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Pay Attention, Children!

7/8/2016

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Just How Long Do We Expect a "Passive Learner" to Focus Attention on Another Individual?  

Are our expectations Realistic?
According to the evidence, the answers are, "Not Very Long" and "No, They Aren't".

Let's look at this photo of Circle Time in an early childhood classroom.  The Teacher is demonstrating or instructing, One Child is responding or interacting, Four Children are paying attention, or passively learning, and Two Children (that we can see) are inattentive or are not learning.  And we can't be sure how many more are on the rug and have possibly left the lesson mentally, but at least two out of seven aren't learning.  That's almost 30% of the group!

What's wrong with this picture?  Well, we see this virtually every time we form a group and provide learning in this manner.  Show-and-Tell goes this way, Circle Time, Morning Meeting, and any Large Group Instruction or Small Group Instruction that is Teacher-Centered or focused on one individual.

Why aren't we changing this?  Can you see the learning happening?  Not for everyone!  And Everyone Has the Right to Learn, During Every Lesson, Every Day!  So, we need to work on this issue and engage more students until we have all of them!  That's what's wrong.  Take notice of what you aren't doing for the child who is distracted, rather than noticing which child has checked out.  Don't decide that these children don't have a long enough attention span to learn this information; it's not the case.

Working toward a solution, let's start with the math.  The research tells us to take the child's age and add two minutes to that number to determine the total number of minutes that you can expect that individual to remain attentive to one individual speaking or demonstrating.  That means that a 3-year old will give you five minutes of her time, and a 6-year old will give you eight minutes of his time. However, there is another factor to put into the equation.  For a child who has distraction issues, which can vary across a wide range (sensory concerns, possible ADHD, a tooth ache or a cold, hungry or feeling too warm, didn't get enough sleep or even simply missing mom today), the new equation becomes one of subtraction.  Take the child's age, minus two minutes!  Now you have a 3-year old who may willingly give you one minute of full attention, or a 5-year old who can offer you three minutes to get your message across.  This is the formula we are working with in these circumstances.  We need to know it well and set expectations accordingly.  But wait...
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Now look at Sam; look at her build in the blocks center!  She has been there working hard on her town and her tower for about 20 minutes.  Where did that attention span come from?  She's only four years old.  She should be able to sit there and build for about six minutes!  Didn't I just provide a research-based formula to follow?  
Sam is an Active Learner in the blocks center.  Sam is Actively Engaged!  She is applying her own thoughts and ideas, and possibly even using strategies presented to her in a previous 5-minute, teacher-centered demonstration.  Sam is experimenting, designing, solving problems, and using many other brain functions as she plays and learns with the blocks.  The blocks center is a developmentally appropriate learning tool for 4-year old Sam.  Sitting on the rug watching and listening for more than just a few short minutes, is not.

I recently made this connection in my own kindergarten classroom.  I realized that the children who checked out on the rug did so, not because of a lack of developmental readiness, but because of a lack of engagement. Engaging students is my responsibility, not theirs.  We no longer have any passive learners on the rug.  Every individual is very busy working on a task at the same time as the student who is our message reader works on the teacher's message.  The activity on the rug is integrated with the message reader's job, and is a developmentally appropriate activity with room for more or less depth, depending upon the child.    

The Results...
​Engagement:  100% !!!  A Rug Full of Actively Engaged Learners!  We Can See the Learning Happening, For Everyone.  And we don't see any passive learners or disengaged students.  Time for attention to task on the rug has extended dramatically for us, expanding the breadth and depth of the learning!

Keep in mind, also, that there are many factors that play into the limited attention span of a child. Children with sleep issues are often misdiagnosed with ADHD, as are children whose self-regulation skills have not developed at the same pace as peers.  The overstimulation of excess screen time can also lead to inattentive behavior.  Before making judgments about ADHD or development, revisit your strategies for engaging a group of individuals who may be as unique in their attention spans as they are in individual strengths and talents.  Employ strategies that enable success for everyone!
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Technology Use and Young Children

6/29/2016

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Before Working on Limiting Your Children, Look in the Mirror and Question Yourself...Are You Overdoing it?

