Dream Big Preschool (4-5)
This is an ongoing, weekly class, meeting 5 times a week, for preschool age children, teaching Early Childhood Education from September 2020 to May 2021
Shelagh Knickerbocker
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(8)
What's included
5 live meetings
4 hrs 10 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
Teaching means making a difference in a child’s life by giving them a well-balanced and loving environment, with a lot of opportunities for exploring according to their temperament. It is giving your self to help them develop a secure sense of self, with a love for learning. All children learn in different ways and pace. My job as a teacher is to recognize the different temperaments of each child and supply it with a diverse classroom. A classroom, that promotes a nurturing environment, with multiple activities. My goal is to serve them with a secure, caring and stimulating experience, so they can grow and mature emotionally intellectually, physically and socially. The child’s role as a learner is to question their environment and explore outcomes. Children are very attune to their environment and will pick up behavior mirrored by the adults and peers. Our job is to talk, listen and observe the child and to build good moral boundaries. My philosophy on child development in preschool for children ages 2-5 is guided by the theories of psychologist Bondura and Vyotsky. Albert Bondura Learning Theory is based on social learning, where behaviors can be learned through observation and modeling. By observing others, including parents and peers; children develop new skills and acquire new information. Where Vyotsky’s Sociocultural Theory proposes a seminal learning theory. He believed that children learn best by being active and being exposed to hands-on learning. (verywell.com Child Development Theories and Examples) All children have the opportunity to explore and interact with all the learners in their class. During active learning multitude of activities are offered. The activities paired to a theme where children learn about the world and its environment. As an example the theme is Dinosaurs, I present the classroom with a lesson plan, which incorporates the theme of the week through books, stories, songs, science and math projects, art and craft projects that fit the theme. Offering multiple activities for the children to explore and learn, allows the child to make choices to fit its temperament and learning style. The objective of the teacher is to be involved in child’s play and observe the child’s experience. Making sure every child’s needs are met. While some children enjoy art at different levels and have different sensory needs, the activity is always open-ended. We encourage the exploration of the curriculum for each individual since it’s the process and not the product that counts. For children with high energy levels, art with music and movement opportunities are incorporated. Open ended and hands on activities are presented and will develop curiosity and positive thinking. When children are presented with interesting lessons and invited to carry out a dialog, they have the opportunity for input, ideas and goals setting. The lesson becomes richer than could have imagined. In order to help develop love and respect for themselves, others and their environment It is a must to incorporate shard ideas and a fair approach to discipline. When children are presented with a save and loving environment, they develop a great respect for their teachers and peers. Consequences for undesirable behaviors are discussed and their positive behavior is recognized. I for instance have a behavior chart where children’s clips move up and down the chart, depending on their behavior. At the end of the day each child gets to decide if they earned to put a marble in a jar. Parents can reward their child as seemed fit. Nobody gets left out and they learn how to take responsibility. Working close with the parents/family of the children is essential to the child’s wellbeing at school. I keep the parents updated with the weekly activities through Outschool . I can share updates about the children’s progress.
Learning Goals
Learners will be introduced to language and literacy, encouraged reading/story-time, basic math skills, colors, and fine motor skills. They will learn to read, write, build their math and science skills, and become successful students.
I also incorporate Mindfulness skills into the curriculum where children will learn to deal with their feelings and gain an understanding of compassion and kind-fulness for each other and the world.
Every morning we will sing a good morning song, check the calendar and talk about the weather, the alphabet, and mindfulness practices.
Example:
September
Week One:
Monday
*Mindfulness: meditation bell, breathing exercise. feelings.*The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing
*Building tour: take the children on a tour around the classroom. Discuss the things you see and items that can help you remember where things are.
*Make name tags: allow children to make or decorate name tags that will be used in the room (attendance boards,).
*Write your name: practice name writing
*Going to school: add materials for children to use to prepare for school. Include name tags, glue, crayon boxes, chalk boards, clipboards, etc.
Tuesday
*Who is missing: have all children mute them selfs. Raise name tag of child and have them share something about them selfs. *Calendar: introduce children to the calendar. Discuss the month, day of the week, numbers, etc. You could begin counting days of school as well.
*Use markers and crayons: allow children to use crayons and markers to draw. Discuss rules for using markers and crayons as the children color.
*Make Playdough: flour, cream of tarter, food coloring, oil, hot water, bowl, parents supervision.
Wednesday
*Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
*Cut and glue: allow children to use scissors to cut paper and glue the pieces to construction paper to create a collage. Discuss the rules for using scissors and glue as children work.
