By Regina Wright
I may be confessing my age, but let’s let our imaginations wander. Think about the time in your life when you were a child. What made your free time fun time? When I imagine, I think about long summer days and how I spent endless hours jumping rope. I had so much fun. Just one simple object, and of course friends, made my summers the best summers ever.
The assessment team in PA is often asked if they have any tips to make meeting quality standards easier. Since they have experience visiting many programs in their professional careers, they have seen many programs employ strategies to make things easier, more efficient, and more effective. Implementing quality can be stressful or time consuming, but always worth it. So, this Q-T Corner moment aims at helping you along the way.
Leah Zabari
During the spring and summer months, I enjoy hiking, camping, and paddling on the lake. Last summer, I decided I was going to start visiting as many of the state parks in Pennsylvania as I could, explore hidden gems of our state, and start enjoying the outdoors even more than before. Each weekend I dedicated myself to finding new places to hike and if I wasn’t hiking, I was sitting under a tree with a book (yes, an actual book) or at the lake daydreaming while watching sail boats go by. I always feel better in my soul when I am outside breathing in the fresh air, feeling the warm sun on my face, and wandering through the woods. However, when the weather turns cold, my feelings of doing anything outdoors changes. I find myself feeling envious of hibernating bears during this time of year! This year, though, I made it a goal to brave the cold weather and continue my outdoor adventures.
Aimee Currier
I kept falling into the same trap day after day. I would ask my children, “How was school today?” Their answer was always “fine.” At that point I’d pretty much lost them because in their mind, the question had been asked and answered and no further discussion was necessary. I decided to “get tricky” and ask them something more specific: “What did you learn (or do) at school today?” I imagine you can guess the answer to this question. Say it with me: “Nothing.”
By: Tracy Walter
When you hear the word “literacy”, what do you think? Do you think of literacy for children, in adults or does it make you think of literacy throughout a community?
By Aimee Currier
Are you looking for something different to do with the children in your care? Maybe you need a new way to reinforce or teach math concepts, language arts or nature/science. You might be hoping to find a fun way to get children involved in creating art. Believe it or not, a walk outside can help you to accomplish all these things.
By Amy Hoffman
I love trivia. I love learning random facts and attending trivia events, and I even developed a love of hosting a virtual trivia league last year; I’ll share more about that league later. Maybe my love of trivia is part of what made me enjoy teaching 3-year-olds. Not only did my students love to ask questions (and believe me, they REALLY loved asking), but they also loved hearing answers and finding out answers on their own.
By Kelli Harris
Cinco de Mayo is a time when Americans celebrate Mexican culture, mostly through food and drink, either at home or at their favorite local Mexican cantina.
But the real history goes something like this:
Cinco de Mayo, which translates to the 5th of May, is always celebrated on that day and is a celebration of Mexican heritage. It commemorates the date of the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. Following the Mexican Civil War, an economically struggling Mexico did not have sufficient funds to make payments on Mexican debts to foreign governments. The country was then invaded by the United Kingdom, Spain, and France, who sought repayment of the outstanding debts. The United Kingdom and Spain signed treaties with Mexico and returned home. The French, however, did not withdraw. They engaged Mexican troops in a battle near the city of Puebla. The French were defeated and withdrew from the area. The victory was a large morale boost for Mexico which had fewer soldiers and military resources than France.
The U.S. celebration of the holiday began in California in 1863 as an expression of solidarity with Mexico against the French. By the 1930s, the holiday spread and was considered an opportunity to celebrate Mexican identity, promote cultural awareness, and build community.
Some fun facts about Cinco de Mayo:
Some ways you can celebrate in your classroom:
https://nationaltoday.com/cinco-de-mayo/
https://www.parents.com/fun/parties/special-occasions/fun-facts-about-cinco-de-mayo/
By Michelle Long
If I asked you how many questions you ask children on any given day, I assume your response would be that is most likely too many to count. You probably ask how they are feeling, if they are hungry, what color they are wearing, if they need to use the restroom, etc.
Erin DelRegno
A bit about the person interviewed:
Greetings and salutations! (I am a Charlotte’s Web fan!). My name is Paula Schroeder. My mother told me that my unofficial teaching career began at age 5 when I taught my 3-year-old sister how to read. I have been a PA and NJ certified educator since 1982, teaching a variety of subjects from K-8 in Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA. Living abroad for 7 years, I taught both kids and adults in Mexico, Honduras, and Venezuela. After returning to the states, I continued my teaching career and am currently a certified principal and director of a 421-child preschool in Philadelphia for the last 11 years. We have risen to a STAR 4 status using ECERS, but in the last year felt challenged to switch to utilizing CLASS to measure and improve our instruction.