How do you emphasize the use of "caring hands" in your learning environment? Here are a few ways we wove this important concept into our daily life in the classroom during our "Family and Pets" theme. Young children need patient, loving adults who will guide them tough situations. When someone has been hurt , we talk about what happened and help children be accountable for their actions. With the assistance of an adult, children learn to say, "I shouldn't have pushed you, do you forgive me?" for example. The child who was hurt, learns to say, "I forgive you." Sometimes a child isn't ready to forgive, so we patiently walk them through how to handle those big feelings. "It sounds like he is still really hurt. Let's check back in with him in a little bit." More times than not, a child is ready to forgive right away and only needed an acknowledgement of an injury. Each month, we receive 4 beautiful Teacher Guides and the majority of the materials to do the activities. September's monthly theme was Family and Pets, and the weekly themes were My Family, My Feelings, My Pets and Friendly Traits. During the Friendly Traits week, we spent a day on Care. We practiced caring and encouraging one another through games and activities and even art projects such as the one above. The unique thing about the Mother Goose Time curriculum is that they encourage "big questions" and teacher-child interaction before art materials are even explored. I plan on taking video of my assistant, Mrs. Plamondon who does a stellar job at communicating with the children on the day's subject. She uses the Teacher's Guide as a foundation and then very naturally, continues the discussion with the children. They are able to make observations aloud, answer open-ended questions, share an experience that relates to the project, and finally choose which tools and materials they will use to make the project. Independence and originality is encouraged. Our environment is in a Catholic School, so of course we are going make natural connections between the Mother Goose Time curriculum and a Bible story or principle. During one of our Jesus Time lessons, we watched a video about St. Vincent De Paul and decided that we all have at least one pair of pants that do not fit well and could donate them to the local St. Vicent De Paul Thrift Shop. Well, our families donated BAGS of items! Follow us for more ideas on how topics and themes are explored in a deep and meaningful way in our learning environment.
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AuthorSheila Anderson has over 25 years experience in the Early Childhood Field and still loves going to "school" everyday. Archives
January 2022
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