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While reading a few good books on technology use and young children, something stood out to me like a brightly shining star yesterday.  Contemplate not what you are doing, but what you are not doing when using electronics.  We tend to get sucked into electronics, ignoring the world around us and allowing the clock to speed ahead in its circular path, robbing us of valuable time...time with people and nature and getting things done.  This, of course, happens because of the effects the electronics have on our brains.  What a great way to check oneself!  Rather than asking, "What am I doing?" which allows for a plethora of justifications of the time loss, we can ask, "What am I not doing?"  This question leads to answers such as, "I am not taking the dog for that walk I was looking forward to today."   "I am not playing with my children right now, and they are not happy about that."  "I am not cooking dinner at the time that is best for my family."  "I am not listening to what my spouse is saying; I'm just nodding while working."  "I am not..."  What are you not doing when the screen grabs your cranium, and you find yourself endlessly navigating the sticky strings of the World Wide Web, much like a fly caught in the silk of a crafty arachnid?  What could you be doing instead?  Clear out the cobwebs! I'm shutting down my computer now and going outside, because I am NOT enjoying this beautiful morning in my new garden.  See ya!  

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What are You NOT Doing Right Now?  

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Thinking about Thinking....

6/18/2016

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Good News...Statistics Released from NICHD

6/18/2016

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A July 13th NIH News Release from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development brings Positive Results! 

Having been a high school child development teacher several years back, the headline for this article caught my eye.  Back then there was some concern about a sudden spike in teen pregnancy.  The NICHD now reports that teen pregnancy has continued to decline, along with a number of other encouraging statistics, indicating that programs and efforts that have been developed are making a positive impact.

More Encouraging News:

Binge drinking among high school students has dropped to its lowest since the statistics were first tracked in 1980.

2015 stats show that high school students who reported smoking daily has dropped to an all-time low since data was first collected in 1980.

The number of children who were victims of violent crimes dropped dramatically from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.

95% of children now have health insurance, an increase of 7 points between 2000 and 2014.

There has been a noticeable narrowing in the racial and ethnic achievement gaps in math scores, although math scores overall declined slightly.

The percentage of young adults who graduate high school remains the same at 92%.

Up from 49% in 1980, we now have 68% of high school graduates going on to a two- or four-year college immediately after high school.  (I'm wondering how the trend toward a "gap year" fits into this statistic.)

On the other end of the spectrum, the statistics show that there are some areas that continue to cry for a stronger impact:

Stats in 2014 show that 21% of all children in the U.S. live in poverty, and the same percentage live in "food-insecure" households.  That percentage held steady from the previous year. 

Obesity rates continue to rise, and during the span of 2011-2014, 19% of children ages 6-17 were obese.

The rate of children who were victims of serious violent crimes did not change significantly, and was at 7 children per 1,000 in 2014.
Information of this nature is important to be aware of, whether it's a simple reality check for those of us who don't deal with these issues in our own lives but deal with children who might, or whether it's  an opportunity to get involved in making positive changes in the lives of our students and the children throughout our country.  

Be In The Know, and Make A Difference!


Click HERE to read the article from the National Institutes of Health News Release.

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Attention Lefties!  Teachers and Parents of Lefties!

6/11/2016

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It's a Dream Come True...

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Click on the Photo to Go To Lefty's: The Left Hand Store
Please be sure to provide your left-handed students with left-handed tools.  We impede the development of skills and create pervasive challenges to learning when lefties have to survive in a right-handed classroom.  Approximately 10% of the world population is left-handed.  Therefore, the rule of thumb (left thumb, that is) is keep left-handed tools in your classroom for at least 10% of the maximum number of children your classroom might hold in a given year.  We strongly recommend true left-handed scissors and left-handed pencil grips for ages four or five and up to begin with.
(30 children max. = 3 sets of left-handed tools.)
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I'm so glad we found and can share this resource! Happy Day to all of our Left-Handed Friends!

We would LOVE some feedback on your experience with left-handed items, as well as this web site we found.
Comments Are Encouraged! :)

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Dropping the Preposition...Sound Illiterate or Sound Sweet?

6/5/2016

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I struggle with this Modern, Techno-Driven Phenomenon every time I correct a student who drops a preposition, and I subsequently hear a parent or teacher do the same.  HELP!

 "I'm done my work!"  (with???)

​ "Are you finished your project?"   (with???)


"He walked out the classroom."  (of???)

The concept is very confusing to me, and I cannot find any solid resources on the internet regarding the subject, simply blogs with opinions and often foul language.  So,  I  am posting my observations and thoughts here, hoping for some intellectual and creative input.  I am wide open thoughts and suggestions. (for???)

