Three mistakes I have made when talking to parents

A guest post by Mark Lim: Early Years Childcare

When I switched careers from finance to childcare, I expected communicating with parents would be a breeze. I mean, I used to write all sorts of long boring reports and liaise with big fancy financial institutions handling tons of cash. How hard could it be talking to parents about their child’s day?

As it turned out, pretty hard!

Here are some of the mistakes I made, which you can hopefully avoid:

Talking too little

What I did: I read somewhere that relief staff shouldn’t talk to parents about their children. That’s the responsibility of full-time staff. In my first childcare setting, I was a relief staff, and so I took the approach of hanging in the background unless I was directly questioned about something.

The result: I didn’t get to share some of the many wonderful experiences of the children. Whether or not I was a full-time member of staff, I still spent a lot of time with the children, and so there were things that only I witnessed or knew about. If I didn’t open my mouth about it, the full-time staff would just read mechanically off the child’s daily sheet. On top of that, I came off as shy and lacking confidence during my appraisals. Huh!

Talking too much

What I did: At my second childcare setting, parents took a greater interest in the course I was doing, namely the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) course. I still remember how it warmed my heart the first time a parent sincerely took interest in my personal life, rather than just focusing on themselves and their children. With such an interesting new topic of discussion (ME! ME! ME!), who could help but become more engaged in prolonged conversation?

The result: Establishing rapport with parents can be a good thing, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing. The best opportunity to talk with parents is usually at the end of the day, but it’s also the most chaotic time as parents are picking up their kids. As I stood around chatting nicely about myself and the EYPS, I was effectively a non-member of staff. The chaos in the room quickly worsened, as did my colleague’s temperaments!

Parents already know EVERYTHING

What I did: Having little childcare-related experience, I assumed that everybody was an expert except for me. Therefore, it felt silly to tell the expert parents little details about their child’s day, like how many minutes she’d slept or that she’s picked the pink car or she’d coughed a total of 3 times that day. What could I tell a parent that they didn’t already know?

The result: Rushing through a child’s daily report ALWAYS led to parents slowing me down and asking for further details. Parents (first time parents anyway) are obsessively interested in their child’s day, and welcome ANY piece of additional information. If I told them their child had been staring at a blank wall, they’d ask me what colour the wall was. Besides, most parents never tire of hearing about their own children, especially when it clearly shows that a member of staff has been paying close attention to their child.

Mistakes are always obvious and easy to avoid once you know about them. Can you think of any you’ve experienced? Don’t be shy, share it out loud in the comments section!


P.S. I’d like to thank Deborah for giving me some space to rant, I very much appreciate it.

Be sure to see Mark's latest post on his blog titled "Communicating with Your baby: Baby Signs"

Thank you Mark for sharing your experiences as a new teacher in ece with us on my blog. Please come back sometime and share with us again!

Deborah

Preschoolers and Puppets

Puppets are a wonderful tool to use in the preschool classroom for all ages.  It doesn't really matter what kind of puppet you use - in fact you can just talk with your hand and kids find it funny and they pay attention. Have you ever watched a live puppet show? There is just something about having a little puppet talking to you that draws you in.

Puppets can be used as part of the classroom experience in numerous ways...

Creative art
Children can make their own paper bag puppets, stick puppets, string puppets, and finger puppets.

Music
Children just love to sing along with a puppet. No need to have a fancy puppet or stage, just throw a puppet on your hand and make it sing. Let the children join you in the song by making their own puppets sing. If you don't like everyone watching you sing - no worries. The children would rather watch the puppet!

Performance and Leadership
Some children do not like to stand in front of the other children, but a puppet might help with this. Puppets foster leadership, performance, and sometimes, even the courage to stand in front of our peers. Older students can put on a puppet show for the younger students and younger students can even put on a puppet show for the older students. The funny thing about puppets, is the children don't care if the mouth is moving right or the actions make sense - they just love puppets.

Other types of learning going on
Puppets also foster social interaction, communication, role playing, imagination, story telling, listening, and much more. Don't think your students are too old or too young for puppets because preschoolers of all ages are intrigued by puppets.