*Music and movement
Thursday
*David Goes to School by David Shannon
*How many friends: count how many friends are in the class
*Decorate all about me bags: (brown or white paper bag) and allow them to decorate it as they choose. Asking parents to help children fill the bags with items that tell about them (pictures, favorite toys, etc.). The children then bring the bags back to class and share the items inside so that the children can get to know more about each other.
*What I want to learn: ask children to tell you what they hope to learn or do at school this year. Write down what they tell you and ask them to draw a picture of themselves at school.
Friday
*The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
*Share your all about me bag.
Week Two:
Monday
*Two Eyes, a Nose and a Mouth by Roberta Grobel Intrater
Ask children to name body parts. Give hints if children cannot think of parts to name. Have them draw a person while we are naming body parts.
*My favorite things collage: Parents provide magazines and scissor, and encourage children to cut out pictures of their favorite things or things they like. Use the pictures to make a collage. Allow children to tell about their collages when finished.
*Write the letter of the week A
*Freeze tag
*Doctor’s office: What do you see in a doctor’s office. Include white coat, masks, thermometer, stethoscope, file folders, doctor forms, scale, gloves, bandages, gauze, etc.
Tuesday
*I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
*Look in a mirror: provide mirrors for children to look in and study their faces. You could ask them questions about themselves or simply let them look.
*Self-portrait: provide paper and paints or markers and encourage
children to paint/draw self-portraits. You could include mirrors at the
table so that the children can look at themselves as they paint. Have the children write their names on their portraits.
*All about me dictation: ask children questions that tell different things about themselves. Ask them to draw a picture of themselves (or you can use the self-portraits they create in art to go with the dictations).
*Follow the leader
Wednesday
*My Two Hands/My Two Feet by Rick Walton
*Count body parts: name body parts and ask children to count how many they have. You could also count how many there are in the whole class. Create a chart or graph to record results.
*Hand or footprint art: allow children to create artwork using only their handprints or, if brave enough, footprints
Thursday
*The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald
*Fingerprints: use ink or paints and have each child make fingerprints and handprints. Provide magnifying glasses for children to use while looking at the fingerprints. Discuss how all fingerprints are different and unique to each person.
*Toilet paper tube people: provide a toilet paper tube for each child. Lay out a variety of collage materials (wiggle eyes, construction paper, pompoms, yarn, etc.) and encourage children to make people using the tube as the trunk of the body.
*The Best Part of Me dictation: after reading the book, create your own class Best Part of Me book. Ask each child to tell you what their favorite part is and why.
Friday
*I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
*Height chart: measure each child in the class and create a chart to display everyone’s height. Check their height each quarter of the year so they can see how much they’ve grown.
*Free art: choose a medium and allow children to create anything they choose. Have them tell you about what they created and write what they tell you. Display the art along with its dictation in the classroom.
**Since this week is largely about body parts, you may want to have a discussion at some point about what body parts are appropriate or inappropriate to discuss during activities.
Week Three:
Monday
*That Tickles: The Disney Book of Senses by Cindy West
*Feely bags: bring a bag that children cannot see through. Place an item in the bag without children seeing what it is. Describe what you are feeling and see the child can guess what it is simply by description. When the child guesses correctly, take the item out so that everyone can see what it is. Repeat as many times as desired.
*Texture collage: provide a variety of materials with different textures and allow children to create collages. Items could include sandpaper, felt, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, corduroy, etc.
*Write the letter of the week: B
*Discuss Book read.
Tuesday
*David Smells by David Shannon
*Smell jars: use small plastic containers and add items for children to smell. You could include cinnamon (spice or stick), vanilla extract, mint extract, soap, shampoo, coffee, zest or juice from lemons, limes, oranges, etc. Liquids can be put on a cotton ball and then place the cotton ball in the container. If you worry about spices being spilled, you could coat the bottom of the container with glue and then put the spice in the glue (depending on the glue you use, this could change the smell of the item). You could also use containers with holes in the lids and glue the lids on so that children don’t actually have access to whatever is inside the container. Make cards with pictures of the items and see if the children can match them.
*Playdough: you could also add scented items to the playdough (herbs, lavender, flowers, cinnamon, extracts, etc. would work well in homemade playdough).
Wednesday
*Two Eyes, a Nose and a Mouth by Roberta Grobel Intrater
*Eye color graph: create a class graph showing how many children have each color of eyes. Allow children to look at their friends eyes and name the colors or allow each child to look in a mirror and discover the color of their own eyes.
Thursday
* Listen to the sound of the bell, can you hear the different sounds?
Sound jars: gather containers that children cannot see through. Place different items in the containers. Shake the containers and try to guess what is inside. You could provide pictures of each item you placed in the container so the children have items to choose from. Or you could show them the items before you place them in the containers.
Have children bring an instrument to class so we can dance or sing while playing them.
