Wow, it is September!A new school year has begun!
We have had such a happy start,
taking our first steps in building our relationship together.
This means
family photos on display,
sand and shells in the sensory table,
marble painting,
block building,
dress ups and baby dolls,
a bird's nest to explore in the science corner,
learning one another's names,
dancing and singing together,
reading lots of books, and
happy, loving, patient teacher voices.
This new school year began with lots of local press about testing preschoolers. (This article had the audacity to come out on the weekend I moved my baby to college!!!) I have lots of thoughts about this and it is my intention to get these thoughts into this blog this month...but, suffice to say, I'm not terribly concerned about so-called "new" expectations for literacy and math data.
Early childhood teachers are always observing, always collecting data - on every aspect of a child. We're already doing this, as we work with every child.
Just for starters, during this first week of school, I've already noticed -
Who knows how to hold a pencil?
Who are my painters? (same fine motor skill at work!)
Who loves to count?
Who echoes me when I count?
Who notices the letters on the pages of our books?
Who enjoys looking at books?
Who do I hear repeating our stories aloud?
Who follows directions?
Who "freezes" when the music stops?
Who moves about assuredly, knowing where their body is in space?
Who bumps into others, moving hastily?
Who answers questions?
Who speaks up?
Who holds hands with classmates?
Who comforts another?
I know I have a classroom rich with early literacy and math opportunities. Simultaneously, I am fostering every child's social emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Play-based, exploratory preschools help ensure that all this happens, for every child.
As my son says, "It's all good!"
We have so much fun learning ahead! Here's to the new school year!!
Nice to hear all about your beginnings, Maureen! My granddaughters, two and four, just had to make a big change as their pre-school suddenly closed in August. It's been a whirlwind of looking and choosing for the parents. It was a tough week of starting last week, but smoothed out a bit. We'll see... I hope I'll get to visit soon just to see what they're doing. Thanks for saying that about the consistent evaluation-of course we are always doing that, aren't we? Best to you at this start of the year!
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