The children played a simple lady bug game today…

The children matched the number of dots to the number of dots on the lady bug.

Everyone had a turn giving it a try…

They counted together as they worked together…

The pom-poms made nice dots that felt good to the sense of touch…

This was a fun game to help the children practice counting their numbers. Handling those little black dots required a little fine-motor concentration!

Here is a nice Ladybug Printable you can check out from Fun with Mama!

Leave me a comment and I will respond right here:)

Today I visited a twos class and on the table, I noticed there was a big hand mirror.

I “hinted” to the teacher that I happen to know a fun song we could sing with this cool mirror.  The teacher sweetly invited me to share the song with her class.  I sang with the children first, then handed the mirror to the teacher. The teacher continued the song with her young students while I looked on.

Tune: Frere Jacques

I am Special

I am Special

Look at me!

Look at me!

I am very special.

I am very special.

Look at me,

Look at me!

We changed the song up a bit and added different feeling words so the children could make different faces as they looked in the mirror (I am sad – I am happy – I am mad). It was so fun because the children would try to frown or look mad but when they looked into the mirror they could not help but give a big smile:) Too sweet!

See this adorable mirror and feelings game your preschooler will enjoy!

I am linking this post to…

I was recently asked by a colleague to suggest ideas for rules that should be posted in the preschool classroom. I had to pause because I realized that I have never actually had a set of rules written out and posted on my classroom wall.

Preschool age children are still developing their sense of right and wrong in almost every action they take. They are testing limits, exploring their environment, and discovering how to get along with others. Preschool age children are cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically developing their sense of right and wrong in just about every thing they do. It is when developmental understanding is present that young children are now ready to live by a set of formal classroom rules that come with consequences.

While preschoolers learn the boundaries of their behavior towards others and towards their environment, the teacher can best participate by consistently and patiently communicate teacher expectations (the rules) and then consistently guide children towards making positive choices.

IF I were to design a set of rules for the preschool classroom, I would focus on only 3 to 5 major rules that the preschoolers would be able to understand and successfully apply. In addition I would…

Emphasize the action I want rather than the action I don’t want!

I do think that preschool age children need clear expectations defined for them so they will understand their limits and boundaries but in my experience, the best approach is to not depend on a set of rules but rather make your expectations a part of your teaching process as you consistently provide guidance and redirection.  For more on this topic, see this article I wrote titled Teaching Children Expectations!

I can’t remember who taught me this little technique for teaching preschoolers how to manage a puzzle but it is a technique I have used for many years with much success.

When a very young child takes a puzzle and dumps all the pieces out, chances are he or she will have a little trouble figuring out where to put the pieces back.

Before the child moves from simple board puzzles to more complex jigsaw puzzles, it can be helpful to teach the child this simple approach.

1. Invite the child to set the puzzle in front of him or her.

2. Encourage the child to take each puzzle piece out and set the pieces to the left side of the puzzle so that all the pieces can be seen.

3. Now invite the child to look at the shape of the puzzle pieces and see if he or she can find that same shape on the puzzle board. The child will be more likely to observe the picture on the puzzle piece but you want to encourage the child to also look at the shape. Encourage the child to pick up the puzzle piece and feel the edges. Are they straight, curved, pointed?  Now look for that same shape on the puzzle board.

Putting pieces of the puzzle to the left helps the child with a few developmental concepts…

• Promotes visual tracking from left to right which is also how we read and write – from left to right.
• Promotes the development of organizational skills so that the task of putting the puzzle back together is more manageable.
• Helps the child to develop spacial awareness and fine motor control.

Of course, we don’t want to over emphasize this technique – we want to allow room for problem solving in the child’s own way as well. In my own classroom, I look for opportunities to give guidance when the child seems ready and give freedom to explore as well.

See this article on Games in the Classroom!

In my years of classroom experience, I have found that the more I encourage children to take care of their own property the more responsive and cooperative they become.

Naptime is an example of how children can be taught to take pride in doing something well and then enjoy the results.

Naptime begins in this classroom by having each child get their blankets out of their own cubby.

The cots are already placed on the floor and after getting blankets (and sometimes a naptime toy) the children place their items on their cot.

This little girl demonstrates for me how she can neatly make her “bed” all by herself…

And when one child finds making the bed to be something of value or fun, the other children want to try it too…

And once the cots are all made up, the lights will dim and the soft music will play and the children will rest in a place where they are capable of doing things all by themselves.