SHOW AND TELL
Bring two things that are alike but different in one way.
(Think two pieces of paper of different colors, etc.)
Topic: Amazing Me
How special we all are
The value is self-reliance, which is being confident in our abilities and about our judgment. We can say NO! when someone is hurting us or hurting someone we know.
For safety we’ll practice what to do if we’re in a situation that doesn’t feel good to us.
Outside we’ll play hopscotch.
The songs we’ll be singing are Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Circle of Life, He’s Got the Whole World, Rock Around the Clock, and Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Our art activities are warm fuzzy, happy to be me, people puzzle, and fingerprint critters.
Creative dramatics will be understanding feelings.
For motor development we’ll build coordination with stay outside my bubble and move a body part. For body development, we’ll work on postural response with balloon pass, mail carrier, belly ball, and wheelbarrow.
COPING WITH A CATACLYSM
A joint release from both the NAEYC incoming president and the executive officer of childcare’s national leaders: “NAEYC’s core values uphold the dignity and worth of each individual. As we identify in our position statement, our goal is to nurture a more diverse and inclusive generation of young children who thrive through their experience of equitable learning opportunities in early learning programs. We aim for each child to “express comfort and joy with human diversity; to increasingly recognize injustice; and to have the will and the skills to act against prejudice.” We find ourselves pressing for the same for each adult in our nation today.
Our goals cannot be achieved without recognizing and dismantling the systems of bias that provide privilege to some and are unjust to others. That means committing—individually and collectively, again and again—to reflect and grapple with the racism [as well as all the others who are ‘them’] in ourselves, our organizations, and our society. NAEYC continues to work towards advancing equity with humility and awareness of our history and limitations, and a recognition that no individual, leader or organization has all the answers. At the same time, we each have a role to play—as early childhood educators, administrators, faculty, students, advocates, and parents. We are each in a position where we can act and address the trauma our children are experiencing at the hands of racism apparent in the coronavirus’ disproportionate impacts, the police response to protests, the weaponizing of white privilege in our parks and streets, and the death of George Floyd.”
One of the biggest mistakes we can make as parents and educators is not to discuss the issues of global social and natural problems over which we have no control. Adult silence about complex and worrisome issues encourages our children to feel abandoned, to restrict awareness, and to withdraw from the corrective process. In voicing concerns, however, avoid hand wringing and self-indulgent gloom. It seems that the cataclysmic event of the pandemic overlaid by a culmination of racial and economic oppression is going to require a sacrificial resilience on our parts. And somewhere in there is climate warming. As adults in these situations, we must fashion our own responses, trying our best action, discarding those things that don’t work, and expanding on those things that do work. We’re fortunate in our Houston area to have a wide diversity of ethnicities, value systems, and economic levels. We will soon be able to interact widely again with our whole population, not just read a book.
It’s important to recognize that very young children may not be able to verbalize being bothered or upset by the things they’re hearing and seeing. They are hypersensitive to our emotions in these strange times. Be alert to behavioral changes – sleep disturbances, irritability, or regression to actions such as thumb-sucking or needing a blanket. Use the same gentle questioning and reassurance that you might use in discussing any traumatic event. Children afraid of coming to school or going into other groups can be asked what can be done to make them more confident. We want our children to believe that we are in control of our worlds; it enables us all to cope. We just have to be careful not to return to the old ‘normal’.
Of Particular Interest
Amazing Me – Just reading a book about differences in people is not as good as actually being with people, but the Peter Spier book People is unique. A great deal of the Amazing Me theme is drawn from his focus. Look at our curriculum for whether you think that book would be useful in your family’s library.
Sex Ed for preschoolers? – This theme is also our sex ed theme when we discuss bad touching and what our kids can do about it. Emotions and self reliance will also be important topics. No one said parenting was going to be easy. It’s only one of the most important jobs you’ll ever do. See our curriculum if you would like to use some of the same words we’re using.
Infant class – Many of you have been asking about Ms. Patty, for the moment she has chosen not to return back to school due to the COVD19 risk, and she is not alone other teachers have expressed the same desire. In order for us to be in a position to enroll more students we will have to look towards hiring a new teacher that process can take about three or four weeks.
classroom news
In the infant class, Brooke is working on her fine motor skills as she works with the Rainbow Discs on Vertical Dowels. As she places the colorful disc on the dowel her classmate Nathaniel sits next to her and observers. The purpose of this work is to reinforce hand-eye coordination and to refine visual discrimination of color.
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