*Lace bells on pipe cleaners: provide bells and pipe cleaners and encourage children to lace. You could allow each child to make a bracelet with their bells and pipe cleaners and keep them for use during music time.
Friday
*My favorite (taste and graph): choose a food to taste test. Try different types of candy, milk, cereal, fruit, ice cream, juice, etc. Choose something that has variety. Allow children to taste each item and vote for their favorite. Create a graph to show the results.
There will be no fourth week in September since I will be moving from Colorado to Oregon.
Weekly themes:
September
*Welcome to our Class!
*All About Me
*My 5 Senses
October
*Apples
*Fire Safety
*Trees and Leaves
*Pumpkins *Halloween
November
*Foods We Eat
*My Family
*Thanksgving
*Birds
December
*Night
*Holidays
*New Year’s Eve
January
*Snow and winter (2 weeks)
*Pets
*Bears
February
*My Feelings
*Valentine’s Day
*Dental Health
*Transportation
March
*In the Forest
*On the Pond
*St. Patrick’s Day
*Spring (2 weeks, 2nd week in April)
April
*Eggs and Bunnies
*Bugs (2 weeks)
May
*Bubbles
*Community Helpers
*In the Garden (2 weeks)
Other Details
Supply List
In order for parents to prepare their children to enjoy a successful learning experience I have posted a list of items needed for the month of September. A lot of the items bought at the beginning of the semester will be reused. I will update the list with every new month, according to the lesson plan.
1. Empty name tag: circa 3x9 inches of poster-board. Glue, crayons, calk-board and chalk, paint, markers, construction paper, paint
brushes.
2. Flour, cream of tarter, food coloring, vegetable oil, warm water, bowel, plastic bag for storing, parent supervision.
3. Scissors, glue, construction paper.
4. Brown or white large paper-bag, art supplies (stickers, paint, etc.).
5. Filled paper-bag from last class.
6. Paper, glue, scissor, magazines.
7. Mirror, paper, crayons and markers.
8. Paper and paint.
9. Ink ad, paper, toilet paper roll, collage materials (wiggle eyes, construction paper, pompoms, yarn, etc.).
10. Art supplies for free art.
11. Texture collage: variety of materials with different texture (sand-paper, felt, bubble wrap, card-board, corduroy, etc.).
12. Smell jars: plastic containers with cottenballs soaked in different aromas. ( lemon, coffee, cinamon or other extracts).
13. Art supplies for free art.
14. Instruments from home, lace bells, pipe cleaners.
15. Foods to taste: candy, milk,cereal, fruit, cheese, crackers, etc.External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2020
5.0
8reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
My name is Miss Shelagh.
I teach beginning Mindfulness in Early Childhood Development through play. We will work on projects together, sing, dance, read stories, and go on Magic Carpet rides exploring the world. The children will have fun acting out their adventures while exploring the management of their emotions, environment and challenging situations, gaining confidents, empathy, kindness for self and others.
The benefits for Mindfulness in children are:
1. Mindfulness is beneficial for attention and focus
2. Mindfulness helps with regulation of emotions
3. Mindfulness helps with social interaction and social relationships
4. Mindfulness is and invaluable set of skills for life.
I have been an accredited preschool teacher since 1999, and working in the field since 1993. My last two years teaching in a classroom was in a Pre-kindergarten class at a school I have been at for the last six years. I practiced mindfulness in the preschool classroom and I have also taken a Mindfulness course geared towards Early Childhood Development.
Teaching children is my passion and I cannot imagine doing anything else.
I practice mindfulness daily with meditation, yoga, and gratitude
I believe in serving children with a secure, caring, nurturing, and stimulating experience. Enabling them to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. It will awaken their curiosity about their environment, and encourage them to explore situations. Providing the children with multiple experiences to encourage exploration and learning, allows them to make choices which fit their temperament and learning styles.
My objective as a teacher is to be involved in child's play and observe the child's experience. Making sure every child's needs are met. While some children have different emotional needs.
I incorporate hands-on learning with songs, story time, breathing techniques, and guided meditation into the lessons.
Let me share a fun story with you.
I have a pet parrot named Cilemite. She is mostly green with a yellow head and wings. She is a lot of fun until she misbehaves. The other day I opened the front door to go outside, and she escaped. I ran out and was worried I would not get her back. She flew over the roof to the house next door on to their roof. The roof was covered with snow and she landed "plop" right into it. She had never been in snow, and I guess she did not like it. She turned around and flew on top of my head and I took her inside. She was shaking and licking her claws because she was so cold.
Since then she has not tried to escape again.
I am very excited to get to know you and your children.
Kindly,
Miss Shelagh Reviews
Live Group Class
$60
weekly ($12 per class)5x per week
50 min
Completed by 18 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 4-5
3-6 learners per class
