Lakesha's Blog- All Things Early Childhood Education Play- Based Curriculum & Assessment
Welcome all educators!
If no one has told you, thank you for what you do! Thank you for your daily desire to invest your passion, knowledge, and experience into the lives of children. This resource blog site was built with you in mind. Please browse around and use any ideas, advice, or materials that you find useful. Please return frequently as new curriculum, lesson planning, and center resources will be introduced on a regular basis.
This kit is made to help kids grow in many ways, such as literacy, language, social and emotional development, and fine and gross motor skills. It's good for babies, toddlers, and kids in preschool. Research shows that the first few years of life are the best time to build a strong foundation in all areas of growth. Meeting certain goals in each of the five areas of development and learning helps preschoolers learn how to behave and do things well. Lessons and tasks can help teach and reinforce skills that are important for students to learn and grow in all areas. Play is an important part of a child's growth and development (NAEYC, 2019), so I'm a big fan of learning through play. All of the tasks are made to help kids learn in a way that is fun and interesting to them.
Activity 1
This game is all about developing social and emotional skills. Children will learn about different feelings by playing games that are right for their age. Toddlers can learn a lot about emotions through puppet play by making the puppets act out different moods. Teachers can help these parts of a child's growth by putting this kind of activity into their lesson plans. Parents can also do the same thing at home to help their kids remember what they learn in school. This can be done in the child's school or at home, where everyone can join in. The "family" puppet show can happen during the week. All you need is a doll or some other kind of prop to make it more interesting. The kit has ideas for how to set up a puppet show and a stack of emoji cards that can be used to interact. Just pick an emotion card, have the puppet act out that feeling, and talk about how you feel. Let the kids act out how they feel as well.
Activity 2
The goal of this lesson is to help kids get better at speaking, reading, and writing. Students will be able to pick out words from a story, remember them, and say them back. Teachers can do this practice as a read-aloud in a literacy circle or with an audio book. Parents can also read the book to their children. Just read the story out loud to the kids, and when they're ready, have them fill in the last word of the lines that are repeated. A copy of the book Five Little Monkeys with directions on how to do the activity is part of the kit. This is a thing that parents can do to help their kids keep up with the reading skills they are learning at school.
Activity 3
This activity is meant to help kids who are 3 or 4 years old grow physically. A hopscotch game will be played with kids to help them improve their large motor skills. Parents and teachers can do this game at school or at home. This is a great way for the whole family to get some fun and important exercise several times a week. Chalk and bean bags are the only things you need for the workout. The kit will have directions on how to play the game and how to add other literacy and educational parts to it. For example, you could put a letter in one of the hopscotch squares and ask the child to say a word that starts with that letter.
Activity 4
This activity focuses on the mental growth of older preschoolers. The goal of the practice is to help kids improve their social and emotional skills. During a read-aloud about emotions, kids will learn how to recognize and talk about how they feel. Teachers can do activities with the kids during circle time, or parents can do them at home. The book "F" is for Feelings is part of the kit. The package comes with instructions for how to do the talk about feelings. What makes them happy, sad, angry, or excited, for example?
Activity 5
The goal of the practice is to help kids improve their social and emotional skills. Children will learn how to recognize and talk about their feelings after hearing a story about them. They will also be asked to look at a feeling chart and figure out "how they are feeling today and why." This practice is meant to get people to talk more about their feelings and emotions and to help them manage and control the ones that are hard to handle. Teachers can do activities with the kids during circle time, or parents can do them at home. Teachers can put emojis on a white board and let the kids drag them to show how they're feeling. The kit has both the book "F" is for feelings and a chart of feelings. There are instructions in the package for a more in-depth talk about thoughts and emotions.
Activity 6
This game is meant to help babies learn how to communicate. Children should be able to imitate simple sounds that people make when they talk. Teachers can use this in their lessons, and parents can use it to help their kids in this area and get closer to them at the same time. The package comes with the book "Bye, Bye Baby" and ideas for how to keep the child busy.
Activity 7
The goal of Activity 7 is to help kids get stronger and more flexible. A beach ball tossing game will be done with the kids to help them improve their gross motor skills. The kids will work on how to throw, hit, and catch the ball. Parents and teachers can do this game at school or at home. This is a great way for the whole family to get some fun and important exercise several times a week. The kit will have everything you need to play the game, as well as directions on how to do it.
This is an excellent kindergarten readiness evaluation that preschool instructors can utilize with their students throughout the year to ensure that they have covered all of the necessary skills to prepare them for Kindergarten.
I enjoy making my own worksheets that correspond with the skills listed in the chart. Please see below for some worksheet creation ideas. Have fun with it! Be creative.
Exploring Mathematics Curriculum
At my previous Montessori, a play-based math curriculum was incorporated into center times so that students can practice key math skills and concepts. Examples include counting blocks, sorting bears and jellybeans, graphing, spotting patterns, and measuring. Many of my students find it much simpler to study math when they can interact with real-world things. Arithmetic Seeds is a computer-based arithmetic application that I use in my classroom in addition to hands-on activities. Mathseeds is a comprehensive online math curriculum for primary school students. It contains a wide selection of lessons, games, and exercises for the development of mathematical skills in number, shape, and measurement concepts. This online program is jam-packed with entertaining, child-centered activities that make learning enjoyable and relevant for young children. It teaches children key ideas in an engaging, amusing, and motivating manner while rewarding their achievements.
My curriculum also includes interactive videos. To assist my students in acquiring important math skills, these videos integrate math with music and movement. My pupils like to sing, clap, and dance to the song "The Numbers," replicating the gestures of the "number characters" in the video.
