Asking Questions

May 10, 2013 //
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As I’ve mentioned before, for years I have gained much insight and pleasure from being involved in the TEDx community. It has served as a forum to feed my brain and last week I attended an event that once again did just that. I attended a dinner salon where I had the pleasure of hearing a talk given by Adam Grant. Adam is certainly an impressive gentleman. Not only is he the youngest tenured professor at Wharton Business school, he is also their single highest rated professor.  Did I mention, he completed his PhD in 3 years?

At last week’s event, Adam highlighted how altering the way you speak could change how far ahead you get in business. He proposed that shifting to a more passive way of speaking would make one seem more approachable and thereby help one get ahead. He suggested one way to accomplish this more approachable way of speaking was to begin asking more questions as opposed to answering them. For example saying, “do you think we should change this?” Instead of assertively saying, “we should change this!”

The moment I heard this, I turned to the person sitting next to me and said, “that is exactly how you should talk to children!” As a teacher, I have often reflected on the way we use language with children and how the words we choose can have different effects. I have come to appreciate the power of questions with young children. As we all know, children will ask what can seem like hundreds of questions per day. However, the worst thing we can do is answer each of these questions! The best moment comes when you turn the question back on the child and ask, “What do you think about that?” Immediately the child’s wheels start turning and they produce a creative and thoughtful answer. I savor that moment each time it happens.

I started to wonder how this would work with adults. As Adam proposed, asking more questions is the way to seem more approachable, more like a team player and more like a person that others want to promote.  It is so interesting to me that while my immediate instinct is to ask children questions, I have not already applied the same technique to my adult and professional interactions. I am eager and excited to begin using this more often in the workplace and I am also proud to continue using this technique in my classroom!

What do you think? :)

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Kid Snacks II

February 23, 2013 //
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Last year I wrote a blog about Kid Snacks, because I personally love to cook with kids and there are tons of great recipes that they can easily contribute to. Guacamole anyone? Nothing more fun than smashing avocados (ok maybe a few things more fun, shhh).

This post is inspired by EASY snacks parents & teachers can make for kids that are both delicious and healthy. I have recently been persuaded to begin using Pinterest for a host of ideas and so in this blog today I am sharing with you some ideas inspired by or directly taken from other imaginative, creative cooks out there. I have included the links to each of the blogs and recipes so you can learn from them directly too. Enjoy!

1. High Protein Peanut Butter Balls, brought to you by Maria’s Nutritious and Delicious Journal

peanut butter balls

You’ll need: 

2 cups NATURAL crunchy peanut or almond butter
2 scoops Jay Robb chocolate whey or egg white protein powder
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 TBS freshly ground flax seeds
1 tsp psyllium husks (optional thickener and fiber for the little tikes!)

To make: In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients. Mold the mixture into small balls (like a large marble), and place them in a container lined with parchment to separate the layers. Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. EASY!

2. Yogurt Fruit Pops, brought to you by Yummy Mummy Club

You’ll need:

Yogurt- plain or fruit

Sliced fruit of your choice (i like berries in mine)

To make: Mix the yogurt & fruit. Fill popsicle stick molds if you have, if not use small paper cups and popsicle sticks. Place in sticks and pop in freezer!

3. Squirmy, Wormy Apples, brought to you by Babble

WormyApple2-200x300

You’ll need:

1 apple
1 gummy worm
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 large/thick straw

To make: Use the straw to get to core of apple, cut off the top 1/3. Scrape out remainder of the core. Place worm in the center and through the hole, scoop peanut butter on top & replace top of apple.

4. Sweet Potato Fries, brought to you by ME!

You’ll  need:

4 small Sweet Potatoes, cut into slices (try to make them as even as possible)

Olive Oil

Paprika (a light sprinkling, more if you aren’t serving kids!)

Salt

To Make: Heat Oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix oil, salt & paprika in a bowl. After cutting potatoes, toss them in the oil mixture, coating each evenly . Make a single layer of potatoes on the baking sheet & bake for around 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool before serving!

