What I love about teaching!

Sometimes one wonders if they are truly making a difference in a child's life, especially when the children they work with are very young, 5 and under. Masha Allah, today, I got confirmation that I really am. One of the parents to a child that has recently moved up from my class said, "Never think that what you are doing is not making a difference. My daughter still talks about you all." Also, I went to see another child who was happy to see me. He ran up to give me a hug and sat in my lap. His new teacher asked, "who is your teacher?" he answered with her name, she asked, "Who is your friend?" he answered with mine. My heart melted! Yes, teaching is my life, a life worth living!

Quote of the Day: if you want to be happy......

If you want to be happy in life, 

   be grateful for everything in your life, 

both the good and the bad.

Friday Quote of the Day: Time flies....

~ time flies when you have a lot on your plate~

This week went by really fast!! not that its a good or bad thing, it just went by really fast.

Hazards of childcare

One of the many hardships that teachers and childcare teacher have to grow through is being sick a lot. I get really nervous when flu and cold seasons creep around. Children, especially the very young tend to spread germs more since everything goes in their mouths and they are still learning proper hygiene techniques. 

A few things I am doing to keep the doctor away, other than eating an apple a day:

*Hand washing (for myself and the children). I make sure that hands are washed after pretty much everything.

*Sanitizing mouthed toys. I try to stay on top of what goes in the mouths of the children and immediately put the toys in our classroom dishwasher or in the laundry basket to be washed at the end of the day.

*Feverish children go home. I love them dearly but children with fevers of 99 and over are sent home.

*Have loads of kleenex around the room ready to chase down running noses!!

*Teach little ones to cover mouthes when coughing or sneezing (more like being ready to block coughs and sneezes in my face LOL)

*Taking extra vitamins to keep my immune system up.

Lets hope and pray these precautions keep us all healthy and happy! 

Sunday Quote of the Day: Children are our most valuable resource

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future

~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy_

Apple Week!!

Today is Friday and ohh a happy day it is now that it is over. Looking back at this week, it was fantastic, therefore it is no wonder that I was totally exhausted today with little energy to keep up with the little ones. But I managed.

This week, we studied the ever so tasty fruit, the apple. We opened up a whole new experience for them. They saw pictures of where apples come from (trees), we read stories about apples and apple harvesting, I cut open 3 different apples (yellow, red and green which they got to taste!) and they saw the insides as well as the seeds, we made apple seed shakers (they loved shaking the shakers,) they made paper mache apples, and they made an apple tree collage. From the apples we used to see the apple seeds, we did an art project of apple printing! We even had an apple party of dried apples, applesauce, apple chips, apple wedges, and apple juice.

Apple Printing

Paper mache apples

We had quite a week in our classroom! It was a lot of fun, worth the exhaustion.

Yay!!! I'm officially CDA-ified!

Yes, that is correct! I received my certificate in the mail after what felt like FORVER! but yes, i'm officially certified child development associate. My certification is good for 3 years :) and now I feel like I can really give my students the best I can:) though, I have never done less than that! but it is nice to have a certificate. Now, I'm motivated to move on and finish my degree in early childhood education!

When babies (toddlers) have a bad day..........

When my little ones ( one-two year olds) have a bad day, it is not fun for anyone! Today was no exception. The really sad thing is that they don't really understand why they are having a crabby day. Sometimes they are just tired and cranky, or they are not feeling well, they don't know why they are not playing nicely with their friends or why the adults caring for them don't understand what they need, want or are going through. Not having words to express what they are feeling does not help much either. It is hard to help them resolve what is bothering them or agitating them when we don't know what the problem is. They are hard to comfort in this situation. The only thing that helps is to be comforting, caring, loving and patient and at the same time, give them some time and space to express themselves without letting them endanger themselves and others. 

