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Tips for Starting Kindergarten

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Books About Transitioning into Kindergarten

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Books About Transitioning into Kindergarten

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Using Social Stories to Support Transitions

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Using Social Stories to Support Transitions

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Families and Teachers Working Together as Partners

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Families and Teachers Working Together as Partners

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Recommended Immunizations for Children Birth-6 

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Recommended Immunizations for Children Birth-6 

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The Free Library of Philadelphia

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Early Literacy

What Is Early Literacy?

Early Literacy is everything that children learn about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Reading aloud and bringing books into daily life is the key to encouraging and developing a young child's ability to read. By reading, talking, singing, and playing with your child-you give them the foundation for literacy and success!

Write!

Allow and encourage your child to scribble and "pretend" to write. This jumpstarts the skills they need to become successful readers and writers.

Provide lots of paper, crayons, and pencils

Talk to your child about their drawings and write captions below their pictures

Why Is Early Literacy Important?

Lifelong literacy begins long before a child enters school. Reading aloud and bringing books into daily life is the key to encouraging and developing a young child's ability to read. Research indicates that children who have strong early literacy skills become successful readers. Sharing books with children should begin at birth.

Select an age group for more information and book suggestions:

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Early Literacy is everything that children learn about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Reading aloud and bringing books into daily life is the key to encouraging and developing a young child's ability to read. By reading, talking, singing, and playing with your child-you give them the foundation for literacy and success!

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5 Ways to Support Social–Emotional Development in Early Childhood

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5 Ways to Support Social–Emotional Development in Early Childhood

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Supporting children's social-emotional development at an early age builds a solid foundation for their future, preparing children to successfully manage their emotions and behaviors, establish caring relationships with others, follow limits and expectations, and interact in groups. Studies show an increase in student achievement data for children who learn social-emotional skills in their early childhood programs compared to children who do not receive this support.

Teaching Strategies is committed to empowering and inspiring early childhood educators as they teach and care for our youngest learners. Each of these short videos highlights a different social-emotional skill-building strategy-from rules about safety and kindness to ways to build a positive classroom community.

In the videos below, you'll hear from our former CEO, now Vice Chair of the Board at Teaching Strategies, Kai-leé Berke.

1. Use power words.

Some children are able to express their wants and needs effectively during conflict; others need your help. To learn this skill, children must feel empowered to stand up for their rights, particularly when they feel threatened. With younger children, you can begin by teaching short, powerful words and phrases that they can use, such as "Stop!" or "I don't like that." Make sure you use a firm tone of voice to model it. Coupling the phrase with the physical motion of putting a hand up can help children remember the power words and gives them something respectfully physical to do with their bodies in a conflict. Sometimes children resort to physical aggression as a protective, defensive strategy. Using a gesture feels protective without being hurtful to someone else.

2. Help children understand the consequences of behavior.

All behavior has consequences. Using this concept to guide children's behavior allows them to make connections between their actions and what happens in response. It's important to relate the consequence to a child's actions. For example, if a child dumps out a basket of crayons, it produces a related consequence: the child has to pick up the crayons and put them away. To limit power struggles, make sure to use a neutral tone of voice and keep the consequence directly related to the action.

3. Show while telling.

Showing while telling involves talking with children about what they should do as you use gestures and other visual clues to show them. Make sure to stay focused on the positive-the "do" rather than the "don't." For example, you could touch the jackets as you say, "When we have finished putting our jackets on, then we can go outside." You can also use this strategy to draw children's attention to other people's feelings. You could point to and look at Genessa's face as you explain, "Look at Genessa's face. Her frown tells you that she doesn't like it when you push her." Showing while telling is particularly helpful to children who need extra support to understand the meaning of your words.

4. Establish "little rules."

All groups need a few basic rules to help create a safe and caring community. Every classroom should have three or four main rules. I call them the "big rules": "be safe," "be kind," and "take care of property." Young children need help to learn what those big concepts actually mean, and they most certainly will need reminders along the way to follow those classroom rules. So, when enforcing the rules, use the "big rule, little rule" strategy. Pair your big rule-"be kind," for example-with a specific little rule you want them to know: "Be kind. Use a quiet voice in the Library area," "Be safe. Walk inside," "Take care of our classroom. Put the puzzle back in the box when you are finished," or "Take care of your tablet or computer. Put it in a very safe place." Make sure to keep the little rules framed in positive terms so children stay focused on what you want them to do instead of what you don't want them to do.

