Posts Tagged ‘Early Childhood Education’
Grace Geller on June 17th, 2010
Summer is upon us! With a little extra time and an uncluttered calendar, imagine the possibilities…. Summertime is the perfect time to start something new; but what? How do you stop yourself, or your child, from falling into the doldrums and doing the same old thing?
As parents and teachers, we want our children to be “creative.” But what is creativity? And how do we encourage it in ourselves and others? Before we discuss creativity and enhancing creativity, let’s back up and examine a few creativity inhibitors.
In our never-ending effort to help create the well balanced child, we sometimes interfere with that balance. Some of our inhibiting behaviors include:
Hovering: Constantly watching children while they are working interferes with risk taking behavior. (We are not talking about safety issues.) We are talking about using a medium in a different way or combining items that are not usually combined.
Approval Seeking Behavior: Sometimes our children will do, or make something, in an effort to please us. They do not make it or do it to please themselves. When we seek approval from others we ignore the satisfaction that comes with our own accomplishments. Allow your child to check his/her motives. Let them tell you why they created what they did….
Rewards: Excessively rewarding children with prizes and gifts deprives them of the pleasure of creating something for its own value. The goal then becomes receiving the prize rather then creating something new. Create for the sake of creating.
Competition: Sometimes when we place children in the position that only one or two children can win, we create an environment that winning becomes the important result. Innovation can lose to the sure thing.
Controlling: Constantly telling children what to do and how to do it can inhibit a child’s ability to develop problem solving skills. Without problem solving skills it becomes increasingly difficult to think of and test new ideas.
Over Scheduling: Directing your child’s activities or enrichment classes is an important part of exposing children to the many options available to them, but over scheduling limits your child’s time and interests to the allotted time and information. Children need time to explore and follow their passions. Sometime after the 20th “I’m bored” comes discovery. It takes awhile for our over scheduled children to learn how to fill their own time with things that are important to them.
Pressure: Last but not least, pressure. We need to scale our expectations for our child’s performance. When our expectations are too high our children may refrain from trying something new or not taking any risks, for fear of failure. As parents and teachers we must remove our ego from the equation!
The beginning of this post referred to creativity in our children and ourselves. We too, are victims of inhibitory behaviors. More often than not, we place those inhibitors on ourselves. The more aware of the inhibitors that we are, the better we can deal with them.
So now that we have a handle on the inhibitors, what is next?
We need to get unstuck! First we must set a goal. One that is specific, attainable and realistic.
We are helping our children and ourselves learn to create! To relax, to go with a new flow, express ourselves, paint, make music, build things, try new foods, sing, look at the world upside down aaaaahhhh Create………
Next we must get up and move. That is right. We need to get the creative juices moving. So shake and shimmy until you work up a sweat.
Finally allow time – to dream, imagine the possibilities, visualize, hum, sniff, giggle. What would it be like if…
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: creativity, Early Childhood Education, Early Learning, family life
Grace Geller on June 3rd, 2010
The final part in our series by our guest author Sharon Alm
Let’s talk about the part television and computers are playing in your young child’s life. Both can be wonderful resources! Both can also be mindless noise-boxes. Hopefully, you are guiding the Technology Department in your household.
Ideally, you will coordinate the language and vocabulary with what you present via technology. The best part is that you, the parent, can and should always be with your child when either TV or the computer is “in charge” of your child’s attention. Delayed recordings of children’s shows provide you with the ability to show selected parts of a show that your child would especially enjoy. Attention spans are short, and viewing should be, as well. There’s always another day and another time. More is not better.
Sesame Street has been a favorite for many years. The big, purple Barney seems to be especially loved by pre-toddlers, simply for its simple songs and rhymes and colorful
activities. You’ll have to decide what is best in your home for your child.
Books you read with your child can guide your selection of television or computer experiences. A book about the ocean might suggest a technology experience to share a specific “critter” or to expand something else in the book. The same might apply to an Arthur book, followed by and Arthur cartoon story.
Computer software can also provide continuation of book subjects. I taught at a private school in Florida where three-year-olds were quite adept at inserting the disc needed for their pre-reading software. Technology is everywhere…..please, use it wisely.
