Setting the Stage for Writing

Our young children will soon be readers and writers. In the Common Core era, we are asking even kindergartners to share their thoughts and opinions. Our current writing standards ask children to write argumentative essays along with narratives and informational text. How can we get our preschoolers ready for what seems like a difficult task? 

One of the best ways is to have children draw pictures to show their thoughts about something. They can illustrate the idea that more trees should be planted. They can draw a picture to show the importance of eating healthy food. There are so many valuable "social stands" that young children can take from caring about the environment to sharing ideas for a healthy lifestyle. This is the start of learning to write an argumentative essay.

Once these pictures have been drawn, children should find (or be assigned a partner). Model for children how to ask questions to encourage greater detail. For example, "I really like your little tree on the hill. Did someone plant the tree? I think your picture is great, but it would be even better if you added a person planting the tree." This gets children ready for peer editing and helps them learn to add detail, even in pictures.

When our young children are finished, have them record the story of their picture using Vocaroo.  Then click the QR code generator. Print and tape or glue the QR code to their art. Family members can scan this code with their phone and hear children sharing their story! 

For ELLs:
Encourage newcomers to tell their story in their first language. This will make for valuable discussion at home.

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.02, 2.D.06, & 2.D.07.
Head Start - VIII.B. 1, 2, 6, & 7.

Field Trip Tips

Summer can mean that those of you with children in your classrooms take them on more field trips than during the school year. Visits to places ranging from museums and aquariums to firehouses or even to a local farm make for fascinating summer learning opportunities. Here are a few tips to make these experiences even more meaningful (and safe!).

Families love to help. Send a family member as a "scout" to visit the locale in advance. You have likely checked it out, but it always helps to get a family member's eye on the spot. A mom, dad, or grandparent will often see things we do not. Ask your advance team to take photos of spots and sights that are not to be missed. These photos can be displayed in your classroom to get children ready and thinking about their field trip. On the day of the trip, they will have a better idea of special things to look for.

Two helpful safety practices can help your field trip run smoothly. One is to make name tags with the school name, your name, and cell phone number on them. Fasten these name tags on the INSIDE of shirts. Many suggest that children avoid wearing name tags where their names are displayed. It is easy for someone to take advantage of this. I always had my students wear hidden name tags.

Along these lines, I never assign a small touring group to myself. I divide my class among the family helpers. This means I can easily step in and help if an adult leader is having difficulty with a group member. I explain this to all the volunteers, who are given my cell phone number. I found that when they know I am ready and able to easily step in, they tend to call before a problem gets out of hand.

Finally, gather brochures, photos, etc. during your field trip. Later, make an interesting display in your classroom and encourage children to "walk down memory lane" by talking about their experiences. What a great expressive language opportunity! You may even want to enlarge a few photos, laminate them, and cut them apart to create puzzles. Children love this!

ELL  Connection:
This is a wonderful opportunity to engage newcomer families in your classroom. Let them know that their language skills are valued and needed. Having this type of support for children who are just learning English makes for a more meaningful and safer field trip. And everyone feels involved!

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.03 & 04.
Head Start - VIII. A & B.

Cleaning Up and School Readiness!

School readiness - it's on the mind of many of us as we get ready to send children off to kindergarten. Many times we can use common preschool activities to help our children become school ready. This week we offer two easy and meaningful ideas that have the added benefit of involving children in keeping your shared space tip top!

Idea 1:

Most of us have centers in our room with names like housekeeping, store, post office, library, etc. When it's time to move on to other activities, we usually ask children to clean up. Make this easier by taking a picture of the center as it should look "all cleaned up." Post the photo in each center. Then when it is time to straighten up, children can refer to the photo to make sure they have put everything back in its place.

This helps with school readiness as children learn to refer to material to assist them. Pictures in books have become more and more important in the Common Core era. Children are directed to use these text features to guide them in comprehending material. Your students will have a head start in using text features in a developmentally-appropriate and meaningful way.

Idea 2:

Tables messy after a snack, lunch, or messy art project? Let children help by wiping the tables. Fill spray bottles with plain water (that's usually enough to clean and we don't want children using cleaning agents). When they spray water on the table, their little hands are building important hand muscles involved in holding writing instruments. 

Many children experience writing fatigue in school. This is often because they have not developed the proper muscles in their hands. Simple actions like using a spray bottle helps develop hand strength.  

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.C.03 & 2.E.04.
Head Start - I.D. & II.C.

Tattling or Telling?

We all know that tattling can be a problem among the younger set. But how can we help children to know when adults need to be informed about an issue? We live in a time when this is a difficult "dance" as we do need to know about bullying, hitting, and hurt feelings. Using role play can help children understand when an adult's help is needed. 

We like to have children act out various scenarios. The following ideas can be used in your classroom to start a discussion about tattling versus telling:

Alexis did not like that Danny was calling her names. She threw sand at him. Should you tell the teacher? Discuss why.

Ryan was playing tag and accidentally bumped into Sarah. She did not fall down. Should you tell the teacher? Discuss why.

Hank was sitting in the library center. He was ripping pages in books.  Should you tell the teacher? Discuss why.

Amanda took a book out of Scott's backpack and put it in her back pack.  Should you tell the teacher? Discuss why.

Lisa spilled a little of her milk on the table. She got a paper towel and cleaned it up. Should you tell the teacher? Discuss why.

