“Listening” is a very special word to me. When I think about “listening,” I think about being transported by music, by the soft crash of ocean waves, by leaves rustling in the wind. “Listening” also makes me think of caring and concern: people accepting and understanding others, parents listening to their child’s hopes and fears, […]
Category Archives: Classroom management
I’ve talked about ways in which we as teachers can support children’s creative thinking, but it’s also important to help our students learn to support each other’s creativity. Children learn by watching us, of course – and they watch how we listen and show interest when new ideas are shared. But there are more ways […]
A few of my schools offer day care for school aged children on their days off. Since last week was Spring Break for many nearby towns, I had a chance to reconnect with some of my former students. The most amazing experience was at one center, where I walked into the pre-K room to see […]
This post doesn’t have a picture to illustrate it. That’s because when I looked up “preschoolers fighting” or “preschoolers angry” or “preschoolers not listening to you” all I found were photos of attractive child models who were looking cute-angry. Actual preschoolers don’t look that cute when they’re hitting somebody or lying on the floor, very […]
A couple of years ago, I experienced one of my most exciting moments as a teacher. I was playing a game with a class of three-year-olds, when a little girl named Kyla raised her hand and said, “I have an idea!” What made this moment so special for me was that in the eight months […]
Wouldn’t it be nice if our circle time always looked as calm and peaceful as the teddy bears in this picture? Well, even though the young children we teach may be even cuter than teddy bears, they’re rarely as good at sitting still. Real, human children tend to talk, kick their feet out, touch the […]
Music (and Science) For Young Children 