From the monthly archives:

April 2010

Organizing art supplies in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart April 29, 2010 Classroom Management

I thought I would share some of the ways teachers organize their student art supplies. Above is a caddy that holds markers, scissors, a stapler, crayons, and glue. This little caddy also has a side pocket where crayons are kept. The caddy would be placed in the center of the table and the supplies shared [...]

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Potato alphabet activity in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart April 28, 2010 Letter Recognition

It was farm week in this two year old classroom. Laying in the center of this table was a set of mixed up construction paper potatoes with one letter of the alphabet on each one. There are several centers open throughout the classroom including a sand table, water table, easel, gluing activity, blocks, and so [...]

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T is for triangle colors and patterns

by Deborah J. Stewart April 27, 2010 Cognitive Development

The two year olds in this class are exploring triangles. Each child reaches into a bag and selects different colors of triangles they would like to glue to their paper. While the children work with the glue, the teacher converses with the child. “What color would you like to glue next?” “I see you are [...]

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Fine motor development in preschool with play dough and straws

by Deborah J. Stewart April 27, 2010 Physical Development

Play dough is such a wonderful resource for building fine motor skills. Wy and I sat down to play with some play dough recently. I cut the straws down so they were a little shorter then showed Wy how to make a ball of play dough and then stick the straws into the play dough. [...]

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One voice in the preschool classroom

by Deborah J. Stewart April 25, 2010 Classroom Management

The thing about working with preschoolers is you are always having to either talk over lots of little voices or find creative ways to capture their attention. Lots of little voices all going at once is to be expected but lots of teacher voices all going at once should not be part of the plan. [...]

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Morning greeting and calendar and weather time in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart April 20, 2010 Classroom Management

I always start my day in preschool off with a morning greeting time which includes exploring the calendar, weather, seasons, and a brief review of basic concepts. Let me show you some of the ideas that can be included in a simple morning greeting time. Sing the Hello Song! I love to sing the Hello [...]

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Using all those great ideas in your preschool classroom

by Deborah J. Stewart April 18, 2010 The Basics in Early Childhood Education

I love to search out new preschool ideas and activities on other blogs. New ideas keep me motivated and inspired. However, once I find a cute idea, I visualize how I will do the activity with my students. Lose the recipe Often times teachers look at an idea they find online or in books as [...]

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Presenting simple songs and fingerplays to young children

by Deborah J. Stewart April 17, 2010 Music and Fingerplays

I wrote this article for Teaching Tiny Tots a few months ago on teaching simple songs to preschoolers. In this article, I talk about using the S-I-M-P-L-E method when introducing simple songs and fingerplays to young children. Singing and Chanting the Itsy Bitsy Spider!

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Teach Preschool on Facebook survey

by Deborah J. Stewart April 17, 2010 The Basics in Early Childhood Education

If you are a member of Teach Preschool on Facebook, I would love for you to fill out this survey! If you are not a member – you are invited to check it out! Click here to take survey

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