Debra Hasbrook, M.Ed.
Debra Hasbrook, M.Ed.
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04/09/2013
I often heard my staff ask the question, “How can I keep them busy?” So they thought of arts and craft ideas, books to read, toys to buy, activities that might engage the children. Is this you? I know I’ve had those days as well. I want to challenge you to think bigger! Be intentional. When deciding what to do, think of what the children will learn or experience. How will it influence their behavior, their cognitive function, their ability to discover and learn from their own experience? Use the developmental guidelines to see what they are ready to do. Use your observations to find out what the children are interested in and provide experiences that are relevant. You may ask, what is a relevant experience? A relevant experience is one that uses what the children already have some knowledge about and you scaffold from that initial information. Such as what they experience in their daily lives, or new experiences that tell you about. A child may tell you that they went camping, got a new puppy, a baby brother, or went swimming. Take these experiences and expand them, scaffold new information to expand thinking. Above all, have fun with the children. Happy Lesson Planning! |
