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Step-by-Step Guide To Creating A Calming Corner - Professional Daycare Furniture Manufacturer｜Xiair World

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Discover how to create a calming corner with tools and ideas for classrooms, preschools, and homes. Support kids’ emotional growth and self-regulation with calming strategies and sensory items.

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This initiative is supported by the California Department of Education and the California State Board of Education.

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CDE: TK Students & English Language Proficiency Testing 

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CDE: TK Students & English Language Proficiency Testing 

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Your TK classroom environment sets yours students up for success

You can support students' social-emotional, physical, and cognitive development by creating a Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classroom environment that is engaging, promotes movement, is responsive to the diverse backgrounds and experiences of your TK students, and is accessible to students with disabilities or special needs. Young learners need engagement in play-based projects that are connected to a theme-based integrated curriculum throughout the day. When carefully designed, the classroom environment can extend and reinforce the key curricular goals and concepts students are learning and support healthy brain development. The classroom space you create, individualized to the needs and experiences of your students, will be crucial in helping them get the most out of TK and thus the school years to come.

Organizing a Classroom to Promote Literacy

Every Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classroom area and center can include literacy opportunities for students.

Strategies can include:

Stocking all areas of the classroom with writing tools and materials to encourage children to write and explore reading during play.

Placing books outdoors to encourage students to read everywhere.

Including writing in various places such as well-labeled bins, names on items around the classroom, lists, and children's names in a pocket chart (this provides an organizational structure, student accessibility, and promotes an environment rich in print).

Creating word walls, dictation, and observational drawings to support the systematic introduction of new vocabulary and comprehension of content and new ideas.

Variety of Materials

Offering a wide variety of literacy-building materials allows students to manipulate and practice their literacy skills. Materials should be attractive, inviting, and relevant to a student's interests and culture. Some suggestions are whiteboards, magnetic boards and letters, clipboards, felt boards with story scenes and characters reflective of multiple cultures, and letters and numbers in a variety of forms and textures. Other manipulatives might include:

Puppets for retelling stories.

A listening center for listening and speaking activities.

Picture cards with labels for the writing center.

Magazines and catalogs for collage work.

The list is endless and can be developed throughout the year in conjunction with project-based learning!

Reflections of Home Language

Home language and English should be consistently, and distinctly, reflected in the classroom. For example, when modeling writing or labeling, purple can always be used to print in Spanish and orange for English. If the home language is spoken in the classroom by the teacher, it should be at consistent times. Avoid back-to-back translation, and instead, use gestures, photographs, realia, movement, and songs to convey meaning. Students using home languages should be warmly supported and gently scaffolded through song, storytelling, and other word exploration methods that encourage the practice of academic English.

Cooperative and Self-Directed Learning

Young learners need plenty of space and opportunity for cooperative learning experiences that support their social-emotional, linguistic, physical, and cognitive development, and also support their emerging cultural identities. These experiences help children process new information and enable them to make more substantive connections in their learning. The level of interaction provides children ample opportunity to speak with their peers and builds their language and speaking skills, which is particularly helpful for Dual Language Learners (DLLs).

It's important to incorporate time into the daily routine for TK students to freely choose their learning experiences. Creating a welcoming environment that children can connect with makes for a more productive learning experience. Among the many strategies to accomplish this, a recommended approach is to have your classroom materials (including items from home or other "real-life" objects) and the overall learning environment reflect the diverse cultures and assets children bring from home. In addition, it can be helpful when areas are organized so students can readily access learning materials throughout the classroom, particularly for students with disabilities.

Labeling areas and materials in the environment will assist students with making choices and identifying how specific areas and objects are organized. In addition, the room should include quiet spaces that allow children to relax during stressful times. Resting places should be comfortable, welcoming, and infused with fabrics and textures familiar to children's home lives.

