Experts agree that introducing children to foreign languages should begin as early as possible. The earlier, the better!

Teaching young children foreign languages a huge topic and one that many daycare providers or those that own childcare centers debate.  In our interview with Myelita Melton, CEO of SpeakEasy Communications, Inc, and author of the SpeakEasy Spanish™ series, Melton explains the importance of teaching foreign language to young children.

OwnADaycare: What is an appropriate age to begin learning foreign languages?

Melton: Experts agree that introducing children to second and third languages as early as possible is best. The earlier a child is exposed to another language the greater the likelihood that the child will become truly proficient in the language. Some suggest that waiting until age 10 or later is too late to develop true fluency.
(more…)

Preschool teachers and daycare providers can help children learn to recognize and write the letter V through fun activities that support clear learning objectives.

Learning Objectives

• The students will identify the letter V.
• The students make and recognize the V sound.
• The students will learn to trace and write upper and lower case V’s.
• The students will identify objects that begin with the letter V.
• The students will make a Valentine’s Day wreath.
• The students will make a letter V vase.
• The students will learn about volcanoes and create an erupting volcano.
• The students will listen to books that feature the letter V.

Handwriting and Alphabet Recognition

Introduce the children to the letter V along with simple objects that begin with the letter V. Create a colorful letter V poster board or bulletin board that presents both the upper and lower case V. Include pictures of objects cut from magazines that begin with the letter V. For example: valentine, violin, vulture, volcano, vegetables, van, vase, vine, vacuum, vest, volleyball, and vampire.

Write both the upper and lowercase V on a whiteboard or chalkboard. Demonstrate the V sound and ask the children to make (repeat) the V sound. Next ask the children to think of words (names, objects, or places) that might begin with the letter V.

Allow the children to practice tracing the letter V in both upper and lower case using a letter V worksheet. A good example of such a worksheet is available on the Kid’s Learning Station website. Children can also practice writing and tracing the letter V on blank sheets of paper using pencils, colored pencils, or crayon. (more…)

In part two of our interview with Jan Z. Olsen, Olsen discusses how learning through play leads to real life learning in physical and cognitive development and offers examples of activities that a daycare provider can easily implement.

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of physical development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area?

Olsen: It is important that children practice gross and fine motor skills, and coordination.  Dance with your children, give them a ball to kick around and help them at the playground to better encourage gross motor skills and coordination.  To encourage the fine motor skills needed for handwriting and keyboarding, sing songs that use their fingers, like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and “The Crayon Song” on the Get Set for School™ Sing-Along CD.  To further encourage proper fine motor skills for handwriting, give young drawers broken pieces of chalk or crayons to use.  The small size encourages correct grips. You can offer children, even ones as young as 9 months, to pick up tiny pieces of food, like Cheerios, with their fingers, and older children can do crafts involving small, age-appropriate objects, to develop writing muscles and good coordination.

OwnADaycare: How does play lead to real life learning in the area of cognitive development? What are some examples of play activities preschool teachers can offer in this area? (more…)

Children learn through both direct and indirect play. Child day care providers can take advantage of opportunities for social and emotional learning through play activities.

In our interview with expert Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, co-creator of The Get Set for School™ readiness program and founder and creator of Handwriting Without Tears^®, explains the importance of learning through play.

OwnADaycare: What is the importance of learning through play?

Olsen: Children are naturally curious, active, and eager to learn and try new things.  To keep them that way, preschoolers need a readiness curriculum that encourages “playful learning.”   A strong preschool curriculum builds learning opportunities directly into  play so that learning keeps pace with the growing child.

• Singing, with movement: Develops memory and language, social participation and imitation, rhythm, rhyme and body awareness
• Playing  encourages social skills, such as cooperation, taking turns and following instructions
• Hands on Letter Play: Builds pre-writing skill. The teacher shows how to make letters with dough, wood pieces, or magnetic stamps. They learn letters (and numbers) in multi-sensory active play.
• Coloring  and Drawing : Small crayons  help children develop a good pencil grip and developmentally appropriate pages make for easy coloring and drawing. Building people and simple shapes with wood pieces leads naturally to drawing success. .

(more…)

If your daycare or preschool program does not include curriculum that introduces children to foreign languages, you may want to rethink or restructure your daycare program.

According to experts, introducing children to foreign languages should begin as early as possible. For a child in a daycare center, the advantages and benefits of learning multiple languages at an early age are extremely valuable and continue long into adulthood.

In our interview with Myelita Melton, CEO of SpeakEasy Communications, Inc., and author of the SpeakEasy Spanish™, discusses the importance of teaching foreign languages to young children.

