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Do you struggle with the T & E elements within STEM? Technology We often think of technology as only computers, phones, tablets, but in reality, technology is anything tangible or intangible created by a technical method that impacts life, society, and environment. The wheel created 6,000 years ago is an example of technology. It is a tool of technology that, even now, we use daily. Engineering Teaching engineering is teaching the process of designing and building something that is a practical necessity. You can also think of it as the process of creating those pieces of technology that are critical to serving a purpose or meeting a need. 
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Navigating the T & E in STEM for 4 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment one of your favorite technology or engineering activities with children.
Here is mine: I love trying coding for technology. It could be with legos or them practicing moving their friends around with "rules."
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Are you a director or aspiring director that wants to figure out how to be an effective leader? Are you a teacher who needs to work on their leadership skills? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a leader is defined as “a person who rules, guides, or inspires others.” Leadership in a child care profession goes well beyond paperwork and meetings and is more focused on the human elements of their workplace. This includes the staff, support staff, children, parents, community, and more. An effective leader knows that the relationships and influence that they have are the true crux of their abilities, and they will strive to do what is morally and ethically sound for all parties involved.  During formal and informal conversations, training opportunities, and evaluations you should strive to consider the following areas and how they influence your interactions:
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Effective Leadership for Child Care Professionals for 3 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment one way that a director/supervisor has made you feel seen/heard/good because they were being an effective leader.
Here is mine: Remembering something that I told them and then them asking how it went/following up. Do you need to add some fun stories into your classroom? From "jabbeling" to "swizzfiggling" and giant peaches or chocolate factories, Roald Dahl has included the reader into his elaborate worlds. Through the humor, nonsense words, and life lessons, children are enticed into reading more and more of his stories. "Two hours of writing fiction leaves this writer completely drained. For those two hours he has been in a different place with totally different people." - Roald Dahl  While being fantastically creative, Dahl’s stories are beautifully layered with valuable life lessons for children. Let's look at a few life lessons throughout:
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Frothbuggling Worlds of Roald Dahl for 2 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment one or two of your favorite Roald Dahl stories as a kid.
Here are a few of mine: Matilda! Lots of books!! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Chocolate.. duh! :) Do you question how ACEs play into the children in your classroom? Do you know how you can help support them through the trauma? Children can either arrive into an environment that is safe, nurturing and stable or into one that is less safe and kind. The type of experiences that children have in their early years, especially traumatic ones like abuse, neglect and lack of nurturing relationships, shape the development of the brain and their behaviors. We know that humans are designed to experience and react to short moments of stress, about 20 minutes or so, just long enough to decide whether to choose between fight, flight, fawn, or freeze responses. If a young child is constantly being faced with stressful experiences, those stress hormones are released for longer periods of time and may have a long-term impact on development. This child’s mind and body becomes prepared to live in a dangerous world. Their brains are also wired to have specific characteristics, such as impulsiveness, hypervigilance, being on-edge, numb or withdrawn. When there is prolonged exposure to stress hormones, brain cells become impaired and are not able to develop neural pathways and may even die. This type of exposure is called toxic stress. The way this child interacts with you, his peers in the classroom, and engages in learning would be different from a child who is wired to function in a safe and nurturing environment. They are wired to focus on how to survive from one moment to the next. 
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Connecting the Impact of ACEs on Child Development for 5 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment some of your favorite ways to combat stress in your life! What do you do for self-care?
Here are a few of mine: Reading Walking Laying down Do you struggle with how to talk about cultural awareness with young children? One way to do this is through picture books! The beauty of books is they help us to bridge the gap between cultures. Not only are we embarking on an academic journey of discovery, but we are learning about cultures that may connect us all. The authors of many children's books create characters that everyone can relate to through the color of their hair, what they wear, say or do in a way that can make them feel comfortable. Whether the reader is a boy, girl, parent, or educator there is a relatable quality to the characters both individually and as a whole. Everyone has a family unit of some kind, whether it is traditional or not. They are able to empathize and feel for various characters which opens a door to learning about their culture. This is how we bridge the gap and elaborate on the themes and lessons that are brought to light in many books.  You don't have to explicitly explain what the term stereotype is to children but the more you talk and teach about differences, the more culturally aware children will become. Some of the most common stereotypes that children may notice and books may shed light upon are: Age Ability Religion Nationality Gender Family Dynamic Race ***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Picture Books and Cultural Awareness for 2 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment some of your favorite books to use with children to teach about different cultures!
