Observation, inspiration from watching another teacher!

Today I had the opportunity to watch another teacher in her classroom.  This was quite different from my own as she had four students and all of them were three years old.  The setting was a private Montessori Preschool.  Her materials, prepared environment, and instruction were terrific and allowed these young children to be quite independent.  Her classroom was filled with light and very organized.  Soft music played in the background and her voice volume was quiet to medium.  This had a very calming effect on the children.  I'll describe some items from her environment under the photos shown below.

 

 

The prepared materials intended for the children to use independently were placed on trays with all of the needed items in one place.  The children took "their work" to a seat at a small table and completed the activity.  When they were done they returned the work to the shelves.  This set of shelves contains a nesting doll activity, removing lids and sorting activity, a screwing bolts activity, a fine motor activity where students transfer pom-pons into small jars, and a bead lacing activity.

 

 

 

Here is a closer look at the removing lids and sorting activity.  The children were to twist off the lids, sort the small sticks into the corresponding colored jar and replace the lids.

 

 

 

Here is another look at the inviting way that materials were carefully displayed to interest the child to play with them and to encourage their careful use of materials.

 

 

 

 

These are materials from her block area.  The children used these when she set them out.  If a child requested to use them she allowed it as long as it was an appropriate time.

 

 

 

 

 

The white boxes were for literacy activities.  She took out a box with two letters inside of it and discussed the names of the letters and the sounds that they make.  Then the children removed pictures of objects on at a time and sorted them according to which letter they started with.

 

 

I was wonderful to spend time seeing another teacher interacting with young children.  Her positive and nurturing interactions with the children were truly inspirational.  As they played the children became more and more confident in their abilities and in their interactions with one another!







 

Fall Fine Motor

Fall is such an inspiring time!  There are so many preschool activities that take a cue from what we see in nature.  Here are some activities that my class has been sharing:

We placed branches from a tree into small vases and the children put large and small beads on them.  They worked on using their fine motor skills to add the beads as well as problem solving to prevent the branches from falling over.  They did this activity in pairs and developed a plan with a partner.

 

 

 

The class followed a recipe and measured ingredients to make playdough and then individually formed it into turkey bodies.  They added feathers to create turkeys.

 

 

The children used pattern blocks and pattern cards to create fall-related pictures, this one is a deer.  It's amazing to see how well many of them do using their visual/ spatial skills.  For others we're discussing the names of the colors while we do this.

 



 

 

The children also pulled the kernels off of ears of corn and glued it onto paper to spell their names.  For the children who don't know the letters in their names or are unfamiliar with how to form them we're trying to incorporate many materials into the day to let them practice.

 

 

 

What fall preschool activities has your class been sharing?  List some in the comments below!





 

 

 

To Halloween or not to Halloween that is the Question

With Halloween approaching next week I've been giving some thought to the practice of celebrating Halloween in preschool.  I can see many benefits including high student interest, many available materials, and bringing a part of the children's home life into school.  There are of course drawbacks including religious conflicts, time taken away from an already ongoing unit of study topic, and maintaining the depth of learning that I like to encourage in class.  I previously taught in a school that did not allow classes to celebrate holidays. I currently enjoy the flexibility that I have to follow what I feel my students will learn most from.

So what will I do this year?  Celebrate!!!  The four preschool classes in my school will have activity stations set up in the classrooms and the children will rotate between them.   It will be a fun day that will be largely focused on building our preschool community.  It won't be the most Montessori or Reggio guided day but the children will have a wonderful time and continue to develop a sense of their school as a place where they belong and love to be!

 

 

 

Setting up the classroom

Each year setting up the classroom is both hectic and fun all at the same time.  This year I wanted to challenge myself to include more natural elements, soft lighting, and plants.  I wanted to use more of the materials you would find in a home and fewer of the items you'd find in the teacher store.


I started by hanging baskets with spider plants in them from the ceiling.  This brought natural materials in and are easy to maintain.

Then I hung fabric from dowel rods in the pretend play/ kitchen center to make a roof-shaped canopy.

 

 

I initially hung store brought border on the bulletin boards but have chosen to have the children create a border in the art center.  Having their touches seems like such a great way to make the room their own.