Today, for example, one of my little guys was having a really tough day. He cried a lot throughout the day, any little thing would start him off crying. He was constantly having conflicts with his classmates and easily agitated by them. At nap, he was exhausted but fought tooth and nail to go to sleep. He tossed, turned, flung his body around and cried at the top of his lungs! I'm surprised the kids around him went to sleep with all the noise he made! It took me just holding him for a good 30 minutes holding him, rocking him and gently whispering to him (despite him not wanting me too) to calm him enough for him to finally fall asleep in my arms. I'm not quite sure why he was so upset, but it was definitely not usual for him to act this way (even if he was having a bad day! usually he just fusses.)

It was a tough day but in the end, he was okay. I realized that what he needed from me most was to just be there for him, comfort him, be patient with him, redirect him during testy moments with his classmates and lots of TLC! It is a wonderful feeling being able to be there for a child in need of comfort and care (even if you have no clue what is going on in their tiny little heads.) 

Book Review: The Story of My Feelings

I love this book!!! It is one of our favorite books in the classroom because no matter what is going on or how upset our children get, as soon as we turn the cd on and open the book, they all come sit and listen to the story of a little girl who pretty much reflects their lives and emotions. She gets sad, happy, angry and peaceful. The children love to point to the little girl's puppy friend as we go from page to page. Seriously, we call this book our 'magic' book! Sometimes children have really hard drop offs, after listening to it once, they begin to calm down and stop crying, by the second time around they either want to hear it again or are ready to go play and explore the classroom! It has a very calming effect on the children. I really like it! it has saved my sanity on many a rough days!!! :) 

Wednesday Quote of the Day

~absence makes the heart grow fonder!~

Today, I truly realized how much I missed the little ones in my class and how much they missed me while I was away on my two-day vacation.

A cute story: A midnight Snack

This is a wonderfully written and illustrated story about a little boy who wants a midnight snack. His mother makes a cake that he is itching to have more of though he really should be in bed sleeping. This rhyming tale has suspense and a wonderful ending!

Four day weekends!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo!!!!! hopefully wont make for a stressed out 3 day work week! :D

Eeeeep! It is almost over!!!

So, I met with my cda representative and had my interview and test. Alhamdulillah, all is well that ends well :D the test was pretty straight forward, mostly answers that are put into practice everyday in my classroom. A few caught me off guard but just a few alhamdulillah. The oral part of the test was okay too, I wont know until she sends off my stuff to D.C. and the wait I hear is between a couple of weeks to a couple of months. The only hic-cup was I was missing one of my compentency statements but alhamdulillah, my sister sent it to me by email from home! so, insha Allah, will see how things go.....I'm really excited!!

Hats and Headdress Around the World!

This week, Hats and Headdresses!!! We started this week with some really cool hats! It is fun when parents participate by contributing to class props. Today, the children got to play with some pictures of different cultural hats and headdresses, I also hung pictures around the room close for them to see but just out of reach of their demolition hands :D We read books with hats in them, we dressed up in hats during circle time and had a hat-masquerade around the room to "Barney and Friends" (yeah, you read me correctly!). I even made a book with cultural hats for the children to thumb through. :) We had quite a bit of fun today......I wonder what is in store for us tomorrow? :D :D :D

One day weekends are not the worst....

....but they certainly are not the best! Yesterday I had to change my plans of going to a pre-eid fashion show because we had to do mandatory training at work. Alhamdulillah, it was at the center and not in Bellevue or further! I rested a bit today and then got to work putting my cda files in order for next week. I will be meeting with a cda representative who will interview me and go over my resource files and give me a test (I hear it is easy, insha Allah, I hope it is), then it will be another bit of wait as I wait for my results. 

Labor day weekend!!!!

Is here and I'm very happy. I love my kids but I need the break! This week, farm week, went very well, all things considered. Kids are adapting to new routines and schedules and friends. I will post a pic of our wall showcasing our art from this week. The theme is farm so we have a farmer with a bunch of farm animals that we learned about throughout  the week. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this week and the results. Today we had a fire drill. This was by far one of our worst timings...I wont mention it!.... we had quite a few non-walkers and the rest were new to the idea of 'fire drill' and did not know how to follow directions. It was a bit chaotic but we managed to get our kids down without losing or leaving any child behind! LOL!  So, I'm thinking fire drill week in the future??? Let the kids practice stair climbing, listening to direction, keep moving, stay with the class, follow teacher and so on, quite a lot for a one year old!! :D So yeah, I'm ready for this 3-day weekend!