OwnADaycare: What is an appropriate age to begin learning foreign languages?

Melton:  Experts agree that introducing children to second and third languages as early as possible is best. The earlier a child is exposed to another language the greater the likelihood that the child will become truly proficient in the language. Some suggest that waiting until age 10 or later is too late to develop true fluency. (more…)

Winter is the season which begins with the winter solstice, which is around December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, and ends with the spring equinox which is around March 21 in the Northern Hemisphere.

Teach young children about winter through winter themed lesson plans and activities. Consider the following reading lists and resources for free winter worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets for your child care center:

Reading List

Winter Board and Picture Books Baby-Age 3

Winter by Gerda Muller [Florris Books, 1994]

One Winter’s Night by Diane Dillon and Leo Dillon [Puffin, 2005]

Pooh Welcomes Winter by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, A. A. Milne, Robbin Hogan, and Robbin Cuddy [Disney, 1999]

Little Fern’s First Winter by Jane Simmons [Little, Brown, 2001]

Winter Wonderland by Alan Benjamin and Samuel J. Butcher [Golden Books, 2000]

Winter:  Seasons Board Books by Chris L. Demarest [Red Wagon Books, 1994]

Chickadee Winter by Dawn L. Watkins and Gabriela Dellosso [Journey Books, 1999]

First Snow of Winter by Graham Ralph and Sue Tong [Penguin Character Books, 1994]

Barney’s Wonderful Winter Day by Stephen White and Bill Langley [Barney Publishing, 1994}

MIffy in the Snow by Dick Bruna [Big Tent Entertainment, 2004]

Winter Early Readers Ages 4-8

It’s Winter (Celebrate the Seasons) by Linda Glaser [Milbrooke Press, 2002]

Winter’s Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan [Sleeping Bear Press, 2004]

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Helen K. Davie [Collins, 1996] (more…)

One important duty of childcare centers and preschools is to prepare children to enter preschool. Is your child preschool ready?

In this interview with Stacey Kannenberg, co-author of the award winning, California and Texas Approved books Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!, discusses signs of kindergarten readiness.

OwnADaycare: What is kindergarten readiness?  Is there a best age to start kindergarten?

Kannenberg: I believe age 5 is the best time to start Kindergarten.  It might not always work that way due to late birthdays. But I also believe parents and preschool or daycare teachers can start getting children ready for Kindergarten as early as age 2.  Children at a young age can start to learn their colors, shapes, numbers and the alphabet.

OwnADaycare: What are some signs of kindergarten readiness that parents and educators should look for with respect to concept, physical, number, language, reading, and writing development?

Kannenberg:

• Concept development – children will be tested on basic shapes, colors, the numbers 1-10 and the alphabet mixed up
• Physical development – children should be able to use the bathroom, independently as well as able have good motor skills
• Social and emotional development – Share, take turns, answer questions with more than a yes or no response
• Number concept – be able to recognize numbers out of sequence, count objects to 10, start to count toward 100

(more…)

Creative activities for the children in your child care center should foster creative development. Creative activities should promote expression, encourage spontaneity in material usage, and introduce children to textured materials.

A leaf mural is a creative activity that supports creative development and teaches children in child day care centers about seasons. Begin by introducing the children to the concepts of autumn/fall. Read age appropriate board books and picture books that feature the season fall. Take the children on a nature walk. Discuss the signs and symbols of autumn. Let the children collect fall items like leaves, acorns and pine cones. Discuss the colors, textures, smells.  Bring them back to the class and sort all of the items. You may save these items for other fall crafts. (more…)

Activities for young children in child care centers should include physical gross motor activities. Through gross motor activities, preschool age children learn to master balance, spatial orientation, laterality, and the coordination of major muscles.

Children in your daycare center can learn gross motor skills by practicing and by participating in activities which involves hopping, jumping, and climbing. Activities that involve tossing, catching and kicking objects are also great examples of activities that promote the development of gross physical motor skills.

Activity Materials List (more…)

Early learning goals for preschool age children involve creative development objectives. According to Mary Mayesky*, “People who work with young children need to understand creativity and have the skills to help and encourage children to express their creative natures. They should realize the importance of creativity for both children and teachers. They should be able to identify creativity in children and be able to help them develop a willingness to express this creativity”.

Preschool teachers and daycare providers have the opportunity to promote creative development by providing art activities that explore an array of media and materials. Creative art activities should also encourage imagination.

This Halloween Cookie Cutter Art lesson plan includes the materials list, preparation instructions and procedures for this activity. Also included are age appropriate learning objectives and an example of the simple supporting verbal cues required to encourage participation and support learning in a child day care center. (more…)