Magicalms.com ~ Magical Moments

Even though Easter and Passover are religious Judeo-Christian holidays,  we can and should address family traditions  holiday foods, celebrations, songs, games, and activities in the classroom,  while we  leave the religious aspects of the holidays at home with our families. I feel that if we skip over the holidays, we are compromising our teaching goals by ignoring what children are showing an interest in.  And so, I will share with you, a few developmentally and politically appropriate activities and songs to enjoy with your boys and girls.

• Science: 
  • Discuss where baby chicks come from. 
  • Discuss which other animals lay eggs (birds, ducks, snakes, frogs, fish.
  • Make sure to have models or pictures of the aforementioned animals.  A picture of a farm, play farm or a visit from a farmer or to a working farm would be ideal.
  • Encourage each child to hold a real egg and discuss shape, texture, how it moves, etc.
  • Have the children crack an egg and then watch as the teacher cooks it in order to make scrambled eggs.  (Encourage the boys and girls to taste after checking for allergies).
  • Discuss cause and effect, consequences. 
  • Place different objects inside eggs, glue closed and then have the children match the different sounds that the eggs make when they are shook.
  • Show the children a piece of bread and matzah.
  • Distribute, have the children compare shapes, texture, and taste of each.
  • Give the children plenty of flour and water to mix, provide spoon and rolling pin so that they can make their own pieces of matzah.  Give plastic forks so that the children are able to make holes in matzah.
• Math: 
  • Display an egg and then discuss its shape.  What other things are oval?
  • Have the children count sets of eggs and then make and follow patterns with colored eggs.
  • Display a piece of matzah and discuss its shape. What other things are square. Discuss lines and corners.
  • Challenge the kids to make squares using their bodies.
  • Count sets of squares, build with square blocks, make patterns
• Art: 
  • Seal plastic eggs, you may glue old marker tops on to each egg so that they act as  handles. 
  • Have the children use the eggs as painting tools by dipping into shallow and colorful bowls of paint in order to create colorful eggs on oval shaped paper.
  • Provide the children with square pieces of white bread, multi colored bowls of milk (use food coloring), new brushes and have the kids decorate the squares.  Toast when finished and enjoy.
  • Create square collages on square pieces of paper.
  • Create soft vs. hard collages, make mosaics, use plaster of Paris, and make a cooperative square quilt.
• Motor: 
  •  Use writing without tears tools to introduce or to reinforce letters like E(Egg), M, (Matzah) H (Holiday).
  • Go on both matzah and egg hunts.
  • Have the children trace and cut ovals and squares
  • Have the children use tongs and egg holders to move eggs from one basket or another.
  • Have the children practice with both their bodies and paper how to go over and under.
  • Toss eggs into baskets, balance eggs on spoons, etc.
• Favorite Books and Stories:
  • Mrs. Wishy Washy,  by Cowley
  • Little Red Hen
  • Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss
  • Celebrations, by Berger
  • Ten Little Eggs, by Marzolla
  • The Little Rabbit who Wanted Red Wings, by Bailey
  • Hooray for Passover,  byKimmelman
  • The Best Easter Ever, by Speirs
  • Shape and Farm books
  • Recite Humpty Dumpty

Please refer to Magical Moments Guide for original holiday stories

• Language:
  • Encourage the children to tell you stories about their families, their feelings, their eggs, pieces of matzah, etc.
  • Discuss opposites like hard vs. soft.
  • Beginning and ending sounds.
  • Reinforce holiday fingerplays and poems
    • Once there was a little egg, (kids roll up on floor)
      That jumped down to the floor (Jump)
      It started rolling all around (roll)
      And then rolled out the door.
    • Make a matzah pat, pat, pat. (Tap hand with other hand like a hammer)
      Do not make it fat, fat,fat. (Have hands stretch from each other)
      Make a matzah flat, flat,flat. (Have palm of one hand tap palm of their hand)
      Make a matzah just like that!!(Snap fingers)

It may be fun to invite families into the classroom so that they can prepare  traditional foods for the children. 

Please refer to the Magical Moments Curriculum Guide for additional holiday ideas.

Please remember,  it is our responsibility to follow protocol,  but, it is also our  obligation as educators, to continually enrich our students’ lives by  respecting and teaching about diversity, not, by ignoring it.

