Week of the Young Child 2018

Well, somehow I missed the fact that this week was the Week of the Young Child!  But there's still today to celebrate all those little and amazing people (and then of course there's every other day of the year, too :) ) 

So how to celebrate?!  I'll pick two of my favorites from NAEYC's site...

NAEYC suggests fitting in an art activity or two, and has some nice guidelines to help parents fit it into their busy days.  I think these work for teachers and librarians, too, of course!  If you're scrambling for ideas, I've gathered a ton of ideas for preschoolers and toddlers over on my Pinterest Boards.

Here's my Preschool Art Board

And here are ideas for Toddler Art!

In the art area of my classroom, I had the following blurb posted, so that teachers new to my philosophy of "encouragement rather than praise" had some ideas for talking with children about their art...

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What to say at the easel/in the art area:

Nothing!

Or...

You used lots of paint today!

That yellow is so bright!

Do you want to talk to me about your painting?

Your hands were moving in big circles when you made those marks…

Say what you see!

(and remember that it is ok to say nothing)

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One of NAEYC's other celebratory ideas is all about music.

As you probably already know, many of my flannel boards are musical, and if they aren't, I sing them anyway :)  Below are just a few of my favorites--I love the fact that singing and dancing with children builds so many skills--fine motor, gross motor, early literacy, math...the list goes on!  Best part?  It's FUN!

And here's a link to a bunch of my other song sets!

You can find lots of my felt board sets at my shop :)

And don't forget to check out Flannel Friday's Pinterest Boards and Tumbler Page for a zillion flannel board ideas!

Over in the Meadow

I presented a bunch of flannel board songs and games to a lovely group of librarians this past week, and on the drive back home I started down memory lane.  I miss doing circle times!  I love singing, dancing, reading, and playing with kids!  (My cats just don't interact the same way ;)  )

One of the songs that stuck out on that lane of memories is this fantastic version of Over in the Meadow.  It's a Barefoot Books version, which I was introduced to by one of my past student's mom.  I just love, love, love it.  Here it is!

I have a felt set of this song, too.  I couldn't do all ten animals--it was just TOOooooo much. 

 But I've got five parents, and 15 babies, and that's just right for me :) 

(I ended up making a custom set for a lovely lady, and it does include all 10 parents and their wee babies.  In case you're interested, here's what that looked like:)

And here's a video of my set in action:

I love combining books and music, and this one throws in math as well!  Hey!  Learning IS fun!

Happy spring!!

Like what you see?  Subscribe to my newsletter for lots of preschooly goodness, and get a free Shake Your Booty Cube, perfect for circle times, story times, and using at home!

Mary Had a Little Lamb

I love nursery rhymes, and they provide so many early literacy skills (singing with kids helps them hear the sounds in words; rhyming helps with phonological awareness; rhythm helps with understanding syllables!)  It's fun to just share them with children while you're playing, talking, and reading--and sometimes during a story or group time they need a visual to hold their attention.  Enter Mary and her little lamb (and everyone else pictured, of course :) )

Here's the rhyme to go with this set:

Mary had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rule!
It made the children laugh and play
Laugh and play, laugh and play
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned him out
Turned him out, turned him out
And so the teacher turned him out
But still he lingered near...
And waited patiently about
Patiently about, patiently about
And waited patiently about
Til Mary did appear.

Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go!

How about a few books to go along with this set, in case you're doing a lamb, spring, or farm story time...





And here's my Pinterest board on Farm Books!

And don't forget to check out Flannel Friday's Pinterest Boards and Tumbler Page for a zillion flannel board ideas!