Let's Go Outside!

Spring is near and it is time to talk about the outdoor learning environments in our GSRP and Head Start programs.  First, a QUIZ!

1. True or False: During outside time, adults should not engage in play with children because it distracts adults from supervising the playground.

Answer: False. Adults should engage in play with children as well as supervise their activities on the playground.

2. Children should go outside:
               a. Daily for at least 30 minutes
               b. At least once or twice a week for at least 1 hour each time
               c. Whenever the teacher feels like going outside



Answer: Daily for at least 30 minutes, not including the time is takes to put on coats and get ready.

3.True or False: Adults should never plan activities for children during outdoor time, but should allow children to play as they choose so adults can converse with one another.  After all, adults need a break, too!



Answer: False. Outside time should allow free play as well as teacher led activities.



How did you do?  This quiz outlines some of the basic requirements in GSRP and Head Start classrooms.  The benefits of outdoor play are well-documented and include:
* Increasing physical activity
* Increasing the body's vitamin D levels
* Reducing anxiety and improving mood
* Improving concentration and focus
* Enhancing imaginative and creative play
* Promoting problem solving and leadership skills
* Growing the next generation of stewards of the earth
* Developing stronger immune systems
(Source: http://letthechildrenplay.net/2012/04/play-outside.html)



Some other tips about Outdoor Learning Environments at GSRP and Head Start Sites:
* The outdoor learning space is an extension of the classroom and should be considered another space for play (NC State University)
* Consider arranging the outdoor learning environment much like the indoor learning environment by dividing it into interest areas


According to the Michigan Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Pre-K, teachers should:
* View physical education as an enjoyable, healthy activity rather than competition
* Read and research the full benefits of outdoor play
* Develop instructional strategies and plans to spend time outdoors
* Frequently incorporate other domains of learning
* Find multiple ways to link the value of physical activity to good health


This presentation from the Chippewa Nature Center, Developing Natural Play Areas For Effective Outdoor Classrooms, outlines some great ideas for developing natural play areas as well as some ways to measure quality in regard to outdoor play spaces.


Other resources for guidance on Outdoor Play in preschool classrooms include:
GSRP Implementation Manual
Head Start
High Scope
Creative Curriculum

TOYS!

This time of year, many families celebrate holidays with gift-giving.  If you have a child in your life to buy for, or have parents or friends asking for great toy suggestions for their children, check out the following resources and gift-giving guides:

Resources from NAEYC:
8 Things to Know about Toys
Why This Toy?

Resources from Truce Teachers:
Truce 2015-2016 Annual Toy Selection Guide

Non-Toy Gift Ideas:
Non-Toy Holiday Gift Ideas
18 Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Children

Resources for encouraging strong, confident girls:
Top 40 Science Toys for Mighty Girls
Holiday Gift Guide: Women in STEM Fields Dolls and Action Figures

Adult Child Interactions Throughout the Day

We all know that establishing a positive classroom climate and developing nurturing, supportive relationships with children are essential elements in high quality preschool classrooms, but the specifics of how to do those things can be difficult to pinpoint.
Click here for a handy resource that our early childhood specialist team put together outlining what adult-child interactions should look like throughout the day and check out the article entitled Assessing Adult Child Interactions to learn more about this important topic.

Peter, Pass the Peas, Please: Family Style Dining at its Best

When teachers are actively engaged with children at a table there are so many opportunities to model, to refer children to one another for help, to encourage self-help skills, and to spend time just talking with children.  If you are a teacher in a Michigan Great Start Readiness Program classroom or a Head Start preschool classroom, family style meals are more than just a great idea they are a program requirement. This requirement comes with plenty of guidance from Michigan Department of education as information about what family style meals should look like in a Great Start Readiness Program classroom is available here: Implementation Manual Family Style Meals  

Likewise, the Office of Head Start provides plenty of information about the whys and the hows of family style meals at their Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center website.

Save the Date!

As we inch ever closer to summer break, don't forget to mark your calendars and make plans to join the us for the second annual WISD Early Childhood Conference on August 29th and 30th.  This two-day conference will be jam-packed with information on a variety of topics. The conference will also feature keynote speaker Nell Duke.

Be sure to check back here for more information as it is available. 

We hope that you will join us for this exciting opportunity to learn and connect with your colleagues across the county!

Clean-Up, Clean-Up, Everybody, Everywhere...

You Know the Song!

There aren't very many children, or adults for that matter, who really and truly enjoy the process of cleaning up.  (I apologize if you are one who enjoys the task of cleaning- I wish I could be more like you!)  On the other hand, we probably all enjoy the end result which is a clean, tidy, organized, and relaxing environment! 