There is a part of me that wants to jump the band wagon (on???) as I would have, quite quickly no doubt, when I was an ever-s0-"with it" teenager who loved new language fads.  However, my adult good sense and teaching commitment tell me that communicating this way in both speech and writing (be it text, email, blog, tweet, or publication manuscript) may lead to speaking and writing in this manner in situations where sounding as though I did make it through 7th grade English class may be important.   

Now, now, mind you, I intend to insult no one here.  I am a Native New Yawka, and there was a time where I played bawl and drank wata and soder.  After spending a few years in a professional business position in California, where every letter sound is articulated quite clearly and some exaggerated to prove you live in the Valley, I learned to hear the illiterate sound of New Yawk Tawk.  Needless to say, due to communication difficulties in business in different parts of the country, my accent has faded.  I find the prep drop to ring as illiterate to the ear as the New York accent does outside of the five boroughs and surrounding burbs.

However, when I analyze the use, I first (in all fairness) note that I have always dropped "of" when walking out the door or climbing out the window.  Walking out of the door? Climbing out of the window?  They surely sound awkward to me.  So then I comment to self, " Self,  you do this, too.  There is just more of it, and it is popping up in places you never imagined it could fit."  My research has also led me to the completely unimaginable Because Preposition.  

"What is the Because Preposition?"  you ask.  Well, maybe it's an attempt to add a new one, making up for all of those dropped prepositions that are no longer in use.  Apparently it is another new phenomenon in technology talk that has permeated our spoken language.  I get that we take shortcuts and use faddish, ever-so-cool lingo in WiFi situations, but this groovy new shortcut utilizes the ellipsis without the three dots to indicate that the pause and thought are there.  Hence, the pause is eliminated.  Basically, we are just dropping words deemed by the speaker/writer to be an unnecessary waste of his or her time in order to have the receiving party understand the thought being expressed. Because catchy.  It's advertising in speech: because billboard.  This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because the ellipsis and the pause in both spoken and written language add so much to the context in which we are expressing ourselves.  I suppose I could say, " This phenomenon is a sad one in my mind, because expression. " I am a HUGE fan of the ellipsis, and I know it must be used correctly to be effective.  It is a component of the art of language use; pauses are dramatic and ear-catching, even deeply engaging!  The ellipsis is a privilege, not trash to throw out!

Are we compromising the art of language for teen fads?  I am shocked every time I hear an adult drop with or for in a spoken sentence.  Will they soon utilize the because preposition, because sweet?  Are they trying to be cool for their children and students?  Have they fallen victim to the permeation of shortcut, technology language in our culture? Are they from a part of the country where their accent causes them to sound illiterate by dropping prepositions, similar to my NYC dropped R's and inserted R's making me sound illiterate?  


Again, I plead...HELP!!!  
Fight it or Get with it?



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Activities for Infants and Toddlers with Intentional Outcomes

5/30/2016

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After a wonderful afternoon of Training on Infant and Toddler Insights and Strategies with the Early Childhood Professionals from the Montgomery Early Learning Centers, I am excited to post and share this fantastic article that not only offers activities, but includes details pertaining to the outcomes to "see the learning happening" and differentiation of those activities for varying developmental levels.  Play, Play, Play...
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Enjoy other great articles from Texas Child Care Quarterly:  http://childcarequarterly.com/backissu.php
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Experiencing Self-Regulation in the Role of the Child

5/15/2016

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New PD Session: Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Children

  • Did you know that Self-Regulation Skills develop naturally for some children, while others need to learn and practice those skills?
  • Did you know that Self-Regulation occurs with the development of Executive Function Skills in the brain?
  • Did you know that there are three components involved in the development of Self-Regulation?
  • Did you know that children in our technological society have much less opportunity to develop self-regulation skills based on the type of play today's children typically engage in?
  • Did you know that it is never too late to develop Self-Regulation Skills, although the optimal timing for the greatest results is during the early childhood years?
  • Did you know that you may be inhibiting the development of Self-Regulation Skills by regulating your students' behavior and by not offering learning and play activities that foster those skills?
  • Did you know you that you can contact us to come out for a play and learn session with your staff to enable them to teach Self-Regulation Skills to children? 
  • Colleen@BeyondTheStandards.com
  • 267-362-9095
  • Summer and Fall Dates are Available - PAKeys Credit/Act 48 Credit
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DVAEYC Conference Discount on Self-Regulation Tool...

