Week One Success !

As I blog I think there are two children still wrestling with going to sleep but they are quiet and there was no one upset about laying down .  We only had one that still cried a tiny bit for mommy this morning and one.. well, she wanted chips and was angry at her dad so I am calling ” not it. ”  🙂  The wonderful thing about emotions is we all have them . Many times we discredit children’s feelings by saying ” don’t cry ” or ” Stop, you cannot be angry. ” Well, we can not  MAKE anyone not feel something .  We just have to remember QTIP – quit taking it personally and help them deal with whatever feeling they are having.  Have you ever felt sad or angry and you just needed someone to acknowledge  what you are feeling ? That is what this week was all about helping littles adjust and not making it about us.

I have a few littles that I think may benefit from a little speech therapy help.  In order to refer children to our educational coop ( a free  service )  I complete a developmental screening.  So, sadly that is how my morning was spent while Dallas and Bartina played .   We actually screen all the children within 45 days but I wanted to get a few done this week to beat the rush of referrals that get to the coop.  I have not scored them yet . If your child is being referred I will let you know !

( Imagine a picture here of one of the children sitting at the table working with blocks for part of the assessment . The picture won’t upload and I only took one. Blah )

I am NOT an advocate for this type of assessment of children though I admit there are benefits .  I found these listed on education.com .

Purposes of Assessment
Children
Identify what children know
Identify children’s special needs
Determine appropriate placement
Select appropriate curricula to meet children’s individual needs
Refer children and, as appropriate, their families for additional services to programs and agencies
Families
Communicate with parents to provide information about their children’s progress and learning
Relate school activities to home activities and experiences
Early Childhood Programs
Make policy decisions regarding what is and is not appropriate for children
Determine how well and to what extent programs and services children receive are beneficial and appropriate
Early Childhood Teachers
Identify children’s skills, abilities, and needs
Make lesson and activity plans and set goals
Create new classroom arrangements
Select materials
Make decisions about how to implement learning activities
Report to parents and families about children’s developmental status and achievement
Monitor and improve the teaching-learning process
Meet the individual needs of children
Group for instruction
The Public
Inform the public regarding children’s achievement
Provide information relating to student’s school-wide achievements
Provide a basis for public policy (e.g., legislation, recommendations, and statements)

Dallas and I do ongoing assessments with a system called work sampling that you will get to hear more about as the year progresses.  These assessments are authentic through daily  observations while the children work/ play.

Welcome to your weekend.  🙂