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Step 1: Expand Your Vision of School to Include Community

"Educators shouldn't be the only ones contributing. The community should be creating questions, puzzles, quotes, mind benders, trivia, philosophical and ethical challenges, thought provoking videos, "graffiti walls," brainstorming spaces, and play areas."

Step 2: Reach Out to All Stakeholders

One of the best ways to connect and create an authentic bond is to go to the people who matter most, and meet them on their own turf. A series of community walks are a great way to start.

Step 3: Create a Community Resource Map

A visual representation of your community and the various skills people have to offer is a super way to understand what community resources are available. If you build one, also point out the materials people can supply at cost or for free, the time they can invest in projects, and how they can connect to curriculum, and classroom activities. Include the networks they can utilize to raise awareness of the needs of local children and families, and always promote and foster resource-sharing and collaboration.

Step 4: Connect with Curriculum

Much of what we learn as children and adults happens outside the classroom through real world experiences and from our peers, mentors or on the job.

Step 5: A Design Challenge for the Community

Here is an example of a community challenge to reinvent the school experience. I created the Reinventing School Challenge earlier this year to encourage discussion, empower youth, teachers and communities to design and facilitate change locally.

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1.Family night game: parent can set up an 123 and ABC  interactive stations and have the child come in and match letter or numbers.

2. Create a dedicated writing center. To make writing/prewriting activities inviting to young children, designate a table or desk as your home’s “writing center.” Fill it with open-ended materials that invite exploration and experimentation. Offer kids blank paper in different colors, a small dry erase board, markers, crayons, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, hole punches, and envelopes. Kids who have a variety of materials on hand will be more likely to initiate self-directed writing projects.

3.Supercharge your storytimes. Your daily book reading sessions are golden opportunities to actively build early literacy skills. To boost vocabulary knowledge, watch for words you think your child may not know and briefly define and talk about them.
Resource:
https://blog.brookespublishing.com/24-at-home-learning-activities-to-share-with-parents-of-young-children/

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*We originally published this post near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some things have changed since then, the activities in this post are still great skill-builders for young children!
As schools close due to COVID-19 concerns and new guidelines on social distancing take effect, many parents are home with their young children-and looking for new ways to keep them occupied while building on the skills they've been learning in the classroom. Keeping kids engaged and active (without overusing screens!) can be tough during an unexpected break like this, especially when new safety recommendations put a temporary hold on play dates, restaurant trips, and visits to crowded parks, zoos, and other places kids love.

If you're a parent of young children-or if you work with families-today's post is tailored especially for you. We're bringing you a collection of 24 at-home learning activities parents can use to boost their child's academic, motor, communication, and social-emotional skills while they're home from school. Adapted from some of our best books on early childhood development and education, these fun and inexpensive activities will keep kids learning and give you easy ways to connect with them during this unexpected break in routine.

Please share these ideas with any families who might benefit, and if you have a favorite at-home activity to share, add it in the comments below!

Give mealtime a math infusion. Do your kids like to help out in the kitchen? Meal prep is the perfect time to get children counting, measuring, estimating, comparing, and recognizing shapes. Ask your child to measure and count cups of ingredients, count how many plates and utensils are needed for the whole family, and figure out who has more or less mashed potatoes. Get creative with math during cleanup time, too: you can have your child name the shapes of the dishes and sponges, count the number of steps they took to complete the cleanup task, and predict how many dishes will fit in the dishwasher. (Want more ideas? Download this free tip sheet for 24 ways to have fun with math at home .)

Supercharge your storytimes. Your daily book reading sessions are golden opportunities to actively build early literacy skills. To boost vocabulary knowledge, watch for words you think your child may not know and briefly define and talk about them. When you reread a book, ask your child if they remember what the word means, and try to use the new words at other times of the day to reinforce knowledge. To build letter recognition skills, try pointing to letters as you say their names, singing a slowed-down ABC song while you point to each letter in the book. Turn to random pages in the book and see if children can name and point to the letters themselves. You can follow up by having your child make their own ABC book, finding or drawing pictures for each letter.

