Whenever I think of February, I always think first of my birthday and then immediately afterward of Valentine’s Day. Even though I think Valentine’s Day is worth exploring with young children, for a variety of reasons that I will talk about nearer to that day, I think that exploring National Library Lovers Month as a […]
Anytime children can sort something by one defining characteristic, they are exploring the mathematical concept of “attributes.” I found this website that has loads of games, but this one in particular is nice. Children sort the items found on the screen into any categories they choose (there is no right and wrong) and then they […]
When I was little- around 3 or 4, legend has it that I was in the grocery store with my mom, when we bumped into our neighbor. My mother and this woman spent a moment or two catching up and chit chatting while I played in the shopping cart. When it was time to go, […]
I love pie. I love pumpkin, sweet potato, apple, cheery, streusel, and french silk. I love it a la mode, with whipped cream, warmed up, or straight from the refrigerator. You get the picture. This Counting Pie is a great way for children to explore the concept of attributes. This manipulative would be a great […]
On January 11th, the New York Times published an op ed piece about parent-teacher communication. The article was clearly focused on communication throughout the school years rather than simply during early childhood, however many of the points are relevant to our work. It got me thinking about email communications and how often they can cause […]
Has anyone seen this new commercial for Subaru? (This is not a plug for the Subaru car company but it may be a plug for the advertising firm that they use.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xCYYwDcdck In 30 short seconds this commercial depicts a notion about supporting children’s ideas so successfully that it speaks for itself. I have been […]
The US government has a lot of great resources for teachers, centers, schools, and home care providers. This page at www.childcare.gov is chock full of helpful sites for child care providers. There are pages dedicated to small business enterprises as well as pages that will describe funding sources, grants and loan applications. Take a look!
What are some of the other ways you supplement the income of your program to make ends meet? A lot of programs count on fundraising as a source of extra income. However, fundraising can be tedious, time-consuming, and can frequently yield small amounts that don’t seem altogether worth the effort. We now live at a […]
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the Chicago Metro AEYC Opening Minds Conference. My colleagues Cathy Main and Kathleen Sheridan and I presented the Early Math Counts project three days in a row. We met several great child care providers, directors, and teachers and hopefully got to spread the […]
KWLs serve many purposes in the early childhood classroom. They are a great way for children to think about what they know (or think they know) and for them to voice their opinions and ideas about what they want to know. It provides direction and meaning for an emergent curriculum and stimulates creative teachers as […]