Happy Holidays and Happy Teaching,

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

Opening lines of communication between your children and yourself is a process that requires patience, diligence, acceptance, self awareness, dedication, and perseverance.  If our goal is to establish and maintain honesty with our kids, then, we must listen without interrupting, listen without judging, and listen without prejudice. After listening to your child, I feel that it is our parental obligation  to restate what was discussed, ask what the child feels about his/her disclosure and then to  share personal opinions of the issues at hand. Encouraging and modeling open communication is not the same thing as eliminating consequences.  It is admirable for children to admit that they have behaved in an unacceptable manner or broken a rule, but, their admission should not prevent consequences for the infraction. Our civilization is based on adhering to rules and regulations. We must adhere to a set of standards in order to insure safety and peace. We, parents and educator, have the responsibility to dialogue with our children, but, we should not protect them from just and fair consequences for their actions. If we make excuses for our children’s negative behaviors, cover for them, or make things “right” we are reinforcing the behaviors that we are trying to avoid. If we expect adults to be accountable for their actions, then, we must teach our children that they must be ready and willing to accept consequences. Regardless of the severity of the situation, the loyal and true parent will continue to love his/her child.  The affective parent will express his/her love for the child while expressing disapproval for particular behaviors.

The goal of open communication is to help children have a voice, discuss feelings, offer options, and discuss strategies.  Open communication with our children is not an end all, but rather a tool to be utilized to create a generation of honest, empathetic, diplomatic and fair people.      

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

 Don’t Miss This Magical Moment by Author & Educator Donna Mavrides!

Room for One More
A beautiful story to share with children whose families are expecting a new member.  The story focuses on a little girl’s reaction to the news that her family is adopting a baby.

Even though educator’s main responsibility is to the children, we also have the task of helping parents understand what are developmentally appropriate preschool standards and practices. If you agree with the premise that most parents want to do what is in their child’s best interest, then, you would also agree that those same parents would listen and learn from the well informed, conversant teacher.  For instance, it is up to us to explain why children must develop muscles in their hands, arms, and shoulders before learning to write.  It is up to us to explain how play helps children explore and build a solid foundation and a love for learning.  It is up to us to help parents understand that the process of creating is revered, rather than the finished product.  It is up to us to communicate that active, hands on learning is far superior to information obtained by passively interacting with a computer.  I believe that if we are knowledgeable, respectful, and passionate about our subject matter, parents will have confidence in our abilities to plan programs that are developmentally appropriate and in their children’s best interest.

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

To me, socio-emotional goals override all others.    Our primary goal must be to motivate our children to be kind, considerate, caring, and respectful of others as they accept themselves as capable, wonderful little people.  Helping preschoolers delay gratification, problem solve, discuss feelings, and handle frustration are important first steps in creating healthy emotional children so that we can look forward to a more loving and peaceful future.

Teachers must be models for our children; we must talk respectfully, behave calmly, and listen affectively.  Body language is a powerful tool that adults must monitor when interacting with children and other adults in the program.  Since respect and kindness grow exponentially, teachers must be lovely role models if they expect their students to be well behaved, caring children.

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

There are endless opportunities to teach and have children practice math skills each and every day.  Regardless of theme, educators must infuse opportunities for the boys and girls to count, compare, contrast, graph, sort, pattern, graph, weigh, and identify numbers and shapes each and every day. Our world is filled with math and so, the mini world of the preschool classroom must be filled with it as well.

Like math, the opportunities to attain language goals in the classroom are endless.  The teacher may start by having objects labeled with sentences instead of single words.  Before reading a book, the teacher may ask the children to look at its cover so that they can hypothesize about its content.   The teacher should introduce the book’s author and illustrator.  The teacher may ask boys and girls to reflect and remember details after the story is completed or the educator may ask the children how they would prefer the story to end.  The class may make connections between stories and between real life occurrences.  The teacher may use the story to create open ended games, art experiences, or block constructions.  You may want to discuss beginning/ending sounds of particular words or play rhyming/opposite games with story words. For older children, the teacher may ask the children to dictate their own stories whereas for younger boys and girls, the teacher may ask the children to point to or to verbalize story related objects.  Talking, listening, singing, tapping beats (syllables), and reading helps to foster language goals as they improve speech clarity, build vocabulary, help children to follow directions, recognize sounds, and ultimately learn to read.

