From the category archives:

Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Chalk paint and print-making with preschoolers and toddlers

by Deborah J. Stewart July 30, 2010 Creative Art

For those of you following along, you know that I am on a quest to introduce the concept of painting to my little nephew Wy. I could make Wy sit down with me, hold his hand, and make him paint a picture but that is a sure fire way to get him to NEVER want [...]

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Puffy ice cream cones in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart July 28, 2010 Creative Art

The children enjoyed the sensory experience as well as the creativity of making these puffy ice cream cones… The teacher added some glue and food coloring to shave cream…. And then the children mixed it all together… Each child chose the color they wanted to use for the topping of their ice cream cones… They [...]

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Exploring and creating with craft sticks in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart July 25, 2010 Craft Sticks

I cannot stress the following message enough… Before preschoolers are ready to be creative… They need time to explore the materials! When introducing new tools or art mediums to young children, they need time to explore what happens when they manipulate the items before they will be ready to create with the items. The art [...]

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Craft stick painting with toddlers

by Deborah J. Stewart July 24, 2010 Craft Sticks

Yesterday Wy and I tried a little kick box painting so while Wy was still in the mood, we tried a little craft stick painting too. We gathered a handful of craft sticks, some paint, paper, and a box with a lid. Wy dumped everything into the box and tapped on the paint cups to [...]

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Kick box painting with toddlers

by Deborah J. Stewart July 23, 2010 Boxes

My nephew Wy loves to kick balls, push cars, and color with markers but there is one thing that he really doesn’t seem to like…. Wy doesn’t like to paint. When Wy gets a little paint on his hands, he stops in his tracks and just stares like it is a disease. But unfortunately for [...]

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The block center came tumbling down

by Deborah J. Stewart July 20, 2010 Social Development

When I came into observe clean-up time, I happen to notice that the block center looked like this.. Oh my! But when I pulled out my camera to take a picture of the tumbling blocks, one little boy decided he wanted in on the action. So he began to stack the blocks. And then this [...]

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Coloring inside the lines in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart July 18, 2010 Physical Development

Do you want children to learn to color inside the lines? Then follow these very important steps…. Start by giving a child a piece of paper and some crayons…. Then invite the child to draw some lines…. And some shapes….. And then invite the child to color inside the shapes! How important are those lines [...]

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Choosing scissors for your preschooler

by Deborah J. Stewart July 14, 2010 Physical Development

I observed some children cutting today and realized there was an odd assortment of scissors on the table. I noticed that some of the children were struggling with the ability to cut so I wandered about the quality of scissors. I decided to check them out myself. This pair was unusual in that it didn’t [...]

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Turn a box into toddler fun

by Deborah J. Stewart July 11, 2010 Boxes

My plan was to decorate this box and make it really cool like this one here. But as much as I liked the idea of making a cool oven Wy  had other plans. Wy was all about the play! In and Out went Wy And Open and Shut went the “doors” Since the doors were [...]

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A brief look at developmental domains in early childhood education

by Deborah J. Stewart July 10, 2010 Cognitive Development

The early childhood years are filled with staggering growth and development. There are four main areas of development that occur all at the same time: Physical development: In the first years of growth young children are physically developing at a rapid pace. There is both large motor (crawling, walking, running) and fine motor development (eye-hand [...]

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Time to create in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart July 10, 2010 Creative Art

My teacher set the colored tape, black construction paper, scissors, and chalk on the table. All I needed was a little time and the chance to do something all by myself. I concentrated on my work. The tape was sticky and I had to use my hands and my mind to figure out how to [...]

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Large group activities in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart July 7, 2010 Cognitive Development

Having all the children work together as a large group can prove to be a very positive experience. Together we communicate and create! Together we cooperate and collaborate!

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