Puppet Stage
You don't have to use a puppet stage. In fact, when first introducing puppets, it might be best if you don't . The battle of keeping children from sneaking behind the stage might scare you off from trying puppets out.  I recommend just introducing the puppets and letting the children explore them with you for awhile.

I then recommend adding a puppet stage. You can buy one or make one. I use a foam display board like those used in science projects. I set it up when I need it and when I don't - I just fold it up and stash it in the corner. When I am speaking, I can take my puppet stage with me:)

Circle Time for younger preschoolers

One of the great things about using a simple puppet stage like this is that it really captures the interest of young children. Set up a little stage, add a puppet, and then let the puppet introduce the letter A! Let the puppet lead the children in a song. Let the puppet count out loud, say the days of the week, spell the kid's names, and so on. Preschoolers love puppets and you can use puppets to introduce many wonderful concepts and keep the children having fun in the process.

Check out this cute home puppet stage too! 

Paper bag puppets


You can sing the frog song too!

Large motor skills in the preschool classroom

Getting large motor skills moving in the classroom is a very important aspect of developmental growth. Especially in the winter time, when children spend less time outdoors, you need to make sure you are investing time in planning activities that promote various types of large motor skills.


What kind of large motor activities are there?

• Circle games 
• Ring-around-the-rosie or duck-duck-goose are two examples of simple activities that get children moving, running, jumping, sitting, and standing.

• Relay races can be simple and fun and they really do not need to be a race as much as an activity that encourages different kinds of moving. 
• Roll the ball relay - the teacher rolls the ball to the first child in line, the child picks up the ball and runs it back across the room to the teacher then sit's down behind the teacher. Now the next child in line goes.
• Pushing and pulling relays - the child crawls/runs/hops/walks across the floor pushing or pulling an object across the room and back again
• Relay races don't have to make sense, just get children moving from one place to the next

• Action songs and rhymes
• There are many wonderful CD's out there that get children dancing and moving like songs from Greg and Steve or Hap Palmer's "Sammy" song. 
• If you don't have a CD - then make up action songs that get your students to stretch, bend, twist, march, and jump.
• Try action songs like musical chairs, the limbo, and the Conga.

•  Organized Sports
• Yes, preschoolers can play a simple game of basket ball, kickball, bowling, and dodge ball too. Change up the rules a bit, use soft bats and balls, take the basics of the sport and modify it to the age group you are teaching.

• Equipment
• Hula hoops, tape on the floor, balloons, balls, push toys/cars, laundry baskets, parachutes (blankets), balancing beams, and jump ropes are all examples for simple tools that can lead to wonderful indoor large motor activities 

• Free Play 
• And of course, free play should always be encouraged but don't rely on that alone. Take a few minutes of everyday and offer up something new - then let the children enjoy some unstructured time in large motor play.

There are many children who are involved in organized sports but for those who are not, the only time they may spend on specific large motor development and skills is while in your care.

Make sure you are assessing the skills of your preschoolers. Can they make a circle, take turns, cheer for their friends, and follow simple rules or instructions of a game or a song? Do your preschoolers stretch, hop, run, march, jump, and bend daily? Your role is to make sure they do...

See the Hokey Pokey in action!
Check out who's up and movin!

More activities to build those large motor skills!

Stickers or Hugs: Motivating preschoolers

Trying to get preschoolers to do something they don't particularly find fun can be a challenge to even the best mom or preschool teacher.

Stickers
Stickers is an easy word to help remember the term "extrinsic motivation." Giving a child a sticker to get him or her to do something is an example of extrinsic motivation.

Handing out stickers, stamps, and other little gadgets is a common practice in preschool but relying on this to truly build inner motivation is not enough. What happens when the stickers run out? Will the preschooler still do what he or she is asked?

What we ultimately want to foster is the internal motivation to do the right thing - to do the nice thing - to care about our friends and the concerns of others. Not because a sticker is waiting at the end of the task, but because it makes us feel good inside.

