Most early childhood classrooms have something akin to a “birthday board” posted somewhere on the wall for the children to see. These usually consist of each child’s name and their birthdays written out, frequently on a cut-out of a birthday cake as a visual reminder of what these numbers mean. It might be interesting to […]
Sometimes, we forget about all of the resources that are available to us as early childhood professionals. I love this page because it has a comprehensive list of all of the great resources that the State of Illinois has to offer. In addition to easy-to-read descriptions of the various partners, there are contact names with […]
If you have any pumpkins left – and I hope you do – there is one last creative art project you can do with the children that will promote the concept of patterning. Pumpkins have natural grooves in them that go from the root of the stem to the bottom. The are usually parallel to […]
I received this note this morning from the Children’s Defense Fund… Please read and forward. We urgently need you to make a call for children today. Decisions made during the lame duck session of Congress will have an effect on children and our nation for decades to come. With 1 in 5 children living in […]
Why do we use rulers? Where did the inch come from? Why is a foot 12 inches? Isn’t that random? Standard units of measure have their place in the larger world. They are defined, agreed upon, adopted, and used so that human beings can know precisely the “measure” of a physical quantity. Wouldn’t it be […]
If you don’t have any pattern blocks in your center just yet, the children can play with them virtually using this website. It is fairly simple to use; just click on the shape you want and drop it on the paper. Once there, children can drag the shapes around to make geometric designs. Some of […]
Thanks to my friend and colleague Carrie Nepstad for posting this link. What is the CRC? Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a multilateral human rights treaty that promotes the rights of all children worldwide. The CRC recognizes all children’s […]
I love these two pictures. This little boy was trying to figure out if his two towers of pegs were the same height. It was really hard because they were so long that they were bending and curving, so their actual lengths were not readily apparent. His teacher helped him by holding the base […]
Pattern blocks come in all sorts of sets. There are beginner sets for younger children (I really like these), and there are larger sets for older children. They usually have small and large triangles, small and large squares, a rhombus or two, a few trapezoids, and some hexagons. They most often come in a variety […]
Have you ever asked a 3 year old how old they think you are? The often say really funny things like, “You are 100 years old,” or “You are really, really old.” It is funny when small children say it, less funny when one of my adult students says it. Age is an interesting concept […]