Reread all your child's comfort books. When you're home together and it seems like life is slowing down, sink into some comfort rereads of favorite picture books. Kids love hearing the same book many times, and the repetition is actually beneficial to their developing literacy skills, since it gives them multiple chances to absorb the language of the book. If you want to make the most of repeated readings, choose high-quality books with words that stretch your child's vocabulary and language knowledge.

Make a museum. Your child but can make a museum at home with a little imagination and a few simple materials. If your child has collected little treasures over the years (rocks, shells, toy dinosaurs, buttons, etc.), show them how to arrange their collections in themed displays using shoe boxes, small jars, or egg cartons. Help children label their treasures-a great way to practice letter writing and recognition-and build their language skills by encouraging them to give "tours" of their personal museum to visitors. (While you're teaching young children at home, a virtual museum tour might also be a fun way to spark conversations about art and history.)

Start a language-rich restaurant at home. If your kids love restaurants, why not start one at home, and use it to help teach language and literacy skills? Stock your play area with empty boxes, food containers, and restaurant props with writing on them, such as takeout menus, placemats, or a newspaper circular. Read the menu with them, or help them create their own menus from scratch. Help kids make a sign with their restaurant's name. As children play, point out words on the restaurant props and encourage them to spot familiar letters and words.

Measure their masterworks. Are your kids passing the time by making a long cardboard road for their cars, or building a tall tower with blocks? Dig out your ruler and incorporate a little measurement lesson into their play. Show them how to use the ruler to measure the length of their road or the height of their tower. They might have fun predicting how many inches long or feet high their creations are.

Have an adventure-without leaving your living room. Sit with your kids on a rug or couch and pretend you're leaving for a big adventure on a magic carpet, submarine, or school bus. Ask them to share their ideas on where they want to visit, and take turns concocting a story about your adventure. Describe the sights you see and ask kids questions that invite their creative participation: "Look, there's a circus! Can you see the elephants? What are they doing?" "Do you see that school of fish? What do you think fish learn about in school?" This is a great way to strengthen communication skills while having fun with kids who feel cooped up.

Put on a play. Encourage your kids to collaborate on a short play using a few puppets. They can adapt a familiar story or fairy tale, or create their own story together. After they put on the play, talk with them about the story and characters, and ask them questions about how they developed the play.

Set up a home office for kids. This is an indoor activity kids love-they'll enjoy the chance to be "just like you." Set up a pretend office in a corner of your home where kids can make calls, write letters and "send" them, and type important emails. Be sure to provide lots of varied materials for them to work with: an old keyboard to type with, file folders and paper, a calculator, an old phone (toy or real), pens and pencils, tape, envelopes, rubber stamps, and notepads. Then pretend with them-give them a "call" and ask when the mail will be arriving, or ask to have a face-to-face meeting in their office.

Start your own store. Open your own department store in your room or in the playroom. Encourage kids to play different roles-shopper, sales clerk, cashier-and communicate with each other in character (or you can play one or more roles). This is an ideal activity to try if you've been doing spring cleaning; children can browse the items you're getting rid of and "buy" a few items with pretend money.

Have some flashlight fun. This activity can help boost communication skills while easing your child into bedtime. Once your child is in bed, give them a flashlight and play with it together in the darkened room. Take turns shining the light on different things. Ask your child questions about the items in the room, and talk about what you see. Whisper and laugh together, and make up a silly story. Bedtime chats like these hone language skills while helping your child feel safe, secure, and calm.

Open your own "art school." Start by reading your child some favorite picture books and talking about the different techniques the artists used for the illustrations. Then have the child practice fine motor skills by making books or illustrations of their own, using materials such as watercolors, paste, paper, cloth scraps, ribbon, foil, string, stamps, greeting cards, and box tops. When they're done, your kids can hang their masterpieces in a special gallery area or "read" their illustrated books to you or each other.

