I hope you enjoyed today's discussion on what children can/should/do learn by living at home with you. We made connections between what you learned in your upbringing, what you want your children to learn, and what children these days are learning (or not). The Children are CapableWe made a list of things our children (at age 3 or 4) are capable of doing. These are things that some families in the class expect or have asked their children to accomplish.
Introducing ResponsibilityBe clear with children about your expectations; however, remember what it means to be a child. Prioritize play over a clean home. Prioritize quality family time over a to do list. Work to strike a healthy balance between giving your children the space to show independence and responsibility while still enjoying their childhoods to the fullest. One way you can begin to find that balance is to create a rhythm for your week or day. Schedules are rigid. Rhythms are flexible guidelines that add some structure to without planning out each minute. You might implement a morning rhythm of:
Think about what you value, how you want to spend your family time, and those goals you made for your child today. How might your rhythm look? Use these questions to get you examining your week:
I'm looking forward to seeing you all next week to begin our discussion on strong families and expressing care.
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We spent the class period watching a video of some of our children as they engaged in their class period. As we were watching, we focused our observations by creating a goal. Creating a goal for our observations helps center us and focus in on the important elements. Some examples of goals from our observations were:
Our DiscussionIn our class, there were many interesting takeaways from our observations such as how children interact in the classroom setting versus home, development, and teacher engagement/techniques. Classroom BehaviorsMany people were interested in how their children interact in the classroom as opposed to the home. This would make a great observation goal for the home to further explore your child's tendencies. A few areas to consider are:
DevelopmentObservation is a great way to get a better understanding of our children's development. We are able to better see how they are working to challenge themselves, the play choices they are making, and their goals. In our class, we spent a minute thinking about play. This age for our children is really neat because we are seeing a transition from onlooker and/or parallel play to associative and/or cooperative play. According to pathways.org, a site utilizing medically backed resources on child development, between ages 2 and 3, children engage in solitary play, onlooker play, and parallel play.
Notes from the TeacherOur class had great observation notes from watching the class environment unfold through the lens of the early childhood teacher. Some of the takeaways here were:
Looking forward to seeing you all Thursday!
Our discussion under the context of observation spurred many deep questions and insightful conversation about the role of observation, the importance of safety in observation, the differences between RIE and other philosophies, and observation under the contexts of race and gender. If you are interested in reviewing the guidelines for observation, please check out this post. your role in observingThe type of observation we are promoting in class is one that is safe, intentional, and purposefully planned. That means, we are finding a time in our home or at the playground where we know our children are safe and feeling secure in which we can spend a few moments watching with care. We are looking for things like
The question came up about when to observe in situations where children might be misunderstood, marginalized, disrespected, aggressive, or stereotyped. In those situations, it would be up to your parental discretion about how to handle them, but it would not be the time to utilize the type of observation we are discussing in class because it lacks the constructs of safety and intentionality. As discussed in class, you might decide to:
gender developmentThe question also came up about how to respond to our children's comments on gender in a way that is politically correct. Gender identity is a very deep and complicated time in development so consider this a brief overview. If you are looking for more information, see the resources section below. Our young children see the world at face value so it is helpful to teach them proper language in order to better compartmentalize what they are seeing and learning. First, we can explore the difference between sex and gender.
Our children, who naturally need to take note of what they are seeing and experiencing in order to create their neural network and worldview, might say "Sophia is a girl." We might say, "Sophia does present herself as female." This is a simple way of acknowledging what our children are seeing while providing the language base that can be expanded upon as our children meet more people. We do not want to shame our children for commenting on what they see as that shuts down doors of communication. So welcome it with positivity while gently sharing a new way of thinking in very simple, clear terms. According to the pediatrician run website healthychildren.org,
Further resources on genderMore Resources:
Thank you for all your wonderful insights!SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
- Allow children to express feelings without judgement Try "I see you're feeling upset" instead of "will you just stop crying!" -Read books with feelings and emotions in them. Talk about those feelings. Relate them to your day. Do not try to reason during a meltdown. -Implement calm down techniques: hug them tightly and take deep breaths, blow out the candle, stomp your feet, look out the window, etc. -Use pictures to explain what is happening/going to happen -Give language. Try: "You're feeling upset because you wanted to color but we need to go pickup your sister" -Talk to your child about your culture and the culture of others in order to promote a strong sense of self and identity -Encourage your child to help others or notice the emotions of other. Try: "I noticed Johnny was upset on the playground. Why do you think he felt that way? .... how would you have felt if that happened to you?" Love of Learning
-Stay positive when your child makes a mistake Try saying "I notice you're having a hard time with that. I wonder how you can do it differently?" -Be actively engaged outside of the home Try looking for words in signs and billboards. See if they can find the first letter of their name out and about. -Engage in various learning opportunities, especially outside. Remember: the child who engages with the natural world more, will be able to go more in depth in concepts taught in school -Play board games These promote executive functioning skills, as well. -Use books to promote conversation Try connecting concepts in the book to your child's experiences and life Language & Communication
