Technology Then and Now

When I had my first family child care setting the only form of technology I used was a 35mm camera, records for music, and occasionally we watched Sesame Street on a small television. Today the whole world has opened up with the use of the Internet, digital cameras, at home photo printing, all in one scan, copy, & print machines, laminators, CD's, & DVD's. Making classroom materials and following the interests of the children is so much easier now. One problem in my original setting was how to have materials at hand but not have everything out at the same time, especially with toddlers in the mix who were still at the dump and pour stage or overwhelmed by all the choices. Today I use clear plastic shoe box containers and make photos of the contents of each box. The children can use the photos to make choices and like a library system the activity needs to be returned before that child can "check out" another activity. I use this same system for the props to songs, finger plays, and stories.

The Importance of Teaching the Value of Time

I love mixed age groups. It is the most natural environment where older and younger children can learn from and with each other.

In child care centers we were slaves to the clock and children were often interrupted from engaged play to move to the next scheduled activity. I grew weary of hearing their groans and disappointment. I came to believe that this regulation of time might play a part in the number of children being diagnosed with ADD & ADHD. Children soon learn to not engage in meaningful play because they will just be told to clean up right when they are getting to the play part of their play. I wonder if there has been brain research done on interrupted play and changes to thought processes? It takes time to figure out who you are going to play with, what you are going to play, and what the rules are before the play actually starts. This is not a good interrupt point. With family child care I can speed up or slow down the clock as needed. It is a finely tuned dance in that some days we Waltz and other days we Jitterbug.

Another way I focus on the concept of time is when I see a child fascinated by something, I stop, I don't interact unless they are interacting with me, I don't interject, I don't break their interest by adding something else now. I wait and watch until I see facial expression, body language, and vocals that will tell me everything I need to know. I also guard the moment for the child. My older kids know if I hold up my hand, put my finger to my lips, or wave them away, that this is not the time to interrupt the the child's thinking or investigations. They also know we will revisit later what the child was experiencing. This revisiting helps the other children understand the importance of time. Time for individual discoveries and time for sharing those discoveries. Without this understanding of time, verbal children interrupt themselves in their rush to share, breaking their own concentration. The best gift we can give any child is a true understanding of the value of time.

7 Wonders of the World

This came to me in an email but I think it speaks to how far we have gone off course about how young children naturally learn and what they really need to have a quality childhood. When a group of students were asked to list what they thought the 7 wonders of the world should be they came up with the usual world monuments except for one child...this is her list:
1. To SEE
2. To HEAR
3. To TOUCH
4. To TASTE
5. To FEEL
6. To LAUGH
7. To LOVE

"The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! A gentle reminder that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man."

Less really can be more!

A New Beginning

I have come full circle after 30 years in early childhood. I started with a family child care setting when my son was small. Then I spent 20 years at child care centers big, and small, at the bottom, in the middle and at the top. During my years at child care centers I never felt like I was where I wanted to be or doing what I thought I should be doing. I was there for the children, yes, but still it didn't seem right. So I muddled my way through until I could come back to a family child care setting. So now after muddling my way through my seventh year back at home I finally realized that even though I was home again I had brought the child care center with me. This became very evident last Winter when my group got younger. With this epiphany came a plan to flip rooms in my house...a five week journey I could write a book about, but in the end I now am sure it was worth all the work.

To take a step back originally I used the biggest space in my home to set my environment up just like I was programed to do...in centers. A place for everything and everything in its place. I then spent several years trying to teach the children how to use this setting appropriately. In hindsight, if I had been paying attention to my observations, I would have realized sooner that it was I who was regulated to this environment not the children. So I have started retraining myself to what a home environment should look and feel like. Yes, we have tables and chairs but there are no defined centers. There are loosely defined areas. Inside there is dress-up and dramatic play materials, music and instruments, and fine motor activities. On the covered porch is the castle, the doll house the kitchen set and the wood blocks and props. Below the porch is an area for plastic blocks like mega blocks, painting easels and chalkboards. This area leads out to the upper driveway where the bikes and trikes are ridden. The children can move between these areas at will choosing quiet or active play on their own schedule. After morning snack I open the gate to the backyard which offers more opportunities for bug hunting, rolling in the grass, and playing with sticks, rocks and plant material. The last area which I am still designing will be their dirt, sand, and garden area. This area because of location will only be open when we are in the backyard. So I have thrown out most of the schedule including scheduled group times, other than snacks and meals we come together when there is a reason instead of because it is on the schedule. Mostly I do things individually and if others join that is fine and if they don't that is fine too.

I have researched many ece environments from Waldorf to Montessori to Reggio Emilia but none of them truly fit my style. I teach intentionally but without following any particular curriculum model. I have not found in a home setting any children interested in long term projects except for anything that involves nature and the natural world. So our forever long term project is to discover and explore each day as it unfolds. This includes the food we prepare and eat, the weather we are exposed to and the the living plants, animals, and bugs we come in contact with. Each day brings new adventures and new opportunities. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is the present we gleefully unwrap. ;)