Angel Avery-Wright
How often do you hear yourself saying, “Stop throwing the blocks” or ‘That’s not how we play with blocks” or “Throwing blocks at your friends will hurt them?” Is this something you say once in a while, or do you find yourself saying it frequently? Do you find yourself sitting in the block area to supervise most of the time? Do you “close” the block center due to unsafe behaviors?
Beth Simon with assistance from ChatGPT
August 9th marks a special day that bookworms eagerly anticipate – Book Lovers Day! As early childhood educators, we understand the profound impact that books can have on young children’s development and learning. From sparking imagination and curiosity to fostering language and literacy skills, books hold the power to transform young minds and hearts. Let’s celebrate the wonders of reading and explore ways to cultivate a love of books in the hearts of children in our classrooms.
Angel L. Avery-Wright
Having children move throughout the day promotes cognitive learning and physical health while reducing behavioral issues.
Moving helps children focus better. “When you move, you stimulate all the nerve cells that we use to think with, and when you stimulate those nerve cells, it gets them ready to do stuff,” said Dr. John Ratey, an expert in neuropsychiatry. When those nerve cells are stimulated, they enable children to stay focused and retain more information.
The third editions of the Environment Rating Scales, like the first and second editions, cover a broad range of development including language, cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development as well as addressing children’s health and safety.
Erin DelRegno Evans
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” Fred Rogers
Who doesn’t remember playing when they were young? Coming up with your own games, playing outside almost every day whether sunny, snowy, or rainy. We were free to explore, try new things, make our own decisions, and it wasn’t directed by our parents. Sadly, children don’t have as much freedom to play as we once did.
Tracy Walter
I have been asked by parents and new teachers I work with “When is the best time to read to children.” My answer is always, “Always and anytime!” There is always a time to read when it comes to children because there are many benefits of reading to and with children, and it is never too early to begin.
By Rochelle Deane
The way you communicate with children teaches them how to communicate with others because children learn to communicate through everyday interactions and a language rich environment. Surrounding children with a rich language environment is important beginning in infancy. Talking, singing, reading, and offering many opportunities throughout their day, across all activities can help set the foundation for children to become successful readers and communicators. Ways this can be done in early childhood is by:
Natalie Grebe
In a classroom setting, there are many ways to engage toddlers and preschool children in age-appropriate science activities. This can be a fun and interactive way to introduce science concepts and foster a love of learning. Here are some ideas for activities that can be incorporated into a preschool classroom and spark a young child’s curiosity about science.
Science center: Set up a science center with age-appropriate books, materials, and tools for children to explore science concepts. This could include items such as magnifying glasses, objects from the outdoors, magnets, or simple science experiment materials.
Nature table: Set up a nature table where children can observe and explore different natural objects such as rocks, shells, and leaves. Encourage children to share their observations and talk about their discoveries.
Leah Zabari
Yesterday I was in a toddler classroom when two children slowly walked by me. One of the toddlers went up to the other and gently took hold of his friend’s hand. They proceeded to walk around the room together holding hands and interacting. It was such a sweet moment that was only captured by me, the observer. It’s not often I get to see those subtle and sweet peer relationships and it truly made me smile the rest of the day.
The Program Quality Assessment (PQA) Team is available to support you in the Internal Assessment Process (IAP) by completing an on-site assessment in your program. In addition to the Environment Rating Scales® (ERS) and Classroom Observation Scoring System® (CLASS®) this opportunity is available for all Program Observation Instruments (POIs) listed in the Keystone STARS Standards.