If you have other great Healthy & Easy snack options, I’d love to hear about them!

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Beautiful Objects

February 12, 2013 //
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Children are attracted to things of beauty. Now what makes something beautiful? That is probably a deeper question for a different blog. When it comes to what young children are attracted to think of color, shape, pattern and form.

Many educational approaches/philosophies hold strongly to the belief that beauty is an essential component in appealing to children and inspiring their creativity. Maria Montessori believed the school environment needed to be filled with aesthetically pleasing objects in order to invite the children to work with them independently.  She created her materials to be innately beautiful and attractive to children.

Friedrich Froebel, an early pioneer in education, who inspired Maria Montessori in her material construction, created materials for children that he called “gifts”. These gifts were meant to introduce children to concepts ranging from geometry to form. As Herbert Spencer noted, concrete objects have a significant place in children’s learning, “The truths of number, of form, of relationship in position were all originally drawn from objects and to present these truths to the child in the concrete is to let him learn them as the race learned them.” Froebel hoped that by experimenting with these materials and through noticing aspects of their construction such as symmetry, children would find beauty in each gift. He also introduced the children to activities with his materials called “forms of beauty” in which children would use his pieces to create symmetric arrangements in two or three dimensions.

Finally, take one look at any school that models itself after the Reggio Emilia approach and you will understand the place of beautiful objects in early childhood as a way to inspire creativity. If you are interested in learning more about Reggio’s approach to beautiful things and finding the beauty in found materials check out this book called Beautiful Stuff! Learning with Found Materials by Cathy Weisman Topal

To get you started on your journey to filling your home or classroom with beautiful and inspiring objects, I wanted to share a few with you that I found particularly attractive. Enjoy!

CRAYON ROCKS crayonrocks2

These drawing materials are made of soy wax from soybeans grown in the United States and natural mineral powders for the color, which makes them eco-friendly and safe for your child to use. Another bonus is the shape designed for young hands working on developing the fine motor skills to prepare to hold more traditional writing utensils. You can purchase them here.

Learning Materials Workshop 

This award winning company makes beautiful Reggio inspired materials for children, however I know many adults that enjoy their designer appeal. Here are two of my favorite materials they sell.

Coloraturo Block Set $75                                              Dwellings $40 dwellingscoloraturo1

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Winter Books

December 31, 2012 //
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I posted this sampling of my favorite Winter Books last year and wanted to post it again before the New Year (with a few additions, of course!) Enjoy!

Frederick by Leo Lionni was one of my favorite books from childhood. I still have the same copy that my mother used to read to me. In this story, a group of field mice are preparing for winter. They scurry to gather grain and food while Frederick, an artist & poet, seems to just passively sit by. But when winter comes, Frederick’s value and work is revealed. This book celebrates individuality and shows us the value in the artistic soul.

In The Mitten by Jan Brett, a young boy loses his mitten in the snow and before the mitten can be returned to its owner, a group of animals make it their home! Children love the outrageousness of all the animals fitting together in this tiny mitten. It is fun to predict which animals will come next!

The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson is a great book for younger children; they enjoy the repetitive phrases in the book and enjoy chiming in! I use this book as a novel extension of our winter conversations about hibernation.

Another cute story which can lead into the subject of hibernation is Bedtime for Bear by Brett Helquist. In this story Bear is trying to sleep in bed for the long winter while his friends keep trying to get him to come out to play. At first Bear turns them down because “it’s bedtime for bears” but soon he is out playing in the snow. bear

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen is a more grown up story and much longer in length than the previously mentioned books. It is a beautiful story about a daughter and her father who go out looking for owls on a winter’s night. The writing is mature and the illustrations match the words in their elegance.

Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser is such an endearing and silly take of a squirrel and his friends who have never seen it snow. Together they attempt to stay away long enough to see the snowfall and mistake all sorts of objects as the white treasure. In addition to making my students laugh, I love this book for it’s beautiful illustrations!squirrel

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Surprise!

