There is no right or wrong way to teach your child. With so many different philosophies, theories, research etc out there it is stressful deciding how to best educate your child. The bottom line: you know your child and what is best for them. Over the years I have been introduced to many teaching styles and philosophies. I infuse my teaching with Montessori and Reggio approaches and use my children's changing interests to guide me (emergent). I let them explore a range of activities that focus on developing decision making skills, teamwork, and critical thinking. I believe in using the environment as a “second-teacher” and thus change the shelf frequently to reflect children’s interests and activities. From fruit cutting to block play and sensory tubs, I incorporate real materials to be used in imaginative ways that promote and encourage children to reach developmental milestones. My role as a teacher and as a mother is to nurture children and guide them through the learning process with empathy and understanding while at the same time challenging them to the next level. We read lots of books, practice tracing letters with sandpaper letters, shaving cream etc. We also sing spelling songs and have a vocab wall--all of these things help build those early literacy skills. Teaching is reflective practice and I enjoy observing children and asking guiding questions, reflecting on how to change the environment or my teaching to enhance their learning—no mountain is too tall, no project too messy, I believe every child will thrive in positive, fair, and fun classroom!
Ultimately, my vision for my children is for them to become independent, imaginative, critical thinkers by exploring their environment through a range of sensory, dramatic play, art, music, block, and outdoor play--all with a global and local perspective and emphasis on early literacy development.
Wow....so what did I just say? Let me better show you, here is my home "classroom".
Free-Play
Making independent choices during free play is an important part of development. I have several different "centers" or interest areas. I follow the children and sit down with them when they chose an activity. I ask guiding questions and model interactions if needed. I use this time to spell objects, extend their vocab by using new words, and challenge them to ask and answer questions.
The various center activities change regularly. These centers incorporate weekly themes (derived from emergent curricula) to encourage children to explore highly complex concepts through the following mediums:
· Art Center (rotates regularly)
o Painting
o Scissor Cutting Activity—children are encourage to use scissors to cut shapes using the dotted line
o Chalk
o Stenciling
o Bead Work
o Paper and crayons
o Playdough
o Recyclables
· Music Center (in a basket on the floor)
o Maracas
o Jingle Tap
o Tambourine
o Wood Tone Block
o Egg Shaker
o Castanet
· Practical Life Center (I add these out daily, depending on interest)
o Fruit Cutting
o Pouring
o Sorting
o Washing
o Grasping/Pinching
o Button Work
(Rocky the otter, sometimes sings the ABCs and spells things out)
(Kannon was so excited to find a whale under the letter W)
· Puzzle Center (on a shelf; rotates regularly)
o Alphabet puzzle
o Counting
o Shape sorting
o Color matching
o Sequencing
o Letter Tracing
·
Block Center (on our block table; we keep bins under the table that have different "block" items ie legos, hotwheel cars for rolling down ramps etc, balls, colored wooden blocks, etc)
o Children are encouraged to use blocks as much as possible as block play enhances many areas of development.
o Incorporate "loose parts" to add to play. Fabric, rocks, sticks etc
· Dramatic Play Center (shelf)
o Play Kitchen with cups, bowls, plates, utensils, pots and pans
o Play fruit/vegetables
· Library (shelf)
o Keep books organized!! Rotate selections. I often put on audio books while they play, in between story time.
(Also doubles as our eating area, the tub is velcroed down and easily moved)
·
Modeling
Children learn from modeling---monkey see, monkey do. As parents and teachers we have to remember how children perceive and follow our actions. This includes the way we walk, talk, sit, stand, walk, and move through the classroom. Children are paying attention. Keep this in mind with everything that you do—from the way you push in your chair to the way you clean up after yourself.
Sign Language
Sign language is utilized in our classroom throughout the day—from music to directions and mealtimes. Sign language is an important aspect to a development of social, emotional, and language skills. Research shows that children who use sign language have a larger vocabulary, experience less frustration in communicating needs, and gain confidence in learning and practicing their signs.
Outdoor Play
Outdoor play is extremely important for children. This is a time to explore their outside environment, get physical exercise, and learn social skills. Research shows that children do not get enough physical activity or sunlight during the day. We go outside at least two times a day. 
I know that was really lengthy and I hope you get some good ideas from it. Feel free to take as much or as little away, remember you know what is best for your child. There is no right or wrong way! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment!
Sensory Play
Sensory play is crucial to children's development. Children need to explore how things feel, taste, smell. How things sift, sort, and fall through their hands; how things can be buried, stacked, and counted. There is really no limit to sensory play. It is all about exploration and developing a sense of curiosity and wonder. Be warned, it can get messy but your little helpers can always clean up along the way :)
We love sensory boxes, tubs, etc. I grabbed an old rubbermaid storage container and fill it with new stuff about every two-three weeks. I usually have a base (pasta, beans, etc) and add different tools (spoons, cups) and "loose parts" (treasure coins, bottle caps, straws, plastic bugs, etc) to be buried, stacked, counted, etc. As always never leave your child unattended with items that might be a choking hazard. I like to sit down and ask guided questions, like how many, how tall, I wonder if this will fit....etc. I am always surprised by children's answers or actions. Have fun with it!
Tips for Sensory Tubs:
1.) Don't be afraid of making a mess
2.) Don't spend money! Use old pasta, items from your junk drawer, recyclables, even shredded newspaper is a blast!
3.) Get involved! Ask your children guiding questions to help them explore.
4.) Velcro is your best friend. If you don't want to purchase an actual sensory table, use an old tupperware/rubbermaid etc and put some velcro on it to keep your little trouble makers from tipping it over :)
What's in the box?