Here are a few of mine: Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal What do you do to build a child's imagination? In an early child care program, storytelling is a major component of each day. During circle time or morning meetings, educators will often read a book to the class, weaving an intricate story that the children can picture in their mind. While storytelling is an integral part of childhood, it also becomes a gateway to early literacy skills further creating the building blocks of reading and writing. Children hear the words and become familiar with their respective sounds. They also gain exposure to new vocabulary words and exercise their imaginations.  Storytelling provides an opportunity for children to picture something in their mind’s eye as it is being told to them. This differs greatly from a typical conversation, because the intention is for a child to be able to imagine the details and create a representation in their own mind. Oral storytelling without being read directly from a book, gives children the best opportunity to use their imaginations. ***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Imaginative Classrooms with Chris Van Allsburg for 2 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Are you trying to understand proper reinforcement techniques, how to redirect mistaken behaviors, and create a more positive classroom experience? The goal for positive reinforcement is to help create an intrinsic desire for the child’s good behaviors. In other words, we want the child to see the joy in good behavior instead of fear of punishment for misbehaving. Redirection is taking fewer desirable behaviors and emotions and trying to turn them into a positive situation. The goal is to redirect an upset child’s attention onto something that is not upsetting to them in order to calm them down. Using redirection will avoid giving into what the child wants or rewarding undesirable behavior, and instead bring their attention to another activity or item.  ***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Creating Positive Classrooms: Reinforcement and Redirection for 2 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment some redirection techniques you've used with children!
Here are a few of mine: Walking/stomping/jumping like animals. Singing a song. Talking very quietly so they have to be quieter to listen. Having children involved in cooking is so much fun! Messy... messy fun! But fun! Getting children of all ages involved in cooking snacks and meals gives them valuable experiences with fine and gross motor skills, social experiences, executive function skill refinement, math practice and more. The simple act of combining ingredients to make a snack or a meal provides muscle movements that strengthen developing muscular systems. Tearing pieces of lettuce for a salad exercises small muscles in the hands and wrists. Stirring a bowl of batter exercises large muscles in the arms and shoulders. Talking with friends and teachers about what step is next, where a vegetable comes from, or how much flour to add provides valuable social experiences. Following multi step directions and recalling past experiences and knowledge refines executive function skills. Measuring 1 cup of raisins with half a cup of peanuts, almonds, and cashews to make a simple trail mix is a real-life math equation. Cooking adds so much value to everyday tasks and turns academic ideas into applicable experience. 
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Preparing Food with Children for 3 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment some of the fun recipes you've done with children!
Here are a few of mine: Yogurt mixing is super fun! It changes colors with berries which is exciting for children. Another one is Ants on a Log! Yum!! Including new languages in the classroom can be scary... and so much fun! You can learn right with the children! Contrary to what some people say, you DO NOT need to be an expert to teach children different languages. You are learning right along side them and tell the children that! It's super important for them to know if AND when (because we know you will) make a mistake and to correct it with them. What to Teach? There are a variety of multiple language curriculum options available for purchase. If applicable, research and talk to your director about the possibility of using one in your classroom. If a “pre-packaged” program is not suitable, you can still integrate languages into your classroom in less formal ways. Even though you may not be using a commercially published curriculum, you are responsible for teaching quality material. Make sure you are doing research and studying the information before presenting it to children. Let Children’s Interests Guide Learning Each classroom has a unique atmosphere and chemistry. Be mindful of the children that are in your classroom, including their interests, temperaments, and learning styles when planning instruction. If the children have a particular curiosity for a subject, you can teach them about it in another language as well. Forcing children to simply memorize and regurgitate information that they place no value in will only be an uphill battle. If you are not sure what a child’s interests are or if you believe they have changed throughout the year, take the time to do an interest inventory with them or send one home for their parents to fill out. There are tons of surveys available online for young children. 
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Multiple Languages in the Early Childhood Classroom for 2 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment some words you know in another language or some words you'd like to learn!
Here are a few of mine: I really like saying "thank you" in Spanish. It's also fun to say "hello" in different languages too! This is such a tough topic nowadays and with children! It's hard to bring the topic up with a group of adults, how are a group of children going to take it? Surprisingly very well! It might not be explaining to them every little detail of what they need to do during the day, but making healthy habits fun activities! According to the CDC reports as of 2022, childhood obesity in the United States reached 14.7 million. About 1.86 million of that was among 2 to 5 year-olds. Obesity in childhood impacts every group in some way, across all ethnicities, cultures and socioeconomic statuses. Children often spend a large part of their waking hours in a classroom and this also means that a large part of the food they eat in a day is consumed while in child care. The food eaten and the activities that children engage in have a large impact on their health.  What are 5 ways YOU can help support children and their healthy habits?
***Does this topic interest you?*** You could enroll in our new course titled Setting Healthy Habits with Young Children for 2 clock hours. Click here to enroll. Comment some of the fun ways you get children moving!
Here are a few of mine: Outdoor games (such as hide and seek or tag) Hide and find items (like a year-round egg hunt) |
AuthorMs. Brittney Andrade, MS Early Childhood Studies ArchivesCategories
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