November 16, 2012 //
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Through my work with the TEDx community, I recently met a woman of whom I’m fast becoming a major fan. Her name is Tania Luna and she is Surpriseologist. What is that you might ask? Well, she specializes in the art and science of surprise, providing one-of-a-kind experiences at her company Surprise Industries.

Over a cup of coffee, Tania and I began chatting about the role that surprise can play in early childhood education. As we were talking I came to realize how the two are actually quite connected. For young children the world is full of surprises, so many experiences are new and seen through fresh eyes. However, in the classroom, routine can quickly set in and once it does active learning steadily decreases. So how can we as teachers (and parents) reinvigorate their learning experience? Well through surprise of course!

Here are some quick & simple ideas to bring back the wonder:

-Move things around: In my house I am able to navigate through my bedroom and hallways in the dark. Everything has been in the place for so long that the motion of moving through has become second nature to me. I am no longer actively thinking about walking through the space. But put something else there or move the furniture and I actually have to think for a moment in the dark about what might be right in front of me. The same works for the classroom; move things around and get kids thinking. This can apply for the home as well. If you have a play area in your house, move everything around, switch it up & give it a fresh feel.

-Introduce a new material or sensory experience: Have you tried Oobleck? I love it! Or how about Flubber? Ditto. These are two great sensory play materials, easily made at home, that are worth a try. Or switch to a natural version of a familiar substance to see the difference. For example, introduce real clay instead of Play-doh and listen to your children as they explore, see what new ideas come out if their discoveries.

-Use an old material in a new way: Have your kids ever helped you make a salad? Have they enjoyed using the salad spinner? What if instead of lettuce you put in paper and drops of paint? Spin-Art is so fun and a surprising way to use a common household item.

My students surprise me every day, the best thing I can do is to return the favor and always keep our learning fun. How do you incorporate surprise into your classroom or home? I’d love to hear your ideas!

For more information on Tania and her tips for incorporating surprise into your life, check out surpriseindustries.com

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Fall Leaf Collage

October 7, 2012 //
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After a few recent spikes in temperature, it seems that Fall is fully upon us, and I couldn’t be more excited. I love Fall! Which means I also love coming up with fun Fall activities for my preschoolers. As I am currently in brainstorming mode, I figured I could share with you one of my favorite (and super easy) activities from years past.

One of the main focal points in my classroom is a handmade paper tree. This tree changes throughout the year, with the help of my students, to reflect the change in season. Our first tree activity happens in the Fall when we have to change the colors of the leaves. To do this we make dry leaf collages.

The first step is to go outside with the children and collect dry leaves that have fallen from the trees. On our leaf hunt we try to find leaves of all different Fall colors: brown, orange, yellow and red.  This in itself is a fun activity when you turn it into a scavenger hunt and assign kids a different color or shape of leaf to look for. After bringing the bags of leaves inside, you have a choice of crumpling them up into potpourri style leaves or keeping them whole. The kids usually like to crumple them up!

Next is to let the kids get to gluing! Teachers give children a choice of a (pre-made! eek!) leaf cut out to make their collage. I like to give the kids paintbrushes with cups or plates of glue instead of glue bottles, it’s much more accessible for the students in my class. And finally glue away!

   

            

Feel free to share your favorite fall activities here, I would love to learn a few more!

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Intolerance is Ugly

September 11, 2012 //
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This summer while visiting some friends I had one of the most unpleasant dining experiences of my life. There was nothing wrong with the food or the restaurant, both were actually quite wonderful; instead my dinner was ruined by the family sitting at the table directly to my right. To my disbelief, within my earshot and line of vision, a father and his wife began making ignorant, hurtful and speculative comments about my boyfriend’s appearance. You see, my boyfriend has Alopecia, an immune disorder that attacks hair follicles. He lost all of his hair when he was just 3 years old. Now in his thirties, his head is still bare, but his eyebrows have yet to decide whether they are going or coming, staying or leaving. To be honest I no longer see these things, I just see my boyfriend, as cheesy as that may sound. But I am also no stranger to people staring at him just a tad longer than they should. Staring is one thing, but making audibly derogatory remarks about my boyfriend’s potential connection to the Nazis is a whole other story!