There are those who say that requiring  young children to clean up their toys, put materials away, throw away their own trash, and help wash tables is really not developmentally appropriate.  There are others who say it helps develop confidence and shows initiative and independence, building a sense of community.  Wherever you fall in this debate the fact remains that in our preschool programs we have to clean up our classrooms after work time and it works better if everyone helps. 

In my experience as an adult, I have learned there are things that make cleaning bearable, if not fun.  Sometimes I just might need some new tools to feel efficient and successful.  (I think I've heard that line from my husband!) Recently, I bought a new vacuum that works on my super thick rug and easily picks up pet hair and then found washable cleaning cloths that work really well on everything else.  Those new tools have made my cleaning job much easier.  There are now times when I look forward to cleaning my house- but it's more than the new tools! Those times when I look forward to cleaning are usually when I’m not doing it alone.  It is not that the process of cleaning has suddenly become an enjoyable task; it’s that I like doing things with other people.  When we clean together it’s usually in preparation for a party or family gathering, so the end result is even more fun than just a sparkling clean house.

As early childhood educators we have goals that include teaching children to care for the environment, which includes cleaning up and taking care of trash. We have everything organized and labeled in hopes that as children put things away they will experience and begin to understand grouping and sorting (science and math), we explain to children how it’s easier to find their favorite things when they’re put away where they belong and this supports their developing awareness of geography.  Although I’m not sure three, four, or five-year-old children understand or buy into all of that, these are still important lessons,  The process of cleaning up the classroom still may not always be that much fun, so for children it may not be worth the trouble… unless we can make it into something the children truly enjoy.  We know our children’s interests and strengths, so we can try building on those.  Sometimes children may need new tools, sometimes there’s a way to turn clean up time into a social event or a game and sometimes we need a strategy for keeping the end result in mind.  

There are a few clean-up games and strategies I have used or heard about over the past few years and I've listed some of them here.  If you have some ideas that have been successful in your experience, or some successes you have heard about please, feel free to share.

Partner Clean-up

Give pairs of children a bucket or bag of some kind and have them fill it up and then work together to put away all the materials in their container.

Be the Boss

Have children choose an area or set of materials to be in charge of- they can recruit helpers or do it themselves, but they are the boss of that area and can say when it's finished.  Variation- each area has someone assigned to check the area once it has been finished by those working in that area. Could be a classroom job a child signs up for.

Beat the Song

This is a race against a song you play (or you could sing a song) and everyone is in on the race.   Variations include assigning different groups of children to different areas or materials and they race each other.   Race against a timer or race against a teacher(s).

Pretend Clean-up

Choose a favorite pretend play scenario and clean up within that play theme-  the High Scope Demonstration Preschool teachers pretended they were all ninjas and there was a monster in the sewer.  They needed to clean up to melt it away.  With each area of the room that was cleaned another part of the monster melted until he was all gone and the classroom was cleaned up. Variations from Gretchen's House WISD- Robot clean-up (might have robot music to go with it) and Spy clean-up (also with music)

Number Clean up

Have number cards ready (could be playing cards)- each child picks a number and puts away that many things- then children can go and get another number and put away that many more things.

Attribute Clean up

Announce what to clean up by attributes (or even better- have children take turns announcing). Examples- "First, put away all the red things," or "Next, find all the rectangular toys and put them away" or Now put away everything made of wood."

Create a book of favorite clean-up games and let a child/children choose.

STEM in Preschool?

I found this tidbit in ExchangeEveryDay and it has proved to be inspirational and caused me to think about how to extend and build on what's already happening in a normal preschool classroom related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) - and in this case it's done side by side with a literacy activity.  I hope this will stimulate your thinking about how to enhance and expand what you do every day!

In Brain World magazine (Fall 2014), Kenneth Wilson argues that "Parents and teachers should learn to recognize 'where STEM is' in what they already teach in class, do at home, or experience during the day." He offers as an example this STEM learning activity:

"Take a traditional storybook that presents a problem. Ask students to 'engineer' a different (preferably better) solution to the problem.  For example, you have received an urgent email message from the Three Little Pigs.  They have been traumatized long enough by the Big Bad Wolf!  Your family/class has been commissioned by the Three Little Pigs to engineer two safeguards to thwart the Big Bad Wolf.  How many design and engineering models can you propose as solutions to the Three Little Pigs problem?"

<exchangeeveryday@ccie.com>  10/29/14

I wonder what could happen if you asked the children in your class to work with the three bears on ideas to keep their house safe from intruders, or see if they would be willing to help the troll under the bridge engineer a solution to the abundance of traffic.