-Read to your child every day, and read the same book over and over if your child wants. Repetition promotes confidence, confidence promotes skill -Extend your child's sentences If your child says "I like petting the puppy." You can say "I noticed that the fur was black and very fluffy. What did that feel like?" -Use new vocabulary throughout the day in different contexts \ -Ask leading, open-ended questions Instead of "Did you have a good day?" Try "What was one thing you liked about your day today" -Turn your language to more positive tone in order to keep your child's attention -Make up songs to sing together -Change your tone because your children are perceptive! -Work on the sounds letters make over their names This is the song 3 year old pre-k will use -Recognize the difference between "listening" and "cooperating" Instead of "you're not listening to me" Try "I am getting frustrated because you aren't doing what I asked. You are not cooperating with me" -Encourage proper pen or utensil holding to promote writing grasp Creativity and Art
- Display your kid's [quality] artwork at home -Cook and bake together -Use favorites and toys as inspiration for art (i.e. if they love cars, find ways to incorporate cars into art time. Could be drawing a car, a car coloring book, using car wheels to paint, etc.) -Working together on art -Be open minded about your child's abilities and responses. Allow creative responses -Provide open ended crafting tools. Instead of just a coloring book, sometimes just place paper, crayons, scissors, glue, beads, cotton balls, or coffee filters on the table and see what they can create -Model an enjoyment in the arts. Show your own interest in art by displaying art around the house, seeing a theater production, going to an art museum, etc. -Recognize that cleaning up is just as important as doing the art. It is all apart of the process. Encourage kids to clean up after themselves.. not as a punishment but as a way to treat their items with respect so they can be used again in the future. Math, Science, and Logic
-Ask "why do you think that happened?" -Count during mealtimes i.e. "How many more raspberries do you want?.. OK, 1, 2, 3.." -GET OUTSIDE!! Experience the seasons! Nature is the BEST way to engage with scientific concepts because it involves hands on exploration. If you see a fallen tree, ask "why do you think that happened?" If you see moss, encourage your kids to feel it and describe that they feel. Try counting the birds you see in the sky. Dig for worms and talk about what they do for the earth. -Recognize that our children are capable and intelligent beings deserving of our respect. This helps foster a positive identity which increases academic success later. -Consider getting a scale. This was the one mentioned in class. This is also a good one. -Use natural consequence to explain events. If it's cold outside and your kid doesn't want to wear mittens, pack the mittens with and let them experience the cold. Don't pressure them to put the mittens on, but consider asking at some point "how do your hands feel? How do you think they would feel in your mittens?" -Use books to encourage different math and science concepts. Ask questions about the pictures you see. Maybe count all the dots on a page or ask your kids to guess what they think will happen next in the story. Additional Info:Today we spent most of our time talking with the Richfield Superintendent, Steve Unowsky. He shared information regarding the Richfield Public School opportunities as well as general information regarding school choice.
Richfield has four public elementary schools: 1) Sheridan Hills (busing west side of Nicollet) is a community school meaning there is more focus on family engagement through after school activities such as movie nights or family fun nights. This school has 524 kids, 66% students of color, and runs from 8:10am-2:40pm 2) Centennial (busing east side of Nicollet) is also a community school. The school enrolls 492 kids, nearly 90% students of color, and also runs from 8:10am-2:40pm 3) RDLS (busing across the district) is a magnet school, which means there is a focus point on dual language. Dual language differs from language immersion in that it is for both English and Spanish speaking students to gain fluency in both English and Spanish. RDLS has 427 kids, 77% students of color, and runs from 7:40am-2:10pm 4) STEM (busing across the district) is also a magnet school with a primary focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This school has the highest enrolled student body of 785 students, is 61% students of color, and runs from 7:40am-2:10pm. Richfield offers full and half day preschool in each of the aforementioned buildings and in the Central building. The Central building also houses the only 3 year old preschool option. Applications for 3 and 4 year old preschool through Richfield Public Schools open in January for enrollment in the following September. Children must be 3 (for 3s PreK) or 4 (for 4s PreK) before September 1st to be admitted. More information can be found here. Dr. Unowsky also talked about the importance of touring these schools and any other schools you might be interested in. When you tour, he suggested you bring your child along so you can get a feel for how your child responds to the environment. While it is ultimately you and your co-parenting team's decision where you send your child, it can be helpful to read your child's reaction as well. Before going on the tour, think about the things that matter most to you. What do you value? What values are you hoping to impart on your child? Be sure to take note if the tour guide brings up those values and be sure to ask. For example, Richfield Public Schools highly values diversity. In the schools and on the tours, you will see a very diverse student body and teaching staff. You will see cultural exploration activities. You will meet teachers who were specifically hired for their dedication to working with students of various backgrounds. Other ideas for questions to ask include: -before and after school care/programming -transportation options -teacher turn over (how long have teachers been in their position) -social emotional education and bullying practices -disciplinary practices -enrichment opportunities -lunch options and payment -how often are kids outside -What is the communication between the school and family like -how often is there homework It might seem premature to be thinking about kindergartens now, but it comes faster than you would expect! It will make for a less stressful experience if you schedule some tours in the next year and begin having those conversations. Thank you for being part of such a dynamic conversation with our Superintendent! |
AuthorEmily Barstad Archives
February 2020
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