Happy Mother's Day

Our guest post today is written by Susan from Organized 31.  Susan and I met through the "Growing Together Blog Mentoring Group" that was organized by One Artsy Mama.  Please join me in welcoming Susan as she shars how her mom has inspired her to be the best in all she does!

Happy Mother's Day!  I'm Susan from Organized 31.  I was so excited when Jenny asked me to share my thoughts on what my mother has taught me about being a mother. 

 

I'm a wife to my wonderful active duty Air Force hubby, mother to 3 beloved and wonderful children, a parent educator with over 20 years experience teaching child development and parent education, and most importantly today, I'm the daughter of my wonderful mother.

 

I am who I am because of my mother.   I am the mother I am because of my mother.  She has taught me so many invaluable lessons by being the person she is and the mother she is. Can you tell that I admire my mom?

 

 

The first lesson my mom taught me is compassion.  Your child needs and wants you to love, comfort and understand them.  When they're little, they need you to kiss their boo-boos all better.  When they're older they need you to listen to tween and teen drama.  Your children need you to be on their side.  That doesn't mean that you blindly support their actions, but it does mean that you always support them.  My mom always told me,"There's nothing you can ever do to make me stop loving you.  I may not like some of the things you say or do, but I will always love you no matter what."  To this day, when I have a physical or emotional boo-boo, it's my mom that I want to run to first.

 

My mom taught me to be resilient and tenacious.  My mom's grandparents were dirt farmers (her description) in Oklahoma.  They didn't have much at all.  My mom's parents made sure that she went to college, which was unusual in that day for a girl from her background.  My mom has fought battles in her life that would break a lesser person.  She has fought through those battles with bull-headedness tenacity, resilience, grace and an incredibly positive attitude.  From my mother's example, I've learned to have determination and never give up.  Tenacity and determination are traits all parents need to parent successfully and traits I want to pass onto my children.  The world is an unpredictable place and our children need to learn to be resilient.

 

 

 

 My mom has a love of learning that was passed to her from her father.  My mother's family placed a very high value on education.  My great-grandmother graduated from 8th grade.  She worked incredibly hard on the farm to make sure her 7 children all graduated from high school.  My grandfather worked incredibly hard to send my mother and uncle to college to receive the education he had wanted for himself but was denied because the family couldn't afford it.  My mother and father worked incredibly hard to give my brother and I an unparalleled education.  Whenever my mother talks to my children she always asks, "What did you learn today?"   I love that she continues to want to learn new ideas and is interested in what my children are learning.  It's the love of learning that she passed on to me that led me to start my blog, Organized 31, just because I didn't know much about "technology" and wanted to learn.  As a parent, we are always in the process of  learning.  Just as we figure out the stage our child is at and how to best deal with that stage, out child grows into a new stage.  Parents must always be learning about their children and about being a parent.

 

I could tie up your entire day telling you about all that I've learned from mom.  I treasure all the life lessons she's taught me and let me just say, thank you, Mom.  I love you.

Hop into Fine Motor Skills for Preschoolers with "Five Green Speckled Frogs"

One of my all time favorite spring songs is "Five Green Speckled Frogs".  Preschoolers love this song and there are so many fun activities you can do with frogs.  What preschooler wouldn't rather hop than walk to their next destination?

This activity was inspired by a post I recently pinned from Deborah over at Teach Preschool.  I've made lots of sensory bags in the past, but this post inspired me to add my own twist to it with frogs and flies.

 



 Simple, simple, simple!  I just grabbed some green craft foam and cut out circles about the size of a quarter.  Then I used a green marker to add speckles to make our green speckled frogs.

 

 

The flies were even easier than the frogs!  We had an old jar of craft foam with random pieces in it including various black circles.  Some kids got some rather large flies for their frog to gobble up!  This opened up a great conversation about size and comparing what they had in their bag!

I prefer to use freezer bags when we make sensory bags.  They are heavier and less likely to leak.  The quart size bags are the perfect size.

 

Fill each bag with about 1/2-3/4 cup of any brand of hair gel.  I usually get mine at the dollar store.  This gel was perfect because it was already blue.  You can add food coloring to it if you want to change the color or make it more intense. 

 

 

 

Now all you need to complete your little "pond in a baggie" is a frog and a fly.  Throw one frog and one fly into each bag and seal it up tight.  For extra assurance I fold over the top of the baggie and tape it closed with clear packing tape.

 

I challenged the kids to help the frog "chase" the fly around the pond until they caught the fly!  They also enjoyed helping the fly get away!  Imagine all the fine motor and sensory skills you are strengthening as they work their way around the pond with frog and fly!  Several students kicked it up a notch and even tried this with the baggie on their head!  They loved the way it felt and really had to engage their brains to help them catch the fly without looking!

One of my favorite things about this activity is that they were working many of the same fine motor skills that they do when they cut and write, but they were doing it without a worksheet!  Fun for everyone!









Guest Post

I'd like to introduce you to a new weekly feature here at Ignite Learning.  Every Sunday we will be having a guest post from people around the globe who are using Conscious Discipline in their classroom or home.  Our first guest this week is Barbara from over at Grade ONEderful.  She is also the amazingly talented blog designer who designed my blog!  Let's give Barb a warm welcome!

Hi! This is Barb from Grade ONEderful and Ruby Slippers Blog Designs.  I'm very pleased to be guest posting on Jenny's blog. Thank you, Jenny!