Hugs
Hugs is an easy word to help remember the term "intrinsic motivation". I chose this word because a hug feels good and warm both on the outside and on the inside. Ultimately we want preschoolers to do something because they feel good about it.

When you give a child a hug, it tells them that you value their effort. Intrinsic rewards lead to higher self-confidence and self-esteem.

The next time a preschooler looks up at you all bright-eyed and says: "I did it all by myself!!" You are seeing the makings of intrinsic motivation. A healthy hug or high five and "good job" will help reinforce that intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation is far more complex than this little post is going to cover but it is important to understand the simple difference between getting a preschooler to do something because it is internally rewarding versus always looking for an external reward.

Read a little more about stickers and hugs:)

Can you teach a child to tie shoes like this?

Once again, I read a wonderful article titled "Shoe Club" by Matt Halpern.  Matt gives a wonderful plan for helping his students want to learn to tie their shoes that is a must read.

I, on the other hand, had fun doing a little search on YouTube of ways you can actually tie your shoe. Just for fun, see if any of these ideas work for you!

Video One



Video Two


Video Three


Video Four


Video Five


Video Six


Which way do you think is easiest? 

All children are writers, we just need to show them how!

A guest post by Melissa Taylor of Imagination Soup!

What’s the first word a child learns to write?
His or her name! Start with the name - add a picture and you have the makings of a letter to a friend.


We know that kids love getting mail.
Writing letters gives kids a gratifying purpose for writing – gratifying because most of the time, you receive a letter in return.

Read about it first!
Before you begin writing letters, read Max and Ruby’s book, "Bunny Mail" or "Toot and Puddle" about sending and receiving mail.

Gather the supplies
Gather supplies like scrap paper, note cards, envelopes, scissors, markers, pencils, stickers, ink stamps.

Make a mailbox
Make mail boxes for each child out of shoe boxes.

Scaffold your letter writing instruction
Model writing a “letter” to each child. First draw a picture and talk about who you think you want to give the picture letter to – maybe your friend, Mariah. Write / sign your name and give the letter to Mariah.

Adding on . . . Model writing another letter with pictures and words. The children listen for the letter sounds, then write the letters they hear. When done, sign your name and give the letter to the a friend.

Now, add writing the friend’s name or at least, the beginning letter of his or her name. (Another idea is to put name tag stickers on each child’s table. Friends can stop by and peel off the name sticker and use that on their letters.)

Finally, model using an envelope in which to enclose the letter. Show how to write the friend’s name on the front of the envelope. Model where to put the stamp -- a sticker -- in the upper right hand corner.

Depending on the age of the children you are teaching, you may choose to stop after step one or two. Or you could also scaffold the lesson over a week’s time. You know your students best so make this fit for their abilities.

Remember, all children are writers. We just need to show them how!

Happy letter writing!
P.S. This would be fun for Valentine’s Day!


Melissa Taylor is a teacher, writer and mom of two with an M.A. in Education. She writes a learning activities blog at www.imaginationsoup.net and can always be found on Twitter too! 


Thank you Melissa for taking the time to share your expertise and experience with us!


Deborah

Reading to young children and the advancements in technology

I recently read a blog article posted by my new friend Matt at "Look at my Happy Rainbow" titled "Pop Up." Matt shared with his readers how much his Kindergarten age children still enjoy books - even Pop Up books. I was even kind of surprised at this and then he showed a picture of a pop-up book where the author's work was so amazing that it is no wonder a Kindergarten child would love it. He also went on to briefly discuss the use of electronic devices in the classroom environment. Matt's post and the comments that followed from his readers got me thinking about the future of books in the preschool classroom.

The reality is, technology such as computers and Kindle (electronic books) are expensive and difficult to keep up with in the preschool classroom. As much as I love technology and use it daily in my adult life, I have always struggled to find a great way to introduce technology consistently in my preschool classroom. It seems like the computers get outdated so quickly or something breaks or the keyboard gets all sticky. But this post is not to down technology, I think we should introduce it to our preschoolers and I am still working on getting better at it.

What I want to share with you is why I think "real" books are so important for the preschool classroom.