4/4/2016

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Click the Book to Go To The Shop at Cafe Edu for your Conference Discount!
Enjoy Sitting Still Like a Frog in your classroom or center, as your children learn to self-regulate using mindfulness meditation.  
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Meet Us at the DVAEYC Annual Conference: April 1 & 2, 2016!

3/14/2016

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Click Here to go to DVAEYC to Register!
Meet me on Friday afternoon, 4/1 from 3:00-4:30pm
​Strategies for Teaching Self-Regulation to Children, Session D-9 


Join me on Saturday morning, 4/2 from 8:30-10:00am
Those Challenging Toddlers: Insights and Best Practices, Session E-6
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What a Fun Professional Development Session It Was!

1/18/2016

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STEAM Activities and Strategies for Success in Early Childhood Programs
PD Session held on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at The Anchor Presbyterian Church
Home of The Circle of Friends Nursery School

Lots and Lots of Engineering Play...
How does this translate to STEAM Activities?
The Creative and Critical Thinking was not just STEAMing...It May as Well Have Been Smoking!

Teachers Experiencing the Role of Students:
  • Does melon float?
  • Does the shape of the melon boat matter if we try to sail it?
  • What shape is a sail?
  • How many ways can we make a sail that stays on without any glue or tape?
  • Can we use a blow dryer to see if wind will make it sail?
  • What is the difference in speed when my ramp is lined with foil versus grip shelf liner?
  • How can our students make ramps that stay in place without tape?  I think they need a role of tape in the block area from now on.
  • How can we save our ramps and roadways when it's time to clean up?  Have children draw a diagram to rebuild? Have children help take photos with the ipad or digital camera?
  • What makes the cylinder column hold more books than the traingle or square column? 
  • What is the name of the shape that is a traingle column?  a square column?
  • What is the math we can learn with the straw and bubble blowing activity?
  • How do we incorporate the arts into these activities? (Mrs. Wishy Washy projects???)
  • Is it a Must to have each component of STEAM when we work on a STEAM project?
  • What would this building challenge be like if we had two cubes to support the building instead of only one?
  • How can we make a base of sticks for our tower without any tape or glue?
Thank you to all of our Early Childhood Education Friends who joined us for breakfast and learning through play, the STEAM way!  It was such a pleasure exploring with you!!
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Just A Few Seats Are Open... Join Me for an Exciting Professional Development Session on STEAM in Early Childhood Programs

1/13/2016

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Mandated Reporter/Child Abuse Training Feb 10 Bucks County

1/5/2016

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The Baby Brain and Mastering Language

1/3/2016

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The November 2015 issue of Scientific American published a fantastic article by Patricia K. Kuhl on Brain Development and How Babies Rapidly Learn Language.  There are several points throughout the article that may be considered vital information for those working with infants, toddlers, and preschool children, as well as for parents of children at those stages of development.  The following are some highlights of the neurological research described that are beneficial insights for early childhood educators and families.

What value does this research hold for early childhood providers?

  • Both genes and environment play a major role in early language development.  "Learning for the infant brain is not a passive process.  Social interaction is an essential prerequisite for mastering a language." (Kuhl, 2015, p.68)
  • Babies and toddlers need to look into the eyes of adults to learn words.  They follow the gaze of the eyes in order to connect words to objects and meaning.
  • Baby Talk spoken by caregivers is a very important component in the process of learning sounds.  The exaggerated sounds of adult baby talk enable babies to master the fluency of the language, and the higher pitched tone typically used in baby talk by adults attracts the attention of the baby.
  • A 2013 study with 9-month old babies demonstrated that children learn language best when interacting socially in order to learn it.  In this study, learning through television and audio demonstrated no learning outcome at all.
  • There is also a motivational component to learning language through social interaction.  The brain's reward centers are activated during the process when there is a social interaction involved. 
  • The author's current research is demonstrating that babies learn better when they are among other babies.  Her team is exploring the explanation for this.
  • By six months of age, babies are ready to begin learning the sounds of the language spoken by caregivers.  The same applies to a child who is exposed to a second language.
  • Babies (people) most easily pick up a second language between six months and seven years of age.
Kuhl's research is also exploring brain activity and biomarkers with regard to difficulties with learning language, focused on disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and other disorders.

Consider the Insights from Neuroscience when Caring for Infants and Young Children in Your Daily Work or Family Routine. 


