Back to work

I've just finished my five weeks of holidays and am so excited to see all my kids tomorrow. The one thing that is worrying me is how to make show and tell time more beneficial to the whole group. As I have 24 children a day with about 8-10 children having show and tell each day sometimes it can get boring. I need some new ideas. Currently we pack away our sheets from rest time and call out the names of the children on the list for show and tell to collect their items. Everyone sits on the mat and we go through each person for that day. I'm thinking of splitting the group in half and have my assistant take some of the children to do help them do their show and tell. Perhaps doing the whole group in a circle so they can take turns to pass the object around. Maybe doing it with the lights off or outside or in the sandpit. The children presenting love to see it's their day but the audience are getting restless. Any suggestions??

Colour mixing - jelly and shaving cream

Paint with shaving cream on cardboard was enjoyed by ALL the children in the preschool room that day.  they mixed primary colour together in groups.

I was so excited that I came up with my own creative idea focused on cooking and colours.  The children love to help make jelly and so do I. I bought three jelly crystal packets in primary colours (red, yellow and blue).  the children took over the jobs of stirring, pouring, and mixing and taking photos too. We made one colour at a time and had six containers ready with the names of the colours on them (red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple).  The children put half of a primary colour in one container and half in two separate containers (ie. red went in the red container as well as the orange and purple containers).  We learnt about mixing colours and identifying colours as well as learning about making jelly.  It was a big success with lots of children eager to participate.  I would recommend for any colour mixing experiences you are planning. 

Water play

I love having the water troth accessible to the preschoolers whenever I can.  I have noticed that it is not as popular as some of the other areas in the playground (swings and sandpit) and I need some ideas to make it more entertaining.  I have tried water, ice, coloured water, glitter, and various toys (funnels, fishing games, animals, shovels, buckets) but am thinking maybe some of the kitchen utensils maybe of interest in the troth.  Any suggestions??

Birthday parties

Kids love cake. the tradition I have started with each child is:
1. to ask the children who is having a special day today (usually we know who it is as they have brought in cake)
2. the child stands next to me and we ask the group which song we need to sing
3. the group sings happy birthday
4. we give them their age in claps (ie. 4 claps) and then 1 to grow next year (5 claps total).
5. we share cake and then say thank you to the birthday child.

Cooking

Something that is so easy is so delightful to preschoolers.  During January we had a whole week of cooking to celebrate Australia Day (throughout the week).  We made lamingtons, pancakes, ice blocks, damper, cupcakes, and Anzac biscuits.  I find it works much better if everything is already organised (except for a few things that need measuring to bring in our numeracy skills) and to have a large scale recipe for the children to follow.  The children know when we walk to the kitchen that it is a special experience for them.  they also know they will get to taste their work when its cooked.  I involve the children as much as possible to assist myself and to provide them with a hands on learning experience.  some children have the opportunity to engage this way at home but others may not.  we learn about mixing, using various utensils, cooking, freezing, temperature, kitchen facilities and how ingredients can make new foods.  There are times where the children have free rein of the activity and take turns to decorate - we are big on sharing and letting everyone who wants a turn to have one.  We have children who are allergic to egg and nuts and need some ideas/recipes to enable these children to engage in cooking but be tasty for all children.

Wooden Blocks

Some of the preschoolers are interested in using the wooden blocks each day.  They are so focused on creating something that they request photos to be taken of their creations.  I have one problem though that they tend to take all the blocks off the shelf and then decide what they would like to make. I'm thinking that having some drawing paper available nearby would allow the children to plan what they are going to make and discuss with the teacher/peers any other materials they need prior to taking the blocks of the shelf.  Does anyone have a similar suggestion about using block corner or do you allow the children to go and build straight away?  I was also thinking about have pictures of structures that the children could build available to promote their creativity nearby.  They are pretty creative already - we have made a "Michael Jackson musical stage", "guitars", "microphones", "drums", "pet houses", "doll living areas" and "ramps". I'm always surprised at what the children can achieve given the space to do so and find we rarely have accidents with the blocks - just the occasional 'they took my block' drama.

Preschool Classroom/s

Here are some photos of my current preschool classroom.  It is a large room but just enough to have 24 children in each day.  We have our own bathroom and taps as well as storeroom and sink.  The children have a range of toys and open ended activities to peruse through.  Most of my teaching resources have been made at home and laminated which has taken lots of time to do but really worth it in the end.  We clean our rooms each day but find that having so many children in the room they decide to rearrange little bits and pieces.  I feel comfortable when I have set up a room with learning activities and have designated areas for play and learning.  Everything has a place and I do my best to keep it that way.  Our classroom changes every few months as my assitant likes to move things around - i would prefer to have the children's input into the arrangement of the room next time it is moved. Are you proud of parts in your classroom that you would like to share?