Deborah and Wy

The power of real books

There is nothing better than sitting close to someone and listening to them use their real voice and watching their facial expressions as they read aloud from a real book. For young children, reading with a parent or a teacher is meaningful. It allows for interaction, communication, bonding, learning, and building lasting memories.

I love the look, feel, and smell of a real book. I can keep a book forever. I can write in it, display it on the mantle, toss it in the toy box, and I don't have to change the batteries or download new software to make sure it still works.

I am all for introducing young children to new technology but I don't think technology should replace real books. I hope it never does. I probably can't express fully why I feel this way but I think the photo of me and my nephew (shown above) says it all!

Deborah

Hand washing for good health: Dedicated to all who teach preschoolers

By Dawn Ginese, The Singing Nurse

Hand washing for good health, how many interesting and enticing ways can we share, show and encourage each other to “just do it”, and teach our highly observant and ever emerging preschoolers to follow in our footsteps.

 Doing what it takes to teach the point!

This hand washing post is dedicated to those feisty energetic preschool teachers, who I happen to believe are some of the most creative bunch of gals on the planet. Most of us are women who work in early childhood because, who else has the patience, and delights in hanging out with a gang of wiggly equally energetic three and four year olds.                                                                                                                                                                                             

My experience working with preschoolers developed while being a mother of three, teaching Sunday school, being a teacher assistant for emotionally disturbed children, and then later, as a nurse, the singing nurse.

The task of hand washing became necessary not only as a mother washing off mud pie and finger paints, but also as a Head Start Nurse. You might be familiar with this program that helps low income families learn all they can about parenting, raising healthy children, leadership and setting goals for themselves. The staff’s job was to discover anything that may hinder the child’s growth in all aspects, be it emotional or health issues, hearing or vision difficulties or the spotting of a potential learning disability.

We worked as a team and were privileged to be part of their developing lives, to give them a “Head Start” before Kindergarten. We worked not only with the children, but with the whole family unit. We take for granted the skills we’ve learned from our parents like, being encouraging, sitting and reading a book with our child, cooking a meal together and gathering as a family to eat it. It was part of the Head Start program to teach and model these family values.

                                 The Rub a Dub Dub Baby!

Oh yes, hand washing, just a slight sidetrack and bit of knowledge about the path I’ve been on. So, how does this all tie together? I am a musician as well as a nurse, so I decided to write some health songs while I was working in early childhood development. Who can vouch for the fact that we all write and sing little songs for every purpose while working with preschool children? The common adventures and sometimes scary situations preschoolers encounter in school and with medical professionals gave me the spark to write songs like; I’m Gonna Brush My Teeth, The Dentist is a Good Guy, Don’t Spread Your Germs Around, The Audiologist, The Tick Song, and Babies Are Beautiful.

One health song in particular is a hand washing song for preschoolers called “Rubba Dub Dub”. The tune is an echo song, it is easy to sing, the hand motions are simple, it’s tested and true and the kids love the lively beat. I was blessed by my daughter Hannah who created an animation of my song as a Christmas gift.

I just completed a lesson plan with activities and discussion points that integrates my hand washing song. The basic health lesson is complete with a germ game and several project options, lyrics with hand motions and more.

“Rubba Dub, Dub”, as well as other health tunes can be downloaded at my website. Check it all out, sign up via my contact page to receive news when my animated dental song and completed lesson plan book is finished.

Thanks to a new friend Deborah Stewart who encouraged me to reach out to her circle of early childhood educators with my educational health songs. I found her and her website, Teach Preschool via twitter.

Cheers to competent, innovative preschool teachers. Lead by example and they will follow!

For Healthy Kids, Dawn Ginese, The Singing Nurse

www.TheSingingNurse.com                  

The Singing Nurse, Dawn Ginese, RN © 2010

Thank you Dawn for sharing your expertise with us!
Do you have a comment for Dawn? We'd love to hear them!

Preschoolers love hearing..."You've Got Mail!"

I recently saw the cutest picture of a mailbox purchased and displayed on the Tired, Need Sleep blog. This reminded me of my own little mailbox that I have had for over 20 years (just like my laminator) and always use in every classroom that I teach in.