 

 

 

Typically I decorate the classroom door before the children start school.  This year I wanted to include the children's art or work on the door so I found this idea on kickinitwithclass.blogspot.co.uk It's a little difficult to read in this picture, it says "We are each unique and beautiful, together we are a masterpiece".  I love how it turned out.  I had the kids make the handprints when they visited before school started. 

 

 

 

I'll continue to add elements to the classroom that are taken from Reggio and Montessori approaches and I'll let you take a peek along the way.  Please list ideas you've tried in your classroom in the comments section! 

A little Background information about The Montessori Approach

The Montessori approach is more familiar to many than the Reggio Emilia Approach.  It is based on the work of Maria Montessori an Italian Physician and Teacher.  The philosophy of Montessori teaching is based on children interacting with materials to construct their own learning (constructivist teaching).  It focuses on children learning independence which is believed to bring about development in a natural way.  Although children are given great freedom to move between activities the teacher creates a prepared environment in which the children use materials in specific ways to accomplish learning goals and develop skills.

The materials in a Montessori classroom are typically in natural and muted colors rather than bright colors.  In many ways nature is brought inside.  There is great emphasis on order and items have a specific place to be used and to be placed once work is complete.  Trays or baskets are often used to hold prepared "work" to be completed.  An example of prepared work for children in a Montessori classroom would be a tray with two bowls of water, one of which would have beads with the water and the other would not.  The children would be expected to remove the beads from one bowl with a spoon and place them in another.  To aid in development of independence the children are encouraged to complete self care skills for themselves such as independently preparing their snack and cleaning up once it is eaten.  This is just a brief post about The Montessori Approach.  If you have other thoughts or knowledge about the approach please post your ideas below!

Other Montessori resources:

https://amshq.org/Montessori-Education -general description and information about Montessori

http://amshq.org/Montessori%20Education/Introduction%20to%20Montessori/Montessori%20Classrooms - a look inside of a Montessori classroom

http://montessoriconnections.com/about-montessori-education/the-montessori-classroom/ - links to Montessori organizations and provides Montessori information

A little background information about The Reggio Emilia Approach

The Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education is based on the teachings of Loris Malaguzzi, an early childhood teacher from the Reggio Emilia region of Italy during the time period following World War II.  This approach focuses on following the lead of the child to direct learning and allowing them to interact with the environment for hands-on experiences.  Documentation of children's learning is an important element of this approach.  Children often create portfolios of their work (with the assistance of their teacher) and include photographs, drawing, language samples and other evidence of new concepts they have learned.  Art is an important way that children are encouraged to express their ideas in The Reggio Emilia Approach.

Classrooms that utilize this approach are rich in natural materials and display fewer pre-made classroom decorations.  Since art is viewed as a critical part of learning, the children's art takes place of other décor.  The art is individualized and does not follow a sample from a teacher.  Many materials are available for children to play with on open-ended ways such as blocks or colorful fabric rather than in fewer pre-determined ways (such as a race track that encouraged a less varied idea of how it would be used).  For additional information about the Reggio Emilia Approach see the sites listed below and list your ideas about the approach in the comments below!

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Reggio_Emilia/

http://reggioalliance.org/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/reggio-emilia-approach

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

Back to school and getting started

Hello Early Childhood Land,

It's back to school time and that re-ignites a certain spark in all of us.  This year I decided that I'd like to start a blog to keep myself accountable for trying some new things in my classroom.  To let you know a little about me my name is Kara Steffen and I've been an Early Childhood Teacher (teaching both general and special education) for 13 years.  I currently teach in a full-day preschool program serving three, four, and five year-olds that operates four days each week.  I love teaching in this setting especially since I'm encouraged to continue growing and to keep adding to my teacher tool kit.  What I'm most interested in learning about this year are ideas from the Montessori and Reggio Emilia approaches.  I have very little knowledge about both but did student teach in a school that utilized ideas from Reggio Emilia and my children attended a Montessori Preschool as three year-olds.  I hope to learn from anyone who comes across this blog and has new ideas and knowledge to share!