Make egg carton caterpillars. If you use up lots of eggs, here's a fun fine-motor activity to do with those leftover cardboard egg cartons. Cut the egg section of the cartons into strips, one for each child in your house. Have each child choose a caterpillar body and decorate it with paint or markers or by gluing on different colors or textures of paper. Pipe cleaners make great antennae, and children may even want to add some pipe cleaner legs to their caterpillar. Remind them to draw or glue on a face!

Outline an animal. Does your child have a favorite animal? Draw a simple silhouette of the animal on a big piece of paper and give your child some glue and a bowl of Cheerios or uncooked pasta shapes. Then have the child outline the animal by gluing the cereal or pasta pieces to the page, following the lines you drew. (Always supervise carefully when children are working with small items that could be a choking hazard.)

Social-emotional skills

Have regular emotional check-ins. During challenging times, young children can easily pick up on the stress and worry of the adults in their lives. Disruptions to regular schedules, troubling news stories, and overheard adult conversations can leave a child confused and concerned about the future. Set aside time to check in and connect with your child every day. Talk about your day and what will happen tomorrow. Ask them simple questions: "What was the best part of today?" "Were there any hard parts?" "How did you feel?" "Do you have anything you'd like to talk about?" Listen carefully to what your child says so they know their thoughts and emotions are important to you. (For more social-emotional skill-boosters for children ages 2 months through 5 years, print these free ASQ:SE-2 activity sheets .)

Pound some dough together. Mushing, squeezing, and pounding dough is a great activity for helping kids process feelings of anger, frustration, and helplessness (and housebound grownups might find this just as therapeutic). Mix up some cookie dough (like these "Get the Mad Out" cookies on the PBS website) and mash and knead it together. Or if baking isn't your thing, let the kids smush and pound play dough or clay. They'll let off steam in a safe way and hone their creativity at the same time.

Encourage nurturing play. When the world feels scary, nurturing dolls and stuffed animals is a good way for children to refocus their feelings and practice caring behavior. Set up toy cribs where children can put their "babies" to bed, water tables where kids can bathe their dolls, and places where the babies can be fed with old bottles, sippy cups, and spoons. Help children create caregiving scenarios and praise children for their TLC. (Be sure to include kids of all genders in this activity-every child can benefit from practicing their caring skills.)

Try some therapeutic art, too. Art activities are more than just fun-they can provide children with a powerful outlet for their emotions. Alice Honig describes one example in her book Little Kids, Big Worries : "Lonnie drew a bus and then scribbled all over it with a brown marker. The teacher was puzzled. She did not act disappointed by his scribbles. She did ask him gently to tell her about his picture. The child soberly explained, "That is the ambulance that took my dad to the hospital.' The brown scribbles over Lonnie's picture expressed his dark scared feelings about his father's illness." Teach children how art can be a healthy way to process difficult emotions, and provide them with lots of different materials they can use to express whatever they might be feeling: pages from magazines, photos, stickers, paint and markers in vivid colors, etc.

We hope this post gave you some new ideas to try with kids, and we wish you and your loved ones continued good health and safety. Please let us know how else we can support you in the weeks to come!

20 Stress-Busters for Young Children (designed for early childhood classrooms, but many of the activities can be adapted for home use)
Sample ASQ-3 Learning Activity Sheets Sample ASQ:SE-2 Learning Activity Sheets
The activities in this post were adapted from and inspired by the following books:

Activities 1 and 8: by Donna Kotsopoulos and Joanne Lee

Activities 2 and 3: Connecting Through Talk by David K. Dickinson & Ann B. Morse

Activities 2, 4, 9, 15, and 22: by Betty Bardige

Activities 5-7: Blended Practices for Teaching Young Children in Inclusive Settings, Second Edition, by Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Mary Louise Hemmeter, and Kristie Pretti-Frontczak

