A few resources

I have discovered some wonderful resources that I wanted to share! Some are geared toward parents and others toward teachers, all are useful and interesting (at least in my opinion!). Enjoy and if there is something you think I should address in my blog, leave me a comment!

BAM! Body, Mind, and Child
Play-Activities
Body Brain Boogie
Preschool Curriculum--What's In it For Children?
Child Care and Early Education Research

A new path?

It's going to be busy and I'm not so sure I'll get around to blogging again before the new year. I wanted to blog a little about where the year has taken me and where I think I might be going. Let's recap. I've worked in-home as a therapist for children with Autism. Then I went to Head Start. Then I left Head Start, thinking that I wanted to become a director. WRONG!!! I went back to Head Start, have been presented with my most challenging group yet, and have started my Ph.D. in Early Childhood.

As of late, I have begun looking into what I would need to do to get my Early Childhood Special Education teaching license for the state of Wisoconsin. This won't be a small feat, since I graduated with my Bachelor's in Elementary Education, Non-Certifiable. I won't go into why I made that decision. I don't regret it, but this means that I have to jump through some hoops that I would not have had to if I was "certifiable." I'm chatting with a few schools to see what sort of time frame I am looking at and what sort of options are available, especially since I've already got a Ph.D in progress. I'll keep you posted!!!

In the mean time, here are some great Early Childhood Special Education Resources.
WI DPI Early Childhood Special Education Info
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education
Council for Exceptional Children
Special Education in Preschool
Preschool Special Education
IDEA
Creating an Inclusive Classroom
Special Education Information at Scholastic
Preschool Zone

Well, it's been awhile!

It has certainly been awhile since I have posted here. Things are going well. I'm back at Head Start and working with a classroom of children with some pretty high needs. I'm learning lots, that's for sure! I'm also working on my Ph.D in Early Childhood and I'm contemplating getting my Early Childhood Special Education license for the state of Wisconsin.

Here's a little info about the room I'm in this year:

• I have 19 students who are all age three.
• Two of my students have a documented disability and IEP
  
• Three of my students have some behavioral concerns but no IEP at this point
• Most of my students are present for the full day (my Head Start room has wrap around child care).

Here area some of the helpful accommodations or schedule adjustments that I have made at this point:

• Large, posted visual schedule
• I use visuals, such as a "First/Then board," as needed.
• I have completely taken "large group" activities from daily schedule and have replaced them with small group activities only. For instance, many preschool classrooms have a large group for circle time. I do not because of the level of behavioral concerns that pop up when I have everyone together at one time. Instead, I do circle time during our "small group" time. Small groups are on a rotating schedule, so everyone does not do circle time every day.
  
• I provide "heavy work" activities for the children who need them.
• I have taken out all unneeded transitions. If I can make something happen without a large transition, I do. Because of this, our day looks relatively seamless. It may even appear that there is no set time for anything. Vanderbelt University has some wonderful work on transitions and how to make them more effective for your students. This guide was very helpful in my adjustments. Early Childhood Today also has some terrifc tips for succssful transitions.
  
• Think proactively. I do a lot of prep. I over plan and I have stuff out and ready to go so that I do not need to spend time while the children are in the room getting things going. When the children are outside with the other teachers, I set up the room for our small group time so that we can dismiss right to small groups as we enter the room.

Until next time. . . . . .

Leading the Way Confrence

Today was the Leading the Way Conference at UW-SP. Again, it was another wonderful conference at a very affordable rate. The Leading the Way Conference is something put together by several agencies, including the Wisconsin Rapids Child Care Resource and Referral.

This year's keynote speaker was Patricia Dischler and she was very funny. She currently has several books out that seem like worthwhile purchases.

I spoke at the first session, leaving me time to attend a few other sessions before heading home.
My presentation was less than steller this year and you can read about that here. I'm hoping for better luck next year. I did go to a very interesting presentation put together by the Registry, NTC, MSTC, and UW-SP. This was a very informative presentation regarding all of the educational opportunities for Early Childhood Professionals and the wonderful collaborations that are happening in Wisconsin between UW-SP and the technical college stystem.

While at this conference, I ran into some of the my old coworkers and had a pretty interesting discussion with them. They told me that staff are not pursuing continuing education opportunities locally because of the cost factor. Why was this interesting? Well, these same folks were willing to drive 40 minutes away to Stevens Point because this conference was less than half the cost of the presentations that are often offered in Wausau. This is an area of concern that I am going to bring to my next WECA meeting and see if we can come up with some solutions. It seems like such a shame that so many wonderful learning opportunties are being passed by right here in our own community.

National Board Certification

I'm wondering how folks feel about early childhood teachers being Nationally Board Certified. I do not know any early childhood teachers who have sought this out, but I would be interested in chatting with someone in the future. From what I gather, the certification process has two components; an online test and a portfolio.

Education World has an article highlighting teachers who have gone through NBC and it sounds as though teachers are finding it to be a frustrating, but rewarding process. The center that I recently left was undergoing the rigorous process of becoming NAEYC accredited and I wonder how this process would compare. Wisconsin has a whole website dedicated to the NBC process and where teachers can find support. NAEYC does support National Board Certification and it's standards for the Advanced Programs of Early Childhood Professionals are alligned with NBFT Standards. Furthermore, the AFT supports NBFT and process to become a NBCT.

At this point, I'm in the learning/reading stages of trying to figure out if this is something that I want to pursure. I'm begining a Ph.D in Early Childhood soon and I'm unsure if becoming an NBCT will add anything further to that.

Goodbye Admin. . . . . . .

Well, I did leave the world of being a director. I learned a lot about myself and where my strengths lay. I believe I would have been a very successful director if I had been working for a smaller center at this point in my career. Perhaps I will walk that path again one day, but for now, teaching is where I should be--either in the the preschool classroom or in the college classroom!

Einstein Never Used Flash Cards

I'm reading, Einstein never Used Flash Cards, by Kathy Hirsch-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkof. I'm thoroughly enjoying this book and it only further supports what I've learned as an undergraduate student. It also backs up what I am continually trying to get across to some teachers and parents where I'm working now.

This book was a big hit about five years ago, yet, I'm still seeing so much emphasis on teacher directed activities and little time spent playing. There is a tremendous pressure being placed on teachers, especially with NCLB. One might think that this pressure wouldn't trickle down into preschool and child care, but it most certainly does and parents seem to be feeling the pressure too.

Research demonstrates that play is important and develops serious skills needed for future learning. Yet, adults still continue to be too busy to find time to play with children and encourage children to play. Not only do children need to have time for unstructured play, adults do also, yet, we still continue to over schedule our selves and the children we work with.