Learning Centers

Learning centers offer young learners the opportunity to engage in child-initiated learning and explore various interests when rotating through various centers. As you plan for integrated learning across all content areas in your classroom, you can consider the following characteristics and ideas for learning center themes: ¹

Learning Center Characteristics

Both active and quiet

Predictable and flexible

Familiar and novel

Indoor and outdoor

Helpful in the development of fine and motor skills

Structured to draw upon the natural patterns of daily routines (e.g., preparing snacks or caring for the environment)

Provides multiple opportunities for individual, partnered, small group, and large group experiences to support independent skill development as well as individualized and cooperative teaching and learning

Ideas for Learning Center Themes

Art, music and movement, and dramatic play

Language and literacy including listening, speaking, reading, and writing

Mathematics and manipulatives, including puzzles and objects that encourage interactive play

Science and technology and computer use

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TKCalifornia classroom environment sets yours students up for success by creating a Transitional Kindergarten classroom environment that is engaging.

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Together, we are transforming California's education system.

The Kindergarten Readiness Act made Transitional Kindergarten (TK) available for four- and some three-year-old children. This legislation gives new support for these students, but it does not include younger children who don't qualify for public preschool because of their age, and who aren't yet old enough to enroll in Kindergarten or a TK classroom.

In California, 77% of working-age parents/caregivers with preschool-aged children are employed at least part time. In 98% of families with two or more working-age adults, at least one works outside the home. In 55% of these families, all adults work. 86% of parents work in single family homes. Single-parent families with young children have strikingly high poverty rates: 62% of preschool-aged children with just one working-age adult at home lived in or near poverty. Transitional Kindergarten is the only program that enrolls children turning five between September 1 and June 2 with no income requirements.Government spending on CSPP, Transitional Kindergarten, and Head Start only covers half of public expenditures on child care in the state of California. Currently California's Public preschool programs lack the capacity to serve all eligible children.

What is Universal PreKindergarten?

Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) is an important part of a statewide effort to provide full-circle support for children and families and transform California's schools to be more community-focused and equitable. This mixed delivery system brings together early education programs, as well as other Pre-K programs serving three- and four-year-old children.

The aim of UPK is to ensure every child - regardless of background, race, zip code, immigration status, or income level - has equitable access to a quality learning experience the year before kindergarten. UPK also ensures families can make a personal choice across programs that can support the specific needs of their children.

UPK is an initiative that bridges programming in the community-based organization, Head Start, and California State Preschool Program to a revisioned UTK to support children in the birth to grade 12. UTK is the state four-year-old preschool program offered at a Local Education Agency or school district. This delivery model provides a free year of preschool to all children turning 5 between September 1 and June 2 of the year they enter school. The UPK program elevates early learning in preschool and UTK to provide parent choice in programming that is play-based and developmentally appropriate to meet the needs of all students across a mixed delivery system that includes a variety of models from private preschool to LEA program models.

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The Kindergarten Readiness Act made Transitional Kindergarten (TK) available for four- and some three-year-old children. This legislation gives new support for these students, but it does not include younger children who don't qualify for public preschool because of their age, and who aren't yet old enough to enroll in Kindergarten or a TK classroom.

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Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits.

A few years ago, I began shifting to a play-based approach in my kindergarten classroom. Research extolled the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of play and called to mind Friedrich Froebel's vision of kindergarten as a place where play and learning go hand in hand.

As I made small changes in my classroom, I began to understand that play is a primary and integral mode through which children make sense of the world, and that it is essential to their development and well-being. In addition, it supports skills like collaboration, communication, and creativity. Offering play can feel challenging when mandated programs and standardized tests are requirements of many school districts, but play-based learning is an effective practice for deepening understanding and engaging children. The key is finding a balance between academic expectations and the developmental needs of young students.

Offer Time, Space, and Materials

As I studied children's play, I saw that their bodies and minds were most engaged and focused when they were offered time, space, and meaningful materials to make sense of what they were learning. Teacher-directed activities and transitions are no substitutes for opportunities for exploration, creativity, and socialization.

Using a "choice time" structure like the one outlined in Choice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, PreK-2 affords children opportunities to learn playfully. Making time for play early in the day optimizes learning and helps to balance a classroom schedule. My students have a 30-minute choice time within our literacy block each morning in addition to a 45-minute choice time at the end of the day.

The classroom environment is designed to engage their minds, meet their sensory needs, and offer practice with academic content. Our classroom includes a block center, math center, science center, book nook, dramatic play corner, sensory table, felt board, and art center. Many of the materials in each center can be integrated into more than one center.

