Inspiring Intelligence
Posts tagged preschool
Free Online Resources
Oct 2nd
After commenting on another blog I follow, I realized I should probably make you aware of some of the great FREE resources available to help the preschool – 2nd grade child explore and learn.
One of our favorites is Starfall.
There are some great online games and my kids cannot get enough of them! It is designed for the preschool child, but they have added some Kindergarten resources.
National Geographic Kids is another great one.
Some of the stuff here is more educational than others, but there are some really great learning resources here!
PBS Kids has some great stuff, and there are some of my favorite shows on PBS! Sid the Science Kid does a great job of teaching some great science topics. Dinosaur Train has taught us a lot about dinosaurs. (I even use the show to learn more.) I credit Word World for teaching some great phonics to my daughter. (The Word World website even has some eBooks.) I could go on and on about how great PBS is…
Progressive Phonics has some GREAT books that I love!
We have printed a few and I have been impressed with the books!
Hunkin’s Experiments has some great science experiment ideas.
Although, many of them tend to be a little too advanced. There are some interesting ideas in there, though.
Scholastic has some great resources, too!
Most local museums and organizations have free resources that support the subject matter, too.
Many of the national chains offer resources, too. Lakeshore Learning has some great free resources that I frequent, too.
Of course, there are plenty of blogs out there, and many have great ideas. That may need to be a post for another day….
What are your favorite resources?
Tools of the Mind
Sep 11th
I believe that intention makes all the difference.
Research supports this belief
as early as preschool.
There is a great article about the benefits of a program called “Tools of the Mind” here.
Important Parts of the Program Include:
- “Every moment of the day is devoted in some way to teaching the kids”
- “Before [the children] even think about picking up a toy, they sit down….[and] spell out their intentions.” (For example, “Today I am going to play store,” is written with the help of a teacher and then the child draws what s/he will be doing.
- Then they play. The play “help[s] build a critical cognitive skill called executive function.”
- “Executive function has a number of elements, such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. “
- “But perhaps the most important is self-regulation — the ability for kids to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.”
So, what is executive function and WHY is it so important?
Executive Function is the ability to override impulses.
Previously, it was assumed that executive function is something that just develops naturally over time.
And, it does.
But, we are learning that it does not have to be a waiting game.
Children can learn to control their impulses.
And research is demonstrating that it has a profound impact on intelligence.
In fact, researchers are having a hard time completing a study using these programs
because the impact is so great and happens so quickly
that principals and teachers think it is cruel to deprive the “control” classes of using the program.
(Every study needs a control group in the same setting who does not receive the program
just in case there was some other factor influencing the performance.)
So, how does “Tools of the Mind” work?
Children are asked to plan their play.
If they veer from their plan,
the teachers remind the children of the plan.
The result?
Conflicts during play decrease significantly.
Also
The play has more intention
and children can focus in their play longer.
Other things a Tools of the Mind program may have:
Children are asked to score their own work and the work of their classmates.
For example, when practicing their letters, the children could be asked to circle the one that looks the best.
Children may play a game of Freeze.
The game where children children dance until the music stops and they are asked to freeze.
Well, in a Tools of the Mind game of Freeze,
the children will be shown a pose WHILE the music is playing
and when the music stops,
the children must remember the card and strike the pose.
The children regulate their urges to strike the pose when the music is playing.
Neighborhood Walk Investigation
Sep 11th
We have been talking about maps and addresses lately.
I have suspected that our discussions have been missing something.
So today, after the horrible flooding has finally stopped,
we took a walk around the neighborhood.
My goal was to help the children better understand where our address comes from.
We took our notebooks and started to walk around the block.
I pointed to the numbers on our house.
Then we walked next door and pointed to those numbers.
And, without prompting, the notebook was opened.
This is from the girl who does not want to try writing numbers because she cannot do it perfectly.
As we walked on, we continued writing numbers, until a cat approached us.
I, for one, was surprised to meet the cat.
My dog was walking with us and was at my side.
The cat was very friendly and was crying.
I wondered if it was hungry and we began discussing the possibility of it being hungry.
And, since it was obvious
I was going to have trouble returning to my original goal of learning about house numbers and streets;
I thought of a new side project.
I asked if we should guess what the cat would like to eat.
The suggestions included goldfish crackers, raisins, dog food (since we do not have cat food)
and I threw in the suggestion of chicken.
Each of us predicted what the cat would do as we walked back to the house to gather our supplies.
And we walked back over to the house where we met the cat.
We each took the food we believed the cat would most enjoy
and we tried to force it on the poor cat.
While the cat ate up the attention
it did not show any interest in any of the food.
Not even the chicken.
I am not sure if it was the spices from the leftover chicken I made
or if it was really not hungry,
but even my prediction was wrong.
The kids did not mind,
because they were happy to eat the food that the cat did not want.
(Funny how each child wanted the food they predicted the cat would like.)
And, for a minute, I thought our lesson on addresses and streets was going to end,
but the notebooks were pulled back out as soon as we saw the numbers on the house.
We had a fun and easy walk around the block and we practiced writing numbers.
We learned about the street name signs.
We learned how to address letters to each of our neighbors.
And we had fun doing it!
What did you explore today?
Project Approach
Sep 8th
I have been reading an amazing book called
NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children
by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman
It has re-inspired me.
Then today, I read an article about study habits.
It reminded me why I reject the typical classroom approach to learning.
I became a big fan of the Project Approach a while ago.
Research supports this approach in most every way.
Brains do not retain information sitting in the same place everyday.
Brains do no retain information that has been taken out of context.
If we allow children to be the engineers of their learning, research shows that they will retain the information better.
I believe in the Project Approach.
So,
what is the project approach?
This website offers some information and great examples of the approach used in action.
I have not found any program that utillizes this approach locally, so I am hoping to start one.
I am just a little excited about it.
To get us started:
I will be reporting our our adventures.
Tomorrow my children and I begin planning our imaginary trip.
Check back to learn where our adventure takes us…
