Losing my favorite teacher store:(

I was so sad to hear that United Art and Education in Strongsville was going out of business. It seems hard to believe since they are the only teacher store around anymore! I went yesterday because everything was 30% off. I got some games for tutoring, a tablet of chart paper, and a recycling bulletin board set with new border. After I paid, and asked for lamination, they were out and not getting anymore. So, I'm looking for a cheap place to laminate, if anyone knows of a place. Otherwise, I will just use contact paper, which is what I use on all of my file folder games.

Are ALL preschools crushing kids?

     A teacher friend on Facebook posted this article, The New Preschool is Crushing Kids, and I read it out of curiosity. I was initially surprised at the suggestion that preschool is too much these days. However, I do know that some classes are developmentally inappropriate. I became introspective of my Head Start class and the Teaching Strategies curriculum, and overwhelmingly feel that this is not the case. We learn through play, although we do have daily small group "work". Our work consists of writing our names, gluing, cutting, counting, and making art, versus worksheets. We have lots of language constantly, and something that makes Head Start different is our family style meals and tooth brushing. My classroom is very warm and loving to all and we practice conflict resolution by using our words and problem solving.
     Now don't get me wrong, lots of learning is taking place through explicit teaching. We interact with the students and play games one on one or groups of 2-3 to individualize. We have letter show-and-tell so that they have the fun experience of bringing things to school, but we get to isolate that to beginning sounds. Students get practice with public speaking from the age of 3. We learn about shapes through play (see pizza math blog entry), but then make art like these super cute circle collages. Everyone's collage is completely different, yet still all circles.

Students get choice time to play on their own in the classroom, as well as either outside or in the gym. This free play is still within the bounds of the learning environment I have set up. There are many types of blocks, writing materials, dress up, painting, music, and pretending (just to name a few!).

     Now, this article also suggests that students who attend preschool have not only an advantage in later grades, but in fact a disadvantage, and I find that scary. My students love coming to school and hate to leave! My biggest goal each year is to have students love school and form a positive association that will last through the upper grades. Quality teaching is imperative. Some people think that teaching preschool is easy and that there is no skill involved, but I will argue that point every time! Every action and word is intentional and thought out! I love preschool:)

Pizza Parlor Math

     I was very excited to finally get everything ready for the Pizza Parlor in Dramatic Play! The best part is, the kids loved it when I introduced it. It is a way to change up "House Area" to make it more exciting, but it is a way to incorporate LOTS of math into play:) There is geometry, symbolism, sorting, counting, and reading involved in this pretend play experience.
     I used paper plates as pizza crust, large red circles for sauce, yellow triangles for cheese, small orange circles for pepperoni, brown squares for mushrooms, green rectangles for peppers, and black ovals for olives. Each "topping" is sorted into bowls and students will have to resort every time they disassemble a pizza.

I created menus with the symbols for each topping and laminated them (I tried really hard to upload the pdf for download, but couldn't figure out how to do it!). The "server" will use a dry erase marker to check the boxes of each topping the customer wants before giving the order to the cook. When the pizza is made, the server and customer check the order form to ensure the order is correct. After the customer "pays", the menu is easily erased to be used again! 

Unique fall experience

    I love adding things from nature to the science area, and fall is the best time because it's so easy to find cute gourds, pumpkins, and Indian corn. I also have a basket of shelled nuts and a coconut.
    So, my coteacher has a preschooler this year and it is interesting to hear what they are doing in their class. One thing that I thought was awesome was ears of deer corn in the sand table. Ohio has lots of corn that is too hard to eat, but looks like regular corn and not the texture of Indian corn. Unfortunately, I started looking for corn about a week after everyone cut down their cornfields:(
     I asked about everyone I know if they knew a farmer or had another connection, and another teacher in my building came through with a dozen ears (thanks again Melanie!)! I added the corn to the sand table and gave an introduction about how to peel off the kernels from the cob.

The loose corn can then be scooped and dumped when it is all off the cobs. 

I hope the novelty doesn't wear off too quickly because today the sand table was the main attraction! Everyone was very quiet and engaged:)

Pasta sorting

     When I was a first grade teacher I made bags of pasta to use as math manipulatives. We used them for sorting, graphing, patterning, you name it! Plus, it was a cheap way to make versatile kits with so many attributes. I made pasta bags last year again, which we mostly use for sorting and counting. It is a fun and easy way to assess matching and how many attributes they can sort by.

This is an easy way to individualize because each child can succeed on their own level. Some are just matching, some can sort by shape, and some begin to create patterns. As you can see from the pics, I have 2 sizes of shells, bow ties, and tubes. My preschool bags have less shapes than my 1st grade bags did. Of course, some preschoolers are more interested in making train tracks or a horse, lol, but they can be guided to look for attributes.

So yeah...that really happens.

     I finally got the chance to make a doctor appointment for the first time since the summer because I had Veteran's Day off (thank you vets!). My hands get so dry and scaly from washing them 100 times a day, especially in the winter. When I use lotion, I get patches of inflamed, itchy, burning skin. I had finally had enough. Well actually, I started to think it may be a chemical burn from the bleach water we use to sanitize the tables and sink.

It's kind of hard to tell from these photos, but they look terrible. Not to mention I have lots of little cracks in my skin:( 

I was reminded in the 6 hour Communicable Disease class I took this week that each little crack is a way for a virus, bacteria, and microbes to enter my body. Yuck!

     So I also had a "bug bite" on my arm that wasn't going away. It's on a place that I don't look at all day so I didn't really notice it until someone in my family asked about it. A closer look made me realize how round it was. See where I'm going with this...? Yes, it is indeed ringworm. Wait! Ringworm is a fungus, not an actual worm, but still gross. And, it is only spread from direct contact with infected skin which means I now have to figure out which one of my kiddos gave it to me!

     I got a cream for both skin ailments, along with a flu shot. I'm not a germaphobe, but I hate being sick. I remembered hearing that not all vaccines are meant to last forever, and that communicable disease class made me want to get boosters for everything, lol. So much so that I requested a titer for Hep B. What is a titer, you ask? They do a blood test and analyze the amount of antibodies in your blood to determine if you are still immune, or if you need another vaccine. Still anxiously awaiting those results!

     I guess every job has risks. The risks we take in Early Childhood usually come in the form of an attack on the immune system!

Choice time/center management

     I found this great tool from Twinkl that I am using this year to try to manage behavior during free play time. I wanted to do something like this last year, but I just never had the time, so I knew I needed to start the year off using a tool. This is an area label that students clip their name clip onto when they enter the area and it also tells how many are allowed in each area. 

First, I needed to decide a good maximum number of students permitted per area, to prevent conflict from over-crowding and lack of resources. Next, I printed the labels on cardstock and laminated them. I attached a metal ring and hung them from 3M hooks. 

Students all have a colored clothespin with their name on it that they use every day. They are responsible for picking their area and counting to make sure that the number is not exceeded. This has the added advantage of name recognition, counting practice, and one to one correspondence. I noticed that my older kiddos are getting better at recognizing numerals to boot!

They need to move their clip every time they place in a new area. Another advantage? When the area isn't cleaned up, the clips are often still attached so we know who to call back for clean up!

It took a few days to get used to this system, but now it is just part of our every day routine:)