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

Marion Hyson presents some good, practical techniques in her book The Emotional Development of Young Children.

1. Provide daily activities that prompt children to think about emotions. Promote pretend play. Share emotion-rich books. Weave creative arts throughout the curriculum.
2. Smile, look interested, look sad: Show your own feelings and mirror children’s own expressions of emotions. Engage babies in “imitation games.” Let children see that their own expressions influence others’ reactions.
3. Respond to what children are feeling. Tune in to children’s faces, bodies, and voices. Use this information to construct prompt, sensitive appropriate responses.
4. Name children’s feelings. Give words to what children experience emotionally. Connect the emotion labels that you use with children’s cultures.
5. Talk about the causes of feelings. Help children connect the way they feel with what made them feel that way. Use these conversations to build children’s ability to see others’ point of view.

In this post, a prekindergarten teacher talks about how she deals with strong emotions at the end of the year.

We all know that socialization is an important part of prekindergarten. But what are the actual coping skills that would result in an emotionally healthy child who is ready for kindergarten? These are some of the ones highlighted by Beth and Jo at the National Head Start Conference:

• Following rules, routines and directions
• Identifying feelings in oneself and others
• Controlling anger and impulses
• Problem Solving
• Suggesting play themes and activities to peers
• Sharing toys and other materials
• Taking turns
• Helping adults and peers
• Giving compliments
• Understanding how and when to apologize
• Expressing empathy with others’ feelings
• Recognizing that anger can interfere with problem solving
• Learning how to recognize anger in oneself and others
• Learning how to calm down
• Understanding appropriate ways to express anger

My last post listed some reasons why it is desirable to require prekindergarten teachers to have four-year college degrees. Here are some of the points of the opposition.

• Does a degree equal a quality teacher? Some researchers are not finding a causal relationship between a B.A. and classroom effectiveness.
• Degrees in early childhood education are still not readily available. It is not certain that Florida could attract enough teachers to be successful.
• Degree requirements will homogenize the prekindergarten world. Spanish-speaking teachers, ethnic diversity, and alternative philosophies, such as Montessori, may all become endangered should accreditation standards be put in place.
• Teachers with degrees command higher salaries. Existing centers and private programs may have to close because they cannot compete.

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.

In a previous post, I introduced the Florida movement to require prekindergarten teachers to have four-year-college degrees. Today, I’ll present some of the pro arguments for this position. In my next post, I’ll share some of the arguments against the measure.

The timeline for the proposed bill would be to have at least one teacher per classroom with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or childhood development as of the 2013–2014 school year. If enacted, the state needs to act now in order to gear up programs and turn out enough graduates (as many as 5,000) to meet the requirements.

Pros:

• The key to implementing research-based preschool programs is a well-trained teacher workforce that has fundamental knowledge and are well-grounded in child development and pre-K pedagogy to help young children develop needed knowledge and skills. Unfortunately, the majority of pre-K teachers are not receiving enough high-quality professional development.
• Even though there is a cost involved, Florida TaxWatch believes that the state would save $7 a day on school remediation, welfare, and prison expenses for every $1 spent on early learning. (pdf, 250k)
• Nonpartisan research institutes, Florida TaxWatch and the Florida State University Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy, report that FL already has the capacity to attract and produce the necessary numbers of four-year degreed teachers. (pdf, 2.3mb)
• According to Roy Miller and the Children’s Campaign, legislation would cost FL nothing until 2013–2014. At that time, it is estimated to be an additional $9 per day to the current cost of $14.50 per day.
• The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development determined that children in smaller groups and taught those with higher levels of education tend to receive care that is more stimulating, warm, and supportive, making a significant difference in the children’s development. (pdf, 1.2 mb)
• Better paid teachers leads to better educational outcomes for students. Pay incentives will keep preschool teachers in the classroom. All too often lack of continuity results when low-paying salaries cause good teachers to leave pre-K positions, leaving young children with an ever-changing line of “teachers” whose role diminishes to that of babysitter rather than teacher and role model. (pdf, 380k)
• Poor and minority children will benefit most from attending high-quality pre-school programs.
• Many other states already require four-year degrees for their teachers.
• Good early childhood education helps narrow the achievement gap by improving school readiness in vocabulary, reading and math scores. Better results come from better-trained teachers who can give children (especially poor and disadvantaged youngsters) solid early literacy and math skills.
• Prior to entering Kindergarten children spend time in a wide assortment of settings resulting in a disparity in educational opportunity in K and achievement gaps later on. (pdf, 290k)

This continues our handouts series from the National Head Start Conference’s Family Involvement workshop. Here is a sample letter to send home with the children at the start of a new unit. (pdf, 80k) The second page is the same letter in Spanish.

Currently there is a movement for pre-K teachers to have four-year degrees. In 2002 many Floridians voted for a “high quality” public pre-k program, expecting those preschool classes would be taught by college-educated teachers. Most of them are not.

On April 9, 2007, FL Gov. Charlie Crist showed support for a proposal to require that lead teachers in FL’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program have a four-year college degree. The basis for his view included “Education is an equal-opportunity provider. It can only be that if it is a quality education.” Six former governors and the widow of a seventh, representing Seniors4kids, called upon Crist and the Legislature to live up to the 2002 voter mandate for high-quality pre-kindergarten.

WHY?

• According to the latest annual report from the National Institute for Early Education, the quality of Florida’s pre-K program ranks among the lowest in the nation.
• Research shows that teacher’s who have a bachelor’s degree create superior learning environments, have more responsive interactions with children, and provide richer language and learning experiences.

• Florida’s current legislation frames a bachelor’s degree for pre-K teachers as a goal and not as a requirement.

Over the next few days, I will post more information about this movement and what it could mean for the future of prekindergarten education.

It took us longer to get those promised Head Start Conference Workshop handouts up than we had originally expected. Thank you for your patience. We hope these will be useful.

Here are some sample sheets to send home to help increase family involvement. (.zip, 900k) More to come.

What does one do to celebrate Week of the Young Child? If you’re me, you spend time with young children! On April 24, I made a visit to St. Francis Xavier Elementary School and read aloud Dilly’s Alphabet Show to Mrs. Hill’s morning kindergarten class. We had a wonderful time! The children loved the illustrations and the element of surprise as they guessed each character’s costume and the letter it represented. Phonological awareness skills were practiced as children named the items they saw on each page. Reading time ended with the children choosing their favorite story character. Chuck Wood seemed to be the most popular character that day. Could it be because the class was full of boys who love superheroes?

How did others celebrate? I love this idea from Generations Incorporated. Here’s a daycare that went all out. And it’s always great when the community gets involved.