With thoughtfully designed centers, children flow from one activity to the next with a sense of purpose. The art center is a place where children can construct all sorts of creations. Pine cones, tree bark, and other natural treasures are piled into the science center with an old overhead projector for light study. Cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, and counting grids encourage geometric design at the math center. The block center is where children's imaginative worlds come to life.

Creativity and invention stem from some of the simplest materials, and having access to these materials can make the difference in a child's ability to learn.

Other materials are introduced to expand thinking on a certain topic or theme. For example, later in the spring, the sensory table will be filled with soil and the students will begin a scientific study of worms that will eventually lead the students outdoors to the garden.

Use Play to Inform Teaching

I had an initial hesitation surrounding play-based learning because I worried that it would impact my ability to teach district-mandated programs or address required academic standards and assessments. But observing young students as they played gave me new insight on the ways they think and learn. I was able to use that knowledge and address their individual needs more effectively.

Children were more motivated to explore academic standards within their play because it was meaningful to them. After reading Miss Maple's Seeds last fall, the children became fascinated by the knowledge that Eliza Wheeler had created the pictures and story from her imagination. They grew curious about how the book was made. After discussing the book-making process in our circle, a child exclaimed, "We can make books, too!" A few minutes later, a group of children set off to the art center to create books of their own.

The collaborative work of story writing incorporates speaking, listening, and writing standards. Book making has since become a favorite activity, carrying over into other areas of learning.

This winter, a child made a number book and brought it to our math circle to share with the class. Number books quickly became the rage, with each one a little different from the next. One child began a book about groups of 10. A friend offered support by popping up from the table to reference the number grid on the wall. They soon reached 200.

Given time, space, and materials, these children were able to explore mathematical concepts at their ability level while also contributing to other children's understanding. Educational consultant Mike Anderson describes this kind of "self-differentiation" as the place in which learning is "most effective" and "enjoyable"-in other words, their zone of proximal development.

Understand Child Development

Understanding how play supports learning means understanding how children learn. Just as a tree's roots form a foundation on which the tree can thrive, our teaching must have roots in child development in order for children to thrive.

Once my students had experienced play-based learning, they were more focused, motivated, and purposeful. Most important, they were happier. Bringing play-based learning to my classroom created balance, deepened our learning, and defined our classroom community as a place where we could learn and grow together.

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Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits.

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Frameworks, Foundations, Alignment, English + Spanish

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CA UPK Two-pager: Key information for implementers.pdf

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California Educators Together: UPK & P-3 Group

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California Educators Together: UPK & P-3 Group

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Lesson Design Institute
Learn more about the Lesson Design Institute, where you will learn how you can support California educators in high quality lesson design to be shared and showcased with educators across the state.

Learning Resources
Classroom-ready materials from high-quality providers free for educators to blend with their own instructional strategies and share with students and peers.

Collaboration
Group tools help local teams collaboratively develop and share learning materials, instructional strategies, and leadership approaches.

Leadership Support
Resources, programs, and strategies to guide leadership teams in promoting educator excellence, student success, and community support.

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Lesson Design Institute Learn more about the Lesson Design Institute, where you will learn how you can support California educators in high quality lesson design to be shared and showcased with educators across the state. Learning Resources Classroom-ready materials from high-quality providers free for educators to blend with their own instructional strategies and share with students and peers.

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The Multilingual Learning Toolkit: Resources for Supporting PreK - 3rd Multilingual Children

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The Multilingual Learning Toolkit is an online hub for research-based key principles, instructional strategies, and associated, free, practical, and easy-to-use resources that are geared towards educators who teach PreK-3rd Multilingual Learners. As the resource library continues to grow, make sure you stay connected for the latest updates by filling out the short sign-up form at the bottom of the page.
Learn about the project >

Learn about the best way to use this site

To enhance your experience, we recommend you start with learning how to use the Multilingual Learning Toolkit.
Visit how to use this site >

Learn about the best way to use this site

To enhance your experience, we recommend you start with learning how to use the Multilingual Learning Toolkit.
Visit how to use this site >

Excited to explore, but unsure where to begin?

The User Guides are designed to support teachers, administrators and professional development (PD) providers, and teacher education faculty to find a helpful place to start using the Multilingual Learning Toolkit! The guides offer a reflection tool to support educators to identify priorities for their own learning, plus activities and protocols forexploring the resources in the site.