Sunday Quote of the Day: knowledge vs wisdom

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

Dawud Wharnsby-Give a Little

Friday Quote of the Day: Children need our presence...

Children need our presence 

more than our presents.

(though presents make for wonderful treats :D )

Transition Week: Day Two!

God be praised!!! today was a lot better than yesterday! The little ones cried a bit but once we sat down to circle, things got calmer. Also, outside they had a ball. Our playground seems to be a miracle worker when it comes to getting newbies settled in or at least calm for a good 45 minutes to an hour! Tomorrow the newbies will stay with us for lunch. That will definately be an interesting development! We just realized, on of our new little girls is not even one yet! In a classroom full of older ones and one over-sized older one, I am worried she may get a bit overwhelmed and pushed around. It will be tough keeping her from under their feet, she is not particularly a small/light child :o but she is so lovable. I have a feeling though, she will learn quickly how to walk and stand her ground against the bigger kids! LOL! It always seem to work that way. The children ate their lunch and are still sleeping! Yay! hopefully, that means a better afternoon for fun and activities! I am so proud of my Griffy. He walked out the classroom with his new teacher and his coat with a tear, fuss or complaint! He had a good time, so his report went and cam back his happy go-lucky self! :D His transition is going much better than we thought, hopefully, it will continue to get better as his time in his new room will get longer till he is there permenantly. So the week continues..............

Monday Quote of the Day: Patience

Patience is a virtue all too often forgotten but much needed!

~SN Taylor~

Transition Week: Day One!

It is going to be a loooooong week. Transition started today. We have 3 moving up and 3 are moving in. My two little boys did good their first day, not too many tears. Our new three girls however, lots of tears! It did not help that my co-teacher had to leave early with a fever! Kids were tired, cranky and hungry long before lunch came, so we had to snack them up to hold them till lunch arrived. It was a tad bit hectic between lunch/diaper/nap transition. But most of the kids were sleep by 11:40! which is about the time they usually go down for nap, not too bad for a chaotic morning! I could use a little nap right about now but the only place condusive for it is in the teacher lounge which is heavily occupied with people eating, talking and making way too much noise for me to get any rest! Low sugar and engery is not helping either. I guess, low key activities are in order?!? How about chilling on the playground? It was really nice to get the kids outside the confines of four walls, though after nap and snack, they were not in a hurry to go out. Once numbers dropped, we did a gluing project: All Things Yellow, which they enjoyed and gave me a break from the chaos of transition week!

Hopefully, transitions this time around will go smoothly as it did last time. It is Ramadan, I need all the help I can get.

Sunday Quote of the Day: teaching children

“He who teaches children learns more than they do” German Proverb

Thursday Quote of the Day: Optimism

A little optimism never killed the cat!
Here's to a great day!

~Sn Taylor~

Wednesday Quote of the day: Be happy!

Don't worry,
Be happy!

Tired of being sick and sick of being tired!

I'm so glad this week is almost over! It would have been a great week except I had to get sick smack dab in the middle! We also had to send two children home because they had fevers :( Everyone has runny noses, sneezing and coughing! argh! It seems like the slights change in weather produces changes in the health of the children. We had gone a while without sickness in the classroom. Well, it's my turn now. I have a bad cough, sore and tight throat, but, praise be to God, I don't have a fever! I have the best job in the world! but it has its price! :D

Sunday Quote of the Day

You are never too old or experienced 

to learn something new.

Transitions all over again!