Continue talking, talking, talking (and singing) to your child in every situation. Don’t forget to stick in those rhyming words as you go through your day (bread /head; sock /rock; chair /hair; cup /pup; bug /rug). Things will be “connecting” inside of your little one‘s brain, and you will begin to see the results of your consistency.
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, Early Reading, preschool, reading
Grace Geller on May 27th, 2010
Continuing with our series by our guest author Sharon Alm
Over the years of opening the world to your child, there will be so many things that you can do to connect the books you read, to your child’s reality:
I’ve mentioned the plastic magnetic letters for the refrigerator. One of the most important first words on the refrigerator should be your child’s name!
Using the letter M as my example, you can conveniently think of lots of words, beginning with that sound, as you go through your day. Emphasizing the letter sound, as you say and shape the words, connects them in your child’s brain.
Find that visible letter as you shop or ride in the car: Mommy, morning, and M at the local McDonald’s, of course. Use capital letters, including words that you create on the refrigerator.
Write your chosen letter for your child in soapsuds at bath time in the tub; make it from PlayDoh as he/she grows into that activity. Create a collage of a few pictures from magazines that show M things in your child’s world. Post it where your child will see it to point out M pictures during a diaper change, for instance. (Don’t let your child see you cutting up a magazine for this, however. Save that for later, when you can teach scissor-cutting and the chosen old magazine to help with the posters.) Remember those lessons on respect for printed materials.
If your book is about a farm, you can visit a local petting zoo, when your child is old enough to handle the experience. Repeat this type of activity by visiting: an annual fair, the beach etc. Each experience connects something new in that little brain.
Find incidental ways to remember things from books your child has read over the years. These don’t have to be “dog and pony show activities.” Just a quiet walk in the park can recall trees or fences or fountains seen in a story. Little things mean a lot when they are discovered in the average day.
As you read the same books over and over, you’ll remember certain parts to recall at the opportune time for silly moments, too! Dr. Seuss often creates those times with “I do not like them (or that), Sam I am.” This can be a silly reminder of a funny story, and can also correct some behavior that is unfavorable to you at the time.
I would also like to recommend two books for you to read. Both cover the subject of reading aloud to your child, but are written in delightfully different ways. Each book contains lists of suggested books for various ages. The books also make great gifts for new parents!
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives
Forever by Mem Fox
Mem Fox is also the author of several wonderful children’s books!
Read to Me: Raising Kids Who Love to Read by Bernice e. Cullinan
I hope you will delight in watching your child grow and blossom with the reading aloud of wonderful books. Making your child a book lover will be one of your greatest achievements as a parent. Reading aloud bonds parents and children in so many ways. Don’t assume that your independent reader won’t want read-aloud time with you. Chapter books provide wonderful opportunities for some great reading—only without as many pictures to explore. Your child will be older, and chapter books can provide age-appropriate life lessons, too.
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, Early Learning, Early Reading, family life
Grace Geller on April 28th, 2010
Early Reading Continued:
Your child is probably showing signs of knowing your routines, by now. Routines translate as security to your little one. You are providing a safe and loving world, which will expand as your child grows. You are the model and the teacher…always.
Use each part of your day as a teaching moment. I don’t mean “lessons,” of course. I mean natural talking about what you are doing and what your child is seeing. See and feel through your child’s eyes:
Naming Things: bottle, bed, car, blanket, dog, refrigerator, window, book …..
Describing Feelings: soft, cold, wet, dry, bright, dark…..
Meaningful Phrasing: open the door; sit on the chair; open the book; go to sleep; get a bath; washing, washing, washing your hair…..
As you begin to focus on repeating familiar words, I suggest that you investigate sign language for babies. Babies learn quickly to associate repeated words and signs, which ease the tension often encountered between infancy and “talking.” The baby knows what he/she wants, but parents are guessing—-and are often wrong.
There are books available at the libraries and bookstores, of course. There is also a basic resource center I found online, along with others if you do a more detailed search.
http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/glossary-photos.html
I didn’t personally use signing with my babies, but I have heard of many successful cases of better communication during the infancy/toddler stages. In infancy, of course, the cry is the first communication. However, crying also might mean wet pants or a tummy ache. Parents learn quickly, too.