For Administrators
and PD Providers

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Education Faculty

Watch this video to learn more about the Multilingual Learning Toolkit website!

Starter Guide

Foundational Principles

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Best practices + resources

A collaborative effort among organizations and individual experts

A collaborative effort among organizations and individual experts

The Multilingual Learning Toolkit is the result of the partnership between a diverse group of stakeholders, maximizing the expertise of local and national practitioners, researchers, and advocates who are champions for Multilingual Learners (MLs). The guide serves as an introduction to supporting young MLs in PreK-3rd Grade, sharing the foundational principles and evidence-based strategies for instruction that are critical for educators to know.
Explore the Starter Guide >

Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages

Key foundational principles for educators working with Multilingual Learners
Learn about Foundational Principles >

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Multilingual Learning Toolkit * Dual Language * Multilingualism

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Promoting the benefits of multilingualism and providing resources supporting Pre-K through 3rd grade multilingual children and teachers.

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The Teaching Pyramid approach provides a systematic framework that promotes social and emotional development, provides support for children”s appropriate behavior, prevents challenging behavior, and addresses problematic behavior. The WestEd Center for Child and Family Studies offers comprehensive professional development packages for infant/toddler, preschool, and early elementary educators. WestEd”s Teaching Pyramid is based on evidence-based practice originally developed by the Center on the Social Emotional Foundations in Early Learning (CSEFEL), authorized by California Department of Education (CDE), and aligned with California”s Early Learning and Development System.

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All About Young Children: Information for Families on Children's Early Development

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All About Young Children: Information for Families on Children's Early Development

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Elements of English Language Arts

English Language Arts instructional time in TK should focus on the competencies of listening and speaking and reading and writing.

Listening and Speaking

Oral language development for comprehension and collaboration

Presentation of knowledge and ideas with support to add increasing detail, description, and to express thoughts and feelings

According to The Early Language & Literacy Classroom Observation tool, oral language development is most effectively supported when children are actively engaged in conversations that facilitate mutual exchanges of ideas, opinions, and feelings. As a TK teacher, extend conversations in meaningful ways to build specific oral language skills, and additionally introduce and infuse new and challenging vocabulary throughout the day.

Reading and Writing

Print concepts

Phonological awareness

Phonics and word recognition

Fluency

Opportunities to produce written communication through dictation, drawing, and writing that offer opinions, retell stories, and give information

Book reading is an integral part of the daily experience and can occur in a variety of settings and groupings. Engage students in stories to support comprehension, while introducing them to the features of text, authorship, print rules, pictures and ideas, in addition to building vocabulary. Additionally, using rhymes and alliteration throughout the day is a fun way to build children's awareness of sounds.

Motivate children to use their emerging writing skills by having many materials available throughout the classroom that encourage print and writing, both spontaneously in play and during routines. Model writing and support dictation by writing stories with ideas generated by your students, and support understanding of print conventions by making charts demonstrating upper and lower case letters, spelling and spacing, and other conventions. Help children recognize and learn to write letters of their name and common words, and engage them in the development of environmental print for labels and to express ideas.

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English Language Arts instructional time in TK should focus on the competencies of listening and speaking and reading and writing. Oral language development for comprehension and collaboration Presentation of knowledge and ideas with support to add increasing detail, description, and to express thoughts and feelings According to The Early Language & Literacy Classroom Observation tool, oral language development is most effectively supported when children are actively engaged in conversations that facilitate mutual exchanges of ideas, opinions, and feelings.

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Birth to age five: Support early childhood education (ECE) programs to create literacy-rich environments and experiences and support the quality of ECE programs and their capacity to support early language and literacy skills; Birth to age five: Increase parenting support by increasing parental knowledge, skills, and confidence through parenting curriculum and literacy activities with special attention to access and equity for all; Transitional kindergarten to grade 5: Build teacher capacity for Tier 1 foundational skills and reading comprehension, including best first reading and writing instruction.; Transitional kindergarten to grade 5: Build school capacity for effective literacy and English language instruction for English learners, including opportunities to develop biliteracy and primary language instruction whenever possible

Celebration of diversity and asset-based approach; Whole child; Well-prepared and supported teachers and leaders; Family and community engagement

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For any questions or further assistance please contact us at caetsupport@kern.org

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Early Literacy Education in the PK and TK Classrooms and at Ho...

