Creative Themes for Every Day is the perfect compilation of self-directed, hands-on educational resources that reinforce all aspects of classroom learning. Aligning to NAEYC program standards, this book focuses on movement, art, cognitive skills, and dramatic play that will help build a strong foundation for kindergarten and beyond. Its 160 pages include hundreds of hands-on activities and themed learning experiences for school and home.
Play is serious business. Whether it's reenacting a favorite book (comprehension and close reading), negotiating the rules for a game (speaking and listening), or collaborating over building blocks (college and career readiness and STEM), Kristi Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler see every day how play helps students reach standards and goals in ways that in-their-seat instruction alone can't do. And not just during playtimes. "We believe there is play in work and work in play," they write. "It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum." In Purposeful Play, they share ways to: optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day. "We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional. Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.
The Creative Curriculum comes alive! This videotape-winner of the 1989 Silver Apple Award at the National Educational Film and Video Festival-demonstrates how teachers set the stage for learning by creating a dynamic well-organized environment. It shows children involved in seven of the interest areas in the The Creative Curriculum and explains how they learn in each area. Everyone conducts in-service training workshops for staff and parents or who teaches early childhood education courses will find the video an indispensable tool for explainin appropriate practice.
Discover new, practical methods for teaching literacy skills in your early childhood classroom. Has teaching early literacy skills become a stumbling block to getting your preschool students kindergarten ready? Break out of the tired “letter of the week” routine and learn how to transform your lessons with fun and effective techniques. Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers will equip teachers to infuse every aspect of their teaching with exciting hands-on literacy teaching methods that engage students and help them build authentic connections with books, so that 100% of their students will have a strong literacy foundation and will be fully prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond. Respected author Vanessa Levin, veteran early childhood educator and author of the “Pre-K Pages” blog, breaks down the research and translates it into realistic, actionable steps you can take to improve your teaching. Features specific examples of teaching techniques and activities that engage students in hands-on, experiential learning during circle time, centers, and small groups. Offers a simple, four-step system for teaching literacy skills, based on the foundational principles of early literacy teaching Demonstrates how to build your confidence in your ability to get 100% of your students ready for kindergarten, long before the end of the school year Understand the problems with traditional literacy teaching and identify gaps in your current teaching practice with this valuable resource.
A compilation of self-directed, hands-on educational resources that reinforce all aspects of classroom learning. This book focuses on movement, art, cognitive skills, and dramatic play to will help build a strong foundation for kindergarten and beyond. --Publisher
From the very first chapter of this informative and inspiring book, a clear picture emerges of how even three- and four-year-olds' capacities for serious authorship can and should be supported. - Lillian G. Katz Coauthor of Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years By the time they reach preschool or kindergarten, young children are already writers. They don't have much experience, but they're filled with stories to tell and ideas to express - they want to show the world what they know and see. All they need is a nurturing teacher like you to recognize the writer at work within them. All you need to help them is Already Ready. Taking an exciting, new approach to working with our youngest students, Already Ready shows you how, by respecting children as writers, engaged in bookmaking, you can gently nudge them toward a lifetime of joyful writing. Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover guide you through fundamental concepts of early writing. Providing numerous, helpful examples of early writing - complete with transcriptions - they demonstrate how to: make sense of children's writing and interpret how they represent sounds, ideas, and images see important developmental signs in writers that you can use to help them grow further recognize the thinking young children engage in and discover that it's the same thinking more experienced writers use to craft purposeful, thoughtful pieces. Then Ray and Glover show you how little ones can develop powerful understandings about: texts and their characteristics the writing process what it means to be a writer. You'll learn how to support your writers' quest to make meaning, as they grow their abilities and refine their thinking about writing through teaching strategies such as: reading aloud working side by side with writers sharing children's writing. Writing is just one part of a busy early childhood classroom, but even in little doses, a nurturing approach can work wonders and help children connect the natural writer inside them to a life of expressing themselves on paper. Find that approach, share it with your students, and you'll discover that you don't have to get students ready to write - they're Already Ready.
Giving your preschooler a great start in math doesn’t have to be complicated. Learn how to use fun but purposeful games and activities to give your young child the best possible foundation. Preschool Math at Home will guide you step-by-step as you introduce your preschooler to the world of numbers. Your child will develop a thorough understanding of the numbers up to ten, including: counting comparing and ordering numbers recognizing written numerals beginning addition and subtraction All of the activities are quick and playful, with lots of movement, manipulatives, and games. Each takes less than five minutes, with no special materials needed other than a few household items. Play each game several times for a full year of preschool math curriculum.
Promote a climate of trust, academic growth, and positive behavior by launching each school day with a whole class gathering. This comprehensive, user-friendly book shows you how to hold Responsive ClassroomMorning Meetings, a powerful teaching tool used by hundreds of thousands of teachers in K-8 schools. In the new edition of this essential text, you'll find: Step-by-step, practical guidelines for planning and holding Responsive Classroom Morning Meetings in K-8 classroomsDescriptions of Morning Meeting in action in real classrooms100 ideas for greetings, sharing, activities, and messages: some tried-and-true and some newUpdated information on sharingGuidance on adapting meeting components for different ages and abilities, including upper grades and English Language Learners.Explanations of how Morning Meeting supports mastery of Common Core State Standards, 21st century skills, and core competencies enumerated by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
This booklet documents our school district's collaborative inquiry project looking at how Reggio-inspired practices can inform and enhance primary mathematics teaching and learning.
