Meaningful literacy instruction

This post by Not Just Cute is great! Check it out.

5 little monkeys

My class loves singing the five little monkey songs. Several weeks ago I introduced the letter 'Mm'. We read the book "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed" and sand the song many, many, many times! The children made their own monkey mask and acted out and retold the story. They had such a great time and did an excellent job retelling the story. :)

DAP

Not just cute is a great blog! Today there was a posting on Developmentally appropriate practice. Check it out!

Brain Sprinkles

I got this cute idea from Dr. Jean. I took an empty cocoa can and covered it with foil. I put a few pieces of rice in the can and then glued on the top. I decorated the foil with glitter and rhinestones and wrote "Brain Sprinkles". Any time a child needs some encouragement or they have answered a tough question, etc. you simply turn over the can and sprinkle his or her brain. Its a very fun way to encourage or praise a child.

2010-2011 Pre-K Classroom

I have been working in my classroom for several days getting ready for my little ones to come on Thursday. I took some before and after pictures for you to see. Now please remember that I am not the best photographer and my room is still not 100% ready, but pretty close. The first picture is before and so is the last the middle is what it looks like right now. Enjoy!

A child's work is play!

Play is essential to early learning. Play is the main way children learn and develop ideas about the world. It helps them build the skills necessary for critical thinking and leadership. It's how they learn to solve problems and to feel good about their ability to learn. Children learn best through their everyday experiences because they are naturally curious, active, and eager to learn and try new things. Learning through play introduces and teaches new skills with a happy, comfortable and fun approach which will help a child maintain the information in long term memory.

Hands-on, playful learning experiences not only build interest in a subject, but set off a preschoolers experiences in learning as positive ones which they will want to continue for years to come. :)

Good Buy

I tried my new dry erase crayons. They are awesome! I plan on buying more so that my kids can use them during small group instruction and large group assessing. Target has a pack of 8 for $3. :)