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Birth to age five: Support early childhood education (ECE) programs to create literacy-rich environments and experiences and support the quality of ECE programs and their capacity to support early ...

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Supporting Documents: PFL Health 1.0 Basic Hygiene pg.80 

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California PLF, Vol. 2 Health 1.0 Basic Hygiene 

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California PLF, Vol. 2 Health 1.0 Basic Hygiene 

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American Family Physician - Toilet Training 

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American Family Physician - Toilet Training 

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Most children are ready for toilet training by 18 to 30 months. Typical signs that children are ready include:

Being able to walk without help

Being able to take off their clothes

Being able to communicate that they need to use the toilet

Being able to follow simple commands

Showing an interest in toilet training (such as asking to wear "big kid" underwear or imitating parents)

There is no "best" training method, so use the approach that works best for your child and your family. Think about how your child learns best. There are two main approaches: child-oriented training (also called the Brazelton method) and structured behavioral training (also called the Azrin and Foxx method). The child-oriented approach allows training to go at the child's own pace. The structured behavioral approach uses treats and praise when the child successfully uses the potty chair, and gentle discouragements when there are accidents. There are some smartphone apps to help parents and children with toilet training, but these haven't been studied enough for doctors to know how they compare with other training methods.

Setbacks are normal during toilet training. Try to take a patient, encouraging approach. Toilet training typically takes longer for boys. Don't try to train your child before he or she is ready. Starting too soon can end up taking longer. Try not to start training when there are other stressors in your child's life (such as a recent or upcoming move, or the arrival of a new sibling).

Let your doctor know if your child refuses to use the toilet, hides when needing to have a bowel movement, is constipated, or wets the bed. It's okay to take a break from toilet training if there are setbacks, and many of these problems will go away over time.

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Most children are ready for toilet training by 18 to 30 months. Typical signs that children are ready include:

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Developmentally Appropriate Toileting Practices Toolkit 

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CA Developmentally Appropriate Toileting Practices Toolkit 

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CA Developmentally Appropriate Toileting Practices Toolkit 

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Overview of the Alignment Between the Health Domain + California Content Standards - Health Habits 

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Overview of the Alignment Between the Health Domain + California Content Standards - Health Habits 

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CDC Safe + Healthy Diaper Changing Steps in Home Settings

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CDC Safe + Healthy Diaper Changing Steps in Home Settings

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CDC Safe + Healthy Diaper Changing Steps in Home Settings - Spanish 

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CDC Safe + Healthy Diaper Changing Steps in Home Settings - Spanish 

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In early childhood education, observation tools play an important role in understanding the quality of the classroom environment. While some tools focus on the quantity and types of materials and displays, other tools may focus more on how students engage with their environment or how the environment supports interactions and learning.

Let's dig into one of the tools: the CLASS Environment™.

Many environmental measures are used to define program quality in preschool and childcare settings across the United States. So, what makes CLASS Environment stand out? Let's dig into three key aspects: what the tool measures (and what it doesn't), how to use the data collected, and how to get trained to observe.

Key takeaways:

Redefining "right." Information collected by CLASS Environment provides specific and actionable information that educators can use to enhance their interactions rather than focus on having the "right" materials or arrangements.

Quality over quantity. Observers and educators using CLASS Environment quickly realize that this tool is designed to measure the type of environmental elements that support meaningful interactions, and facilitate their use in ways that enhance children's engagement and learning.

Streamlining data. CLASS Environment allows for easy collection of environmental data without additional cost or the burden of learning multiple tools or sending out multiple observers to classrooms.

Cost, time, and investment. When investing in your program, you want every dollar to count. CLASS Environment is priced to help you get the most out of your budget.The cost of the training for CLASS Observers includes print materials and access for educators to an online course to help them understand the tool at no additional cost. Plus, CLASS Environment observations add roughly 15 minutes to a CLASS observation, helping you make the most of the time that observers spend in a classroom.

What the CLASS Environment Measures (and What It Doesn't):

The CLASS Environment™ focuses on observing and measuring the elements of the classroom environment that have a significant impact on educator-child interactions. It provides insights into the essential environmental elements for promoting effective interactions, including the room arrangement, materials, and displays. For many of the elements, observers are looking for the "type" of material and not the "quantity" seen in a space.

