Here is a great Montessori inspired activity that my preschool class has been enjoying lately to practice identifying and spelling names. We try to do lots of fine motor activities, so I thought this would be a fun way to combine letter recognition. While my preschool is not an official Montessori, I certainly try to incorporate Montessori techniques into our learning on a daily basis. This View Post
Preschool Supplies for Back to School — Manipulatives and Puzzles
This is the last post in my series of my favorite supplies for back to school for preschoolers. If you missed my other posts, you can see some preschool must haves by clicking below: Art, Science, and Math Sensory Play and Fine Motor Music and Movement Now onto some more fantastic learning activities for little ones. I am featuring manipulatives and puzzles, two interest areas that I have seen View Post
A Summer Keepsake
There are 17 days left of summer, and I am for sure savoring each and every day! One of our favorite traditions each summer is to visit Nebraska and spend time at Lake McConaughy. It has a nice beachy feel to it, and our kids have a blast camping out there. Back when my daughter was a baby, a family member of ours introduced us to her family tradition of making a plaster of paris mold of her View Post
Preschool Supplies for Back to School — Music & Movement
I have been posting a series about my all time favorite preschool supplies. If you are looking for some ideas for the preschooler(s) in your life, you can see my must have list of art, science, and math supplies as well as sensory and fine motor supplies and manipulatives and puzzles. I find that looking through a colleague's classroom can help stir the creative powers in my mind, so I hope this View Post
Preschool Supplies for Back to School — Sensory and Fine Motor
It's back to school season, and I'm continuing my series on my favorite supplies for preschool aged children. The other learning domains I have written about are art, math, and science; music and movement; and manipulatives and puzzles. Now for two more fantastic ways to offer learning experiences to young children: through sensory play and fine motor skills. Sensory play crosses several View Post
Preschool Supplies for Back to School
Here are some of my absolute favorite supplies for preschoolers! You can use these in the classroom or at home, and I've even included the places that I've found the best deals as well as the best brands available where I live. I must admit that I am always super excited when it's time to buy more supplies for my preschool. When I was an Assistant Director, I had six classrooms that I was View Post
Fun Ways to Encourage Children to Write
The most frequent question I am asked when people find out I am a preschool teacher is how to help children write their letters. I must admit that I LOVE this specific question because I am naturally a teacher who puts a lot of emphasis into writing and literacy. I also feel that writing should be adopted by children with admiration. I can remember feeling stressed about this in kindergarten, so I View Post
The First Day of Preschool
The first day of preschool is such an exciting day, and I want to share some tips to make it flow as smoothly as possible! 1) Prep your child for this big day. The day before preschool begins, let your child know that he will be starting preschool tomorrow. Tell him how exciting it will be as he will get to play and meet new friends. Describe some of the events that will take place such as View Post
Growing Children With a Greenhouse
"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues." The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Children are driven by curiosity. I believe that they are very misunderstood at times because of this. Much of the world tells them "don't touch that," "stay away from there," or "leave it alone." A better alternative is to provide an environment which encourages children to be View Post
Managing the Mountain of Mess AKA Toys
I am currently watching an episode of "Hoarders: Buried Alive." What a crazy show -- I want to watch it, yet it makes me crazy all at the same time. I have so much sympathy for these people as I see the power of their possessions take over their minds and lives, as well as the well-being of their family members. It's amazing how something as simple as a mess can turn into an overwhelming mountain. View Post