Tips for Teaching Young Children the Skeletal System

I have taught the the names of bones to preschool children and school-ages, alike. 

The songs, diagrams and puzzles are an effective, interactive way to teach children about the bones in the body. Often times the only exposure out children get to bones are during Halloween. 

A good understanding of what bones and the skeletal system really is is by fun learning rather than a creepy, scary one.

We came up with a few various educational resources that can be used to start teaching young children about bones and the skeletal system.

Teaching with a hands on and fun approach can make education and early learning a bit easier for everyone!

Teacher's Link Tips For Teaching Young Children The Skeletal System

1.  Learn the human body- Skeletal System (Lots of kid friendly language teachers can use)
2.  Skeleton Floor Puzzle - Large enough for a small group time.
3.  The Bone Bounce - A Song by Teacher Lucy Jensen
4.  The Big Story on Bones Website- Tons of resources at your fingertips for answering kids questions. And we know about questions, don't we?
5.  Skeleton X-rays - For the classroom! (For kids that wanna see!)
6. Skeletons in the Closet Game- Really fun! It does contain very small parts so it needs adult supervision.
7.  Them Not So Dry Bones - School House Rock
8. Labeled Bone Diagrams- a  parent and teacher's cheat sheet

The Albuquerque Turkey Song

Turkey hand prints look great on cards!

The Albuquerque Turkey Song

(To the tune of "Oh My Darling Clementine) Of many of the songs around the Thanksgiving holiday the children seem to enjoy this one the best! Hope your class does, too!

We sing it around circle time passing around a bean turkey bean bag, during art projects or as a fun transition song.

Albuquerque  is a turkey and he's feathered and he's fine!

And he wobbles and he gobbles and he's absolutely mine!
He's the best pet that you can get, better than a dog or cat.

He's my Albuquerque turkey and I'm mighty proud of that!

Teacher Tips For Getting Kids From Noisy to Quiet

There are many types of noise in a classroom. There are happy noises, noises of discovery and learning, as well as joyful noises of laughter.
Then...
There's that other noise.
The one that travels up the spine and causes Administrators and staff to seek out your classroom to see what the ruckus is. With anything, we believe in planning ahead and yes, planning for quiet times are essential to classroom success. After all, having a few tricks up our sleeve keep us ahead of the game.

Tips to Get Kids From Noisy to Quiet:
Finger Puppets: Have one stashed in cases of emergency. Simply sit in a strategic location and hide the puppet cupped in your hand. Challenge the children to guess what you have. In our twenty years of experience it has always drawn a gaggle of children just itching to know what the surprise is. Invite them to sit with you and only show them the 'surprise' after they have quieted down.
Whispering: Sometimes there is just one excited corner of the room that needs some toning down a bit. We like to quietly walk over and whisper to the group. Something like, "Excuse me, friends, I see your are having fun. We need you to please use your twelve inch voices. Thank you." We do lot's of measuring in our class so the children have a great idea of what it is.
Dead Ants: The children are familiar with what a dead ant looks like. We find them outside, flat on their back, appendages in the air and a slight twitch to a leg or two. I will yell, "DEAD ANTS" over the din and we all drop on the floor twitching. While we are down I congratulate them on a good job and reminder the to use inside voices.
Hushing Songs: As a whole class we begin a circle time and draw them in with tried and true favorite songs. Songs like; BINGO, Twinkle-Twinkle, or Hush Little Baby. Whatever song you choose, make the lyrics get quieter and quieter as you go. We wind up singing the song mouthing the words in the end. It's a very calming circle time and the children love repeats!

The Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.

The first one said,

 "Oh my it's getting late!"

The second one said,

"There's a chill in the air!"

The third one said,

"Well I don't care."

The fourth one said,

"Let's run and run and run!"

And the fifth one said,

"It's only Halloween fun!"

Then, whoooooo-OooOO-ooo, went the wind and out went the light!

So, the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Poetry for Children in Early Childhood Education

Trees

The Oak is called the king of trees,

The Aspen quivers in the breeze,

The Poplar grows up straight and tall,

The Peach tree spreads along the wall,

The Sycamore gives pleasant shade,

The Willow droops in watery glade,

The Fir tree useful in timber gives,

The Beech amid the forest lives.

~Sarah Coleridge

Poetry in early childhood settings has always worked for me to inspire the children in new ways of learning. They really like silly poems but some poetry can be quite education. If we can't make up a melody for it we will chant it out. For this circle time poem, the children love to stand in a tight circle and act out it out. I let them act out the movements to make it their own. At the end of the poem we all decided to squeeze together and say the last line.
That is, if the children can stop giggling...
We learn poems fairly quickly when we act them out....
What are your favorites?

