I have a little guy in one of my classes this year that is the classic definition of having “ants in his pants”. In a traditional classroom setting, he would be likely to hear the words “Sit down”, “Hold still”, and “Focus!” all day long. Poor kid! It’s so often assumed that unless a child has their eyes on you and are sitting quietly, they can’t possibly be listening, but that’s simply not true. Part of our job with preschoolers is to help them start refining ...
Blog
Formative Assessment in Action
I recently shared on Instagram some thoughts on the importance of formative assessment and even offered a data-sheet freebie in my Resource Library. It is SUCH a valuable tool for teachers to use in the classroom because it gives you ongoing information about how effective your teaching is. It's a perfect source to turn to when developing curriculum and writing lesson plans. It is the perfect way to document the progress your students make over the course of the ...
A case for continued education
Wouldn't it be nice if a diploma or years of experience under our belts provided us with 100% of the knowledge we needed to answer every question and solve every problem that comes our way as early childhood teachers? I wish! Continuing education is critical to our ongoing success as teachers. If we are not learning, growing, and improving our skills on a regular basis, our practices are in jeopardy of becoming stale and out-of-date. It's easier now than ever to ...
Kindergarten-ready vs. Preschool Mastery
My tagline is "Shifting the focus from preparing for kindergarten to mastering preschool"....so what does that even mean? Isn't a child who has mastered preschool prepared for kindergarten? The answer is a resounding YES! If that's the case, then why does it matter what we call it? It matters because the way that your mind and attitude approaches a task can make all the difference in how you accomplish it. I believe there is a powerful change that occurs when ...
Welcome to Play Before Pencils
Hi, everybody! My name is Jenn, and I have been blessed to be a part of the early childhood education world for 20+ years. My journey into education happened somewhat unexpectedly. I had a very different career path in mind when I took a service learning class in college in which I was assigned a location to volunteer at for the entire semester. My assignment? A special education classroom. I had actually spent some time volunteering at the same school, in a ...