One of the toughest moments in the year are transitions! Once again, I'm getting new children into my classroom. New room, new environment, new routines, new rules, and new people are some of the few things that young children have to deal with when transitioning to a new classroom or childcare center. It is really stressful on them and it can be hard on the children already in the classroom due to the constant crying of the new children. A lot of care, attention, and time has to be given to the new child/children by at least one of the teachers to help them get acquainted with their new environment. This leaves the other teacher to sometimes (most of the time) shoulder much of the rest of the classroom and duties. Hard, stressful and exhausting can hardly describe how I feel at the end of the day during transition week. It's a good thing God made children so adorable, sweet and loving, I forget all the hardships of the previous day as I enter and see their wonderful faces every morning! :)

Tuesday Quote of the Day

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken
joy in creative expression and knowledge.
Albert Einstein

Camping Week 07.27-31.09

This week went by really quick despite the horrific weather we had! I mean triple digit weather! But we had lots of fun and made a neat little project! The children brought tents, flashlights, camping dishes, a sleeping bag and one even brought a snake! LOL Due to the heat, we did lots of water play outside. We also strapped a huge colorful parachute over our kiddy slide to make one large outdoor tent. For our project, we made pine cone bird feeders :D Jen brought in some pine cones from her yard and brought out all the ingredients. The children were hooked! We usually let them take turns mixing, pouring and getting their little hands dirty :p However, because of one of the ingredients, we thought it better to not get their hands dirty by using spoons to fill the pine cones with the bird feed mixture they helped to make. The feeders turned out cute. Next week, we will see if they attract any birds!

Next week, DINOSAURS!!!!! :D

Fire Drill!!!

                

I usually hate when we have fire drill practice! one-year olds usually don't co-operate  since they have no clue why there is a loud sound pounding in their ear or why teachers are rushing around, why their toys are taken from them and then they are herded out the door or playground. The rush of it all really confuses them and as everyone knows, one-year olds do not like to be confused! Well, today we had a fire drill just as we were heading out the door to go to the playground. At first the noise startled them, but then they looked at me and my co-teacher and followed us out the door. Even going down the stairs to the front entrance of our center went smooth. I have to say, I was very impressed with my little ones! Of course, there were only six of them in class today and we had an extra teacher helping with the exit (LOL) I know we got lucky this time, next time, I will have new students in the classroom who may not be so co-operative and calm!

Hot Babies!!!

                                                      

Today got really hot!!!! 93 degrees! and maybe even hotter since our rooftop playground surrounded by concrete and hot air does rise! Along with sunscreen to keep them from burning, we hosed down the playground, the sunshades and even our little ones to cool things off. Needless to say, we did not stay outside very long. We came in and did some sensory fun with water and cute little clown fish (toys :D) According to the Seattle anchors, it is only going to get hotter! Wednesday they predict 90+ so I'm really considering skipping the outdoor play and maybe do some high energy activity indoors. I will see how it goes. Usually, the children don't exert as much energy indoor as they do outdoors but I have no intention in sending overheated or heat-exhausted babies home!

Friday Quote of the Day

A child miseducated is a child lost.
~John F. Kennedy~

Thursday Quote of the Day

Challenge of the day : Find something good in everyone.  ~Unknown~

A box city success!

So our box city and maze was a total success! We used recycled boxes from our center's kitchen and from boxes donated by parents. We chose this theme and project because we noticed a high interest in boxes from our toddlers. Every time we got a new box in the classroom or on the playground, they would come up with creative ways to play with it. there is almost always never enough boxes to go around. Not this week; this week is nothing but boxes, in the classroom and on the playground. After watching them the first day, I along with the other toddler teachers, decided to do something creative and fun. Our kids love to build (and destroy) things and they love tunnels. So we thought, why not build a city out of all the boxes with lots of tunnels?

It took us a while to get it together, it was really hot but with the help and excitement of the toddlers, our city grew. We had two tunnels, a pavillion, a sky light, and a couple of "escape" exits if the tunnels got a little too congested! We could barley get it finished before the little ones started making their tour of "Box City." I must say, this was an excellent project to do with the little ones.