Popular Fingerplays and Stories in Preschool

"Kids: they dance before they learn
there is anything that isn't music."
~William Stafford

We have some very popular fingerplays with kids in the preschool program. Here are just a few we never get tired of!

Popular Fingerplays and Songs in Preschool:
Name of the Finger play: Cut the Pickle
Give me five (High five the child)
Other side (High five child with the backside of hand )
Cut the pickle (Touch your index fingers together as child mimics cutting motions with the side of their hand)
Here's a tickle! (Quickly and gently tickle child)
Extension: Encourage children to teach this one to each other! It's a favorite!

Keep off the Grass
This is a story you tell by having the child hold out their palm. We pretend there is a little city or town on their hand and I will point to each arean on thier hand as I narrate the story:

"I see a little town on your hand. Here are where the kids go to school (teacher points), Here is were the mommies and daddies work and eat lunch ( teacher points), Here is a little tiny park with baby ducks swimming. And here is a sign that says, "Keep Off The Grass" (teacher points).
Have child recall areas you pointed to and be sure they touch their palm;
"Please show me where the mommies and daddies eat lunch (child touches palm),Show me where the baby ducks swim (Child touches palm)."
"Now show me where the sign is that says, Keep off the Grass".  As the child touches that area of their palm, gently tap their hand and say. "Hey! Keep off the Grass!"

What are some of your kid's favorites?

The Thank You Song

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
~G.K. Chesterton

Children are so precious…words just can’t tell you how my heart goes out to them and their families. I know the choices I have made within the classroom setting will impact the future generations. I am not one to cut corners, take the easy route…I take education seriously, in the sense that I am about focus. Am I perfect?…PPPPht, no…but I sure try.
What good is learning and creativity without depth?
Depth=Volume /(length x width).
A child can develop creatively “long”, and not be wide enough.
A child can be very “wide” in their learning but, still- not be long enough…something is lacking.
I added an ingredient to my preschool curriculum long ago that I found can only work through constant repetition. It must be put in the forefront of their mind, and mine…sometimes; I suppose…it’s easy to forget. Something so very needful-is so easy to forget…what is it?
Thankfulness.
That missing piece gives us volume...and gratitude mixed with joy gives us depth.
Here is a song we sing before snacks and lunch-
It’s to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

The Thank You Song

Thanks for the snack (Lunch) I like it fine,
Thanks for the drink it’s a favorite of mine.
Thanks for the things we share today,
Thanks for the wonderful chance to play.

A Sense of Humor in Preschool Curriculum

"Well, Art is Art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know."
-Groucho Marx

 Standard preschool curriculum is made up of pre-math, the wonders of science, children's books, and various foundational elements that promote a love of learning....but, a-hem...hold up now........ these children are growing up in a different world then we did. Laughter and humor elevates the mind, increases endorphins and serotonin levels in the body that creates a state of well being and happiness.The best things about humor with children is it doesn't have to make sense...that's what's funny. Common sense tells us there has to be a reason for "funny"...but those are the ones that had common sense educated right out of them. Here are some tried and true games for your preschool curriculum that will get them laughing every time.

Laughable Preschool Curriculum Activities:

Game: Untangle
Age: 2.9+
Number of Children: At least 5

Materials: None (We love that!)
To start: Gather in a circle and everyone hold out their hands in the center of the circle at the teachers command. Then everyone is to randomly grab one hand from any two different children.
Object:To untangle the mess of children without letting go of your hands.
The Play:Anything goes...except, don't let go! Not even if you have an itch...preschoolers do what they can to untangle themselves so no arms are crossed. It's a group effort and everyone wins.
Extension: Put a timer on to make it more exciting.


Individual Finger Play (Preschool Teacher & Infant/Toddler)
Name of Fingerplay:Round and Round the Garden
Round & Round the garden (Swirl index finger on child's open palm)
Goes the teddy bear
one step, two step,(Walk index & middle fingers up child's forearm)
Tickle under there!(Gently,tickle under child's arm)
Extension:Do "Mama", "Daddy", "Baby bear", etc.

Freshen up a familiar story: Give this a try...
Extension: for favorite stories
Ages: 2+

In our preschool curriculum we read our books the children love over and over again. Often times they can repeat every word along with us. Let the children know that you will make a silly mistake when you read a book...challenge them to 'listen and hear it' when it happens. I will say, "One day, the little sandwiches ate their children....." The children laugh and love to let me know I said something silly...I pretend I didn't know what they were talking about, and then I do it again a few minutes later.

Everyone one has adds their own special ingredient as an early childhood educator. Our own special, "niche". What's yours? What do you do to brighten up their world?