What Preschool Kids Think About School

Sure, Early Childhood Educators care about what our preschool children think and feel about their preschool experiences. After all, it is the first impression they get of school.
Most often times, it's good to take a survey or census of our work. Usually we get feedback from our families.
Not me.
At least that is not my only feedback. I go to the children themselves-and not to brag but over the years I have learned to speak "Preschool-ese".
Below are actual answers from the preschoolers and some may argue that my interpretations are a bit liberal....but trust me, I'm a trained professional.
I encourage you to take a survey from the kids as well. And if you have a bit of trouble interpreting here are some easy translations.

Handy Dandy Tips for Effective Interpretations of Preschool-ese:

Question: "What do you like most about Preschool?"

"The play-dough tastes good." Translation: "I like to play with the play-dough here at school. If I accidentally tell you I eat it, please don't get mad."

"My teacher is really pretty/cute." Translation: (It's a compliment, silly)


"My mommy take-d me to preschool and I go to my school." Translation: "I am not quite used to the idea of preschool, but I get it that I have to go. I miss my mommy and I wish she could come along, too. I really need you to be my friend and check on me, teacher."


"When is snacks coming?" Translation: "I love the food and snacks here. I'm growing and require lots of food so I would appreciate it if you would kindly send word to the kitchen so I can get on with playing. I need my energy."
(* NOTE: It may seem like the answer had nothing to do with the question, doesn't it? Ah, not so-necessarily)

How about you? What are some great translations that work for you as a teacher?
How is you're 'Preschool-ese' on a scale of 1-10?

Art That Promotes Socialization for Kids

Do you want a quick table art activity to set up for kids that takes virtually no time at all? We love this one because it is great open ended activity for the first day of school or anytime you want the kids to interact and spark a conversation with one another.

Table Art for Kids:
Materials Needed: Crayons (peel off the paper), a variety of flat objects (i.e. puzzle pieces, leaves, paper scraps, coffee filters, small sticks, textured paper scraps, card board shapes, etc.), length of butcher paper that will cover the table, making tape.
The Set Up: Arrange the flat objects on the table and place a length of butcher paper over the table and secure it with tape. Have peeled crayons placed in strawberry baskets (or handy container) and remove the chairs from the table. Kids will be standing during this activity.
The Procedure: Kids can freely color any areas of the table by shading with the edge of a crayon. Together they will discover what shapes are underneath while they guess by feeling it.
Socialization: Kids love to strike up conversations! This activity allows kids the freedom to share space, color as a group, and guess-a-mate what the art will look like.
We like to write down their conversations, words and discoveries directly on the paper before we display it.

What types of activities do you enjoy for a back to school activity?

Teacher Documentation and It's Benefits in Early Childhood Education

Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; 

God composes, why shouldn't we? 

~Terri Guillemets

I can remember when I used to take my drawing to my dad as a little girl. He used to stop whatever he was doing; ask me about it, gush over it and write down whatever I said…word for word.

As an early childhood education there are disagreements about how much or how often to praise. Praise vs encouragement, rewarding behavior, etc.
As a little girl I remember the time my father gave me. I wonder if preschooler remember that when we take the time to document their work?
Documentation and various transcripts of children’s words and discussions, photographs of children engaged in activities, play and representations of their thinking and learning using many medias are arranged are often arranged on the walls of the preschool classroom to document children’s work. All in all, it makes for a very print rich and personalized preschool environment.
Benefits of documentation can include:

• Making families aware of children’s experiences
• Maintaining parent involvement
• Allowing for teachers to understand children better
• Evaluating children’s work
• Providing a venue for children to recall and value their own work and the process of that work
• Facilitated communication and exchange ideas among educators.

-Facilitation of an overall sense of community, social development, and personal awareness and development for the child and among his or her peers.
I enjoy the personal time I get with the children when I document. I do consider it a bonding experience. It has helped me become a better listener, friend, and helped me to understand my children and even myself better.
What I have found is that what I am seeing in them, I see in myself…..
We are all growing and learning together.
That's something I not only love to document, but write about....
How about you? What do you really love to write about?