All items observed in CLASS Environment™ are measured on a three-point scale, reflecting the degree to which an item was present and/or used within the learning experiences.

+ A score of 1 is assigned when the observer does not see evidence of the item.

+ A score of 2 is assigned when the observer sees few, some, or limited instances of the item.

+ A score of 3 is assigned when the observer sees most, many, or varied instances of the item.

+ A score of n/a is assigned when the item does not apply because it is not part of the program (such as technology) or no need for it is observed (such as adaptive supports).

CLASS Environment™ has two age-level variants: one for infant and toddler spaces and one for pre-K and Kindergarten environments. The infant and toddler version includes 32 elements and the pre-K and Kindergarten version includes 29 elements.

It should be noted that CLASS Environment™ was designed to align with the inclusivity enhancements in CLASS 2nd Edition . For example, it looks at furnishings that support all learners and variations in materials to accommodate learners of various levels. And another item looks at "Real-world multicultural materials" to ensure that children see themselves reflected in their environment.

Other elements of the environment such as health, safety, space and furnishings, or use of time are critica and often the focus of licensing requirements. The other elements are necessary as a part of continuous quality improvement systems that CLASS was designed to support.

Bottom line: CLASS Environment is a research-based tool that, when used alongside CLASS, measures the elements of the environment that really matter in supporting the educator-child interaction that matter for child outcomes. By looking at both the quality of the environment, and the quality of interactions in context of each other, educators receive a more comprehensive and holistic picture of the quality of learning experiences.

How to Use the Data:

The CLASS Environment™ and other classroom environment tools provide valuable data that can inform instructional practices and promote continuous improvement in early childhood education. In fact, these tools are often used in statewide Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to measure quality in preschools and childcare settings at scale.

CLASS Environment offers opportunities to streamline both data collection and reporting. Once trained, observers can use CLASS Environment to collect data on specific environmental elements that impact educator-child interactions.

With a subscription to myTeachstone, programs can leverage the updated Data Collection & Measurement Suite that empowers observers to collect and view CLASS Environment data alongside their CLASS data.

By collecting both data sets, programs can generate a comprehensive report that shows the quality of interactions alongside environmental elements to best support data-driven improvements that impact children's development and learning.

How to Get Trained to Observe:

To be qualified to use the CLASS Environment™ tool, participants must hold a valid CLASS Observer Certification aligned with the desired age level (pre-K-K or Infant-Toddler), and complete a CLASS Environment Observer training.

This accessible, cost-effective, 5-hour self-paced training equips observers with the knowledge and skills to observe and measure the environmental elements of the learning setting.

Observers do not need to pass a test or recertify annually, as they would for CLASS® observer certification.

CLASS Environment™ is a companion to the CLASS tool and can be used to observe the elements of the learning environment in 15 minutes or less at the start of the CLASS® observation. Certified CLASS Observers can purchase the CLASS Environment Observer training for $75, and will receive the print CLASS Environment Manual and Score Sheets (a $45 value), and the Educator Environment Overview course is provided to the program's teachers at no additional cost.

Bottom line: The accessibility and flexibility of the CLASS Environment™ training make it a practical choice for educators seeking efficient professional development opportunities.

To learn more about CLASS Environment, visit our web page. Ready to get started? Contact your Teachstone representative to register for a training today!

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Everything You Need to Know about CLASS Environment™

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Look at one tool that measures the quality of learning environments. CLASS Environment looks at the elements that support educator-child interactions.

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Everything a teacher needs to master CLASS: free teaching resources, tips for teacher assessment, and continuing education (CEUs) for teachers.

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Personalized Oral Language Learning (POLL) Strategies – Videos and resources to help early childhood educators support dual-language learners

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Social and emotional skills are fundamental to school, career, and life success. Children are not born knowing how to navigate social situations appropriately, control their emotions, or make friends. So, they must constantly grow and develop these skills through lived experiences and learned lessons.

The activities in this article will help you implement practical classroom lessons that nurture healthy behaviors in preschool-aged children. As children actively participate, they will learn how to regulate their emotions, develop empathy, feel confident, and build positive relationships with others.

