EDT 521: Media Files

Hi Folks,
I have an assignment for one of my Master's/graduate courses this term....and well, it happens to be about blogging! I have to upload some media....so I will at least try to keep it relevant so that you might enjoy it, and it meets my assignment requirements as well. Thanks for letting me 'kill' two birds with one stone!!
~Mrs. Powell

The Top 10 Signs Of Good Parenting: the title says it all. Here are 10 very simple ways to gauge your parenting. Don't have all 10? Well, it's certainly something to strive for! In our busy lives, it's a good reminder to make sure our focus is on our children - FIRST, and being good models for them along the way! 

View more presentations from Davee Chandler

While the video below is not preschool related by any means, I just happen to love it! I sure wish I had a video like this to reference when I was trying to learn verb forms in high school Spanish class. Where was Teachertube or YouTube when I was younger?! Better yet, as a current educator, what a FANTASTIC way for students to show content mastery!! So fun, relevant, and meaningful.

Congrats!!

Thank you to everyone who responded to our "writing" question! We are excited to know that so many children are practicing good writing techniques at home. We hope the little writing kit is keeping your child motivated to write more and more!

We are happy so many parents/families are staying on top of our blog, as well!! THANK YOU!

Roller Derby!!

Preschool Roller Derby! 

Welcome to the first ever Preschool Roller Derby! We have our skates, our helmets, 2 moms (they're like self-trained on the spot medics....just in case!), one teacher, and lots of excited children! We are ready to race around the rink, and "shoot the duck". Hey, who forgot the disco ball?! 

So, okay, maybe we aren't ready for races. Hang on to your Mom, Zoe....that looks like a good start! 

Here come Shelby around the rink! 

Delaney and Zaeanna take the friendly approach to skating. No roller derby attitudes for these friendly ladies! It is nice to enjoy an activity with a good pal! 

It's time for the afternoon friends to give it a whirl! Let's see how this crew takes to the "rink". 

Oh, look! It's Desmond! He's smiling despite the numerous slips and falls. He gets right back up and keeps trying. Way to be persistent, little friend! Positive attitudes sure go a long way! 

Ava stops for a photo op! She's sporting the latest skating attire from dear 'ol Santa Clause. Notice she is fashionably wearing a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and new skates! A girl must accessorize and coordinate colors, especially for preschool P.E.---and this girl's got it! Now, go on, keep skating, you little fashionista! 

Oh, no! Girl down! It's okay, Ashlynn, it looks like your friends are coming to your rescue! Keep on smiling, you'll soon get the hang of it! 

Whoa, Clara....steady.....steady. If you fall, maybe Megan will catch you! 

Here comes Allie in stride. Your cheeks are flushed....are you getting a good work out, Al? 

All in all, it looks like our "derby", was a success! Just as we predicted, our wheels rolled perfectly because they are round. After all that testing this week and last week in the science and block areas, we became experts at figuring out that very round items roll the best! 

Let's see what else we've been up to this week....

What?! I must not have gotten my save-the-date card. Clara is getting married? Weddings are expensive. I love that a girl on a budget can improvise and use a dress-up skirt as a wedding veil! Maybe she took a course in budgets and finance at the banking center last week! 

So, it appears as if we've been having lots of fun this week....and we have! It's always fun, and there's a lot of learning to be done through play. Sometimes, we do serious work. Important, "I'm in preschool and preparing for Kindergarten", kind of work. Here's an example (below) of how grown up our students are becoming! Occasionally, we like to do an activity called 'Write Around the Room'. Students are given a clip board, writing utensil, and recording sheet. Their job is to walk around the room and write letters, numbers, shapes, or even WORDS!! This stellar example shows one student's work after the activity. Can you read it?! Doesn't it just make your heart melt? It does mine! ;) 

As always, thank you for coming to check our blog and see what we've been up to! 

So far, January has been fantastic!!! 

Stages of Writing

Check out the link to the left for "Stages of Children's Writing". You can see where your child is at in the development of writing, and how children typically progress as they learn and grow! Remember, children develop at different rates. In preschool, we actually see all of these stages in some cases!!

