Caffeinate and Teach

In my classroom, we learn through play and my co-teacher and I try to be mindful and intentional with the materials we put into the room so that they are based on the children's interests. I teach 3, 4 and 5 year old children. Every Fall, undoubtedly the children are interested in Halloween or dress up and/or curious about the change in weather. This year, a topic has arisen that made me shake my head...... DINOSAURS...REALLY? See last year I had a child in my classroom who was an expert on this topic. I mean an EXPERT! He knew all the names of the dinosaurs, how to pronounce them with such ease you would think he was saying apple instead of Parasaurolophus (pronounced para-SAWR-ollo-fuss) and the children never ONE TIME asked me a question or made indication that they wanted to research dinosaurs more than just on the surface level. Fast forward to this Fall and all of a sudden dinosaurs are where it is at! We are all about the dinosaurs! My co-teacher and I a...

Fine motor development is vital to every person. Young children gain confidence in their fine motor abilities through experiences, practice and adult scaffolding. Before a child can learn to hold a pencil in the correct manner, they have to be able to explore with dumping and pouring. Dumping and pouring activities such as utilizing cups and containers in a sensory table or even the bathtub, give children a chance to build muscle and control in their wrists, hands and fingers. This muscle control and strength allows them to then become successful in holding writing materials, using scissors, self-help skills such as dressing, putting on shoes, mastering the use of eating utensils, pouring from a small pitcher and more!  Using materials such as play-doh can not only be fun for children and adults alike, it provides a great opportunity for children to use both fine motor and gross motor skills. Heavy pushing, punching, smashing and banging play-doh uses large muscle groups while r...

I have been teaching for a long time. I have always said that if my administration were to come into my classroom and tell me I could only have one center, it would be blocks. Without a doubt, without even thinking twice. Blocks provide an opportunity for children to learn and grow in so many areas of development. It isn't just about balance and spatial awareness, although that is a HUGE part of block building. Blocks are an open-ended material that allow children to create what they see in their amazing imaginations into a tangible structure that they can interact with. Blocks give children an opportunity to problem solve with other children, problem solve with the space around them and work through the many emotions that inevitably come from structures not being "perfect", falling over or being accidentally knocked over by another child's body. While working in the block area, children are working on fine motor skills, math skills, science skills, social skills and ...