It isn't a cute little red mailbox like Tired, Need Sleep posted but it is a really cool red, pocket quilt made and given to me by one of my assistant teachers back in 1990.

When I am teaching, I like to do a week on The Post Office in my classroom and I hang the quilt down low so the children can reach it. I also place it near the writing center. I then place a name tag on each pocket, including my own name, so the children can give each other mail.

I often put little notes in the pockets too and I get tons of mail on a daily basis. Everything from little scraps of paper, little cutouts, little notes, and little pictures with hearts:) 

I usually hang the quilt up close to February and leave it up through Valentine's day. Some years we deliver our Valentine cards to the pockets and other years I let the children make Valentine bags instead. And when the month is over, I can easily fold it up and put it away. This keeps the novelty from wearing off.

What can children learn?

Name recognition: One of the greatest learning experiences is name recognition. Children are learning to recognize their own name as well as the names of their classmates.

Name writing: The children will often go over to the name tags and then back to the table working diligently to write each other's name on their notes or envelopes. The children want to draw and write so they can put something in a pocket.

Motor Skills: The children also love to fold their notes. They have to if they want them to fit in those pockets. Keep in mind, I find many little notes on the floor throughout the day and try to help sort it out, but most of the time it was the writer who just enjoyed the experience and the receiver doesn't always know when the note never made it to their pocket.

Social/Emotional: Getting mail can give a big boost to one's self-esteem and feelings of acceptance in the classroom. If I see someone is lacking in mail, I encourage the children to write them a note and the children love to do it. They like making their friends feel good and they love giving and getting mail.

For Younger Children
You could put pictures along with their name on each pocket so they will be able to identify their own pocket. The youngest child loves stuffing things in pockets:)

Preschool proof your classroom resources

Let's face it - laminating posters, file folder games, and bulletin board pieces can get expensive. I wish I could offer up some great alternatives to laminating but all I can tell you is that in the long run, laminating produces the best results.

In the old days, I used clear contact paper to laminate my resources but this was a difficult task. If I wasn't sticking the contact paper to a table I was putting it on crooked or leaving huge wrinkles down the center of my pretty posters - ugh! So eventually I invested in my first laminator. I actually still have the same one today. It is about 20 years old and I have had to disassemble the whole thing a few times to make it work but it does still work!

My laminator is an Ibico PL - 260 IC. It is very heavy and can only laminate paper up to 8.5 inches wide. I have bought a few newer laminators over the years but they all broke down. This exact model may no longer be available but it is my old faithful.

I usually purchase my laminating pouches from an office supply store like Staples or Office Depot but there are suppliers online as well. There are also different thicknesses but I find the 3ml does just fine for my purposes.

The problem with a small laminator is that you can only laminate small projects. One of the schools I work with has a large laminator that handles posters and large displays but let me tell that the price of that baby is up there. The other option for large pieces is to go back to the office supply store or a school supply store and have them laminate for you.

When you go to laminate small pieces, cut the pieces out first. If you laminate first then cut, the seal around the edges gets broken and chances are your pieces will start to be exposed or just slide out. ALWAYS use the cardboard pouch cover when laminating small pieces and flimsy paper or the paper will get wrapped around the roller inside the laminator. That is what I discovered the hard way but I am now quite proficient at taking my laminator apart and putting it back together again. I rarely laminate just plain pieces of paper. I only use card stock or paper with a heavier weight for best results.

If you are getting big wrinkles or tiny bubbles then your heat may be set too high. If the laminating paper isn' sticking well to the paper, then your heat may be set too low. Read the directions that come with the laminator for more info. Always put the closed end of the laminating pouches through the laminator first!

Is it worth the investment?
I think it is in the long run. I still have many of those same games and bulletin board pieces I laminated back in the old days. I also think laminating makes everything so much more shiny and pretty. Avoid laminating photos though - especially ones you value the most. Better to try that out on ones you really don't care about.

