Dilly Days with Beth and Joellyn: Authors of The InvestiGator Club™ for Robert-Leslie Publishing

Here is a fun back-to-school activity to help young children understand the concept of personal space.

Have children blow an imaginary bubble over their space on the floor. Have them climb into the bubble and sit down. Tell them: The space on the floor inside your imaginary bubble is your space, and no one else can share it. Stay inside your space as I give you some directions. Listen carefully. Then give directions such as the following: put your hands on your head; clap three times; put your hands on your hips and twist, etc.

Our Program Introduction, Let’s Investigate!, is full of fun back-to-school lessons. To learn more about our curriculum, go to www.investigatorclub.com.

What is your best preschool back-to-school activity? Let us know and we’ll post it to share!

It is natural and appropriate to integrate curriculum in the preschool classroom. During a workshop at the One Goal Summer Conference in Tampa, Florida this month, teachers and directors from across the state became active participants in Investigation Stations where literature, music, and math activities were used to introduce science-based explorations. Why? Because building background, tapping prior knowledge, developing vocabulary, and sparking curiosity and imagination are all precursors to successful exploration in science!

My thanks to the participants who made this workshop so much fun and who contributed their classroom experiences and knowledge. It was a great learning experience!

Included below are the data collecting posters and handouts so that every teacher who wants to keep children curious with some great integrated science activities will have the materials they need.

Data Collecting Posters
Boats Afloat
Color-Mixing
Go! Go! Go!
Ice Melting Contest
Sensory Station
What Do Plants Need?

Event Photos

This past weekend, I did something I haven’t done in far too long: I took a trip to the local library. As I browsed the selection, it made me realize that the local library is a resource that is underused by many parents. Even though your preschooler is not able to read on his or her own yet, a love of the library is a wonderful thing to develop at this young age. Familiarity with libraries is a great school skill to have. Regular visits will also promote appreciation for books and reading as well as encourage responsibility. Here are some suggestions and strategies to employ:

1. If your library allows, get a library card in your child’s name. Help your child understand that the card is his/hers and that he/she will be able to decide what gets checked out.
2. Establish an area in your home dedicated to library materials. Unless an item is in use, it needs to live here. On every trip to the library and back, carry out the same routine of picking up return items from this space and placing newly checked out ones here.
3. Determine for your child a set number of items that he/she is able to have out at one time. Work with your child to understand that however many items he/she returns is how many he/she can then take out.
4. Children’s library rooms usually have special sections for their youngest patrons. Point out the age-specific shelves to your child. You may decide that other materials are also appropriate choices, but set the physical boundaries so your child will know from which areas he/she may choose.

Remember that libraries contain more than just books. There will also be videos, music CDs, games, puppets, and computer software that your family will be able to take home and use. In my experience, children’s librarians really love what they do. If you ask, they’ll be happy to point out all the different services of the library and how best to use them. For example, if your child is especially interested in a particular topic at the moment, such as dinosaurs, they may be able to pull books in advance of your visit. Then you and your child will be able to go right to a stack of materials on a table upon your arrival.

Not to mention - you might find some good summertime reading for yourself!

Where do your preschoolers eat? A positive and comfortable eating area in the classroom helps children focus on the food when it is time to eat. Provide a place for each child at an appropriately sized table.

To help transition in and out of snack time from activity times, assign children specific tasks that must be completed before and after each meal break. Perhaps it is someone’s responsibility to place a napkin at each spot or to make sure that all the garbage ends up in the garbage can. Wow parents by modeling and role-playing appropriate table manners. Have certain meals be extra special ones so everyone can practice and show-off what he or she has learned.

Welcome to Spring, everyone! Here’s a Butterfly Color & Match Activity to do with the little ones as the days get warmer.

Here’s a fun Dramatic Play Learning Center activity from The InvestiGator Club Prekindergarten Learning System that you can complete with your children.
 

February 14th is just about here. Is your classroom decorated with bright red hearts for Valentine’s Day? Are you having your preschoolers make heart-shaped cards? Perhaps you are planning a Valentine’s Day party with all kinds of tasty heart-shaped treats. No matter how you celebrate the holiday with your preschoolers, it’s also a great time to talk about the human heart, because February is also American Heart Month.

You can start by sharing with children that the human heart does not look like a Valentine’s heart but more like a pear that’s about the size of your fist. Here are some other facts to know and share:

• The heart is a muscle that looks like red meat. That’s because it is supplied with lots of blood.
• The heart is actually in the center of your chest between the lungs, not on the left side.
• The heart is a two-sided pump—left and right—made up of four parts called chambers (right and left atrium and right and left ventricle). One-way valves keep blood flowing in the correct direction. (The right side of the heart receives blood from the body and sends it to the lungs; the left side receives oxygen-enriched blood from the lungs and pumps it throughout the body.)
• The thumping heart beat sound you hear is made by the valves as they close.
• The heart beats about 100,000 times a day, pumping blood to all parts the body (organs, tissues, and cells) through a network of blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries). If the vessels were placed end to end, they’d extend about 60,000 miles. That’s about two and a half times around Earth!
• The heart is designed to last a long time. You can help your heart by exercising and eating healthful foods.

Here is a sample lesson plan about making kites for your prekindergarteners and their families.

One preschool in the Chicagoland area took to heart Beth’s and my suggestion for a family involvement event that we presented during the DuPage AEYC convention last fall—they hosted an art show! Feast your eyes on these amazing works of art, all inspired by some of the greatest artists of all time.

For more information on the importance of teaching the fine arts, see the suggested national standards for arts education developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations (under the guidance of the National Committee for Standards in the Arts).

Here you see one of the fine art prints, Fernand Leger’s The Builder, from The InvestiGator Club program on the right. Then the children’s inspired sculptures and drawings are on the left.

Below are some fine examples of art inspired by the works of Claude Monet and Piet Mondrian. Also, check out this great idea about how to archive your children’s art.

It’s springtime, and many preschool teachers teach life science lessons that involve eggs. But it’s not just chicks that hatch! Take some time to talk with young children about egg-laying reptiles like alligators. After discussing alligators and their eggs, you can complete this integrated math/art lesson.

Help children cut out construction-paper rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles and glue them together to make an alligator. Be sure to name the shapes and discuss their attributes. Along the alligator’s back, have children arrange paper squares in an AB pattern, such as the pattern shown in the photo (black/black, yellow/yellow). Ask children to glue down the squares as patterned bony plates. When you’re done, you not only have adorable alligators, you have integrated your curriculum to teach shapes and patterns.

Curriculum integration is an important aspect of helping young children gain a variety of academic and social skills. Because Beth and I know this, integration is at the heart of The InvestiGator Club curriculum. For example, units like Finny, Feathery, Furry Friends help you use animals as a springboard to teach children skills in language, literacy, mathematics, science, creative arts, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, physical health and development, social studies, and technology. One lesson often incorporates more than one content area. For example, you might read aloud a picture book as an introduction to a math lesson. In this way, literacy and math are combined naturally. Integration is a wonderful approach to teaching!

On a fun note, It’s worth mentioning that at the InvestiGator Club, we are especially fond of alligators. Dilly Gator, the founder of the club, is an alligator herself.