Book Review: Puff the Magic Dragon

Doing storytime with 7 toddlers and "Puff the Magic Dragon" made me remember just how much I liked the story and song growing up! This a wonderful tale filled with youthful imagination, amazing imagery, colorful illustration and a soothing melody. I borrowed this story from the 2 year-old classroom since we had the song on our computer. I played the song while showing the pages to my one year-olds. They were mesmerized as the music and song played. The illustrations captured them and kept them glued to the pages as I turned them and sang along (I have found, my toddler students prefer hearing teacher's voice along with the recorded voice when listening to musical stories.) They even requested the book and song "again!" They loved the dragon and they recognized the "boat". I will definitely invest in having a copy for my room.

Today was a good day!

Masha Allah! What a great day! The boxes were a hit. At first the children were a tad bit reserved about playing with the boxes. they are so used to us having only a few boxes to play with that they did not know to make of all the extras! It was only after I had sat in one of the larger boxes that they decided it was safe to play. They loved it!!! One of the toddlers decided my box was better than the others and jumped in with me. We banged on them like drums, we sat on them like chairs, we crawled through them like tunnels, we rode them like horses, we sat in them and just giggled back and forth with each other. One of the children played a cute game of Box-etball (throwing balls in the box) before realizing it would be fun to sit IN the box WITH his collection of balls! Later after nap and snack, the children painted boxes for a building project to be completed by the end of Box Week.  After work, I went to the library to look for some books that are about boxes and different creative uses for a box. I finally found the book "Not a Box" after searching for 35 minutes! I hope the children like the story.

Monday Quote of the Day

“Children are like wet

 

cement. Whatever falls on 

them makes an impression.” 

Dr. Haim Ginott

When you can't find the right story.

What do you do when you can't find the right book or story for circle time and getting to the library is a tab bit out of the way? This is what I did, I made my own. Out theme next week is all about boxes. So, I wrote a short little something about boxes and found pictures on the web for each concept. I will next make a short little booklet and some picture cards for our story felt board. With picture cards, the children get to hold the picture when they look at it; they also get to help place the pictures on the felt board as we tell the story. Participation actually helps keep them engaged in circle time and not wandering off in the room (although, at one years old, they tend to do that any way LOL). 

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes

Boxes are fun.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

Big boxes, little boxes, tiny boxes too.

You can stack them high or sit inside.

You can crawl through it like a tunnel or

stand real tall.

You can ride it like a horse, 

tap it like a drum.

Boxes can be lots of fun.

Shoe boxes, hat boxes, cereal boxes too.

A box for your toys, a box for girls and boys.

A house in a box, a box in a house.

Boxes to move things, boxes to push things,

boxes to hide in, boxes to share with a friend.

Boxes are lots of fun.

Saturday Quote of the Day

Honesty is always the best Policy!

Friday Quote of the Day

He who dares to teach must never cease to learn. - ~Anonymous~

My first on-the-job injury.

*groan* I got my first on-the-job injury last Tuesday!! took a header from one of the little ones running up to me. Hit me so hard, I think he may have actually knocked some sense out of me! *groan*

So here is what happened. We were on the playground, both toddlers classes in fact. It was a really nice morning, the kids were all running around and playing. A couple of times, a child would run up to me and jump in my lap. It is a game they have become fond of. Well, I was sitting down on the ground talking to another toddler teacher and playing with one of the toddlers next to me. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I could see another child coming at me really fast. Just as I turned towards him, he came crashing down on me. His head hit me like a ton of bricks. It stunned us both. My first response was "ooww," then I looked down and was in my lap touching his head. I hugged him and asked him if he was okay, his response was, "Hi Saba." Then he said, "I need ice." So, we got ice for him, after sitting in my lap for 15 minutes icing his bump, he got up and played as if nothing happened. As for me, my head throbbed the rest of the day. I felt slow but not really dizzy or anything like that. I don't have a mark, neither does he, but the spot is still tender. Today, he was his normal self, as if nothing had happened, he doesn't sport his mark where he rammed me with his head and he still likes to play the hazardous came of 'ram a teacher' but now, I'm ready for him! :)

Friday Quote of the Day

"They may forget what you said, But they will never forget how you made them feel."