5. Listen actively and empathetically.

It may sound simple, but the most powerful child guidance tool we have as teachers-and as parents-is active, empathetic listening. A young child experiencing strong emotions needs our attention and our empathy. Here's how to be an active, empathetic listener with young children. First, notice when children are experiencing strong emotions, such as frustration, anger, excitement, sadness, and elation. Move close to the child. Move your body to his or her level. Make eye contact and offer a gentle touch, as appropriate, to let the child know that you're listening. If you are teaching remotely, ask the child to meet with you one-on-one to address the behavior. Repeat back what you hear the child telling you through words and actions in language that she can really understand. Now here's the really important part-reflect the same tone that she is expressing. This lets a child with limited language know that you understand what she's feeling. Your tone and facial expressions are so important in this step, particularly for children whose language skills are still developing. It's your tone of voice and your facial expressions that communicate your understanding of their feelings. It may feel strange or a little uncomfortable the first time you do it, but as soon as it works for you, you won't care what you look or sound like. The child is hearing you and knows that you genuinely understand what she's feeling. When the child calms a bit and seems ready, you can name and explain the feelings. Use words to describe feelings accurately. Once you get the hang of it, this strategy is so easy to use and will be one of the most powerful tools in your tool box.

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5 Ways to Support Social-Emotional Development in Early Childhood

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Each of these short videos highlights a different social-emotional skill-building strategy to implement in the classroom.

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Wide Open School is a collection of free distance learning activities and resources for kids in preschool - grade 12 and their families and teachers.

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This virtual Calming Room was designed to assist students in finding different strategies and tools for managing emotions. Hopefully this resource is helpful and used proactively, or when life gets a bit overwhelming.

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Sesame NYC Family is brought to you by Sesame Workshop, the non-profit, educational organization behind Sesame Street. This all-in-one mobile experience helps you and your child explore teacher-selected preschool topics through media, hands-on activities, and parent supports.

How do I get to Sesame Family? - +

Through her classroom newsletter, your child's teacher invites you to a 'virtual backpack' of family resources waiting for you online. Simply follow the link or copy and paste the site's address into a web browser to access Sesame Family for your child's classroom. Your teacher's name at the top of the Backpack welcomes you to a world of shared learning directly from your child's teacher to you.

What's inside Sesame Family? +

As a family, explore the same topics and skills that your child is exploring at school. In every teacher-selected bundle, you'll find: * MEDIA: Explore the carefully-selected Sesame videos and games with your child. Use the conversation starters to spark a discussion about the topic and skills. * HANDS-ON: Play and learn together with a simple hands-on activity. Don't forget to send it back to school to celebrate and share with your teacher! * PARENT GUIDE: Get tips and ideas for supporting school readiness in your everyday routines.

Will the media and activities change? +

Sesame Family is a dynamic site with content that updates throughout the year. Your child's teacher will select topics related to the learning covered at school. Visit the site regularly to enjoy new content and ideas for fun family learning.

When should we use Sesame Family? +

The Sesame Family experience is designed to fit your family's busy schedule. The goal of the site is to support shared learning whenever you can, wherever you are. Any time you find a few moments, whether it's waiting at the doctor's office or quiet moments before bed, you can explore Sesame Family together. We suggest spending 15 minutes per week with the videos and games, and 15 minutes for hands-on learning. Ready for more ideas? Follow the link to Sesamestreet.org.

Can my child play independently, or do I need to be there? +

The main goal of Sesame Family is to support shared learning experiences between you and your child, but that doesn't mean your child can't have fun on his own! Take time to visit the site together and use our conversation sparks to help talk about school learning. Afterwards, if your child is interested, he can reinforce the learning by replaying the videos and games independently.

What is there for parents at Sesame Family? +

Sesame Family is as much for parents and the other caring adults in a child's life as it is for your child. Parents and caregivers can: * Learn about the topics and skills your child is exploring at school * Explore media and hands on activities to promote shared learning at home and on the go * Receive tips and strategies on helping your child learn and grow * Be a more active partner with the teacher in your child's development * Feel a stronger connection to your child's classroom community

Can I share my child's Sesame Family with other family members (grandparents, aunts/uncles, older siblings, babysitter, child care provider)? +

There may be several important adults in your child's life who support her learning. We encourage you to share your Sesame Family link with other family members to explore together with your child.

Can I access Sesame Family on a smart phone, tablet, or other mobile device? What are the technical requirements? +

Sesame Family is designed for play wherever you are - on a desktop computer or any mobile device (iOS or Android). All you need is an Internet connection to unpack the learning. We support the following browsers: Internet Explorer 8-11, Chrome 34, Firefox 30 and Safari 5+ on desktops. iOS 6.0+ on Safari, Android 4.0+ Android Browser and Android 4.0+ Chrome Browser on tablets and mobile devices.

Why do I see different games when I visit this site on different devices? +

Different devices support different technologies, so some games only play on certain devices. If you play a game on your desktop computer and later access the site through your tablet, you may not find that same game because the tablet doesn't support it.

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Sesame NYC Family is brought to you by Sesame Workshop, the non-profit, educational organization behind Sesame Street. This all-in-one mobile experience helps you and your child explore teacher-selected preschool topics through media, hands-on activities, and parent supports. How do I get to Sesame Family?

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Pennsylvania's Promise for Children, known as PA Promise, is a campaign to help families make good choices about their child's early learning and choose quality early learning programs that are right for their family. The Pennsylvania Office of Early Learning and Development (OCDEL) is the primary partner in PA Promise.