Making the first day count

Posted on August 23, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

I have to admit, I love the first day of school! I can remember as a young child not being able to sleep the night before the first day of school due to the excitement and anticipation I felt. And now, as a Director of an early childhood center, I still become excited about the first day of school.

This week my staff has been busy, busy, busy getting their classrooms ready. They have been painting walls and shelves, setting up classroom centers, creating bulletin boards, setting up cubbies, and laminating endless pictures and labels. The classrooms are looking crisp, fresh and ready for new students to visit on Friday morning to meet their teachers and then start on Monday.

As a Director, I take the start of a new school year very seriously because I know how important it is for students to have a positive experience their very first day of school in their life. For many early childhood programs, your school door is first of many more classroom doors that will open for the rest of their life. Their first school experience will set the stage for years to come, so make it a positive one.

First impressions matter…so be sure to welcome your students and parents in a way that is warm and caring.

Prepare your classroom in the same way, taking time to ensure the students recognize their name and maybe even their photo somewhere in the room.

Try to take a few moments to chat with each child and their parents in order to begin building positive rapport.

And last, keep in mind the important role you play an educator; the influence you will have on your students this year will change each one of their lives forever, so get excited and make your first day count!

New project underway!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

Tressa and I had fun today working on a new project that we are looking to bring to our website REALLY SOON! It’s a program that we’ve been doing locally here in Connecticut, but we wanted to find some way to be able to share it online for any early childhood teacher, parent play group or recreational organization to use and have fun with. We got the ball rolling today … and big thanks to Dan Wills (danscottwills.com) for his patience, expertise and sense of humor through this part of the process!

We aren’t ready just yet to unveil what we are doing, but here’s a sneak peek into our session today!

Favorite preschool Summer Olympic activities

Posted on August 11, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

The Summer Olympics are a great way of teaching children about sportsmanship, teamwork and trying your best. As the Summer Olympics wrap up this weekend, we think back to our “Summer Olympics at summer camp” week and some of the favorite activities that were part of our games!

Making the Rings

Before our camp opening ceremonies, each class worked on making the Olympic rings to hang around the school. There are SO many ways to make the rings. Here we used paper plates and paint:

My favorite version is the one with painted handprints:

Making the Torches

These were simple to make, but the kids loved each having their own torch to hold while walking into our opening ceremonies!

Opening Ceremonies

With torches in hand, children marched into our big room by class (toddlers, preschoolers, school-agers). They then had to say the our version of the Olympic oath:

Children were then broken out into multi-age groups to form their Olympic teams. Each team had an animal name, and the children wore animal print scarves to show their team “colors”!

The Games

It was fun having the multi-age teams do daily challenges together. There were relay races, variations on games such as flyswatter tennis and even cup stacking!

The games were fun … and also gave the children opportunities to develop social skills (cooperating with others) and practice small and large motor exercises. We’ll miss the summer games … and look forward to having a winter Olympic themed week in 2 years!

Pinterest early childhood link-up

Posted on August 11, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

Are you on Pinterest?? Do you like to follow other preschool teachers, parents and blogger boards to get ideas for your classroom, play group, homeschool, birthday party (… the list goes on, doesn’t it?!). If you are looking for some great pin boards to follow that are related to early childhood ideas, concepts, practices … then here’s where you can start!

Debbie Clement at Rainbows within Reach has started a link-up inviting ECE pinners to post a link to their pin boards – and she invited us to help spread the word! Check out the awesome, growing list below and find a couple of new pinners to follow!

Do YOU have a Pinterest board with early childhood related pins to share?

You are all welcome to join the fun! The ‘rules’ are simple! This is a Link-UP. Please add your DIRECT LINK to your pinboard collection. So, hop on board and post a link to your pin board below … and find a couple of new pinners to follow!

Summer Olympics at summer camp

Posted on July 27, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

With the 2012 Summer Olympics starting this weekend, our Summer Camp is planning an Olympic themed week next week! They are super excited and have a lot of fun activities planned. The different classes will create their own team flags, make their own medals and have an Opening Ceremony celebration. They have planned a really great mix of activities – some inspired by actual Olympic events and others that are focused more on team and cooperation. If you are looking for some activity ideas for your own Olympic fun, take a peek at some of the ideas we have planned!

ACTIVITIES THAT PROMOTE TEAMWORK

Highest card tower: Using a deck of cards or index cards, break out children into groups of 3-4 and have them work together to build a card tower. Have a time limit set and see which group can build the tallest tower.

Cup stacking: Solo-type cups work best for this, but can be done with other types of plastic or paper cups. Game works similiar to card tower above.

Balloon between the knees relay race : Break children out into two teams and have them do a relay race where they have to “run” with a balloon between their knees.

Bear races: Can do a relay race where children pretend to bears and run on all fours.

Flyswatter tennis: Using balloons and flyswatters, have children see if they can work together to keep a balloon in the air.

ACTIVITIES INSPIRED BY OLYMPIC EVENTS

Soccer: For young children, get a few soccer balls so that each child has their own, or one ball for every two children. Have them see if they can kick their ball to a certain target (a hula hoop, to the fence, or into a goal). They can even just try kicking the ball back and forth to a partner. It’s really about gross motor control and learning how to kick.

