Today, I observed these preschoolers serving their own lunch. Let me begin by saying that the room was not quiet and there were a few dropped cups along the way (luckily all empty).

Looking around, I saw children serving themselves in a orderly, considerate, and talkative manner. It was quite fun to be there with them….. It has take commitment and time from the teachers to help these preschoolers successfully learn this process and I observed amazing results today.

The preschoolers washed their hands then came over to the table. At one end of the lunch table they found cups, plates, and silverware ready for them to collect.

Each child picked up his or her own plate, cup, and napkin.  I noticed that the children have learned (or have been taught) to place their cup and wrapped silverware in the center of their plate so they can walk to where they will be sitting. Talk about working on balance!

After gathering their dishes, they picked a place to sit at the table. These children have been practicing their table setting skills everyday!

Then the children began to serve their own food. Today they used a large spoon to scoop out some yummy potatoes. I was getting hungry watching the action – everything smelled so good.

Another spoon was in the green beans for scooping. Practicing that eye-hand coordination!

The children passed the baskets or bowls around the table until everyone was served.

Tongs were used to serve the ham, apples, and muffins. Talk about developing those fine motor skills!

Each child poured their own cup of milk too!

The milk was passed around the table so everyone could serve up a cup  of milk and occasionally, some assistance was needed. The teachers stayed with their students and helped out where needed but the emphasis was always on helping children serve themselves.

Then the teachers served their own plates and sat down at the table with the children to eat too. This gave the teachers the chance to model good table manners, considerate conversation, and proper eating habits…

And just to show you that these preschoolers are typical…

Did you know if you fold your ham over and take a bite, it makes circles you can see through?

A great place to start teaching children how to serve themselves is during snack time.

I know that there are many preschools or programs that do not allow children to serve themselves due to various concerns, but I wanted to show you how much children can learn and do when given the opportunity.

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 to paint again. Instead, I continue to introduce painting through new methods.

On this beautiful sunny day, I took Wy outside so he could ride his car around our driveway and while he was at it, I set some chalk, three cups of sidewalk paint, and two different kind of paint brushes right in the middle of the driveway.

Then I started painting with the brush.

And before long, Wy came over to see what I was doing and decided he wanted to explore the tools a bit too.

He tried each tool – dipping and painting.

He even dipped the chalk into the paint to draw but that didn’t seem to work so well.

Once we had our designs all down on the concrete we took some paper and flipped it over on the designs…

Then Wy stomped on the paper to get our print planted firmly on the paper…

And we had a fun design to take home to mommy!

Another step in the right direction in my personal quest to inspire Wy’s interest in painting!  Oh yes, and in case you noticed the change in t-shirt. We did this activity two days in a row so the photos come from both days:) After all, it is in the repetition that Wy moves from exploring the materials to creating with the materials. On day two – I already was seeing a difference.

Learn how to make your own sidewalk paint from…

Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers or Mommy Teacher 123

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When baby Clara kicks the tambourine it goes “jingle, jingle!”

When baby Clara kicks the maraca it goes “shake, shake!”

The rhythm sticks go “tap, tap, tap!”

“Jingle, jingle, shake, shake, tap, tap, tap!”

I wander if Clara can go clap, clap, clap?

See why reading to your baby is so important from Room to Grow: Making Early Childhood Count.

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

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 used plastic spoons to dip out the shave cream mixture and tap it on the paper cone.

The children absolutely loved the combination of the shave cream and food color. The teacher whipped up a second batch, without the glue, for the children just to play with. They loved the feel and the colors and it was a pleasure to watch them enjoy this experience….

In this class the teacher added glitter to the shave cream and food color. These children just enjoyed playing with the mixture…

It may look messy but it washed off very easily…

So I could go on and on because I have so many wonderful photos but you get the idea:)

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

See more Wordless Wednesday Photos!

Here too!