Friday Dance Party
We had our first Friday dance party today. I TRY to do one each Friday but it doesnt always happen. Sometimes keeping up with 16 preschoolers is enough ! If you missed it, look on facebook on my personal page .
One of the first things we did today was make a ” Preschool Memories 2013-2014 ” box. This is a box you can keep at home to put all your child’s little pieces of art work in and other preschool memories that make it home.
Then we talked about our classroom jobs. Giving children a ” job” in the classroom helps them feel important and needed. This year each child has a job. Over the weekend I will rotate them so each child eventually get to do all the jobs. In circle time we talked about our classroom jobs and the jobs our mom or dads do. Interesting !
We got great compliments from a couple visitors that came in today from another program. I wont say who it was so it isnt incriminating but they said ” Im gonna go back and tell my boss THIS is how children should play .” They were so amazed at the happy freedom that they kids had to play and learn. As the came in several of the girls had the scarfs laid over the music room floor and they told them it was their pool. Some of the boys had an amazing block structure built. They just kept saying.. ” we love this place.” When I doubt myself and the way I teach I will try to remember this day. We do give the kids a lot of freedom to learn in ways that many classrooms have boundaries. For instance, sometimes the stapler is a teacher tool but not in our classroom. Today Emily made me a purse and a card that was stapled on all the edges. Wasting staples ? NO! She learned so much testing ways to make her creations stay together and look the way she wanted.
I think our first week went really well. Today, the third day of school we had a couple that were a little clingy but quickly recovered to have fun. Don’t forget we are out of school Monday and Tuesday when we return it will be a full day including a nap . You might want to start about Sunday talking about school and saying when we go back all the children will stay a little longer and ” rest.” I would avoid the word nap. 🙂