Gymnastics: Place a mat or large sheet on the floor. Have children take turns, with each child making movements, such as rolls, balancing on one foot, etc.

Basketball toss: Children can toss a small plastic basketball or yarn ball into a small trash can or basket.

Javelin throw: Children can throw straws and see who can throw them the farthest.

Hammer throw: Take a tube sock and put a tennis ball inside and put a knot in the sock. Children can take turns raising it over their head and letting it go. They can try to hit a target (like a hula hoop) or just see who can make it go the farthest.

Frog jump (“Long jump”): Children can pretend to be frogs and take turns jumping with both feet together at the same time. You can measure their jumps with masking tape.

Obstacle Course: Setup an obstacle course with things that children can crawl under, through and climb over.

How is full-day K changing the preK experience?

Posted on July 22, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

There is no doubt that Full-Day Kindergarten is sweeping our nation. More and more school districts across the country are finding funding and space to offer a longer day of instruction verses a shorter half day.

Over the past few years an abundance of research has been provided to prove that there are many benefits for the full day model. And so, the district in which our early childhood center resides will be transitioning to the full day Kindergarten model for the 2013-2014 school year.

I am eager to hear from Directors, Teachers, and Parents across the country in regards to how to best prepare four year olds for Full Day Kindergarten?

For early childhood program that offer part-day preschool classes … have you had to make changes to your part-day preschool instruction in order to prepare students for a full day when they enter Kindergarten?

Parents with children attending full day Kindergarten programs, feel free to share your child’s experience and how your preschool teacher prepared your child for the transition. We want to hear from you!

Picking up your child at the end of the day

Posted on June 21, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

For parents and children, the end of the day can be a busy and stressful time. When picking up young children from their child care center … are we connecting with our child and child’s teacher … OR are we on the phone, sending texts or focused on where we have to rush off to next? Author and parenting speaker Bill Corbett provides some tips for parents to make the transition at the end of day more relaxed and enjoyable for parent and child.

5 TIPS FOR PICKING YOUR CHILD UP AT CHILD CARE

1. Find a way to decompress when leaving the office. Make exercise a new component of your afternoon or take a few moments to just breathe deeply and meditate. Your child is important and your work will still be there later.

2. Leave your phone in the car and “show up” in the moment 100% for your child. Wear a face and a smile that says, “I’m here for you and nothing else exists for the moment.”

3. Get down to your child’s eye level while he is talking to you. He has so much to share with you that transpired during the time you’ve been a part. Nothing is more important to him than what’s on his mind at the moment.

4. Keep quiet and take this opportunity to listen. I know that you’re running short on time and you have so much to accomplish over the next few hours, but your child doesn’t care about that right now.

5. Take your child to a park bench or some other quiet area for just 10 – 15 minutes to reconnect. She has so much to tell you about and craves a few minutes of dedicated attention to reconnect. If you give your child 100% of your attention well enough, it will be much easier to get her cooperation to go on to the next thing you have to accomplish.

Child care teachers can help also making by themselves accessible to parents at the end of the day, to brief the parent on their child’s day and answer any questions they may have. These tips would be great to post outside classrooms or include in an information packet for parents at the beginning of the year.

In response to a reader question below … here is a blog post more specific to helping babies transition to child care.

Bill Corbett is the author of the award-winning parenting book series, LOVE, LIMITS, & LESSONS: A PARENT’S GUIDE TO RAISING COOPERATIVE KIDS (in English and in Spanish) and the executive producer and host of the public access television show CREATING COOPERATIVE KIDS. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and provides parent coaching and keynote presentations to parent and professional audiences across the country. Images used here with permission from Bill Corbett.

Picking up baby at the end of the day

Posted on June 21, 2012 by The SEEDS Network

We had a question on a recent blog post about picking up your child at the end of the day. Monica asked the following question:

“I will soon be sending my 6 month baby to child care and am wondering how to reconnect. She is already having stranger anxiety and we’ve developed a strong bond. I don’t want her to be mad at me for sending her there.”

We asked our friend and colleague, Michelle Catania, (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist), what advice she would give in this situation. Here is Michelle’s response ….

TIPS FOR PICKING YOUR BABY UP FROM CHILD CARE

When our babies go off the child care it can be harder on us then it is on them. Reconnecting after pick up time will grow to be a favorite time for both of you. Planning for an uninterrupted 15 minute playtime / snuggle time when you come home can ease the transition between school and home.

As for giving comfort to your baby while in child care, it’s important to remember babies are very aware of their parents’ anxiety. Having a child care arrangement that you are happy with will make you more comfortable with leaving your baby, which will make your baby more comfortable. They will sense that they are safe.

Babies are also very sensitive to their mama’s smell. Sending in a blanket, lovie, little photo book, or burp cloth from home will add a comforting touch to a new place.

Last but not least, whenever possible, easy your baby into a new child care situation. Start with a couple hours, then lead into a whole day. Having someone else take care of our babies is tough, but good, licensed, accredited care can add socialization and awareness to our babies world.

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