Our question today is: How does YOUR child engage in writing activities at home? Let us know, and we will send home a small writing kit to keep your child motivated!

Roll on into our classroom and see what we've been up to!

At the science area, we experimented with various items to see which ones would roll down the ramp!

I won't deny that the spoon in the basket was not the best choice of materials. I mean, one would think it would be a great non-rolling object. However, one friend thought it would be best used to shovel "snow" (sugar) from the sensory table into his/her little mouth! We've been using the sugar to resemble snow for cars, trucks, plows, and tractors to drive through for nearly two weeks. Apparently, it looked too tempting. Note to teacher: Spoons near sugar is never a good idea unless it's truly meant for eating. *giggle, giggle!*

 Come on in to the Little People Bank! It's a place where everyone is rich, check books are plentiful, and the bankers are oh-so friendly! Need a mortgage? Stop on by! Josie will help you fill out your application. The applications are kept secure with her dear friend, Abby.

We noticed we needed some extra practice with our fine motor coordination - particularly stringing beads. This was a station where children practiced placing the beads on pipe cleaners. Some children sorted them by color, or added how many beads they had on 2 pipe cleaners. Simple materials, endless possibilities! 

Here's our restaurant at Dramatic Play this week! It's been fun reading menus, taking orders and writing them down, making the food, serving it, and deciding who will work at the restaurant, and who will be an employee! Lots of fun and team work happening at this center! We might just keep this an extra week! 

Here at the water table, we are bringing the outdoors, INdoors! It's filled with snow, ice cubes, and plastic penguins and other arctic animals! You could do this in your bathtub or sink at home!! 

Of course, with all the snow this week, we took advantage of playing outside! We found perfect packing snow, and the friends went right to work making snow bricks and building a wall!

We hope you are outside enjoying this snow day we have been granted today!!

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to school, and Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a restful vacation, and a fun, safe, holiday season. It is great to be back in the classroom. The children were greatly missed!

Our big highlight this week was taking Physical Education class outside! We combined a bit of science/observation with physical education---we took a long winter walk with snowshoes, while observing and discussing the changes in our environment now that we finally have some snow! It was a perfect sunny day for this activity, and everyone really enjoyed it. Both our AM and PM classes snow shoed around the playground for 45 minutes each! That's an intense amount of physical activity for preschoolers at one time---it really held their attention and interest! 

Enjoy these photos from our fabulous day! And don't forget to ask your child all about this experience. Can they tell you some ways our environment has changed from fall/autumn to winter time? 

Anxiously awaiting for our little ones to arrive! We are going to strap 'em in and GO! Wish us luck!  

Suited up and ready! 

Figuring out how to get around! Walk with "Monster Feet"!!

Zoe and Jacob---keep plugging along! Way to stick with it!

Ms. Schneider whooping it up out there! We love her silliness!  

Ava and her silly Monkey hat! "This is sooooo cool!"

Hey Allie, say CHEESE! 

Madison standing....

...and girl DOWN! Get up silly goose, we have to keep walking! 

Meet Trooper House

Meet Trooper House! 

Meet Trooper House! He is a Michigan State Police officer that visits classrooms to teach lessons about safety. Today we learned about 5 BIG safety rules:

1. Never go with strangers. Children should look for an officer or an adult with a name tag/uniform, badge, or another mom with kids if they need help. Those are the people that could be most helpful.

2. Always wear your seat belt. Children this age still need a BOOSTER SEAT, in the back seat of the car, ALL THE TIME!

3. Never put anything in your mouth that can be harmful (bugs, plants, chemicals, cigarettes, etc.)

4. Never touch, play with, or pick up a gun. Tell an adult right away!

5. Never let anyone touch you who scares you, hurts you, or makes you uncomfortable. Bathing suit areas are not to be touched by strangers or anyone else---unless it is a doctor or a parent making sure the child is healthy.

*Helpful hint: If you do not have a booster seat for your child and cannot afford one, the MSP has free ones that can be given to families in need. Until your child is 8 years old or 4'11 inches, s/he MUST be in a booster seat.

We are excited to see what Trooper House has in store for us next time. Stay tuned for more safety lesson updates!!