​  ​Kuhl, P. K. (2015, November). Baby talk. Scientific American, 64-69.
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Teaching with Intentionality: Fun and Successful! 

12/23/2015

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This is a great example of the concept communicated via a recent Buzz Word in Education: "Intentionality".  Although the word itself has been around longer than you can imagine, it has, in the last decade, become a term to reckon with in the classroom.  More on the concept, after we see just how fun it can be in early childhood!
The children were "Intentionally" taught some basic cookie decorating skills to ensure they could: produce beautiful cookie gifts; keep the mess to a minimum; plan and execute a project; and exercise some fine motor coordination techniques.   A lesson taught with Intentionality, which, in turn, taught the children to approach the project with Intentionality.  They were required to think ahead about colors and design, and we used demonstration and hand-over-hand practice to understand the skills...the technique and the outcome of using the techniques.  There were No Mounds of Icing, there were No Big Spills, there were No Sprinkle-Doused Cookies!  There were a lot of little fingers working hard for the correct positioning, there were many thoughtful pauses prior to taking the next step, and there were happy, proud faces enjoying the holiday music and their own Edible Christmas Masterpieces!
Be enlightened!  Click HERE for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's definition and explanation of "Intentionality".    And make it FUN!! :)
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Keys to Motivation: The Feeling of Belonging

11/29/2015

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Psychological Membership: the feeling of belonging

Psychological Membership is foundational to the success of students in the school environment.  In order to develop the feeling of belonging that every child needs to succeed, teachers need to be intentional in their efforts to build a classroom community.  Every individual must be - and feel - respected and valued within the community.  Teachers can build the classroom community as is typical with morning meetings and greetings and getting-to-know-you activities, but also, teachers must be insightfully focused on individual strengths and needs, in order to ensure that every child feels like a valued member of the community.  Some simple strategies include:

1. Having Class Experts based on strengths, but with young children, we must have expert areas that everyone can fit into, so everyone can be an expert at something.
  • Shoe Tying Experts
  • Buttoning Experts
  • Zipping Experts
  • Insect Experts
  • Animal Experts
  • Block-Building Experts
  • Letter-Writing Experts
  • Letter Sound Experts
2. Positive teacher responses to students' wrong answers:
  • Oh Jesse!  I love the way you are thinking!  The lower case "p" and the lower case "q" both have a circle on the line and a line that goes down into the basement.  You are really getting to know how to write those letters and to identify which letters look similar.  This is great thinking!  The letter we are looking at is actually a lower case "q" not a "p", (go over the way it is written),  but I am so proud of you, Jesse, for knowing so much about these letters already! So many preschool children confuse the "p" and the "q", so we will all continue to work on getting to know "p" and "q".
  • Jimmy, you are actually pointing to your elbows, not your wrists, but I want to thank you for doing that! (Give Jimmy a BIG smile.)  In preschool and even in kindergarten there are some body parts that children continue to forget or confuse, and guess what...the wrist is one of those body parts!  Jimmy, please point here on your body (point to your own wrist), and show the class where they can find their wrists, too.  Everyone find your wrist, please.  Now Jimmy, can you show everyone where their elbows are, please?  Great!  Now the wrists? Let's do it fast!  Jimmy, do you want to lead?  Okay, Wrists-Elbows-Wrists-Elbows-Wrists-Elbows!  Awesome!  Thanks for helping us with that Jimmy.  I hope all of my preschool friends will remember wrists and elbows very soon.
3. Respond to Behavior Issues WITHOUT Embarrassing Children
  • Every Error in Behavior Choice is a Learning Experience for the Child.
  • Trash the Clip Chart and the PBIS Flip Chart!  How Humiliating is that?  As indicated in my original post on motivation, would your  name clipped to this chart in the teacher's lounge motivate you?
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Feeling?
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Humiliated!
  • Public Humiliation DOES NOT WORK, and it is often the cause of the problem worsening.  
  • Many children are Much More Sensitive than we realize about the peer perception and public reprimand.  No matter how kindly you ask a child to "flip their card" or "clip down", they are still experiencing negative feelings inside, and it is embarrassing...even to those who the teacher may have developed judgmental beliefs about their comfort level with undesirable behaviors at school.  Experience and research prove it again and again, so consider revisiting your strategies.
4. Allow Children to Share Their Excitement and Experiences
Make it known in your classroom that this child participates in this activity and that child enjoys doing that, so that the pride of interest and progress are shared with peers.  "Joey, how was that soccer game this weekend?"  "Oh, Jane, you play soccer, too?  Did you have a game this weekend?"  Spare some time in your meeting, at the snack or lunch table or the last 5 minutes before going home to check in with children on their personal interests and activities.  Be sure that everyone has their fair number of opportunities to share throughout the year.  Other ideas...
  • Show and Tell
  • A News Board 
  • Person of the Day/Week Posters or Sharing Time
  • Pet Day
  • Assignments and Activities that give Free Choice of Topics to children and are shared with classmates, even displayed after sharing (easy options: journaling, building, painting, etc.)