The words “eat, more, and done” seem to pop up as definite signing words! We cannot control the eating habits of our children—the what, when, where of their hunger. Those three words would solve a lot of guessing and tension. So begin signing some of the words that fit your routines, as soon as your child is sitting in the infant seat or high chair, when your hands are free and you can follow them with your actions. I hope you’ll include the sign for “book,” as well. What a wonderful way for your child to begin telling you that it’s time to read!
Through signing and all the talking you are doing, you are providing the groundwork for reading. Presenting language and vocabulary to your child’s ears and eyes (no flashcards, please, just showing and signing), will amaze you when your child reaches the talking ages and can draw on early events and words to surprise and amaze you!
As I said, you won’t know what and how much your child’s infant brain can absorb, until he/she grows and matures a bit. So opt for giving him/her as much as you can, making it meaningful to your daily family routines. Opening your child’s world should be on the top of your list as you go through each day.
Submitted By Sharon Alm
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, parenting, preschoolers, reading
Grace Geller on April 14th, 2010
The small bundle in your arms is growing quickly! By now your child knows your voices, your faces, and some daily routines. Smiles appear! Parenting is wonderful (overlooking the messy and cranky parts, of course). Those smiles melt your heart and erase the messes. Books also help with the cranky times. Your calm voice and the rhythm of your words are comforting for many situations. Try it! Books in that diaper bag can work wonders in many “waiting times” during a day.
Reading aloud is not difficult. Your child, liking the routines in his/her life, will also like you to read the same books the same way each time. (Sit in the same places at home, with favorite pillows or blankets or stuffed friends nearby, too.) So comforting.
Use various pitches in your voice to match the story. Make some sounds for the surprises in a story, even when the surprises aren’t surprises any longer. Your child will anticipate those surprise sounds anyway! This doesn’t necessarily mean LOUDNESS.
Remember, at bedtime you want a calming story.
Don’t go to extremes with the stories. After all, you’re not on stage. Your face and your eyes share the story’s events. You are going with your child through this tale. Relax and enjoy it yourself. Take time to look at the pictures and point out some things, for enjoyment, not “teaching.” Relate them to the child’s life and to the story. Riding in the car, for instance, you might see a barn or a fire truck just like the one in the story you read yesterday.
Reading aloud with your child is the most important thing you can do to help your child read. Be satisfied that you are taking steps toward independent reading each time you share a book aloud. You are beginning at infancy and you will continue for many years. Children who are older and can read independently still enjoy read-aloud time at home (and at school). There is always a book to share, too.
Submitted by Sharon Alm, guest author
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, Early Learning, Early Reading
Grace Geller on April 8th, 2010
This post is the first in a three part series by guest author Sharon Alm:
You are overwhelmed from the moment your little bundle is put into your arms. You feel great love and great responsibilities —the two greatest realizations a baby brings to your life. Both realizations are wonderful! Both realizations are acted upon the moment you kiss that little head and utter, “I love you.” You’ve begun the most wonderful and rewarding job: PARENTING. Your words have taken you to the first educating step toward reading.
Talk…..talk….talk…..talk to your child, no matter what you are doing. The tone and rhythm of your words have been there during the pregnancy. Now make it real. Language is your way of opening the world to your child. Don’t worry that your child won’t understand all that you say, because you actually don’t know just how much is absorbed into that little brain.
Sing a few words over and over: “I love you….Yes, I do!” With your big smile and a clean diaper, that task has been fun, too!
Nursery rhymes bring the magic of words that are almost alike. They are fun! Learn a few simple nursery rhymes. Saying them slowly brings the rhyming and the rhythm to life! They can be sung to a creative melody. They can be said as a chant. They can be said in funny voices! They can be said with a nod of your head to the left and to the right. The verses will bring a smile to your face, and a smile to your child’s face. The rhyming words can be isolated and said or sung slowly to emphasize their likeness. Rhyming words are fun! You have taken another small step toward reading.
Parents are the first and most important teachers in a child’s life. Never forget it. You are models. You are security. You answer the crying and make things right. You are there for them. Your eyes and your smiles paint a picture of the world to them….make it a beautiful and a positive picture.