What else can be laminated?
I laminate home-made books that my preschool students have made together as a class. Then I put the book in the reading center for the children to view at will. I also laminate journal covers and name cards for the kids to use all year long. When the children need to see their name card, they just whip it out and use it. Most crayon and some markers can be wiped (or scrubbed) off of a laminated piece of card stock but not all.



See what My Bilingual Boys thinks about contact paper:)
See when to laminate and when not to laminate by Kindergarten's 3 R's: Respect, Resources, and Rants

And the Sunshine Award goes too....

I got an award from  Miller Moments and get to pass it on...

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blogworld!!

The rules for accepting this award are:

• Put the logo on your blog.
• Pass the award on to 10 bloggers.
• Link the nominees within your post.
• Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
• Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

I would love to pass a little sunshine on to the following blogs in hopes to brighten their day:

Teacher Tom! Totally cool early childhood educator with a perspective on preschool that is priceless!

Brick by Brick! A wonderful early childhood educator who does an amazing job sharing with his readers how children learn from the activities presented in his classroom. 

Circles and Center Time! Fairly new to blogworld but her posts about early childhood education are dynamic! She keeps it real!

No Time for Flashcards! A blog that really puts the great ideas out their for preschool age children!

The Activity Mom! I just can't stay away from this blog full of ideas for the preschool classroom!

Preschool Daze You won’t find a "follow" gadget on her blog but she doesn't need one because her preschool photos and ideas will keep you coming back for more!

Preschool Playbook An excellent place to check out preschool art and activities. 

Tired, Need Sleep Don't let the title fool you - she has to have a lot of energy to keep posting so many great preschool ideas.

PreKinders Full of teaching resources for the early childhood classroom!

Preschool - What Fun We Have! I just recently discovered this wonderful blog of preschool ideas and activities too!




More to come on Little Fingers That Play! I was given an award there too (lucky me!) So I will be adding more soon but for now - be sure to check out these wonderful blogs filled with ideas for teaching young children.

Preparing to sing with preschoolers

One of my most favorite things in the whole wide world is using music in the preschool classroom. I could sing and dance all day if given the chance - starting with morning greeting right through the late afternoon wrap up!

Years ago, I stumbled on the secret to building my knowledge of preschool music and fingerplays. This is something you won't be taught in early childhood education classes and you won’t read it in books either so be sure to get your pen out and write it down...

PRACTICE IN YOUR CAR!

Yep, when you’re driving around - turn off the radio and just start singing preschool songs! At first it may seem awkward. When you pull up at a stop light and the guy in the car next to you is looking at you like you've lost your mind, just pretend to be coughing or something.

Use a tape recorder

Another thing I carry around is a little hand held tape recorder. I sing the song into the recorder when I am first learning it so when I get into the car and can't remember the words or tune, I just flip out my recorder and hit play. Then I turn if off and sing it without the help.

Years ago I was returning to Indiana from a trip to an early childhood conference in New Orleans. I had to drive straight through and didn't arrive in Indy until the next morning. What saved my life and kept me awake all night? That little tape recorder with all the Jean Feldman songs (this was before she had any recorded music you could buy). I had taped her singing at the conference and sang them over and over again all the way home. I still know every one of those songs by heart. Try singing for 12 straight hours or more in a row and you will remember them too!

Are you kidding?

No, the reality is that the better you know a song the better you will be able to use it successfully in the classroom. You can use music all throughout the day to give directions, teach concepts, and entertain but you have to really know the songs to do them well. 

Why practice?

The better you know a song, the more you will like it and the more you will use it. When you sing a song that you know well -  your students will pick up on your enthusiasm and grow to love the song too. Besides, after putting in all that practice, your going to want to make sure your students learn those songs:)

Not a Singer?

It doesn't matter. Just sing anyway. In fact, practicing in your car will help you build your confidence and your skills. Don't forget to also practice those chants, poems, and fingerplays too! But don't eliminate the music - your students will pick up on your attitude about singing so give it your best shot and just have fun!

I have a CD player so why do I need to sing?

