Teachers

Thirty years ago she began teaching

Young children in their threes and fours;

She didn’t know much about children at first,

But over time learned more and more.

She gave them hugs and wiped their tears,

And never left them alone;

She guided them through the small things,

Which often turned out to be milestones.

Her first students are all grown now,

And she waves to them when they pass;

There’s a banker, a writer, a lawyer, an artist,

And parents with children in her class.

To those who ask if she plays all day,

She says with a gleam in her eye

That she teaches bankers to add and subtract,

And artists to color the sky.

She teaches the alphabet to writers,

And lawyers what it means to be fair;

She teaches politicians to take their turn,

And executives how to share.

 

She knows that what’s learned in the sandbox

Will influence them for years to come;

It’s the little things that shape them,

So impressionable are the young.

If you too work with children,

And dance and sing and play,

Don’t forget that you shape the future

By whom you teach today.

 

                                                Unknown        

Two-Year-Old Class

New Beginnings

Stop to Smell the Roses

 

It seems as Advent begins so does the time of busyness. We find ourselves decorating, shopping, seeing special movies or plays and enjoying the company of friends and family.

These things are all fun and add to the season. But they can also overwhelm us.  I suggest taking a moment every once in a while to Stop to Smell the Roses.  For you that may be; a long soak in the tub, a hot cup of tea, a moment sitting in the backyard, listening to some wonderful music or perhaps just that…smelling the roses. Whatever it is I encourage you to stop, reflect on the meaning of the season for you and breathe.

 

Children Learn through Block Building

Wooden unit blocks have been around for decades and continue to be one of the best toys available to promote learning.  They are open-ended materials that stimulate the imagination and set the stage for discovery and invention. One child may want to create a zoo for the animals while another wants to create an airport.  Then there is the fun of just building and building the blocks as high as they can go  without falling over.

Blocks are used by babies, toddlers, preschoolers and even elementary school children.  Babies and toddlers enjoy touching and picking them up.  As muscle control develops, two and three-year-olds enjoy combining blocks, lining them up and stacking them.  Older three and four-year-olds begin to balance and fit pieces together.  Before you know it they are building towers, castles and enclosures.  By four and five years of age patterns develop, as well as very advanced structures including cities and landscapes.

In the Early Childhood setting we want to focus on the numerous areas of growth which include; social/emotional, physical, intellectual and creative development.  Blocks help children learn in each of these areas:

Socially/Emotionally:

Blocks encourage children to work together, negotiate and compromise. Emotionally children can become frustrated when blocks fall down  or when friends disagree on how to build a structure. When this occurs, children are given the opportunity to use their verbal skills in order to express themselves and solve problems.     

Physically:

Block building strengthens muscles throughout the body by reaching for, picking up and stacking.  Eye-hand coordination is also developed as children start to figure out which block will fit where. 

Intellectually:

Children begin to develop vocabulary as they learn to describe different sizes and shapes.  Math comes into play as the children group, add, subtract and eventually multiply with blocks. The concept of balance, stability and gravity begin to be understood.

Creatively:

Blocks are used by children to create their own designs as well as beginning to create what they see in the world around them.  Animals, people, trees, pebbles and variety of other objects can be added to the block area to promote creativity.

It is always best to ask a child to tell you about their block building instead of asking them what they made.  This allows for an open-ended conversation with the children and does not put more value on only structures that represent something.

Adults have even been known to enjoy working with good old fashion wooden unit blocks!