After role playing and discussing children's thinking on the scenarios, create a classroom chart with pictures to guide children as they consider whether an incident should be shared with an adult or if it is tattling. Some ideas include:

• Telling is done when you want to keep someone safe.
• You should tell if someone does something harmful on purpose.
• If you need help from an adult, you should tell. 

• Tattling is done when you just want to get a friend in trouble.
• If something happens that is an accident and your friend is not hurt, then you likely do not need to tattle. 
• If what happens is harmless, then you do not need to share it. 

This is something that will likely be an ongoing conversation in your classroom. But, children should know that when in doubt, let an adult know! You can then help individual children who tend to tattle, understand the thinking behind telling and tattling. 

Fun Idea:
Once children understand the nuance of tattling versus telling, there will still be tattlers in the room - it's inevitable! You can post a picture of someone/something famous. Encourage those children who need to tell you EVERYTHING to go and tell it to Mary Poppins or a Minion.

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.B.02, 03, & 06.
Head Start - II.A, B, & C.

Encourage Oral Language Development with a Plumbing Phone!

What in the world do plumbing pieces have to do with a preschool program? Guesses?

Our experience tells us these little components, easily purchased at any hardware store, can encourage language skills. Just put the pieces together, as shown below, and you have a listening "phone." 

Show children how to hold one part of the phone to their ear and the other part to their mouth. Children can easily hear only themselves as they whisper. And - they need to whisper as their voice will be too loud in the ear if they don't (that's a bonus!) 

Children love using their personal phones to talk about pictures in books, say the names and sounds of letters, count, or even read beginning sight words. They receive instant positive reinforcement in their own ear for their efforts. 

You can use these personal phones to have all children participate in observations outside. Just have them "dictate" what they see in the environment into their phone. Children love this! 

For our ELLs this provides a stress-free way to practice the English language. Only they can hear their efforts. 

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.03 & 04.
Head Start - VIII.B.

Books All Summer!

As our Emergent Reader Activity highlights this week, libraries of all kinds are wonderful places to involve children in reading. Research shows that the more books a child has access to, the greater chance he or she has of becoming a successful reader. So, encourage your families to visit the library often.

Please click on the above link for a sample of our free weekly emergent reader activities.

We love libraries and all they have to offer our young set, from story times to computers to coloring sheets. Just feeling positive about library activities goes a long way to encouraging literacy. Children's librarians are masters of motivation!

There is something else to consider when thinking about summer reading. Research shows that children who own books consider these personal treasures to be favorites. And better yet, children who choose their books often read and reread them. For our preschoolers this means developing Concept of Print/Word and even learning a few sight words.  

Many times series books are helpful such as the Llama, Llama books by Anna Dewdney. Series books allow children to meet familiar characters along with a known writing style. This means children can focus on vocabulary and fluency. This is especially important for our ELLs. 

Some communities offer programs to give books away. You can also suggest families take children to garage sales where children's books are often offered. Remind adults that children should choose their own books from the boxes that are often available. 

For ELLs:
Encourage families to read to children in their home language. Research shows that reading to children in any language is important for literacy development. Often families need to be encouraged to do this. Your local librarian is usually more than happy to help find books in other languages. Just ask!  

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.E.04
Head Start - VII.A.1-5. 

Animal Observations: Herbivores and Carnivores

As children approach summer, encourage observational skills that will keep them engaged and thinking during vacation time. One way to do this is to tap into their natural curiosity about animals. 

Show pictures, videos, or better yet observe birds, squirrels, etc. near your school. Ask children what the birds might be eating. Talk about how some birds eat seeds and berries while other birds pull up worms or snap up an insect for a meal. Use pictures of birds in your area for children to sort showing the types of food the birds prefer. 

Then look at other animals in your community. What do deer eat? See a fox? What might this mammal eat? Children can begin to see that some animals eat plant life while others depend on other types of animals to eat. Children love to hear and repeat "million dollar words." We encourage you to use the terms herbivores (plant eaters) and carnivores (meat eaters) in your discussion. We like to remind children of these words right before they walk out the door so that they have a ready answer for families when asked, "What did you learn at school today?"

Look at pictures of animals such as pandas and elephants. Children will likely be surprised these big animals survive on "vegetables." (Is this a sneaky way to say that vegetables make you big and strong?)

Encourage children to color the pictures of these animals and then add their plant food.  
Feel free to copy and hand out our cute panda and elephant pictures. Click here for pictures. 

You can even make a classroom menu for different animals. We often use this type of activity in our weekly emergent reader offerings. See a sample below:

Encourage children to be on the lookout for animals during the summer months and observe what they eat. This is likely a good time to remind children of an important safety rule: Stay far away from animals in the wild.    

We know many of you have English Language Learners in your classroom. In weeks that lend themselves to ideas for these young learners, we will highlight how you can engage these children, using the information in the post.


FOR ELLs:
Verbalize the sentence frame, "__________ like to eat ____________."

Show pictures of two or more elephants, pandas, robins, cardinals, eagles, puffins, etc. Model for children that these words need an s as they mean more than one. Have children point to the animals and repeat the sentence frame. This will help ELLs with syntax and vocabulary.

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.03, 2.D.04, 2.G.06, & 2.G.08.
Head Start - VIII. A., VIII.B., & XI.B.1.