What shocked me most about the whole despicable incident was that this was a family discussion; meaning the man and his wife were having this hateful conversation about my boyfriend’s head, eyebrows, and (shocking to see in 2012) his tattoo in front of their tween daughter! I couldn’t help thinking: this is what you want to teach your child? You want to impart to her that it is okay to be cruel about things that make you uncomfortable or that you don’t understand, no matter how hurtful they might be? As a teacher who makes every effort to help my students understand diversity, I found myself so upset that I needed to excuse myself.  What made it more hurtful to me was knowing how accepting and understanding my boyfriend is himself. Being visibly different at such a young age and enduring everything that came along with it has shaped how he perceives differences and has made him incredibly kind. I was left thinking about how critical it is to introduce these ideas of kindness, compassion, understanding and tolerance early in life.

Maria Montessori opens one of her most famous books, The Absorbent Mind, by discussing how education should not simply be about transmitting information to each generation. Instead she argues that during the earliest years we should also be considering emotional intelligence and social understandings if we have any hope of raising humanity up to a level of peaceful coexistence; “If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.” I couldn’t agree with her more. Every year, inevitably, children will make comments about some things being “weird” or “silly” and I always insist we discuss how usually these things are simply different than what we are used to or what we expected, but that doesn’t make them bad. Certainly, these are hard concepts for young children to grasp, but these are conversations that must be had. Essentially, the future of our world depends on it.

In the end, after my rage and sadness subsided, I was only left feeling pity for my dining neighbors. I felt sorry for them that they did not have the benefit of an upbringing or education that encouraged tolerance, acceptance and understanding for humanity.  For whatever these people have in their minds of accepted standards of beauty, or their picture of what an ideal upstanding citizen looks like, they seem to have forgotten that intolerance is truly the ugliest characteristic of them all.

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Books on Separation

August 26, 2012 //
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Before school starts, I want to share some book suggestions. The following is a compiled list of books I personally use in my classroom to ease separation anxiety and discuss feelings during the beginning of the new school year. There are many other great books out there, but I only wanted to recommend ones that I have a personal connection to. Enjoy!

You Go Away by Dorothy Corey 

As Amazon puts it, “this is the classic of all separation books”. I have used this book many times in classrooms. I think it is particularly useful for twos as the concept and text are extremely basic: You go away, and then you come back!

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell  

I read this book every year during the first week of school, as children inevitably find something in it they can connect with. The story is about three owl babies who wake up on night to find their mother gone. Worried, they wonder if she will ever return. In the end she lets them know, “I always come back.” This is what we tell our students, that your mom and dad will always come back to get you. I also love this book because I have a large paper tree hanging from one of my classroom walls and as we read this book, my kids and I like to imagine that the owl babies live in our tree.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn 

This book reminds me of the Goodbye Rituals I suggest to my class families. In this story a mother raccoon comforts her child who is apprehensive about starting school by giving him a very special kiss in the palm of his hand. Whenever he starts to feel lonely or worried at school she tells him all he has to do is press his hand to his cheek to feel her kiss. If this is a book you read at home often, you could consider using this same technique as your goodbye ritual!

Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen and Ronald Himler 

Someone recently pointed out to me that this is one of the few separation books that features a child with his father, instead of mother. For that reason alone I should recommend it to families and other teachers. But beyond that, it is another simple story about first day of school jitters.

Do you have any favorite books to ease separation? I’d love to get some new recommendations! Feel free to comment below.

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New Years Resolutions

August 20, 2012 //
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Despite my best efforts to slow down time, summer is coming to a close and the new school year is right around the corner. Being fairly obsessed with my career, I have spent much of my summer vacation thinking about the upcoming school year. While most people make their resolutions before New Year’s Eve, I make mine at the end of summer because as most teachers know, we gauge our years by the school calendar. So like everyone’s resolutions, I make plans and lists about what I would like to do better in the upcoming school year and how I can make it even better than the year before.