This curriculum was chosen because it is so broad and caters to all types of learners, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. It enables kids to acquire a wide range of arithmetic skills and topics in a fun and engaging manner that meets the learner where they are in terms of skill and ability. All curricular components must be linked to my state's educational requirements.
Literacy circle times include math instruction. Even basic nursery rhymes such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" have math ideas. I may have them, for example, repeat the rhythm by clapping and create patterns with it. I'll have my kids keep track of how many times Mary's name is chanted. Children's books are great for reinforcing arithmetic ideas because they are filled with them.
I adapt my mathematics curriculum as needed to satisfy my students' language, cultural, and ability-diverse requirements. This could be as simple as providing English translations for my math activities for my linguistic learners, or it could be as complex as developing center activities that allow my students to apply math skills in real-world situations, allowing them to connect diverse cultural experiences in a way that inspires them to love math. Depending on whether I am working with pupils with learning problems or gifted students, I may change the math goals and objectives. I offer my students essential learning tools and resources because some of them have physical limitations.
The farm-themed site (shown in Figure 1) was designed for preschoolers aged three to four. It is fun and engaging for the students while also being broad enough to allow me to develop lessons that integrated literacy, mathematics, science, cognitive/logical reasoning, physical development, and social/emotional development.
Figure 1
Thematic Web
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Math
The farm fits well with the
idea. Students fill cups with corn while learning the terms "full,"
"empty," "less," "even," and "same."
Measurement and counting are among the earliest mathematical ideas that
toddlers acquire, according to research, and there are various informal and
formal chances to assist this development. I thought this lesson would be a fun approach for beginners to practice these crucial arithmetic
abilities.
Science
During the scientific portion of the course, students will study about matter and energy. On the scales, students will weigh maize and hay to find which weighs more or less. According to research, even the most fundamental activities can introduce youngsters to scientific concepts and develop scientific thinking. "Science education activities also allow children to develop and practice a variety of skills and attributes, such as communication, collaborative skills, teamwork, and perseverance, as well as analytical, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities").
Cognitive/Logical
For the cognitive/logical section of the lesson plan, students will brainstorm and recall the various sorts of animals that can be found on a farm, as well as identify the sound and description of each animal. The goal of this practice is to help students enhance their capacity to think, communicate, and recall knowledge.
Physical/Social/Emotional
For the physical, social, and emotional components of the course, students will dress up like farm animals and collaborate to predict what the animal is. This will involve both physical activity and collaboration. The field trip gives students with hands-on learning experiences and concrete experiences that allow them to interact meaningfully with their environment, as well as background knowledge that helps them understand concepts from their world.
Sensory bins are a favorite addition to my play-based lesson designs. In my preschool classroom, this sensory bin activity is a tremendous favorite. Under the Sea is a sensory bin activity depicting sea creatures. The lesson's purpose is to teach children about ocean life and animals using their senses. Sensory bin exercises help young learners acquire a number of skills. Setting up sensory bins filled with blue water and other sea-related materials is part of the exercise. Students can then use their senses and imaginations to learn about the ocean.
Sensory bin activities are an essential component of any early childhood education program. When children can touch and feel things, they learn better. It exemplifies the hands-on experiences that play-based learning has produced. Sensory play allows youngsters to learn in new ways by engaging their senses. As children begin to engage in meaningful dialogues while their hands are busy investigating and experiencing what is in the sensory bin, these activities enable pupils to think creatively and imaginatively, as well as research new ideas. I've observed directly how my pupils' oral language skills and imaginations have evolved as a result of these exercises. It's amazing to witness. The use of sensory bins can also help to create a mindful environment. When employing sensory bins, many youngsters show enhanced, sustained attention. Sensory bins can also help to reduce stress and anxiety, resulting in better regulation.
This would be a wonderful place to start when developing an integrated lesson plan. It is based on sea creatures and is linked to all of the other major learning and growing possibilities.
Language and literacy, mathematics and number sense, cognition and logical thinking, physical growth, and social and emotional growth are all examples of cognitive talents.
The literacy element of the lesson will center on a read-aloud about "life under the sea," as well as a review of sea life vocabulary. Students learn which animals float and why in the science lesson. The lesson's mathematical component will center on counting and sorting sea creatures. The brainstorming of sea creatures will be the focus of the cognitive section. We go on a field trip for social development and engage in collaborative sensory play (partner play), and I'll include an exercise called "Feeling Crabby" to aid youngsters with emotional management. We discuss how to deal with sadness and rage during the activity.
Constructivism and Active Learning ( Play- Based)
According to constructivist theory, learners are active participants in their learning journey, and knowledge is constructed through experiences. Each child reflects on their experience and integrates new ideas with prior knowledge as events unfold. Active learning does not happen by simply following a few simple instructions; rather, it happens in the classroom when the teacher is committed to creating a learning environment that promotes active learning. This entails developing "prepared" environments and instruction in which children can engage, play with their peers, learn through their own behaviors, create, imagine, move, and perform actions, and explore through materials and hands-on learning. These activities may include sensory play as well as a variety of center options (art, real-life simulation, books, blocks, music, drama, and science), all of which aid in the development of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth in children.
In my experience, children learn more effectively when they are engaged in interesting and relatable activities. I love incorporating sensory play as well as a variety of center options (art, real-life simulation, books, blocks, music, drama, and science) into their daily routine as it makes learning so much more exciting for my kids. I become the guide or the facilitator in the learning process, and they have room to explore and be "little scientists."
Below are some indoor/ outdoor center ideas and long with some developmental benefits:
Welcome all educators! If no one has told you, thank you for what you do! Thank you for your daily desire to invest your passion, knowledge,...
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