Pre-K CLASS

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:

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.

By Pam Schaffner

What do the words punishment, discipline, and redirection mean to you? Do you think they are interchangeable; do they mean the same thing? Do they have different meanings? Are they all appropriate ways to manage the behavior of young children?

Natalie Grebe

A key component of a program’s sustained quality that may not receive consistent attention is the director’s observations of classrooms. It is best practice for directors to observe classrooms and review their findings with teachers. Most directors will say the biggest reason for not being able to do this as well as they would like is time. While room observations may be scheduled, the constant interruptions of staff shortages, ill children, broken equipment, and parents’ needs make this difficult to complete. Some teachers may feel uncomfortable with their director in the classroom for an extended period of time or get more nervous at the thought of being “watched.” By implementing a few ideas and staying consistent, both directors and teachers can benefit from these observations.

By Lisa Mulliken

I sometimes drive my five-year-old granddaughter to preschool early in the morning. During our short drive she usually starts off a conversation with, “Mimi, did you know….?” Recently our conversation started with, “Mimi, did you know that fairies are real?” I responded with, “Wow! I’ve never seen a fairy. What do you know about them?” As she talked, I learned so much from her: they hatch from different color eggs and come out the color of the egg they grew in, they can’t fly when they hatch because their wings are too small, they eat crystals and hide from humans. So, how did I learn so much about her interest in fairies? By actively listening and asking open-ended questions that encouraged her to use her imagination and go deeper as she responded.

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.

By Lisa Mulliken

E-books are electronic books in digital form that can be read on a phone, tablet, computer or any other hand-held device. As e-books become more popular in classrooms and homes, there are many questions, and opinions, about using e-books instead of print books with children.