Thursday Quote of the Day

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . . but the world maybe different because I was important in the life of a child." - Kathy Davis

The Best Toys........

Sometimes the best toys are the boxes they came in!!  I watched a few of my little ones spend over 40 minutes playing with boxes instead of the toys, balls and push cars on the playground. They used the boxes for all sorts of games, they used it as a tunnel, as a boat, just a place to kick back in with a friend and hide 'n' seek. It was fun to watch and see just how many ways they used the boxes.

Stages of jumping.

Today was wonderfully cool with a gentle breeze on our rooftop playground. Sitting under the shade of the Sunsails on an overcast day, I watched two little boys from my classroom M and G jumping and hopping around me. They looked so cute doing it together. Then I noticed just how good at jumping they had become. I remember the first time either one attempted to jump, their feet couldn't come off the ground! They'd bend their knees, shout jump, and straighten their knees. That was it. Then, slowly, one foot would come off the ground as they jumped while the other stayed planted on the ground to keep their balance. After some time, they progressed to doing something like a gallop for jumping, their feet would take turns leaping and landing. But today!!!! they jumped!!! both feet leaving the ground and landing without falling!!!! Yipeee!! So, naturally, I'm cheering them on and they are loving every bit of it show off their new skill for me. Awww, the joys of seeing the development of my sweet little ones, it is every teacher's dream!

Tuesday Quote of the Day

Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime. Chinese Proverb

'Tis the season....

'Tis the season to stay healthy,

falalalala lala la la.

All my kiddies coughing and sneezing,

falalalala lala la la

Still I love them, and adore them,

falalalala lala la la.

'Tis the season to stay healthy

falalalala lala la la

:D

I'm trying to stay healthy as my little ones are battling runny noses, coughing and sneezing, which by the way they still have not learned the concept of "germ catcher!" I'll be happy when they are healthy and happy little jumpers :D until then.....lots of hugs, cuddles and tissues!

Friday Quote of the Day

"To teach is to touch lives forever." - Anonymous

Nature video: The Blue Whale

These are truly majestic creatures!!

Wednesday Quote of the Day

"Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre." 

Gail Godwin

hehehe, I like this one because it is sooooooooo true!! especially with one-year olds!!

Tuesday Quote of the Day

Silence is gold, but a child's laughter is golden.

~SNTaylor~

Monday Quote of the Day

If kids come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they do not come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important." Barbara Colorose

The spark of motivation......

I have had a spark of motivation to try and do new things. Insha allah, I look forward to getting into more crafty hobbies that I have not had the time and know how to do. A friend of mine is really good at sewing and making cute things with her sewing machine. We are really considering starting up a sewing/craft club. I still want to work on my coloring book project though, with ramadan coming up, I just may work on a ramadan coloring activity as gifts. hmm, all these ideas, so little time :D I recently made a cute father's day card for my dad that turned out nice and he really liked. It was unique and thoughtful. He was surprised I made it!! so yes, I think I want to work on honing in on my creative potential!

Our world, our children

Why has the world turned its back on its most precious resource.....our children?

~ Quote of the Day~

“The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.” 
Anonymous 

Bittersweet Goodbyes

This week has been bittersweet for me and my class. We had to say goodbye and good luck to four special girls who have gone on to bigger and better learning. My sweet girls have transitioned to the two year old classroom. *sniff* *sniff* While I will miss them terribly, I know it is for the best. Not only are they in good hands, they have two very competent teachers who will love and care for them as I have for the past year. Lucky for me though, their new class room is just down the hall, I can go a visit them on my breaks and see them on the playground as their playground area is just across from the toddler playground area. *sigh* Why do children have to grow up so fast?? *sigh* Goodbye my sweeties, and good luck!! it is my hope and prayer that I have given you what love and support you will need to become loving, kind, accomplished and well-rounded human-beings.