Activities 10, 11, 14, and 16: ASQ®-3 Learning Activities by Elizabeth Twombly and Ginger Fink

Activities 12, 17, and 18: Early Literacy in Action by Betty H. Bunce

Activities 13, 19, and 24: ASQ®:SE-2 Learning Activities by Elizabeth Twombly, Leslie Munson, and Lois Pribble

Activities 20,21, and 23: Little Kids, Big Worries by Alice Sterling Honig

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24 At-Home Learning Activities to Share with Parents of Young Children - Brookes Blog

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We originally published this post near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some things have changed since then, the activities in this post are still great skill-builders for young children! As schools close due to COVID-19 concerns and new guidelines on social distancing take effect, many parents are home with their young children-and looking [...]

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1.This link is important to developing self-regulation as well
as for promoting language,
cognition, and social competence for three and four year olds for play and learning environment.
https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/53567_ch_10.pdf

2.HighScope preschool link Building independence, creativity, problem-solving, and academic skills for three to five year olds.
https://highscope.org/our-practice/preschool-curriculum/

3. ABC Foundation help children recognize and write each letter in both upper- and lowercase forms and know the primary sound each letter represents.
https://products.brookespublishing.com/ABC-Foundations-for-Young-Children-P637.aspx

4. Creative Curriculum covers 10 area of development and learning, including broad developmental areas, content areas, and English language acquisition.https://www.lionheartkid.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Creative-Curriculum-Overview.pdf

5. Teaching Strategies help early childhood educators build  environment and provides a foundation for success for every child by connecting teachers, children, and families to inspired teaching and learning experiences, informative data, and stronger partnerships through the leading early learning platform and solutions.
https://teachingstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SC-GOLD-Alignment-PS-2013-1.pdf

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This is my weekly classroom schedule:
November: 8-12
Letter: I

Number: 11

Schedule | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Morning Meeting
7:45-8:15
*Start cleaning up by 7:40 | Meditation: 1 min
Greeting: Quick greeting
Share: How was your weekend?
Activity: body parts
Message: Good Morning Chanticleers! Today  is Monday.  Do you like music? | Meditation: 1 min
Greeting: Quick greeting

Share: Can we have different feelings about the same thing?(object)Activity: Concepts( sorting colors)
Message:  Good Morning Chanticleers! Today  is Tuesday. What instruments did you hear? | Meditation: 1 min
Greeting: Quick greeting

Share: What do you like most about school so far? What would you like to see changed?

Activity: body parts
Message:  Good Morning Chanticleers! Today  is Wednesday. What type of music have you listened to lately? | Meditation: 1 min
Greeting: Quick greeting

Share: If you could change your name what would it be?

Activity: Concepts( sorting colors)

Message:  Good Morning Chanticleers! Today  is Thursday! What did you learn today that you didn’t know before we started the lesson? | Meditation: 1 min

Greeting: Quick greeting

Share: What are you going to do this weekend?
Activity: Labeling body parts
Message:  Good Morning Chanticleers! Today  is Friday! What are you doing this weekend?

Class Bathroom Break & Outdoor Exploration8:15-9:00 | Bathroom Time
MM84 | MM24 | MM65 | MM22 | MM14
Outdoor Exploration

Shared Reading9:00-9:15 | Skill: Where do we start reading (@the 1st word)
Which way do we go when we read? (left to right)
Book: M is for Music  | Skill: Where do we start reading (@the 1st word)
Which way do we go when we read? (left to right)
Book:  Jazz baby  | Skill: Where do we start reading (@the 1st word)
Which way do we go when we read? (left to right)
Book: Because | Skill: Where do we start reading (@the 1st word)
Which way do we go when we read? (left to right)
Book:  The Obie Goes Boom, Boom, Boom | Skill: Where do we start reading (@the 1st word)
Which way do we go when we read? (left to right)
Book:  Pete the Cat: the Pete’s go Marching