Books and reading aloud should definitely be a part of that positive and beautiful picture. As your child grows into a regular bedtime, please make reading aloud part of that nightly routine. It’s a time of closeness and relaxation, and a great introduction to books! You’ll find lots of books along the bedtime theme. Try a “board” book (heavy cardboard) as your child learns to reach for things. Don’t rush….read calmly and pleasantly. A bedtime without a book is lonely.
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, infants, preschool, reading, toddlers
Grace Geller on September 10th, 2009
At a family gathering in N.Y. last week, I was talking with some cousins I hadn’t seen in some time and the subject of reading came up. Predictably, the educated males preferred a non fiction genre, while the females preferred fiction. A discussion ensued about the pros and cons of each genre. The males found value in the clear, concise information being delivered and the females found most (not all) non fiction to be dry but valuable however not something they preferred. Their preference was for a story line that examines the information presented in light of the human experience.
Early Childhood Education is like fiction. We take the basic facts and put them together to build something greater then its parts (Gestalt). When we take pieces of tissue paper and glue them onto a piece of wax paper, we can predict that they will stick, because a property of glue is to make things stick. What we can’t predict is the way we will feel when we place that piece of wax paper up to the sunlight and a rainbow of colors fills our vision. That’s fiction.
If I haven’t lost you yet, try this. Fiction is applied non fiction and Early Childhood Education is applied learning. Ergo, Early Childhood Education is like fiction.
In the Early Childhood classroom, we are all about the nuance. Children must be able to read each others body language, facial expression, and physical space (non fiction skills) and apply that information to similar situations in order to engage in effective play. The assimilation, interpretation, and the application of this information to creative play is the stuff fiction is made of. In a good fiction story, the characters share common experiences with the reader and present them with a different twist; perhaps even an “aha moment”. In Early Childhood settings we too are searching for the “aha moment” when the children realize something they have never understood before.
Though this is not a scientific study, I am comfortable in assuming that our reading preferences (male & female) may also be a good indicator of our career choices. Our reading preferences might be the reason females dominate the early grades of education (Pre-K-6), where the education is applied, and the males tend to dominate the latter (H.S. and beyond), where education tends to be more theory.
Have you read any good books lately?
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, reading
Grace Geller on August 27th, 2009
The first week of school is just about over and the questions have begun to roll in. Some families have stopped in my office and inquired about their child’s first days. They so want to know that their child is receiving the education they enrolled them in the school for but their child insists on telling them “I played”!
For all intrinsic purposes they did play, and they played all day! Yes, that is what we do here; we play. Everything we do is through play. We play with blocks so we can really learn about symmetry and equilateral designs. We learned that you can put two geometrically same shapes together to make a new shape (two triangles equal a square); or that each side of a building must be of similar length in order to be able to put a roof on the structure. We learned that we have to use an accurate vocabulary to get what we need and we learned to confer with our peers in order to solve a problem.
During our Literacy program we learned that books follow a predictable pattern. There is a title page, an introduction, the middle and a conclusion. We will begin to use this same pattern when we write our own stories. By understanding the patterns we will come closer to deciphering the mystery of reading.
We sat and listened to a good book. If we listened well, we were able to picture the story in our mind and perhaps even predict the ending by the clues in the text.
While having snack, we practiced good manners. We learned to remember to say please and thank you and the importance of participating in the civilizing act of sharing a meal and engaging in good conversation with our new friends.
Outside on the playground we exercised our bodies and worked on our team building skills while we increased the oxygen to our cells and prepared our bodies and minds to take in more information. And yes, we played.
At the paint easel we painted with chubby brushes that fit snuggly in our like- wise hands and we learned how to use just the right amount of pressure to create a shape but not tear a hole in the paper.
They know that their new friend “Joey” wore a red sock and a blue sock and the grown ups thought that was a very funny thing to do!
But you all already know all that in your hearts; what you really want to know is: “Will my child know what I think is important?” The answer is yes; they will if you ask the right question. The questions need to be based on their day. Look at the lesson plan, (which should be posted outside your child’s classroom) and ask something like this: “I see you drew numbers in shaving cream; what was your favorite number to write?” Or “I see you heard the story Caps for Sale; was it funny? Did you like it? “What was the story about?” You see, our children already know so many things; it is us who need the education. We need to learn to ask the right questions because they are already very good at asking and answering questions.
