do to those pieces to get them to make that shape? Why did you put all of these pieces here and those pieces there?) are the best way to get them to use new and old vocabulary to explain themselves.

Ideas for Home:


By providing appropriate toys and games for your child, you play an important role in the growth of your child's abilities. Research shows that children with parents who are actively involved in their play are more likely to be capable of creative solutions to problems. 


The Creative Curriculum (2002) offers the following ways for you to be involved in your child's play:

• Observe. Watch as your child plays and notice his abilities and his interests.
• Play. Follow your child's lead and join in his play. 
• Imagine. Keep in mind that there's more than one way to play with a toy. Be creative!
• Enjoy. This isn't a time to drill your child or test him on what he knows. Just have fun being together, talking, and playing. (p. 315)

Keep in mind that the toys you provide your child do not have to be expensive. Collections of buttons and bottle caps can be learning tools that are as effective as store-bought toys.

Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
         Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.

Blocks

The Block Area

Blocks are one of the most valuable learning material we have at SON Shine. The wooden unit blocks allow children to experiment with various math concepts. For example, they learn about comparisons when they work together to build towers of different heights. They are learning about weight when they lift and stack various building materials, and they learn about geometric shapes when they explore the different blocks available to them. 

Child have the opportunity to build their language skills in the Block area as well. They talk about what they are making, why they are making it, and what their future plans are. They work in teams to build representations of the real world (e.g. zoos, farms, towns).

Ideas for Home:

You can bring this learning into your home by saving milk cartons, cardboard boxes, and plastic tubs and allowing your kids to experiment with them as building materials. Purchasing any type of blocks is also an option. Make sure you take the time to talk with your child as s/he plays with the blocks. Ask questions like:

I see you've built a hospital, where is the ambulance going to park?

What kind of sign do you think should go by these roads?

How will your family get into the house you built?

These questions help your child expand current thinking and add on new ideas.

Dodge, Diane T., Colker, Laura J., Heroman, Cate. (2002). The Creative Curriculum.
            Washington DC: Teaching Strategies Inc.