Sensory Stepping Stones

Here's a fun idea for creating sensory stepping stones.  This could be a great activity to try for small or large group, and it would also be a great gross motor activity for a rainy day!

Sand & Water Play

This blog has so many amazing and creative ideas for things to do at your sensory table.  The author and teacher uses a variety of low-cost, easy-to-make apparatuses to enhance sand and water play.  So many cool ideas!

Small Group with Popsicle Sticks -- From Laura E.

"The other day, I put a random amount of colored Popsicle sticks in the small group baskets.  The children explored:  some sorted, some counted, some patterned, some did all three.  Some threw them!
On a follow up day, they glued them to see if they could make a house for the three little  pigs.  It was fun and good to see what they did.  Good observations collected."

Thanks for sharing, Laura!

Tweet, Tweet -- Join Us on Twitter

I've been using twitter for years on a personal level, but I only recently discovered how amazing twitter is on a professional level.  I set up a new twitter account for professional use, and I've been wondering what took me so long.  On twitter, I've found dozens of great ideas to try in my classroom, I've collaborated with teachers and other professionals within the district, and I've had conversations about education with teachers from all over the world.  And I do all of this while making lunch for my daughters, watching TV, or doing the laundry.  The great thing about twitter is that you can do it when you have time.  Some days I tweet a lot, other times I don't tweet for days.  The conversation is always there, though, so you can participate in professional conversations on your terms.

So often our professional conversations are limited to SIP days and trainings.  With twitter, I've been able to develop as a professional on a daily basis.  Professional conversations have become such an organic part of what I do every day.

Since I've had such a great experience with using twitter as a professional, I would love to have some more early childhood teachers from our program join the conversation!

Go to twitter.com to sign up!  To get you started with the conversation right away, here are some people to follow:

@ErinJackle
@StephKHopkins
@mentortexts
@u46GiveMeFive
@u46STEM
@emmillerwrites
@illinoisaeyc
@YourEle
@FredRogersCtr

These are just a few great people to follow.  I really hope you will join us on twitter!  If you need help getting started, please feel free to ask Erin or Stephanie.  We would be happy to help!

Frozen Paint -- From Erin J.

I had seen an idea online about painting with frozen paint, so we decided to give it a try in the classroom.  You can watch a slideshow of my kids on my blog.  I just squirted different colors of paint in ice cube trays and put them in the freezer.  After about an hour I added popsicle sticks to the paint.  About an hour after that, we were ready to paint!  Some of the paint colors came out really easily and wrote almost like crayons. Others we had to scoop out.  All of the kids enjoyed this different art activity!

Daily Messages -- From Erin J.

At our High Scope training last year, we learned about the way that High Scope presents daily messages.  I wasn't sure how well it would work in my EN/MLP class, but I decided to give it a try.  I've been really impressed with how many students are beginning to respond to our messages and to how seamlessly it fits into our day.

Each day before school, Jean prepares our message board with three messages about our day.  Since our kids need a lot of consistency and repetition, our messages usually include what we are doing for small group, if we are going somewhere, and what type of planning we are going to do.  In the messages above, we are doing small toys during small group, going to gym, and using pictures and blocks to make a plan.

Jean shares the messages with students during arrival.  Then, we review them as a class during our large group time.  I ask questions like "What do you think we will do in gym?" or "Where are you thinking about playing today?"  Finally, we use the messages as part of our daily recall activity.  We talk about if we completed all of the messages and try to recall where we planned to play.

How do you use the daily messages in your classroom?

Post Office Play -- From Carolina

I found this idea online, and my students really love it so I wanted to share it. As a part of my community helpers theme, I created a post office at my desk.  I introduced this after learning about how the mail works, and discussing that you need to buy stamps and put them on envelopes before the mail man can take them. I posted the prices for envelopes and stamps at the front of my desk, creating the “Post Office.” There is a jar of pennies on my desk as well. When the students want to write a letter to a friend or their parents they have to buy it from me. They get the jar and count out the right amount of pennies they need to buy the materials they want.  The stamps are a verity of cheap stickers I bought at wal-mart, and I just got the envelopes at the dollar store. Once they have the stamp and the envelope they write a letter, fold it up and seal the envelope. To deliver their mail they sometimes use mail carrier bags I have in the dramatic play area or the mail man hat. They can either put their letter in a friend’s cubby or in their backpack if it is going home. I just really liked this activity because it was easy to do and incorporates counting, writing, and social studies all in one. Once we do this for a bit longer I am thinking about expanding by having the students earn the pennies and also make their own mailboxes for people to leave notes in. I hope this can work in some of your classrooms!