Early Childhood Conference pt. 3

We have been busy with some great St. Patrick's Day activities and I know I should be posting about that, but I want to tell you about the Science Centers at the Calvary Church Child Development Center!! They were so wonderful. I have been so lacking in this area. I do Science Experiments with the kids, but it is almost always teacher directed (except for the opportunities the kids get to explore the yard). The kids don't have much freedom to take out, look at, touch, etc... different natural materials inside the house. So, I couldn't wait to see how the Teachers at Calvary Church do it. I was not disappointed!!!

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I know I could never have a "Science Lab" with a Science Teacher... but I want to give the kids some place to go and investigate, explore and learn about nature. I got so many ideas and can't wait to implement them. I only have 5 kids, so I know my center doesn't have to be as elaborate as some of the ones I saw, but I want to give enough opportunity for the kids to explore. Plus, having toddlers thru preschoolers using the area gives me another obstacle to overcome. I am planning to have a toddler shelf and a preschool shelf. I will put the smaller things or items Little Miss M cannot safely touch out of reach and only bring them down when they can be used with an adult.

I noticed that each Science Center had something for every one of the senses (except taste). The children could choose from things to smell, touch, listen too, and see. There were bins to experiment in, trays to keep items from slipping away and defining spaces, and enough material that each child could experiment with. These are the components I will keep in mind when I go about setting my center up.

The last session, of the conference, I took was "Early Learning Einsteins." There was 3 teachers, 2 Science Lab Teachers and a 3's Teacher. They gave us ideas of how they used Science in the classroom and lab. Basically, they went over the resources they used, different ways to present science, and then some experiments they have done. One experiment was putting a votive candle in a small amount of colored water, you light the candle, put a glass jar over the candle, and watch as the water is sucked into the jar as the candle uses up the air. I knew the the candle would go out if you put a jar over it, but I didn't know the water would be sucked up into the jar. Also, the same would be true with a peeled hard boiled egg. If you put the candle in a jar (skinny neck) and light it, then put the egg over the opening of the jar... the egg gets sucked in... sorry I may be really behind in the times... but I never heard of that before. See what I mean, I have a lot to brush up on when it comes to Science!!! :) They also stressed that science can be added into almost any part of the day. It doesn't have to be elaborate or even hard, just give the kids opportunities to explore, ask questions and experiment with just about anything. I know having my sensory table I do this, but I can't wait to give them more.

One of the teachers showed us how she collected her own bugs in little plastic containers, so she didn't have to waste money on the Encased Bugs from Lakeshore Learning. She also showed us all the pictures she cut out of magazines and newspapers, that the kids loved, for her science center. Then, I can't believe I didn't get a photo of this, teeth they made out of the bottom of liter soda bottles, they cut the bottoms off, painted the inside of the bottle white, then she put the "tooth" in Styrofoam as the gums. The kids could take them out and brush them for a dental activity... so cute.

I have to Thank the Teachers at Calvary Church Child Development Center for the beautiful rooms they displayed for all of us attending the conference and the ability to SHARE them with us!!! I learned a lot from how they set them up and hope I can implement so much more into my own Childcare Home from what I learned!!!

Early Childhood Conference pt.2

Ok, the Excellence in Early Childhood Education Conference was held at The Calvery Church, right outside of Charlotte, NC. They run a wonderful program, offering everything from Infant/Toddler care to Kindergarten. They have amazing playgrounds, and their classrooms are beautiful and well stocked, but that didn't happen overnight. They have been working on it for over 30 years. You can go over to their website to learn more about Calvery Church and The Child Development Center.

Like I said in my last post, I went to the conference with Science and Cozy Spots on the brain. I also tried to learn more about my younger kids. I set out work that all the kids can use in some capacity, but I wanted to see what others did with their 2's and 3's. So, I signed up for "I'm 3 and It's All About Me!" "Spotlight on Theme Days for 2's" & "Early Learning Einsteins."
The presenters were great!! In the I'm 3 session I learned so many ideas on the logistics of a Early Childhood Classroom, things I have forgotten. My favorite idea was... getting a basket ready for the week with all the things I will need for Circle. This way it is right at my fingertips and I'm not running to the bookshelf to get the book I told myself a hundred times to get that morning :)

They also had classroom layout plans set up... how to produce a workable layout to cut back on traffic areas and bottle necks... I realized that some of their classrooms are the size of our playroom and they are getting 8 to 12 kids in them, and they all use the space correctly (as correctly as a classroom full of 1-5 yr olds can). I learned that I could use my own space more efficiently, by using my tables and shelves to produce more concrete centers and areas. Also, I definitely don't have enough shelves to hold all our work and manipulative's. My wide open spaces leave to much room for rough play and running. Being in a home I have other rooms we can utilize and the playroom doesn't have to be so open.