How does Kaplan ensure these activities are age-appropriate and support the educational needs of children ages 3 to 4 years old?

As a leader in early childhood education for more than 50 years, we understand the importance of classroom activities that are founded on research and support educational best practices.

All of the activities in this article are inspired by the best-selling Gryphon House book Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children and the exclusive Kaplan pre-K curriculum, Connect4Learning®. We also include discussion topics and a materials list to make your job of lesson planning quick and easy!

What's Your Super Power?

You will create a classroom book highlighting every child's unique abilities for this activity. To begin, read the book Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems or any book that models inclusive collaborative play experiences for children. Discuss the moral of the story with children, which is that our differences make us unique and should not stop children from being friends or playing with others. If you do not have this book on hand, you can still have a discussion with children about innate strengths, differences, and building friendships.

Some questions you can ask the children during this discussion include:

How might you feel seeing someone else doing something you have not learned yet?

How might you invite a friend to play with you if you realize they cannot do some of the things you can do (such as run, jump, draw, or throw a ball)?

How might you invite someone to play if you notice someone standing alone and acting nervous?

How might you feel if you were not invited to play because you could not do something everyone else was doing?

These questions encourage children to consider how their actions might affect others and work to enhance the development of empathy, positive peer bonds, and emotional competence. After the discussion, place the book in your classroom art or literacy center. During small group time, ask the children to draw a picture of themselves and what they consider their best superpower. Use the following prompt to help children uncover their superpower:

*Child's Name* is really good at _______________!

If the children struggle to determine their strengths and superpowers, you can mention what you observe them doing well while at school. Some examples include jumping high, helping friends clean up, knowing every letter in the alphabet, taking care of a class pet, and so on.

Once the child completes their drawing, have them write a sentence to describe the picture using the prompt above. Feel free to assist children with this step if they are new to writing and letter recognition. Bind the pages together and read the book aloud so that every child can share their superpower.

Materials:

Cardstock paper or plain printer paper

Drawing implements such as pencils, crayons, markers, or paint

String, staples, or another material to bind the books

How does this activity support social and emotional development?

Children constantly try to understand their place in the world and how they fit in amongst peers. This activity is a great way to encourage children to focus on their strengths and positive attributes and to notice those same strengths and attributes in others. The more children participate in activities similar to this one, the greater their confidence, self-esteem, and empathy will be.

What inspired this activity?

This activity was inspired by the book Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children . The book also includes activities that promote home-school partnerships, caring practices, and child resilience.

Mirroring Emotions

To begin this activity, read a book on various emotions, such as The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. Discuss with children where our emotions come from, what they might feel like, and how to control big emotions that might negatively impact oneself or others.

This activity will occur during center time rotations and requires a designated space in your classroom to serve as a reflection station. This area should include enough space for the children to draw and should incorporate mirrors. If you do not have mirrors attached to the walls of your classroom in this area, give the children small handheld mirrors instead. Always ensure the mirrors are child-safe and shatterproof before the children interact with them.

Before the children enter the reflection station, create a stack of images or words depicting various emotions. You can draw these images and phrases on a sentence strip, a blank sheet of paper, a cutout from a magazine, or anything you have on hand. Provide children with a mirror, then pull an emotion image or word from the stack and ask them to mimic that emotion as they look in the mirror.

To encourage open-ended communication and recognition of emotions during this activity, ask the children these questions:

What do you notice your lips doing when you show you are happy?

What might someone's face look like when they are angry?

How do you feel when you see someone's sad face?

If your friend makes a face that looks like this, how might they feel?

What is something you might do that would make you feel bored?

If you were angry about a block tower falling over, what might you do to feel happy instead?

Materials:

Mirrors

Drawn or printed images depicting different emotions

How does this activity support social and emotional development?

For young children, mirrors create opportunities to explore body movements, establish early language skills, and begin to recognize and identify different emotions. This activity helps children recognize the physical features of their emotions and how they are presented to the world. Activities like this enhance a child's empathy, self-regulation, and self-awareness skills.

What inspired this activity?

This activity was inspired by the book Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children. The book also includes activities that promote home-school partnerships, caring practices, and child resilience.

Special Delivery

This activity will encourage children to create compliment cards for each other. Start by having a large group discussion about compliments, what they are, and why they matter. Share examples of compliments so children can fully comprehend the term and action.

