Creating a School Family: Organizing Center Time

I have observed that many teacher have good intentions and want to allow children to have a choice about where they want to play and when.  Unfortunately, if it isn't managed well, free choice time can turn into chaos and the anxiety in the room goes through the roof.   

I get the opportunity to visit many classrooms when I am coaching.  I always keep my camera handy so I can snap shots of brilliance in action!  Recently, I found two new ideas for managing Center Time that I would love to share with you!  These ideas would work best with children that are preschool age and older. 

This first idea comes from a Head Start Classroom in my community.  At each center in the classroom, the teacher has posted a simple poster like the one shown above.  She added photos from school supply catalogs to help the children have a visual support along with written label for each center.  The bear cutouts give the children a visual reminder for how many children may play safely at each center.  When children arrive at the center, they hang their individualized bear on one of the spaces provided.  What a simple and easy way to add safety and predictability to your center time!

Speaking of simple, it doesn't get much simpler than this next idea!  I came across this fabulous and super super easy idea at the same Head Start, but in a different classroom.  You will flip when you see how easy it can be to kick your center management up a notch!

This teacher has a baggie with hair ties in it.  Yes, you heard that right, HAIR TIES!  When it is time for centers the teacher lays out the correct number of bands for each center.  So, if the yellow center is allowed to have four children, then she lays out four yellow bands. When the children choose their center they put the band around their wrist to help others know where they're going.  If they want to change centers they simply go over change colors and move to the center of their choice. 

The teacher spends time at the beginning of the year teaching the children which color represents each center.  She practices it with them and sets them (and her) up for success!  You could also hang some sort of colored symbol in each center to remind children of the color for each center if you choose.  What a great visual and tactile way to manage centers! It just doesn't get any easier than this!

Remember, our goal in center time is for children to be engaged in learning activities that increase social, motor, and cognitive skills, as well as language development through play.  Lack of structure at Center Time creates an atmosphere of stress for children.  When children are stressed learning will not occur.  By adding just a few little structures such as the ones shared above you can soothe the lower centers of the brain, help children feel safe and ready to learn!

Hot Chocolate Connecting Activities that will Warm Your Heart

Does hot chocolate take you back to memories of your childhood like it does me?  I remember my mom getting out that dented little pan to warm up some milk and make some steamy hot chocolate for us on those cold winter days.  She warmed the milk oh so carefully so it wouldn't burn.  Then she would squeeze in just enough chocolate to give it taste and if we had some on hand we always added marshmallows! 

One of the best things about hot chocolate is the way if feels in your hands!  Heck!  Half of the experience is just holding the mug and sniffing that rich chocolaty aroma!

I am sharing a sweet little connecting activity with you today that I hope will help you create some warm memories that you will look back on some day with your children and perhaps even carry on for the next generation.

You might like to do this activity with your little ones just before bed or when they get home from school to allow them some time to melt into the warmth of their relationship with you and experience a deep sense of connection and safety.  This activity could be easily adapted for use in the classroom with individual students or as a connecting activity for your class as a whole in your Brain Smart Start.

However you decide to do this activity, remember that it is important that it include eye contact, touch, presence, and playfulness.  Don't get too caught up in the words or motions, enjoy the time with your child, relax and be present. 

Here are the steps to doing the activity:

1. Hold your child in your lap.
2. Form the shape of a pot with your child's arms.
3. Pretend to pour milk into the "pot".
4. Holding your child's hands make a stirring motion with your arms as if you are stirring the milk with a big wooden spoon.
5. Squeeze your child's arms, hands, legs, or feet to pretend that it is the chocolate syrup squeezing it into the pot.
6. Gently poke your child's tummy or cheeks as you add the "marshmallows".
7. Wrap your arms snug around your child and give a hug.
8. Last, but not least, drink up that yummy hot chocolate as you enjoy smiles and giggles all around!

This poster for this song can be found here.  You can print it out for free!!!

If you are interested in more developmentally appropriate activities that include hot chocolate be sure to check out my post over on Pre-K and K Sharing.  There is another free printable over there that will help you teach your children to take that deep calming breath when they are feeling upset and need to relax.

Go ahead, grab a cup of hot cocoa, print out the poster and put it up on the fridge so you are ready to snuggle in close with your little ones.  This is one connecting activity that is sure to warm your hearts!

Each Moment Counts

Time to Hibernate it's Snowpocalypse 2014!!!

If a foot of snow wasn't enough to make use want to hibernate then the cold temps that are settling in across the Hoosier State sure will!  Here in Indiana, we are experiencing some record snow fall along with temperatures that haven't been seen in nearly a hundred years if EVER!

Since the Hoosier State is setting weather records, some of my Hoosier Blogging Friends thought maybe we'd set our own record with a first ever Teachers Pay Teacher Snowpocalypse Dollar Sale too! 

In celebration of Snowpocalypse 2014 several of us are offering products in our stores for JUST $1.00 on Monday and Tuesday, January 6th and 7th only!

Because...

 

"There's SNOW better way to spend a day than with a $1 Sale!"

 

 

I am featuring three products that relate to the theme of HIBERNATION!  So, put on an extra layer of clothes, snuggle down in your warm blankets, and grab a cup of coffee and start shopping!