Today I am going to concentrate on the Cozy Corners I saw... The first session touched on the importance of having a Cozy Corner in a 3's class (or any class for that matter, but we happen to be concentrating on 3's at the time). That sometimes kids just need that time away from other kids, so I was surprised to see that their Cozy Spaces were relatively small for the amount of children they have in their classrooms. Some were spaces only 1 child could use... and I didn't see any that more than 2 children could use. I guess our "Book Nook" is used by so many kids I forget it should be a quiet, calm area. Or I could have a Book Nook and a Cozy Corner?? In the Smilebox below you will see some of the photos I took. The Nooks I saw were all pretty much very similar to the ones in the photos. Although, a lot of the classrooms did take 2 tall cabinets and positioned them to come out of the wall length wise. They used the area in between as their cozy spot... they were all beautifully decorated with murals, pictures and/or 3-D scenes. They had a chair or soft couch to sit on (or a crib mattress it looked like), their books, puppets, a flannel board (in some), and some quiet toys. I liked that idea the most and think that may be what I do here. I guess I have a picture in my mind of a burro of sorts for the kids to cozy into to read their books, so I will have to try out some different combinations to come up with what is settled in my head.

Along with the Cozy Corner this session talked about other area's in the classroom, like the Housekeeping Corner. During the tour I saw the Housekeeping Center usually near set up by the Cozy Corner. In the younger rooms this area could be quite large. As I saw some of the older rooms, the housekeeping got smaller as work space got larger. In my experience it is these older children that enjoy this area the most, but a lot of preschools/daycares don't put enough emphasis on this messy, make believe play. There is always so much "work" to be done and the clean up in the housekeeping area can be very time consuming :) I did love the equipment they had... the wooden appliances, the bins of food and shopping accessories. I didn't see many carts or strollers though, probably the size of some of the rooms couldn't accommodate the pushing around of those. The variety of dress up clothing was excellent. I find myself lacking in the area of boys dress up clothing. We have a fire outfit and Swat Team outfit, but that is about all. I saw Daddy outfits... vests, wallets, suit jackets, brief cases, sweaters, and construction worker stuff. I need to get on that.

The presentation of the Housekeeping area was great also. Each little area was set up like there was company coming over. One of the teachers said that it doesn't always look like this, it was set up so we could get a good picture of EVERYTHING they do. But, they do take a lot of time with presentation. That the teachers work hard to present the materials in an inviting way. When kids come in, in the morning or after a special, they are excited to see what is out on the tables or which Bear is ready to have tea at the Housekeeping table. It was very cute and well thought out.

You know, I know all these things. I went to school, I go to in service trainings... yet even the best of us get into a rut sometimes. Something happens... illness, travel, visitors... and I get off track. I let the drudge of daily life get in the way of what I'm trying to do. Provide the best, quality care and education to young children and their families. Conferences let me connect with other people in the same field as me, and the exchange of ideas provides more for the families I serve, and makes me a better provider. I encourage any one who has the oppurtunity to go to an Early Childhood Conference or Class to do so. It is just so motivating and inspirational.

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Early Childhood Conference

I just got home from the Early Childhood Conference!! Wow... I wish there were more per year because I always come home so motivated. There were so many new ideas to try, the lectures were uplifting and inspirational and the vendors had a great variety of products to look over.

I went to this conference with Science/Math and Cozy Centers on my mind... I got some great ideas. I can't wait to implement some of them. The venue that the conference was held in was a large church, serving over 800 children in their daycare & preschool classes. We got a tour of the classrooms and got to talk to some of the teachers. They were blessed with some wonderful materials. I am hoping to get some photos uploaded soon. They even have a separate Science Lab that each class visits at least once a week, some twice. I took the session taught by their Science Teachers. I came home with some great ideas on how to incorporate science into our daily schedule more often than I currently do. Right now their is so much bouncing around in my brain, I need to process it and then be able to write more about it.

I loved the conference, though it was geared to Center Based Care... i.e. single age rooms. I took a session about 2's, one about 3's and the science one. They were all wonderful and the information was superb, I just wish I had someone to help me incorporate the information into a multi-aged environment too. I guess I will spend the next couple of weeks working on that!!

Rain, Pedaling, & An EC Conference

Sorry no photos today... we went outside again today before the rain started to fall. The backyard was pretty muddy from the rain last night, so we went out front and practiced our pedaling, sharing, turn taking, problem solving and communication skills. All while riding bikes :)

Inside... I had out some table work, matching colors, letter sounds & pictures. We also worked on some open-ended art projects. Princess L made a very long, very glued worm. She wrote her name on it in big letters. Very cute. I love when they make connections, we were talking about Worms today, and how they are different from Snakes. We also played with bean bags and had some singing and dancing time.

The next couple of days will be rainy, and if it is warm enough out we will go on a rain walk with our umbrellas. Always a favorite activity!!! I hope it stays warm.

On Friday I am off to an Early Childhood Conference... I can't wait. I love getting new ideas and meeting new people. They have a tour of their center and told us we can bring cameras!!! I am looking for examples of quiet time areas, and how people set up science/math centers, I hope they have a variety of examples :) After a conference you get that refresher you need to bring in some new ideas and knowledge to the kids. I can't wait. I don't even remember what I signed up for, but I can't wait... I know they all will be good.