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)
Category: Parenting
Caring for and Working with Children who may have ADD or ADHD
Image Source There is a child in our preschool that we seem to have difficulty working with. This child does not seem to be able to focus on an activity for any length of time. Regardless of any activity, he just can't sit still or be engaged for even two minutes. He will start … Continue reading Caring for and Working with Children who may have ADD or ADHD
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 the Cockatoo Met its Demise”: A Lesson on Friendship
Barossa Valley, South Australia Photo by @evlachsblog Have you read or heard the story about the farmer/winegrower who was being pestered by a flock of crows in his vineyard every day? Well, the story goes like this: The farmer's vineyards were getting destroyed by these pesky crows on a daily basis, so he decided he had … Continue reading “How the Cockatoo Met its Demise”: A Lesson on Friendship
Parents Alert: “What to do if your child is always competing for attention”
Children have an insatiable need for attention. It's probably due to the constant praises and recognition they received from the time they were born or the lack thereof. First time they utter a word, roll over, crawl, stand on their own, or communicate what they want, parents and other people in their lives are immediately … Continue reading Parents Alert: “What to do if your child is always competing for attention”
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
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
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?
Children are Precious in God’s Eyes
In my line of work, I have the privilege to minister to the lives of the children. I have every opportunity to make the children know about God and Jesus. Some families in our centre do not believe in the Bible or are not Christians. But because I work in a Christian school, where there … Continue reading Children are Precious in God’s Eyes
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
To Parents who Swear as a Regular Habit
Children often learn to swear from their friends at school or outside their home if none of the members of the family swear. They know it is wrong to swear because they are always taught and reminded by their parents not to speak this kind of language, as it is very unacceptable. But you cannot … Continue reading To Parents who Swear as a Regular Habit