Spending time thinking about my personal goals for next year has made me  think about the goals we have for our kids. As I get to know my new students, I begin setting some goals for them, things I would like to see them work on, accomplish etc. These goals change and grow as the year continues but documenting them and keeping track of their progress helps my colleagues and I see how much a child has developed over the course of a year. Which leads me to this question….

What are your goals, as a parent, for your child’s preschool experience? If this isn’t something you have thought about before, I encourage you to explore the idea.  In my experience, parent goals differ from family to family and school to school. Some parents hope their child will make one close friend, others hope their child will become potty trained and yet others expect their 3-year old to master the alphabet and basic math.  Wherever you fall on the continuum is okay, but it is always good to start the year off knowing what you hope to get out of it. In fact, this is something that we ask all parents to answer on our background forms at the beginning of a new school year. It really helps the teachers to get a better sense of where each family is coming from and where we can go from there.

Now back to my resolutions! I won’t bore you here with a countdown of all my hopes and goals for the upcoming year. But I will share one important one with my readers (I think there may be at least 2 of you out there!)….One of my major goals is to blog more often & get better at keeping a blogging schedule! Argh. It can be so hard juggling everything, but this year I am dedicated to posting here more often.

There I said it. It’s right there in black and white. Now I guess I have no choice but to stick to it!

Happy New (School) Year Everyone!

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Planning for Separation

July 28, 2012 //
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Summer is in full swing and school is probably the last thought on many children’s minds. However, it is always on mine! As I see happy children running through sprinklers and enjoying special family time, I wonder how many of them will be going to school for the first time this fall. While school may seem far away, it’s never too early to begin thinking about Separation and how your family can prepare.

Separation anxiety is completely normal and to be expected (for children and parents alike!) While this blog is mostly be about preparing your child, I would like to first address any anxiety on the part of mom and dad. Before my own first day of school, my mother had been prepared ahead of time by my new preschool teachers for a potential downpour of tears on my part. However when the time came that first day I simply turned to her, said goodbye and walked off happily. Suddenly it was my mother who was feeling the rush of tears. No one had prepared her for how hard it might be for her to say goodbye.

Since there are still a few weeks left in the summer, I encourage you to take the time to think about how you as a parent are going to handle saying goodbye. It is important to be mindful of your own feelings about your child starting school and be sure not to place any of this anxiety on them. Your children are sensitive to your emotions and if you are showing signs of doubt or distress, they will be wondering if they should be feeling the same way too. You want to be sure that when the time comes to say goodbye, you will be alright doing just that. Having several goodbyes, extra hugs, “just one more kisses” etc. can really hinder the process and cause your child to feel a higher level of anxiety.

Now on to some tips for the kids…

1. Talk with your child about the upcoming transition to school. Now is the time to start talking about school and all the kinds of things your child can expect. Give ample time for them to ask you questions and gauge their feelings about the subject.

If your school offers classroom visits, play dates, home visits or any kind of preview, take advantage. It can really help your child to be able to visualize where they will be going to school and who their teachers will be.

2. Come up with a Goodbye Ritual. Summer is a great time to come up with a plan together of how you will handle goodbyes at school. A ritual can be anything that is special to you and your child and it gives the child a sense of control and routine during what can be a stressful situation. Generally, I like to suggest a set number of hugs and/or kisses. But I’ve seen everything from a giving a little trinket to put in your pocket to elaborate handshake routines. Whatever it is be sure that you come up with it together!

3. On the first day, whatever you do, DO NOT SNEAK OUT! I know it can be really temping when you see your child having fun and smiling and you think now is the perfect time to just slip out, they wont even notice. Trust me, sooner or later they will turn to look for you as their touchstone and when they realize you are gone it will be bad; much worse than if you had gone through the routine of saying goodbye in the first place. The next day they will be much less willing to say goodbye. Start on a good foot with a reliable goodbye routine.

4. Be sure you are ready to say goodbye too.  Just to reiterate one more time….Once you say goodbye you have to be prepared to really leave! Saying goodbye several times will create tension and anxiety. I know it’s hard, your baby is going to school. But you can do it, I promise! :)

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