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

Now that your classroom looks lovely and is set up in a safe manner, it is time for the teacher to concentrate on scheduling.  In order for the day to be successful, the daily schedule must be balanced between active and quiet activities and those where the child is in a group vs. independent endeavors.  While the early childhood teacher is devising a schedule, it is imperative to provide the boys and girls with blocks of time for uninterrupted play.  Children learn about themselves and their social/physical world as they explore their environment by testing and experimenting.  Some boys and girls interact with another person by playing together, others by playing next to a friend and still other children get joy and information by just watching what is going on around him/her.  By providing children blocks of time, not just a minute here or two minutes there, we are showing respect for their style of learning as they touch, listen, move, smell, talk, and interact.  As children learn to become more social, they will practice their problem solving and friendship skills.

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

The next several blogs are dedicated to answering the question, “How do I attain goals in an early childhood classroom?”   To begin, let’s all agree what goals we are referring to.  I will include socio-emotional, cognitive, physical and language as the highlighted objectives for the children.  As for the parent’s goals, I will include maintaining open communication and making certain that parents are cognizant of what is age appropriate for their particular children.

Before getting into specifics, it is imperative for teachers to create and maintain a safe, attractive environment for the boys and girls.  Scientists report that significant learning will take place when children feel secure, so let’s do everything that we can to help them feel safe.  Besides arranging the furniture, toys, and equipment in a well thought out manner, it is also important for the children to understand what the teacher’s main responsibility is.  I like to tell the children that my job as their teacher is to make certain that each and every one of them is safe.  I extend the concept of keeping each other safe by giving the boys and girls an important job.  Each child must help me, the teacher, to keep friends, books, and toys safe.  The extent of the conversation will be determined by the children’s age.  You may want to ask, “How can you keep your friends safe?”  Do you think that doing x or y would be hurtful or kind?  What would you do if…?  If you have baby dolls or puppets available, it would be fun to distribute one to each child while singing “Rock a Bye Baby”.  Have the children demonstrate how they would keep their babies safe.  It is also a valuable idea to have slighter older kids pass a ball around the circle. Have the children show you how they would pass the ball with gentle hands versus with rough hands.  Reinforce to the boys and girls that in order to keep friends safe, children will use gentle hands while they are at school.

Creating a consistent daily schedule also adds to children’s comfort levels.  Like most of us, children like to know what will happen next.  I like to give children the heads up when one activity is winding down by turning off the lights, getting the children’s attention, announcing that they will be finishing up, and then reporting what the next set of activities/behaviors include.  By eliminating ambiguities and indecisiveness, children relax and generally do what they are expected to do.

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com

Most professionals in the world of early childhood education are devoted to helping young children, yet, many are too eager to interpret scientific findings in ways that are counterproductive to children’s development. In the last decade or so, scientists have been busy exploring the inner workings of the brain.  They have concluded that since young children’s brains are so pliable, potential for learning is greater than we ever believed possible.  Many educators interpret these findings as a way to advocate for high tech classrooms that are filled with every kind of computer and sound system.  While others seem to believe that a young child’s world should be filled with writing instruments, paper, and flashcards.  And then, there are those of us who understand that scientists are not advocating for either of the above, but rather, are suggesting that we should create safe, stimulating, open ended environments where children’s explorations lead to the creation of a firm and solid foundation for future learning, self confidence, and success. 

If each child was given opportunities to play,  to build, to create, to experiment, to mix, to explore, to make mistakes, to be read to and listened to, we would be using the scientists’ findings in ways that would foster child friendly educational environments. Children who learn about themselves and their world in secure, stimulating environments are more likely to become passionate life time learners than children who attend passive, product/goal oriented programs.  Before we can think about academic classrooms for little people, let’s agree that our children have the right to “play” and the right to be “valued” for who they are and not for what they can do.   I applaud the latest brain research about children’s learning potentials.  Now, let’s use this valuable information to create programs that are best suited to the developmental needs of our young children.

Magical Educating!

Donna Mavrides
Magical Moments
www.magicalms.com