Love T

Friday Quote of the Day

If you truly love something (or someone), then you have to sometimes let it (them) go.

Thursday Quote of the Day

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”
~Mark van Doren~

When life gives you lemons......

..... make lemon prints as an activity :D (or lemonade if the children are really thristy.)

So what do you do when the curriculum you've prepared is not going over well with the children? Well, it is always good to have a back up plan. With one-year olds, it is not always easy to win them over with cool new and interesting activities, new concepts or themes. Sometimes, instead of sitting down looking at the new pics you made to go with the theme of the week, they'd much rather play in the dramatic area; instead of painting with cool new colors and textures, they much rather watch the kids in the hall having music class. So what do you do when your children just aren't that into your curriculum? I go with their flow. If they are not interested in my book, toy or activity, then I join in on theirs :) With one-year olds, every interaction is a learning opportunity waiting to be experienced by both me and them.

Tuesday Quote of the Day

The more care you give in sowing the seed today,
the more care you will receive when the tree is grown.
~SNTaylor~

Monday Quote of the Day

We are children's present;
They are our future.
What they see and learn from us today,
They will remember and implement tomorrow.

~SNTaylor~

Teacher Appreciation Joke

The child comes home from his first day at school. Mother asks, "What did you learn today?" The kid replies, "Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow." 

Art project / Father's Day Gifts

We combined this sensory/art activity with father's day gifts. We started with art clay that the children pressed down into bowls to shape it. Then, they pushed in colorful shapes into the clay to make colorful mosaics. After the mosaics dried, we turned them over to let the children decorate it with water colors. For wrapping paper (Jen had every angle covered!) we let them paint large sheets of white paper. It was a lot of fun!

Friday quote of the Day

All learning begins with the simple phrase, "I don't know".

What does a bare wall mean?

My classroom walls are so bare now. We finally got them painted and looking nice, but now, our room seems so dull. Now when parents walk in they notice the walls. It is time to fill our walls with priceless pieces of love, creativity, ambition, and sometimes way too much energy that comes with toddler artists!! :) Lets get to creating friendz!!!!

Thursday Quote of the Day

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
William A. Ward

Wednesday Quote of the Day

"My mom didn't just tell me how to live a good life; she lived it, and I followed her example."

~SNTaylor~

Tuesday Quote of the Day

~By learning you will teach, by teaching you are learning~ Latin Proverb

10 ways to de-stress

Teaching can be a very stressful job. We want to impart our knowledge and love for learning and exploring new things to the little ones (and big ones) in our care. Not everyday will be a fun-filled learning day. Some days will be grilling, knock-down, tear-jerking, knee-wobbling, back-breaking, exhausting days where nothing goes according to plan. It's okay, here are some things I do to help me relax and de-stress after a rough day in toddler-land.

1. Stretch and take a deep breath as soon as you leave the center/school.
2. Eat a healthy (or your favorite snack).
3. Pray/ meditate
4. Listen to relaxing music or a little tv.
5. Take a power nap.
6. Take a few minutes to write about the good things that happened that day.
7. Do a little light reading.
8. Do some form of exercise; I like to walk.
9. Get together with some friends (the big kind :D )

And when all else fails, CHOCOLATE always put in my happy place :D

*Thursday Quote*

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others. ~Author Unknown~

Book Review: The Farmyard Jamboree

I have a new favorite book for my classroom! The Farmyard Jamboree is a very cute counting story about a boy and his growing number of farm pets. Sung to a very nice, soothing melody, the pictures capture my students attention, while the music calms them. It is a very good intro to math concepts as well, they are introduced to the multiples of 2. Such a cute story and song :) I give it 2 thumbs up!!

Week 6/8 - 6/12

This week's theme in my classroom is "My Favorite Things". We will read favorite books the children bring from home and sing favorite songs chosen by the children. This theme will also promote sharing as the children will share their favorite items with their friends.