Question of the Day9:15-9:30 | FQ:What other musical instruments are there? How do people play them?
QOD:Do you know someone who plays an instrument? | FQ:What other musical instruments are there? How do people play them?
QOD:What shapes do you see on this instrument? | FQ: What other musical instruments are there? How do people play them?
QOD:How do you think people play this instrument?(show a cello and play video) | FQ: What other musical instruments are there? How do people play them?
QOD:How do you think people play this instrument?(show a saxophone) | FQ: What other musical instruments are there? How do people play them?
QOD:Can we make an instrument with these? (display an empty box and rubber bands)

Reading Interest Areas9:30-10:15 | PK4:
PK3: ITC LL08 Memory GameSet of duplicate pictures or objects | PK4:
PK3: ITC LL10Rhyming Chart & add rhythm sticks | PK4:
PK3: ITC LL12 Same Sound Sort | PK4:
PK3: ITC LL45 Observational Drawingpg 51 Option 2 | PK4:
PK3: ITC LL18 What’s Missing; use objects related to music
PK3 Groups | PK4 Groups
Group 1: | Group 2: | Group 1: Amani, Blessin, Cashton, Jayceon, Navaeh, Shy’Lynn,   | Group 2: Kymani, Reign | Group 3: Princeton, Christian, & Lance

2nd Step10:15-10:30 | Week 10
Skill: Same or Different Feelings | Week 10
Skill: Same or Different Feelings | Week 10
Skill: Same or Different Feelings | Week 10
Skill: Same or Different Feelings | Week 10
Skill: Same or Different Feelings

Heggerty10:30-10:45 | Week 9 | Week 9 | Week 9 | Week 9 | Week 9
Eureka Interest Areas10:45-11:30 | PK4: M2, L1
PK3: ITC M50 | PK4: M2, L2
PK3: ITC M47 | PK4: M2, L3
PK3: ITC M23 | PK4: M2, L4
PK3: ITC M21 | PK4: M2, L5Sort by 2 attributes (shape and size)
PK3: ITC M42
PK3 Groups | PK4 Groups Group 1: Ezra, Khaleo, Carter | Group 2: London & Zyaria | Group 1: | Group 2 | Group 3

Class Bathroom & Outdoor Exploration11:30-12:15 | Bathroom Time
MM84 | MM24 | MM65 | MM22 | MM14
Outdoor Exploration

Writing Interest Areas12:15-12:45 | Small group 1
playdough | Small group 2
Lacing cards | Small group 3Droppers with food coloring to make orange( red/yellow) | Small group 4
Cutting practice  | Whole group:  Make a guitar

Lunch12:45-1:15

Read Aloud1:15-1:30 | Book:There was an old woman who lived in a shoe | Book: My Name is CiliaBDC 27; 1st read a loud | Book:The Bear, the piano, the dog, and the fiddle | Book:Rap A Tap Tap | Book: My Name is CiliaBDC 27; 2nd read a loud
Nap1:30-3:00

Closing Circle & Dismissal3:00-3:30

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My name is Deloris Washington,
I've earned an Early Childhood Credential from Beaufort Technical college, and an Associate degree in Medical Assistance from Southeastern University College; I am attending University of Phoenix to gain my Bachelor degree in Early Childhood.  I work for 20 year in education with children in a variety of ways. My areas of expertise and experience encompass Preschool education program, and special education program. I am also a Dss Liaison Director for 2 years; for the pre-k program. I am so excited to teach in a blended class of 3's and 4's at Meeting Street Elementary @ Burns. I can't wait to get to know each and every student.
My philosophy is each child is unique, they learn and thrive at their own pace. It is my desire to meet the students full potential and provide a safe learning environment. Creating a stimulating learning environment where they can grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially, not only in the classroom but also outside of the class. I am looking forward to working together with you as partners in your child's growth and development!!