CD's are fabulous too - they provide wonderful opportunities for music and movement as well as learning new songs to sing. However, there is nothing like being able to whip out a tune when you need your students to give you their attention, clean up the classroom, or wash their hands. Singing gives you more control over when, where, and how you can use the music and it role models a love for music.

Go to Little Fingers That Play and learn new songs now!

Remember...You have the power to influence student attitudes about singing - so use it to help children love to sing!

Easel painting in the preschool classroom

Photo taken by Deborah at NAEYC 2009 early childhood conference!

A wonderful addition to any preschool environment is an easel. 


The easel is open ended
An open ended activity is one in which children are able to freely participate in the process - the outcome is ultimately based on the preschooler's ability, interest, creativity, skill, and desire to participate. Easel painting is very much open ended!


In this blog post by Brick by Brick, you will see a beautiful painting done on the easel - it is an amazing example of keeping art open ended and the result you can get from the easel.  Notice the difference between the painting in Brick's post and the one in the photo above. Clearly the one above lacks the imagination of a small child (it was painted by an adult).


Changing it up
Children will go back to the easel over and over again with nothing but paint being supplied. But you can change the easel up a bit...

• Rotate the colors of paint
• Rotate the type of paint
• Rotate the size of brushes
• Rotate the kind of brushes
• Rotate the size of paper
• Rotate the type of paper

Spark creativity
There are also different ways you can invite interest or spark creativity at the easel...

• Try playing different styles of classical music as the children paint - tell them to listen to the music and paint the way the music makes them feel.
• Bring in items that are unusual for painting with like a small limb from a tree or a feather duster.
• Add other mediums such as chalk, markers, crayons at the easel every once in awhile but the children like the paint best!
• Tape small words or pictures or photos around the edges of the easel for the children to view as they paint.
• Set the easel up in different places like near a window or close to the block center.
• Try letting two children paint at the easel together.
• If you have more than one easel, put them near each other so the children can view each other's work and to promote conversations about their work.

Choosing an easel
There are many kinds of easels to choose from but the most important things to consider is how tall the easel is and how sturdy it is.  You will also want to make sure that the easel has a good holder for paint and possibly a place to store or hold paper.


Lakeshore Learning has a pretty nifty easel you might like to check out!


Keeping it clean
Be sure to wipe the easel down regularly and to protect the floor, you can put a plastic tablecloth or mat underneath the easel. Teach your preschoolers to be responsible with the paint - don't give up and lock the easel up in a closet due to the mess. Instead, teach your preschooler to be successful in the care and the use of the easel and at the same time, be flexible and observe the growth and learning that is taking place.


An Easel Review
Be sure to read this touching little easel review from 4 Crazy Kings!

Using personal photos for birth to age five: effective and fun!

A guest post by Shara-Lawrence Weiss

When Deborah approached me about guest blogging, I was honored. I have gotten to know a little about Deborah through twitter and facebook and have found her to be kind, gentle and caring. She clearly loves children and enjoys working with preschoolers, making crafts, writing songs and more. The world needs more Deborahs, I say!

Any time someone asks me to guest post, I always try to think of something new to write (rather than reposting an already written article). I try to give them fresh and new content so that leaves me wondering what to write about...hmm...what can I share that's interesting and relevant?

For Deborah's blog I've decided to write about the use of personal photographs, in regard to early childhood teaching. Some of you may already be familiar with the effectiveness of photographs but some of you may not be!

Using personalized photos
I have always been a big photo buff - I do not scrapbook, however. I simply like the idea of using photos to teach concepts...because it works!  I love taking photos; both color and black/white. When it comes to early childhood, color photos have certainly shown a better response.

Personal photos as a customized learning tool
In my business (Personal Child Stories) I gather photos of a child (and perhaps of their family members, friends, pets, etc) and turn the photos into a customized learning tool. Some folks call this a "book" :-) A misunderstanding of what I do oftentimes comes in the form of people saying, "Oh, what cute scrapbooks!"

No. (smile)

I have a background in journalism, early childhood, nanny work, published freelance and special needs. While enrolled in school for my elementary ed degree I decided to start my PCS business (see my ABOUT page for full details on why I began PCS). When using photos with my own son, I quickly realized how effective they are. He would pick up concepts and grasp feelings and emotions very quickly when I used photos to teach him.