 January is welcome month to teach children about what animals do in winter.  Why not teach them about kindness too with this book that is patterned after Brown Bear, Brown Bear!!!

 



Help little ones get ready for bed with this handy routine book that is great for creating a safe and predictable bedtime routine!  This book can be put in a small photo album or you can bind it yourself.  The compact size and practical use is great for Grandma's house too!



This is another great tool for the bedtime routine!  This checklist is offered in several colors that you can put in a frame or laminate and hang on the wall as a visual reminder of the bedtime routine!

Becoming Your Best Self: One Word

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I am so excited about the New Year!  With the New Year comes prospects of so many good things.  We get to choose our outlook on the New Year and I'm choosing to focus on "Becoming My Best Self" in 2014!  I'm going to DARE to use my SUPER POWERS and rely closely on the PEOPLE around me so it will be the best year yet!

 

I've been reading the book One Word that Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon.  Jon says that four out of five people never keep their New Year's resolutions and that half of the people have given up by the end of January.  I've never been a big fan of making resolutions for that very reason!  Why set yourself up for failure?  I decided to give ONE WORD a try. 

Jon shares three simple steps for choosing your ONE WORD:

Look in:  Set aside some time that is free from distractions and ask yourself some questions about where you've been and where you want to go in the coming year in all aspects of your life:  physically, financially, socially, mentally, and spiritually.

Look up:  Spend some time in prayer and ask God to help you find the word that will help you become the person He wants you to be.

Look out:  Once you've discovered your word it is time to live it out.  As Jon says, "This is where the rubber meets the road."

Jon encourages you to share your word with your inner circle and put some structures in place to help guarantee your success.  Find some people in your life that can help hold you accountable and who can cheer you on throughout the year!  He also suggests that you take pictures or find a creative way to display your word in a painting, photo, or other visible way so you see it frequently and stay focused.

I was sharing what I had read about ONE WORD with my family last week during our family meeting.  They were very interested in joining me in the process.  I am so excited that they will be doing this with me and it was super cool getting to go through the process of choosing their word with them. 

I want to share a couple of ideas of what I did to help my children who are 10 and 12 years old choose their words even though they have not read the book and didn't fully understand the concept at first.  Here is the process we went through:

1.  Start where they are:  I reminded my children of the movie the Polar Express.  In the beginning of the movie each child is given a different word on their train ticket, but they only get half of the word.  Your curiosity is peaked as you wonder throughout the movie what their word will be.  Each child's word is finally revealed toward the end of the movie.  Now that you know the characters better you fully understand why they got the word they did. (Lead, learn, believe, etc.)  I told my children that the One Word process was similar.  Each person gets a word that is unique to them. 

2.  Help them reflect with guiding questions:  I found a helpful printable by Mique over at her blog called "Thirty Handmade Days".  I printed one out for each of my kids and we sat down and reflected on their answers. They answered questions about what they learned in 2013, what they want to learn in 2014, and what goals they have for the year ahead.

3.  Look at pictures online of words other people have chosen and how they have displayed them.  It was really helpful for the kids to see that there are schools, sports teams, businesses, and families all over the world doing this with us!  It really inspired them!

4.  Make a list with each child of possible words they could choose.  This was mostly a brain storming session that just helped get everyone thinking.

5.  Give them some time to think.  I gave the kids some time and space to reflect on their list of words and see what jumps out at them.  I also suggested that they chat with other family members about their thoughts and get guidance and input from various sources.  Within 24 hours they were both confident about the words they'd chosen.

We are going to do a family project this weekend to help us display our words, but we haven't decided what we want to do yet.  We'll see what we come up with and post pictures of that later!

I thought you might like to see what words we chose so you can be a part of our journey this year.  We would love for you to share your words with us in the comments below so we can encourage one another and become our best selves together!

Back in June I left my full time job to have more time to focus on my family, building my business, and blogging.  I have struggled in the months since trying to get into a regular routine.  I was a teacher for 18 years.  There was always someone else giving me the structure I needed to be successful as a teacher.  They told me when to come, what to teach, and how.  With that in place, my creativity was at it's max!  Without those structures, my creativity and composure flew out the window! 

So, as I started considering my word, "routine" was at the top of the list.  There were a couple of other words that kept flying around in my head as well and I just couldn't pick one.  I kept thinking to myself, "I wish I had more clarity on my word."  Finally, I decided to ask for some help and someone suggested the word CLARITY.  HA!  That's it!!!  That's exactly the word for me! 

As I seek to be my best self, I need clarity!  That's the intent behind being Assertive.  An assertive person sets clear limits for themselves and the people around them.  In order to be assertive though, I need better vision for where I'm going and how I'm going to get there.  Without a clear vision it is as if you are walking around in a fog just being blown by each whim that comes your way.  In order to be my best self I need to clarify my goals and put some limits in place for myself and for my family that will help get where I want to go.

Here are the words for the rest of my family.  (My son was sleeping so we will add his tomorrow).  They each have their own story for why their word is important to them and how they hope it will change their lives in 2014.

We hope you will join us in this journey to become our best selves.  It's not about the destination, it's about the journey!  What is your ONE WORD?