What strategies do you employ to ensure that each child feels like a valued member of your classroom community?

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Thinking about Thinking...

11/25/2015

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Keys to Motivation: Ownership

11/25/2015

 
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Teach the children the framework within which they can "own" the classroom.  My kindergarten children run our entire morning and afternoon meetings by the beginning of November.  They know their jobs and they know the routine.  I sit back and watch, enjoying the new ways they learn by working with each other and not depending on me to guide every detail, answer every question or solve every problem.  Independence, critical thinking, coooperation and collaboration, excitement!  LEARNING!!!  My morning students asked me this week for the keys to the building and offered for me to sleep in while they run the class!  I'm considering it. LOL - JK

Along the same empowering lines of thinking, let them "own" the work.  Teach the concept, not the details.  Demonstrate and explain when it is absolutely necessary to stay within the lines, but let them "color outside the lines" or "think out of the box" on their own, putting their own spin on the work, based on their own prior knowledge or curiosity.  It's never wrong if they are learning something...even when it's not what we expected them to be learning.  The thinking is what really matters!  Provoke the inquisitive nature and the desire to create that children are blessed with!  They naturally come equipped to learn...let them go for it.  Don't get hung up on "doing it right" and stop giving them the answers!  Let them read their writing to you, let them explain their process to you...allow them to share what is going on in their minds as they explore, and allow them to change it to fit how they perceive it should be - you may learn something new!
​                                                                  It's their process and their outcome...Let Them Feel It!

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation - What Educators MUST Know

11/9/2015

 

Be A Responsible Educator:  Know the Difference and Choose the One that is In The Best Interest of Your Students, Long-Term

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Still using:
  • Marble Jars?
  • Prize Words?
  • Traffic Light Charts?
  • Clip Charts?
It's Time To Throw Them in the Trash!
(IF you are serious about supporting
positive changes for your students.)

What is an Extrinsic Motivator?

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If Jimmy gets a good report card, Dad gives Jimmy $20.
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When Kevin has a great week at school, as indicated by more than three stickers on his good behavior chart, Mom takes him out for ice cream.
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Anyone who stays on green every day this week gets a ticket to go to the teacher's prize box on Friday.

Yes, Even the Grade is an Extrinsic Motivator!

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Suzie is working hard to get an A+ on her book report.
What does all of this mean?  Well, we have been using extrinsic motivators in the classroom (and at work and at home) for many, many years...ever since behavior theories in education were based on animal behaviors in the lab - without the more current knowledge of human behavior and neurological functions.   This is the motivation that we are used to and have been comfortable with..."dangle the carrot;" "offer a reward;" "give a bonus;" "incent them"...
This is also the behavior that creates the response, "What will you give me if I get an A on my report card?"

It starts at a very young age, when, like a puppy in the house-training stage, we incentivize our children with a reward for all of those kind person/good citizen behaviors we expect them to strive for.  "Sit puppy!  Good girl, have a dog biscuit!"  Similar to:  "Your teacher told me that you are so polite in school and that your behavior clip never moves down.  Let's go out for pizza and celebrate!"

What is an Intrinsic Motivator?

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Jenny can't wait to practice riding without her training wheels.
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Shawn reads the pictures in the giraffe book with great enthusiasm.
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Leslie was beaming with pride after shopping with Mom and using the shopping list she wrote all by herself.
Intrinsic Motivation is the simple one!  What is it?  
  • Curiosity
  • Interest
  • Desire
  • Passion
  • Achievement
  • Fulfillment
  • Pride
Intrinsic Motivation is the motivator that comes from within.  It's the "feel good about myself" motivator.  Remember the song, "It's the Climb"?  Intrinsic motivation involves enjoying the process, the experience, and not waiting for an outcome in order to be happy about what we are doing.  This is performing acts of kindness, this is doing a job or a school assignment because you are interested in it and excited to be participating in it; this is finding something that captures you about a content area you aren't generally interested in and embracing the work for the enjoyment of pursuing that  interest.

