From the category archives:

Social Development

Setting rules in the preschool classroom

by Deborah J. Stewart August 31, 2010 Cognitive Development

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 [...]

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Tools to promote fine motor skills in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart August 18, 2010 Developmentally Appropriate Practices

This may just look like an empty blue ice tray but if you stop and think about how it can be used to promote fine motor skills or sorting skills, the ideas are limitless. By adding a basket of small, plastic objects – this ice tray becomes a tool for both play and developing new [...]

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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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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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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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Centers in the preschool classroom

by Deborah J. Stewart April 30, 2010 Cognitive Development

When children enter this classroom, they will discover plenty of things to do and the freedom to explore because each center in this classroom was designed just for them.  At this table the children are creating paintings with the dot painters. At the block center, a couple of boys have decided to pull out the [...]

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Pro-social sharing and negotiation skills in preschool

by Deborah J. Stewart April 19, 2010 Developmentally Appropriate Practices

I was asked by Noah of The People Garden to drum up some activities that promote pro-social sharing and negotiation skills for young children. I wanted to share this article so you could see the ideas as well. You will have to scroll down just a bit (past the very nice comments about me:) to [...]

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Preschoolers can serve their own snack

by Deborah J. Stewart April 15, 2010 Classroom Management

Building independent doers and thinkers is one of the goals of early childhood education. Snack time is a terrific time to let children learn to do things all by themselves. We always start off by washing our hands! Have the children get into the practice of washing hands first and while they are washing hands, [...]

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Using puppets in the preschool classroom

by Deborah J. Stewart February 8, 2010 Cognitive Development

Puppets are a wonderful tool to use in the preschool classroom for all ages.  It doesn’t really matter what kind of puppet you use – in fact you can just talk with your hand and kids find it funny and they pay attention. Have you ever watched a live puppet show? There is just something [...]

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Preschoolers love hearing “You’ve Got Mail!”

by Deborah J. Stewart January 17, 2010 Language Arts

This is a really cool red, pocket quilt made and given to me by one of my assistant teachers back in 1990. When I am teaching, I like to do a week on The Post Office in my classroom and I hang the quilt down low so the children can reach it. I also place [...]

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Recognizing what children are learning through their play

by Deborah J. Stewart October 23, 2009 Cognitive Development

Discovering what children learn through their play is not always as easy as one might think. Perhaps it is because teachers or parents get distracted by the mess or noise. Perhaps it is because one can get in the mindset that learning is supposed to be a ‘sit down and focus’ time. To discover what [...]

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Play is a Child’s Work

by Deborah J. Stewart May 30, 2009 Cognitive Development

In preschool, play is more than just kids having fun. Play is also a child’s work. Through play, young children develop many important skills. It is important as an early childhood educator to recognize the role play has in educating young children. Play is an opportunity for young children to develop socially and emotionally. Play [...]

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