So what did you do in school today? I played.
Peace & Light
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, Families Today, preschool, success in school
Grace Geller on August 6th, 2009
This week as we got ready to end another Summer VPK program, it occurred to me just how similar the classroom microcosm is to general society. The summer VPK program is a unique situation for us. All of the students are relatively new to our program. Each hails from a different school or home setting. They are pilgrims to our school. They bring with them various skills, expectations, and cultural behaviors.
During the first few days, their preconceived expectations reveal themselves through their behaviors and needs. It is the teacher’s job, to assess the needs of her classroom members and develop a plan for the obtainment of the school’s goals, much like a city council or town mayor.
In the beginning of each year, we also have many of the problems of a new society. Invariably one child will take something that doesn’t belong to him/her: one will try to physically get their way, one will report on everyone in the group, and a few will play nicely together. The parents of the children will perceive these events either as part of the civilization process, or a “problem” to be fixed.
The first step in the society building process is to decide on a few basic rules, which are based on guiding principals. The school’s guiding principals go something like this:
- Every child is entitled to feel and be safe.
- Every child has the right to an education.
- Every child’s cultural background is to be respected.
- Every child has the right to be prepared for the future.
The children are given the task to agree upon five basic rules. Our rules are always based on the positive. Common rules for the preschool setting might look like the following:
- We use kind hands.
- We use inside voices.
- We listen to each other.
- We use walking feet while inside.
- We take turns.
These become our governing rules. We put plans in process to help the children learn and adhere to the rules. When the children fail to observe the rules after several warnings, the result will be a pre-determined consequence. The consistent application of the rules helps the children understand what is expected of them and how to operate in this environment. When the children understand that the rules are in place to make sure each individual is treated with respect and has the right to grow: physically, emotionally and cognitively. They become invested in the school community. As an administrator, I know we have all done our job; when we see the children accepting each others strengths and weaknesses, and valuing each other as an important member of the classroom.
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, society today
Grace Geller on June 25th, 2009
I saw the most amazing picture last week. It was a photograph of a demonstration contesting the results of the Iranian election. There in the square stood over 100,000 people all with the same goal in mind; to turn their theocratically run government onto a different path.
I couldn’t help but think, “Yes that’s it”. They are tired of the blood shed, inequality and corruption of their government and they are standing, (with great physical risk) to be counted. They are the ripple in the water, sending their energy out to the universe. They stand for peace. In an era where so much looks dismal and violence has become the rule rather then the exception. A society which has adhered to some of the strictest tribal rulings known to man, says “no more”. They stand with a tidal wave of status quo waiting to descend on them, and they say no more. It was the purest form of democracy.
It was inspiring! Perhaps the momentum will spread to South Africa where women, children, and men are being slaughtered on an hourly basis. Maybe they will hear the call and stand together against the violence being doled out by whichever tribe is in current power. Maybe we will hear their voices.
Maybe we will stand as a community and say no more. No more violence against women and children. No more violence against man and animal. No more.
We need to stand as a community to instill in our children the power to stand for what is right. It is not OK for a parent to harm a child or spouse. It is not OK for society to turn a blind eye to the violence that has become all too prevalent in our homes, televisions and communities.
It is not OK for parent’s to excuse their child’s improper behavior because they don’t want them to suffer the consequences of their actions. There is right and there is wrong and if that is too difficult then there is the tenet of “Do no harm”. At the very least we should expect ourselves, our children and our society to “Do no harm”.
When we stray from this basic humanistic philosophy, there should be consequences. No more excuses for our failings. The world is depending on us to help set the bar. We as a people can not stand idly aside when there is violence in our homes, schools, cities and nation. We must stand for peace, in our mind and our deed. And we must hold ourselves accountable for our failings.
No more parents in the principal’s office, telling the principal he is picking on their kid. I’ve been a principal; if only we had the time to pick on a kid. You are in the office because your child needs you to help them make better choices. The time has come to hold ourselves, our families and our nation accountable.
Let’s say no to violence. Let’s stand together. When you ask me what I want for my birthday…it is and always will be Global Peace.
Peace & Light,
Grace
Technorati Tags: Early Childhood Education, family life, Global Peace