The Rub:  Extrinsic Motivators Extinguish Intrinsic Motivation
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Like using a Fire Extinguisher to Put It Out
or ​Being Squished by an Elephant!

Providing external motivators stops the internal motivation.  The sticker given to a child for a kind act teaches the child to use the positive behavior as a means to get a reward.  The good feeling the child experiences comes from someone else recognizing the act and providing proof of such with a prize.  The child is not aware of feeling good inside for being a good friend or a good citizen... or for learning! 

Doing the work for the purpose of getting the A takes all of the excitement out of the learning it takes to get to the A and creates a mindset of pushing through the work to get to the desired outcome.  It's about the A, not about the learning  that could be happening.  I wonder how many different ways students may find to get to the A if they are  not embracing the learning process?  ...food for thought.

​The positive emotions that we experience, which build self-esteem and confidence, are not recognized with extrinsic motivators.  A pat on the back and a comment such as, "Wow!  You must feel so good about yourself having done something so nice for a friend!  I'll bet you are really proud of yourself," is the best choice for encouraging positive behaviors and building a solid foundation of confidence.    This encourages the child to recognize the intrinsic motivator; the response directs them to recognize the feeling within and eventually eliminates the need to find the reward on the outside.  Self-Regulation in the Works.

And if you are reluctant to give up the reward system, couple the sticker or prize with a comment such as the Wow statement above.  Provide the child with guidance to find and recognize the internal feelings while recognizing the child with a reward.  This is not optimal, but full resistance to the concept is more harmful.

What about the Publicly Shared Behavior Chart?

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How damaging to a child's self-esteem do you think it could be to have her name clipped to this public announcement that she engaged in a behavior at school that warrants a discussion with her parents to remedy?  


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Would you want your name clipped to a sign in the Faculty Room that indicates you  will need additional training for an expectation that you are struggling to meet?  Hmmm...

How Do We Make The Change to Motivate Appropriately?

Check in periodically for evidence-based Keys to Motivation!
Comments on this posting are encouraged in the interim. :)

Letter Identification, Engage and Excite Them!

11/8/2015

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Don't Let Those 3s and 4s Get Bored or Lost...

Change it up for the little ones!  Letter ID skills can be fun and exciting.  It doesn't have to be all charts, posters, and magenetic letters.  

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Book Search
Send pairs of children/letter detectives to the classroom library to each find a book. Have the pairs sit down and find the desired letter in the words within the book and instruct them to show each other what they find. They can then tell each other (or help each other recall) if it is an upper- or lowercase version of the letter.  Once pairs have helped each other to confirm that they both found the correct letter, and they think they know which case it is, they can bring the book to the teacher or the assistant to show they found it.  Trust me when I say they will want to go back and find lots more!  You will be amazed at the excitement (and sometimes organized chaos in learning) that goes on with this activity.  The more buzz among the children about what they are learning, the more learning you will find happening. You are also teaching that words are made up of letters. :)

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Letter Swat
Hang a wide piece of poster or bulletin board paper on the wall.  Write in wide marker or tape prefabricated large upper and lower case letters on the paper randomly.  Provide a child with a fly swatter and set him or her off to the poster to swat the uppercase letter "k".  Have children take turns swatting letters they've learned, or have a "Letter Swatter" job for a student at your morning meeting!
Create side-by-side posters and have a letter-swatting relay race!  Children can swat-spell their names, their friends' and pets' names, etc.  This activity can also be done with letter sounds or sight words.

A Few More Interactive, Tactile Activities...
Go to PreKinders.com to find Letter Basketball, Candy  Letter Match, and Alpha-Band! These are can't miss activities to engage those little ones in recognizing the letters of the alphabet!


Share Your Favorite Interactive Letter Identification Activities with Us! :)

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Need-To-Know Info for Working with Infants

10/31/2015

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I visit many, many centers where the infant room teachers are concerned that there are not enough trainings to assist them.

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This is a great article for those working with infants!  It provides invaluable insights regarding stress in babies and strategies that combat stress effects and support proper development.  Professionals and parents can benefit from the article and should consider putting these elements of care into practice.  Click on the photo to find the article.