Grainy Day Fun
Contents: I filled our box with all our leftover grains. Pasta, oats, lentils, barley, steelcut oatmeal, blocks, measuring cups, two mini dump trucks.
Kid's Reaction: The boys enjoyed snapping the pasta and filling their trucks with oats. It is messy and they aren't as engaged with it as some of their other activities. They did have fun tasting the different grains and feeding their stuffed toys.
Cloud Dough
Contents: Cloud dough, measuring spoons, measuring cups, bowl, sifter, a jigger, a little cup, and bottle caps.
Kid's Reaction: They loved this! It was fun and active and they spent a good 40 minutes working with the cloud dough, The possibilities were endless!
Sunflower Seeds
Contents: Sunflower seeds, rainbow colored items, bottle caps and wooden animals hidden underneath, spoons. strainers and some little cars.
Kid's reaction: Loved this!!! So far, this is a favorite!
Pasta Play (Picture coming!!!)
Contents: Rigatoni pasta, spiral fusilli pasta, pipe cleaners, jars w/ lids, two spoons, and tongs
Kid's reaction: They didn't enjoy this one very much. They played for maybe a few minutes each day but they quickly got bored.
Bugged out!!!
Contents: lentils, split peas, fabric leaves, plastic bugs, gardening gloves, magnifying glass, tubes
Kid's reaction: This one was so much fun! They loved counting the bugs, inspecting them with a magnifying glass. They loved wearing the gloves and even used them to serve "bugs on a plate".
Cheery Cheerios!
Contents: Cheerios, star anise, egg carton, tongs, spoon, cup
Kid's reaction: Kannon loved this one! He had fun counting the cheerios into the egg carton and using the tongs to sort the star anise. It was easy to clean-up and doubled as snack time when Kannon started sorting the cheerios into their snack bowls :)
Yarn Play
Contents: yarn scraps, toilet paper tubes, spoon
Kid's reaction: This was easy to put together and involved no clean-up and the kids LOVED it. They immediately started making ice cream cones with the yarn. They also sorted it by colors and when we were finished we put glue on a paper for them to put their yarn on. (We still have their yarn art on our wall.)
....more to come
What's on our work shelf???
Encourages buttoning skills, counting, color identification, and even some creative play :)
I saw it here and immediately had to make one!
Both boys love this simple fine motor activity. Clark enjoys pushing the puff balls through the small holes and then taking the lid off in surprise, like "how did they get there!" Kannon likes to push them in, count, color match, and sort them. I found the activity here but its super simple to make: old plastic tub, small holes, and puff balls, voila!
I am not usually into printables but I love one mom's set called "tot school". The kids have loved them! They teach color, numbers, shapes, etc through a variety of mediums. Some use paint dobbers, stickers, matching, lacing, etc. They are wonderful!!! Anyways, I got this lacing from the letter A printable. It is a great quiet time activity for Kannon.
This has been a huge hit around our house and focus on some more fine-motor skills, counting, texture, etc. I grabbed a block of green floral foam and some tooth picks we had lying around. Clark LOVES this and is very focused doing this activity. He spends 20 minutes or so pushing picks in and then taking them out and putting them back in again! Kannon also loves the activity and counts during the process.
I had some knitting plastic in the shape of a star and pipe cleaners. Again, this is a great fine-motor activity and also encourages counting, color sorting, sensory (texture). Kannon loves this and called it a "shooting start" when he first saw it, hence the name.
Can I just say, WOW! Whoever thought two bowls, water, and a sponge could be so much fun was a freakin' genius. My kids LOVE this. So much that I had to put two sets out on the shelf. Kannon loves watching the water disappear and says "where did the water go?" before squeezing it out in the next bowl. Clark loves watching the water dribble out and holds his hand out to catch the drops. Sometimes our toys and floors even get washed when they move beyond the bowl :)
This activity focus on fine-motor skills, color matching, counting, sorting, and more. Kannon loves this activity and gets upset when Clark puts the beads on the wrong "color". It was really easy to make. I used an old baking soda can, punched holes in the top and keep beads inside the can when stored on the shelf.
Learning to cut with scissors takes some skill and practice. I was a bit worried the first time I saw 2 1/2 years old using scissors but impressed when they knew exactly what they were doing. Kannon has been practicing and will sit focused for 20 minutes or so trying to use the scissors. When he is ready, I will encourage him to try cutting on the line but for now its more about using scissors correctly and safely.
I keep about 5 objects that all have something in common in a little bag inside a box. This week, I focused on the letter "b". I added a blue ball, a blue star, a button, a bee, and a bead. Inside the box is a card with the labeled object shapes. Kannon was really excited to use the bag, he immediately started pulling out objects and putting them in the correct place, naming them as he went a long. Clark likes the bag more as a sensory experience and "put & take".
This easy activity can be put together with anything. It focuses on color matching, sorting, and strengthening fine motor skills. This is a little more challenging for Kannon but he loves to practice. I pull this out when Clark is sleeping and can sit down with Kannon to practice. He CAN use the tweezers and very skillfully puts the beads into their different areas. The beads are fairly easy to pick up as he can insert the tweezers into the hole. As he develops the skill more, I will add things that require more skill.
Some tips:
1.) Always model a new activity before putting on the shelf.
2.) Always watch your child during some of these activities as some have potential choking hazards.
3.) Use trays or baskets to keep each activity organized.
4.) Encourage your child to clean up before moving on.
5.) If your child is mis-using the activity it is a sign of boredom and that you need to teach the material to be used in a more challenging way or move on to a new activity all together.
