In my post, Setting up an Active Learning Environment (Part 1), I detailed how I would plan and execute the outdoor activities for the children. This gets changed either on a daily or on a weekly basis, depending on the level of engagement of the children with the activities or equipment that are set up. Therefore, … Continue reading Setting up an Active Learning Environment (Part 2)
Category: Education
Setting up an Active Learning Environment (Part 1)
One of my minor responsibilities or tasks as a preschool teacher is to set up an active learning environment for the children, both indoors and outdoors. For the outdoor active environment, I utilise the available resources and equipment we have in our centre to make an obstacle course. These include stepping stones, a tunnel (which … Continue reading Setting up an Active Learning Environment (Part 1)
Bushwalk Fun and Adventure with the Children
It was a cold morning. I wanted to stay in bed for a little bit more. I snoozed my alarm about 10 times, I think, from 6:15 to 7:10 AM, and in between snoozes, I still managed to sleep. But of course, eventually, I had to get up and get ready for work. Luckily, I … Continue reading Bushwalk Fun and Adventure with the Children
Making Story Stones
Our children at the Early Learning Centre will be reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" by Eric Carle this coming week, so I thought of preparing activities that are inspired by this book that would make children busy and at the same time work on their colours recognition and vocabulary development. One of the activities is … Continue reading Making Story Stones
Benefits of Physical Activity to Young Children
Children need exercise, lots of physical movements, music and more time outdoors. They should be given more opportunities to develop their physical skills, such as locomotor, stability or balance and manipulative, in order to achieve their maximum potential. Locomotor skills include running, walking, jogging, skipping, sprinting. Stability skills include balancing, jumping. Manipulative skills include throwing, … Continue reading Benefits of Physical Activity to Young Children
How to Make Story Reading More Fun and Meaningful to Your Children
Image Source When I read stories to children, they often act out or participate in the actions of the book without even thinking that they're doing it. They just spontaneously move or make noises or sounds as they allow themselves to become part of the story. They also feel the characters' emotions such as happiness, … Continue reading How to Make Story Reading More Fun and Meaningful to Your Children
How Young Children Communicate their Feelings and Thoughts through Writing
Image Source To the eyes of an adult, they are just wavy lines, or perhaps some swirly lines with sticks drawn at the bottom of that seemingly round shape, or, when somehow comprehensible, are just shapes that almost resemble letters or numbers. But for many children, those are their ways to communicate through their writing; … Continue reading How Young Children Communicate their Feelings and Thoughts through Writing
I was a “willing guinea pig”, but it was all worth it!
Image Source I always look forward to reading @ntowl's writing class notes or attending the live class. Unfortunately, her class falls on a Monday (Australian time). It was just that something came up and she had to change it just for this week's session to Monday night. Luckily for me this week, it fell on Tuesday … Continue reading I was a “willing guinea pig”, but it was all worth it!
How to Raise and Support your Child to be Multilingual
Having two or more languages spoken at home can be a challenge to most families. As we all know, children will have no difficulty learning any language. They will be able to pick up and be more fluent in more than one language, for as long as they are always immersed in those particular languages. … Continue reading How to Raise and Support your Child to be Multilingual
Recipe for Playdough and Its Developmental Benefits for the Children
One of our weekly tasks as preschool teachers is to make play dough. Instead of buying it from the store, we make our own play dough from scratch. It is simple to make and inexpensive, too. The children also love to participate in making play dough. They enjoy the hands-on experience of making it even … Continue reading Recipe for Playdough and Its Developmental Benefits for the Children
How to Read Creatively and Artfully: Making the Most of your Story Reading and Sharing Experiences
What do you think about each time you opened a book to read or share with your children? Do you ever think, "Will they or will they not enjoy the book?" You might have sometimes thought, "I think this book is too long and my child will just get bored." As a preschool teacher myself, I ask all these … Continue reading How to Read Creatively and Artfully: Making the Most of your Story Reading and Sharing Experiences
The Balanced Wheel of Life: Building Life Towards Destiny
“Plan for the future because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life.” Emphatically, this quotation rings true on my part. When I was a little girl, I dreamt of becoming a teacher one day. So I told myself that in order for me to achieve this dream, I had to … Continue reading The Balanced Wheel of Life: Building Life Towards Destiny
How do you Help your Children Build a Rich Vocabulary Day by Day?
The foundation of literacy learning, that is, the ability to read and write, is represented by language and vocabulary. If children do not develop strong verbal language or communication skills and vocabulary in their early years, they will find it difficult to keep pace with other children who are well advanced in terms of these … Continue reading How do you Help your Children Build a Rich Vocabulary Day by Day?
My Literacy History: How I have Developed and Continued to Grow my Love for the English Language
Since I was born and raised in the Philippines, my first language is not English, but Filipino. I learnt how to read and write basic Filipino first and I remember in my early years, I was taught how to read by introducing to me the use of the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and … Continue reading My Literacy History: How I have Developed and Continued to Grow my Love for the English Language
Teaching Techniques: Learn the Art of Asking Questions
An article from Early Childhood Today, the Magazine for Early Childhood Professionals, entitled "The Art of Asking Questions" by Ellen Booth Church, has evoked my memories of myself as a student in the university. Some of my professors employed the Socratic way of questioning, and I can remember that because of their styles and methods … Continue reading Teaching Techniques: Learn the Art of Asking Questions