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Embrace It...Love It...Live It!!  Bottom Line: TEACH IT! :)

10/30/2015

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Critical Thinking Defined:

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Defining Critical Thinking. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2015, from The Critical Thinking Community
  website: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766
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Is Your STEAM Program Fostering Critical Thinking??

10/30/2015

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If you answered, "no" or "I'm not sure"...there's a problem!

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STEM and STEAM have been brought into the education realm, and subsequently the early childhood education sector, to bring about the workforce that is needed for this country's future.  We are not competitive enough in these areas, and the programs, courses, and degrees that have emerged have come about as a means of developing a workforce that is prepared for the needs of tomorrow.

When we combine these individual branches of knowledge into one comprehensive body of knowledge, the tasks involved require a whole new way of thinking.  The STEAM exploration allows for making connections across knowledge areas, it enables us to see the math that is embedded in the science, the science that is behind the engineering and development, the compliment that the Arts bring to the technology we use, etc.  The process fosters higher level thinking skills such as making connections, synthesizing information and ultimately, creating something new.

So how is it that our young children are supported to think in these ways?  We need to pique their curiosity; enable them to explore, discover, and hypothesize on their own; allow them to question and experiment; and encourage the mistakes and retakes along the way as a wonderful learning experience rather than a failure.  

A colleague of mine had 4-year old children examine a paper Chinese lamp made as a Halloween decoration today.  She then encouraged them to work in teams and figure out how to make one.  With minimal support, they worked in partners and then shared whole group with each step that they figured out.  Not only did they make the lamps, but they had a situation that was a life lesson for all!  One friend in the group cut the paper in the wrong direction, noticed it before even opening it up, exclaimed, "Ooops! This won't work!" and asked for another paper to cut in the other direction.  This insightful teacher's response was, "Oops! is good!  That's how we learn and figure things out."  The whole class was all smiles about this project!   They were beaming with pride.  They didn't sit down and get step-by-step directions on how to fold and how to cut and where to tape, etc.  They worked as a team, they figured it out and they created something that was all theirs!  It was so exciting!!!!  This is serious learning.

The students in that class explored the sample lamp to gain some background knowledge, they discussed their questions and ideas together and then tried them out.  They changed their path if it wasn't working and tried a new idea, and they eventually found success.  This is a very basic example of what STEAM thinking should look like.  This particular teacher is easing this group into STEAM, and hats off to her for beginning with encouraging the critical thinking and confidence-building that the team will need to delve into more complicated projects.  Oh, did I mention that the lamps light up?  VERY COOL!


Think about how you are conducting your STEM and STEAM activities.  
  • Are they student-centered rather than teacher-directed, with students leading the learning?
  • Are the students questioning and hypothesizing as they go through the process?
  • Are they making mistakes and finding it comfortable to "go back to the drawing board"?
  • Are they "owning" the project?
  • Are they demonstrating the excitement of new discoveries?
  • Are they connecting the work they are doing with the world outside, past experiences, other work they've done or plan to do, or the adult world around them?

If you answer "YES!" to these questions, then you are creating the foundation for the work these children will do beyond your classroom and into adulthood.  Nice job!

If you answered "NO :(" to any of these questions, then you'll need to "go back to the drawing board" yourself, and in doing so, demonstrate to your students how even adults have to reflect and revise their original plans to find true success!  :)


STEAM on with Full Confidence! :)

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Food for Thought...good to know where students will be going!

Click the Diagram for a Fascinating Article
by Justin Marquis, Ph.D. from OnlineUniversities.com.


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Looking for New STEAM Ideas?

10/25/2015

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Check Out Your Local Community!

We found a GREAT opportunity to begin our school year with STEAM learning objectives plus:
  • Cooperation, Collaboration, and Communication
  • Fine and Gross Motor Skills
  • Literature and Journal Writing
  • Presentation Skills
  • Map Reading
  • Community Interaction
  • ...and more!
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Our Kindergarten Enrichment classes built a giant, STEAM-themed scarecrow and entered it into a local contest!  While on display, we took a class trip to visit our scarecrow and have some fun viewing the other scarecrows in the competition.  It was a fantastic, pride-filled project to propel our students into an exciting year of collaborative, project-based learning!  See what's going on in your local community for your students to participate in... or to create their own school-based spin-off of!
Happy STEAMing! :)
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STEAM for ECE - Professional Development Session 10/28!!!

10/23/2015

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    Colleen T. Mantell, M.S., Ed.
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