The Honorable Mention: What It's Like Being a Preschool Teacher in Early Childhood Education

 “People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes we as adults get childhood amnesia. I believe it's curable. The remedy may be making mud pies outside, or lying in the soft grass looking up at the clouds to see how many images you can find…..
If you love being around children, however, you must appreciate their inborn sense of wonder. They won’t let you for get the miracles around you each day. I like to document some of their interesting questions & remarks from over the years as an early childhood educator.
I just thought I would share the miracles they see….

“Is the Earth hanging in God’s closet….a-cause I don’t see the hanger!” (Three-year-old looking at a picture of the earth taken from the space shuttle)

“I see trees movin’, grass movin’, and my hairs is a-movin’. But what’s movin’ the movin’?” (Three-year-old marveling on a very windy day)

“Hey! Somebody took my seed and put a bigger one in its place!” (Four-year-old amazed by the growth of the bean he planted)

“Up in the sky! I see a cow…no, never mind, it’s a cat…now it’s a car…now it’s a rabbit, now it looks like my little brother! That’s weird!” (A five-year-old looking at the clouds on a windy day)

“If God is bowling right now He must have got a strike right there.” (A four-year-old whispered to another while listening to a thunderstorm)

Homing In

 "A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary."

~Thomas Carruthers

“That kid’s nose is runny. I went-ed and got-ed him a tissue”
“Why thank you, Lilly, that was very thoughtful of you.” I smiled.
“You don’t have to ask…”
“Ask what?” I questioned.
“What my mommy asks, Ms Barbra. Me. At home, you know, if I washed-ed my hands.”
“How did you know I was going to ask that next?”
“I smart like that.”

Teething and Biting in Early Childhood Settings

"Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was, that they escaped teething."
-Mark Twain

The teething process in different for every baby. Some babies and toddlers sail through it while others endure many symptoms if illness. This is a milestone in the child's development, and although we want them to be as comfortable as possible, it can be a stressful time for both the child, and the caregivers.

Symptoms of Teething:
*Loose BM's
*Restlessness, irritability and disturbed sleep patterns
*Sore, red gums
*Loss or changes in appetite
*A slight rise in temperature
*Drooling (which may cause a rash or sore, chapped skin on the chin)
*A sudden desire to chew anything they can lay their hands on.
*An urge to bite. This should not be perceived as a sign of aggression or anger, more of a means to ease the pain of teething.
Teething toys and proper precautionary measures must be carried out to keep all children safe if biting occurs in the classroom. A caregiver must be consistent and be calm in the manner in with the situation is handled.

I usually follow kids that love to chop casually around with a teething ring in my apron pocket and get a chance to sharpen my reflexes. I get a first hand and up close look at exactly what sets kids off biting in the first place. When I am there to stop biting and redirect anger toward the teething ring I start doing my own personal documentation on the matter. I can see if there were any particular children he/she aimed for, the times of day it occurred, etc. After about a month there was a definite pattern to the behavior.

I'll ask to meet with families and by then I am armed with data and ready to brainstorm possible solutions. The plan was to incorporate 'feelings' and feelings awareness into the preschool curriculum and to empower any child to use the teething ring on his/her own. It is very important that kids learn to get positive attention and socialization rather than the negative attention they may be accustomed to. We sing songs like, 'If your Happy and You Know It' and acted out feelings of sadness and anger...we talk about being angry and that teachers can help you if you get angry or sad. We bring out and read picture books of feelings and read them in groups and individually. We incorporated them in every aspect of the preschool curriculum we could think of until biting slowly begins to subside. I recall one graduate of this plan one day yelling, "Oooh, I so angry!" He reached on my pocket and chomped down on the teething ring....he then put it back in my pocket and went back to playing. Helping kids become personally aware is a great feeling not only for us but for them!