Ooops! I posted this last Wednesday but I neglected to link it to The Abundant Life Children Blog. So, here it is again. My apologies to Emily. I first introduced you to Emily Plank and her Abundant Life Children Blog several weeks ago when I reposted her “Ten Commandments of Play-Based Learning”. I was so […]
This Count and Link manipulative is a fun way for children to work on their counting skills while also providing a visual cue for quantity and comparisons. The links snap onto the trunks of the elephants and the children then add more links until they match the number of links that have put together to […]
Using flowers as the foundation for creative art activities this month is a no-brainer. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen or so ways to incorporate flowers into the art center. What do you think of these windows?Have the children cover their hands with tempera paint and let them […]
This week marks the 8th Tuesday that I am unpacking the mathematics portion of the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards. I can’t believe how long it has taken. Do you think I should explore the Mathematics Core? The Professional Teaching Standards? Is this helpful to you? Goal 10 is the final Goal in the […]
This one is from the Goodie Games series. In the next month or so, I am going to explore some early learning games that promote math skills on Manipulative Mondays, but for today, I thought we could take a look at this as a simple tool for sorting, classifying, and making patterns. There are several […]
Happy Provider Appreciation Day!!!! Since 1996, the Friday before Mother’s Day is Provider Appreciation Day. Today, the nation recognizes the amazing work that child care providers do each and every day for working families. Thank you!
How do you support parents so they can support their children? Last week I wrote about the concept of inclusion and ensuring that each member of the community feels welcome in your program. Inclusion is a great start. Making sure that parents and other family members feel like they can come in and participate, volunteer […]
Once your seedlings have started to sprout, it is important that children have a way to measure and document their growth. If each child has her/his own plant, then they will also need some sort of chart where they can record their observations over time. Click her( Inchworm chart )to see a sample of a […]
Have you seen this map from the Children’s Defense Fund? You can click on each state and a pop-up appears with statistics about children; including low birth percentages, mortality rates and the amount of money that is expended per child for education. These are presented as comparisons so you can see how the children in […]
The Green Fish Chronicles is a Blog written by a family child care provider for family home care providers, i.e., YOU! You are going to love this Blog. Misti, the Blogger, writes about various business-type issues that will be immediately applicable to your work. She explores curricular ideas, environments, day-to-day issues, and family connections. I […]