Write down every child's name on a scrap sheet of paper and place the folded paper pieces in a cup or hat. Ask each child to draw one name. This will be the person for whom they are creating a compliment card. Next, give each child a blank postcard and ask them to identify what they like or find interesting about the person for whom they are writing a compliment.

You can help the children brainstorm ideas by providing prompts such as:

I like it when _______ does __________

I feel happy when _______ does __________

I think _______ is really good at __________

I think ________ has nice ___________

When ___________ does ___________, I feel excited

When creating their compliment cards, encourage the children to:

Write an appropriate greeting on the back that says "To: and someone's name."

Write a sentence or draw a picture of the compliment they wish to give

Once a child completes their compliment card, they can deliver their special message to the intended recipient. Have the children verbally tell that person what they like about them as they hand over the compliment card. After the compliment cards go out to all recipients, ask the children how they feel about receiving their card.

Materials:

Postcards

Various art materials, such as pencils, crayons, and markers

How does this activity support social and emotional development?

The feedback children receive from others plays a key role in shaping their self-esteem and confidence. This activity teaches children about the implications of their words and why it is important to say kind things about others instead of something negative or hurtful. As children share compliments with each other, they will establish a classroom community that encourages positive behaviors, peer bonding, and collaboration.

What inspired this activity?

This activity was inspired by the book Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children and the Connect4Learning Pre-K Curriculum. The book, Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure also includes activities that promote home-school partnerships, caring practices, and child resilience.

Monster Friends

Begin this activity by reading the bookFriends by Mies van Hout. If you do not have this book, read another story that focuses on friendships or discuss with children the potential scenarios they may encounter as they play and interact with others. These scenarios could include laughing, teasing, arguing, playing, hugging, or ignoring.

After your discussion, invite the children to create monster puppets using any materials you have on hand. The children will host a puppet show with their creations, so choose materials that can withstand constant handling and bouncing around. Once all the puppets are complete and ready for the show, divide the children into pairs.

Each pair of children will stand in front of the room. Ask the children watching to name different scenarios and behaviors that the monsters might encounter while they are at school. Some examples include:

The two monsters are building a castle with blocks, and one monster knocks the blocks over

The two monsters are painting in the art center, and one monster gives a compliment

The two monsters are running away from a loud friend on the playground

The two monsters are playing catch with a rubber ball, and one monster is struggling to make good catches

Ask the children performing in the puppet show to use their puppets to act out their given scenario. While acting, ask questions that make the children think about how the monsters might be feeling and how to help them work through any differences and frustrations. Once one pair of children finishes their puppet show, have another pair take their place. Repeat this until all children have a chance to perform.

Materials:

How does this activity support social and emotional development?

As children interact with their peers and develop close friendships, they must learn how to navigate social situations appropriately, both negative and positive. This activity and the use of puppets allow children to learn about and express their emotions without hurting someone else. As children use the puppets to work through different scenarios, they'll better understand the impact their words and actions have on others. This activity is a great way to help children develop empathy, sympathy, and compassion.

What inspired this activity?

This activity was inspired by the book Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure: 50 Activities to Promote Resilience in Young Children and the Connect4Learning Pre-K Curriculum. The book, Socially Strong, Emotionally Secure also includes activities that promote home-school partnerships, caring practices, and child resilience.

Improve social and emotional health through play!

Children are not born knowing how to successfully and appropriately navigate social situations. This is a skill they must constantly work on and develop as they grow. However, incorporating activities like those above can give children some support and guidance as they learn about empathy, collaboration, self-control, and resilience.

Want to add these activities to your weekly lesson plans? Download a PDF version of this article to quickly and easily refer to the materials, activity details, and enrichment opportunities.

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4 Activities To Promote Social and Emotional Development in the Preschool Classroom

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Read this article for research-based social and emotional activities that nurture preschool development! They're easy to implement and include in your lesson plans.

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Less is More: Taking Distraction Out of the Physical Environment 

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Less is More: Taking Distraction Out of the Physical Environment 

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Less Is More_ Taking Distractions Out of the Physical Environment _ NAEYC

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Less Is More_ Taking Distractions Out of the Physical Environment _ NAEYC - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online.