I have to admit I was kind of nervous when Jenny asked me to share my experiences with Conscious Discipline on her blog, because although I've read the book (see above) and LOVE it, I haven't implemented any of the structures. Pretty embarrassing, right?

But after some thought, I realized I AM using many of the concepts because I think about them almost daily and they're starting to permeate my teaching.

One thing I did was make a STAR poster to remind me to Smile, Take a deep breathe AND Relax.  This one little step has been big for me, because although I'm generally a pretty patient person, I can also get excited (usually in a good way) but my voice gets louder and I tend to get the kids a little too jazzed up at times.

 

You can click on the poster to grab it.

Having the poster above my desk is a great daily reminder for me. Occasionally I ask the kids to close their eyes, smile and take a breath. It really is amazing how quickly a more peaceful tone envelops the classroom.

The other most noticeable thing that's happened for me is that I'm having much more success dealing with the occasional temper tantrum (the kids', not mine :)).

In Conscious Discipline Dr. Becky Bailey says, "It is important to remember that anger is a secondary emotion. It is a cover for fear. Every angry situation is a resistance to 'what is'".

This idea was HUGE for me and it really helped me deal with a child in my class who often shuts down and/or starts yelling when he's upset.  Most of the time I've been able to remain calm and remind myself that he's feeling powerless and that my job is to move him through that feeling in a loving and safe way.  If I remember to do this, then he always settles down quickly. I try to acknowledge the child's feelings and then quickly help him find a way to deal with whatever is upsetting him.

This is a beautiful book you can use in your classroom to introduce your children to mindful breathing, to reinforce the power of a smile, and to establish a peaceful environment. I purchased it last fall and I think it's a lovely way to supplement your Conscious Discipline routines.

Thanks again, Jenny, and have a great day everyone!

Building Powerful Connections with Infants and Toddlers

If you are a parent or teacher chances are that you have felt like this at some point in your life!
 

There are so many things demanding your time, attention, and energy.  If you don't get some relief quickly you might just short circuit, explode, or errupt into flames! 

This might be especially true if you have infants and toddlers or children with special needs in your care!

Let's watch as Dr. Becky Bailey describes this problem and the solution she has created through Baby Doll Circle Time.

 

Baby Doll Circle Time is a real gift to parents, teachers, and children alike!  The program is very user friendly.  The amount of training and resources that are included in the curriculum are priceless!  

 

 



Although this program is designed for the Toddler and Twos population, the concepts and practical application are appropriate to infants, children with special needs, and children up to about four years of age. 

In the back of the book there is an instructional DVD with many helpful tools.  Dr. Bailey spends some time instructing viewers on the importance and basics of the attachment relationship, attunement, and social play.  There are also many sample lessons and examples of how this might look in instructional settings.

The resource guide is packed full of tons and tons of helpful information and suggestions to help you set yourself up for success!  There is a supply list, implementation plan, ideas for modifications and adaptations for children with special needs, tips to ensure success and further information about the structure of the program, attachment, attunement, and social play.

I have been using Baby Doll Circle Time with my three-year- old class this year.  It is so easy and fun to use and the children are just delighted when they see that it is time to get the babies out!

This is a memorable moment from the very first time we got the babies out with this little guy.  He has special needs and, at that time, very limited imitation, joint attention, and social play skills.

Before beginning this play session, I was very conscious of the critical importance of attuning to his lead.  My goal was to find a connection that would be familiar to him.  The curriculum was my guide, but he was my "dance" partner.  It is so important that we adjust our instruction to the specific needs of each child in our care.  When we do, a beautiful "dance of attunement" is the result. 

Wouldn't you know, after learning to "kiss the baby" at school he went to the babysitter's house and started kissing the baby dolls there.  It didn't stop there!  Before you know it he was giving kisses to mom and dad and other familiar adults and demonstrating other imitative skills!  Just from one "lesson"!

For more information about Baby Doll Circle Time head on over to the Conscious Discipline website at:  www.consciousdiscipline.com.  It is definately worth taking a peek!

Preschool Classroom Structures: Turn Transition Chaos Into Calm

You know the scene...it's center time and all the little preschoolers are so engaged in their various play activities UNTIL...dun...dun...dun...it's time for clean-up!  Oh no! 
What now?

 



Never fear!  Super S.T.A.R. is here!  This superhero helps us (not just the kids, but the teachers too :)) remember to pull ourselves together when when the room could potentially errupt into chaos.  In Conscious Discipline S.T.A.R. means "Smile, Take a deep breath, and relax.  Each time we have a major transition, we take a moment to be a S.T.A.R. (3 times) before we move on.  Check out this short video of some of my pre-kinders using their S.T.A.R. power!

 

 

Another helpful tool for all children, especially those on the Autism Spectrum, is a Time Timer.  We set the visual timer when we have at least 5 minutes left so the children have a visual and auditory (it beeps when the time is up) cue to help them transition.  Our timer is the largest (12 inch) size so it hangs nicely on the wall. 

 

 

I also noticed that my students were having some anxiety about which centers they were going to be able to use each day and how many they would go to.  So, we made a simple picture chart on the wall to help them out.  As soon as we come back in from the playground they look at the chart, find their picture and head straight to their center.  Boy, does that make everyone's life easier or what!

 





By adding a little more structure to our transition routine, we have been able to turn chaos into calm.  Now instead of screaming and crying when it's time to clean up we have this...