From Mary’s Teaching Toolbox I recently discovered the book, Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Steve Jenkins. I felt better when I found it was only published in 2013, so I haven’t been missing out on this delightful book for long. The story centers around a brown bear from the…
From Mary’s Teaching Toolbox Preschool children should have many opportunities to measure. I’m not just talking about measuring length but also weight, time, and volume. No matter what you’re measuring, its best if preschoolers use non-standard units. So instead of inches- paperclips or shoes. Instead of pounds- marbles or blocks. Instead of seconds-counting. Comparing the size or…
From Mary’s Teaching Toolbox My favorite book about pumpkins is Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson, photographs by Shmuel Thaler. (available on Amazon) The beautiful photographs and engaging text follows the life cycle of pumpkin from seed to pumpkin and back to seeds. Possible Themes Fall Halloween Pumpkins Harvest Gardens Seeds…
From Mary’s Teaching Toolbox One of my favorite activities to do with pumpkins is to estimate and count the seeds. Pumpkins generally have too many seeds for them to all be counted one at a time, often over 500. While this number is too large for preschoolers to understand, there are some excellent number lessons that are just…
Mary’s Teaching Toolbox This is the first post of what I hope to be a weekly feature. Each week I will share different activities that can be used in early education. One type of post will a compilation of activities to go with a book. Some books will be new to you and others, like this one, may be familiar. Either…
Here are four early education gems I found on the internet this week. Topics include: information to help parents at IEP meetings, criteria for choosing books to read to children, making a pumpkin stand for dramatic play, and a thought provoking poster. Parent Education Three Steps for Navigating the IEP Process for Parents from NAEYC for Families: If you have a child…
Here’s my list of favorite blogs and articles from the last week. I would love to read your comments about any that you read. Language Development The Importance of Pointing from Playing with Words 365: Sometimes we get so wrapped up in how many words a toddler knows, we forget how important other skills such as…
Here’s my list of favorite blogs and articles from the last week. I would love to read your comments about any that you read. Curriculum and Activities Look Again from Teaching Young Children: An informative 2.5 minute video about the versatility of loose parts used by 4 and 5 year olds. If you haven’t started using…
Here’s my list of favorite blogs and articles from the last week. There were so many good ones this week, I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a few. I would love to read your comments about any that you read. Curriculum and Activities “Can You Count What I Say?” from Language Leads Learning blog. Phonological…
Here’s my list of favorite blogs and articles from the last week. I would love to read your comments about any that you read. Curriculum and Activities “Want to Boost Your Toddler’s Development? Put a Toy Chicken on Your Head.” from Science Daily: When you’re silly with your students, they develop their ability to pretend. Who couldn’t…
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