For sensory fun, we will play with different textures (oatmeal, corn flour and starch). They will watch and discover what happens to each of these different items when we add water to them.  

We made playdough yesterday. They really liked that, especially since they got to help make it! The playdough will be used to make Mosaics for Father's Day gifts.

This is promising to be a really fun week!

Tuesday Quote

You can learn many things from children.  How much patience you have, for instance.  ~Franklin P. Jones

Rolling with the punches!

Coming off of my birthday weekend, I went back to work with more energy than I thought I would have. It was a good thing too, even though only 8 of our ten kids came in today, they were all so moody and needing attention every time they had a little bump or could not get their way! But some how, we still managed to have a little fun. *sigh* Nap time went better than usual for some and not so good for others. One little boy, who usually puts up a good fight before dropping off to sleep, sang my name until he fell asleep (which was very fast considering for the past couple of weeks it took me up to 30 - 40 minutes to put him to sleep!) As for the other child, she took way longer than usual to go to sleep fighting and crying the whole time despite the fact she was really tired! *sigh* I was ready for a nap by the time she did drop off to sleep. She is an angel when she's sleeping, so cute! The day got better after nap and snack. Unfortunately, due to ratio requirements, I didn't get off of work until a quarter after :( But, all's well that ends well :) the children were happy when I left!

Do I really make a difference?

I often wonder just how much I matter in the life of the children I care for. Do I really make a difference in their lives, their development? Do I really make a difference in how they view the world around them, how they absorb every opportunity to learn, love, grow and succeed? Sometimes it does not feel like I matter or make a difference. But then there are times, when parents tell me how happy they are when their child comes home with a new word or song, or how their child is becoming more confident and how much their child has learned. It touches me when they tell me how their child always say my name before going to bed, or ask where I am, or even wants me to come home with them. It's moments like these that I feel like I am an integral part of their life and learning and that maybe, just maybe I can make a difference! Even if it is one child at a time :)

Make learning fun: Small motor skills.

Today in class, I teach a classroom of one and two year olds, we did an activity to encourage development in fine motor skills and to follow the theme of "teeth are not for biting'. Our activity was stringing cheerioes onto a string of yarn. Because I have a lot of two year olds in my class, I knew this activity would really challenge a skill they are developing at the moment, eye and hand coordination. The younger children I allowed to try, but did not really expect them to do much more than realize that the objects, the cheerioes, were edible, which they did :) They did relatively well with the project, especially since this was their first time doing this type of activity. The activity lasted about 10 minutes. Once they started to eat the cheerioes instead of stringing them, I knew they were no longer interested in the activity :)

Book Review: Hug Time

This is a wonderfully sweet story of just how perfect and simple love can be. Aside from that fact that I love little cats, the lesson given is, love is a powerful but gentle force. Something as simple as a hug brings peace and harmony The pictures are simple but profound. I read this whenever I'm having a rough day :)

Why a teacher?

Come on let's face it, when it comes to salary, we teachers are on the lower end of the pay scale, yet our job is one of the most important in our society. I mean, before anyone can be a doctor, an astronaut, a scientist, a president or even a teacher, they need a teacher to impart the knowledge of that field. Even back in the day when there were no universities or schools, learning took place at the feet of the elders or experienced, fathers taught their sons, mothers taught their daughters, merchants, traders, farmers, and skilled workers all took apprentices to pass on their knowledge and skills. If teachers are vital to the fabric of our existence, why aren't we given our proper dues? wouldn't it be nice if we could earn those six-figure salaries? :D But we don't, so why become a teacher? I love teaching. I love helping a person or child explore their own potential, promote and encourage their love for learning and discovery, help them to reach milestones and goals, to succeed and achieve. To see a child go from not knowing or understanding a concept to fully understanding it is a rewarding feeling. To see them develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and development is worth more than what a six-figure salary job can give (though I'm not saying it would not be nice to have.) So in the end, I choose teaching any day :)