Balances are weighing machines- machines that weigh objects. Children can explore all sorts of “weighing machines” in the early childhood classroom if we simply make those machines available to them. I’ve already written about using a classroom balance that encourages children to weigh objects “relatively” to a standard weight or “relatively” to another object. Through […]
Dropping off a 6 week old baby at child care is harrowing, even for the most pragmatic of parents. It may be a bit easier at 12 weeks, and again at 18 weeks, but no matter when it happens putting a baby in outside-of-the-home-or-family child care is hard. How do you ease this transition […]
I was looking for some great stuff about weighing and balancing (measurement) for a class I teach about math and science for young children, and I came across a book from my mother-in-law’s collection called Weighing and Balancing. Written in 1970 and illustrated by Aliki (Classic!) it was written as a part of a series […]
As I was searching for one or two web sites that have some “balancing” games for young children, my searches kept leading me to gross motor activities. Duh! Of course they did. It makes perfect sense that “balance” and “young children” and “games” leads to “balance beams,” “running games,” and “big, outdoor play.” It got […]
I lived in a small village in Mali near the Guinean border. Not far from my village was a gold mining town, like the old west, except not at all like the old west. Imagine holes in the ground about 24 inches wide and 15 to 20 feet deep, where people climb down with small […]
This morning I received an email from the Child Care Exchange (you should sign up for their newsletter) that reminded me about this great book that just got updated. Remote-Controlled Childhood has now become Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood by Diane E. Levin from Wheelock College. This book is a must-have for all teachers, directors and parents of […]
Children might be frightened by some of the scary parts of Halloween so think about your group before you put together your this game. I saw this one on Pinterest. It looks easy enough to put together and might be fun (it is also filled with math!) Give each child an ice cube tray (this […]
Last July I wrote about children’s bookmaking as an activity that naturally supports early literacy but can also support early math. Click here and here to see some of those ideas. This morning, I received the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media‘s monthly newsletter. They have developed a free program where children can […]
This week and next, I am going to finish exploring the end of Chapter 3 from Teaching Number in Preschool and Kindergarten. I know that this is taking a really long time, but I am finding that spending this much time on the details of this book to be worth the effort. Encourage the child […]
I came across this picture the other day on my phone. I must have taken it while observing one of my students out in the field. I remember that it struck me how engaged this toddler was with this small, tabletop set of dominoes. It got me thinking about Developmentally Appropriate Practice and how we […]