Photos invite young children to communicate
Clip art is okay and pieces of artwork can certainly evoke reactions from children. However, handing them a photo album full of photographs that include themselves, family, friends, classmates and so on – will very likely have them sitting for hours, if allowed: Studying the facial expressions, examining the eyes and mouths of each person, pointing out specifics and feeling drawn in by the emotions that are attached to the personal images.

When I ran workshops I saw the same result over and over again. Even looking over the images of OTHER children - the kids were fascinated. BUT...when they were given their OWN photos to work with, the result was tenfold. Lines of communication were opened easily and effectively. Even for the kiddos with special needs.


What can personal photos be used for?

Color Recognition
Take photos of your kids or students wearing different colors. Label the back of the photo that color (i.e. "Red" or "Green"). Teach color association with the photographs. Personally, I like to add the word to the back of the photo. That way, it can be used as a surprise element. When the child says the color you flip and card and say, “Yes!” When the word is written on the front of the photo, the surprise element is no longer there. The surprise element, in my experience, turns this into a game – which kids love.

Ordinal/Sequencing/Counting

Take photos of a child doing something in order. Such as:

• Getting up
• Making the bed
• Getting dressed
• Eating breakfast
• Going off to school

Sequence the images and put them on a flip ring using a hole punch. Carry this in your purse to teach sequencing. This can be used at school, at home, during therapy sessions, in line at the post office, at the grocery store and so on. A great “busy game.”

Take photos of the family members, starting with the child. This will be labeled "1." Then take a photo of mom and dad together and label this "2." Then add another family member into a photo for "3." Then 4, 5, 6, etc (include pets if wanted). Teach numbers and counting with this collection.
  
Expand vocabulary
Take photos of the house, of objects, of pets, etc. Teach any and every concept you want, using the photographs.

Promote emotional intelligence
You could also take photos of children being kind, helpful, caring, sharing and so on. This would teach character building and association which in turn – raises a child’s emotional intelligence.

Costs to consider
The photos will render a much faster learning result than any generic item; I nearly guarantee it.


If you can laminate the photos, even better. My laminating machine cost about $130. You can buy them cheaper but be careful not to waste your money on a cheap model. Many schools also offer free laminating to the teachers. Oftentimes the lamination is a thin 1 MIL and will peel apart quickly. If you can use 3, 5 or 7 MIL, the photos will last for years to come (I use 5 MIL on all of my products...far more expensive but my books and flashcards last for years and years with little to no damage).


You can also go to an office supply shop, however, be warned that they often charge $3-$5 per page to laminate. The cost ads up very quickly. Many of them also charge $1 per cut so if you have them cut the sides of the photos, it will run $4 per photo PLUS the lamination fees and tax. If you have several photos done, that will be a spendy activity for sure.

Invest in a laminator
If you plan to use photos often, I'd highly suggest buying your own laminating machine and some laminating sheets to go along. Check ebay before buying them elsewhere. You may have to spend a bit to buy in bulk but you'll get far more for your money that way. Contact paper also works but again – it won’t last long.

Photos as gifts
You could even make some photos for the students in your class to send home as gifts or as a memory keepsake. Take a class photo, print and before laminating label the back: "Friends from _______ School, 2010." Send one home with each child at the end of the year.

Photos can be used for just about anything and to teach nearly any concept. From colors and numbers and sequencing to emotions, facial expressions and family & self recognition. Give it a try. I’m sure you’ll be quite pleased with the results!

About Shara Lawrence-Weiss
Shara Lawrence-Weiss is the owner of Personal Child Stories and Mommy Perks. She has a background in early childhood, special needs, nanny work, journalism, published freelance and marketing. She resides in Arizona with her husband and three children. She plans to complete her elementary ed degree in the future.

Thank you Shara for sharing your insight with us. It has been a pleasure getting to know you through this online forum and an even greater pleasure to share your passion for early childhood education.


Deborah