February 28, 2017

Teaching Kids to Eat Healthy

Teaching kids to eat well can be tricky. You don’t want to give them more facts than they can grasp or turn every meal into a lecture.  If you wait too long, they could pick up unhealthy habits in the meantime.

“Kids need to know that every food they put into their bodies affects them,” says Danelle Fisher, MD, chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.

Parents can get that message across by talking with kids about the food they put in their bodies, why it matters, and how they can learn to make the healthiest choices.

Not just a rule, but a routine. Make sure healthy foods are the default setting for your family’s meals, and get everyone involved in choosing some nutritious, delicious options. Take kids with you to the grocery store or farmers market. Younger kids can pick out fresh fruits and veggies. Older kids can take on larger roles like choosing recipes and making a shopping list.

Show kids what “eating right” looks like. Explain that they should fill half their plate with fruits and veggies that have nutrients that will help their bodies grow. The other half should be whole grains and lean protein that gives them energy to run, dance, and play. When you’re cooking or grocery shopping, show them different examples of these key food groups.

Avoid calling foods “good” or “bad.” Kids should learn that all foods have a place in their diet. Label foods as “go,” “slow,” or “whoa.” Kids can “green light” foods like whole grains and skim milk they should have every day and “slow down” with less healthy foods like waffles. Foods with the least nutrition, such as French fries, don’t need to be off limits, but kids should stop and think twice before they eat them often.

Talk about portion size.  It’s not just what kids eat that matters, but how much. Even very young kids can learn that the amount of rice or pasta they eat should match the size of their fist. Protein should be palm-sized, and fats like butter or mayonnaise about the tip of their thumb. When you buy packaged foods, have kids help you find the serving size. Then talk about why sticking to it is a good idea.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

February 17, 2017

WHAT IS THE REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH?

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable, and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it.

Children can construct their own learning. They are driven by their interests and their interactions with others. Children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their interactions with others

There is a strong focus on social collaboration, working in groups, where each child is an equal participant, having their thoughts and questions valued. The adult is not the giver of knowledge. Children search out the knowledge through their own investigations.

Children are amazing communicators. We are all aware that communication is a process, a way of discovering things, asking questions, using language as play. Playing with sounds and rhythm and rhyme; delighting in the process of communicating.

Children are encouraged to use language to investigate and explore, to reflect on their experiences. They are listened to with respect, believing that their questions and observations are an opportunity to learn and search together. It is a process; a continual process. A collaborative process. Rather than the child asking a question and the adult offering the answers, the search is undertaken together.

For children at such an early age, the environment is the third teacher. 

The environment is recognized for its potential to inspire children. An environment filled with natural light, order and beauty. Open spaces free from clutter, where every material is considered for its purpose, every corner is ever-evolving to encourage children to delve deeper and deeper into their interests.

The space encourages collaboration, communication, and exploration. The space respects children as capable by providing them with authentic materials & tools. The space is cared for by the children and the adults.

The adult or parent is a mentor and guide. Our role as adults is to observe (our) children, listen to their questions and their stories, find what interests them and then provide them with opportunities to explore these interests further.

The Reggio Emilia Approach takes a child-led project approach. The projects aren’t planned in advanced, they emerge based on the child’s interests.

Probably the most well-known aspect of the Reggio Emilia Approach. The belief that children use many, many, different ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity.

A hundred different ways of thinking, of discovering, of learning. Through drawing and sculpting, through dance and movement, through painting and pretend play, through modelling and music, and that each one of these Hundred Languages must be valued and nurtured.

These languages, or ways of learning, are all a part of the child. Learning and play are not separated.

The Reggio Emilia Approach emphasizes hands-on discovery learning that allows the child to use all their senses and all their languages to learn.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn

February 10, 2017

WHAT IS STEM ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS?

STEM is a pretty hot word these days, but do you know what it stands for or how important it really is? What is STEM? STEM is the future. STEM is science, technology, engineering, and math. These are all areas of learning that our kids need to be comfortable with to excel in the future. STEM makes creators, thinkers, problem solvers, doers, innovators, and inventors. Exposing kids to simple STEM ideas at an early age today sets a foundation for higher learning tomorrow.

WHAT IS STEM?

What is STEM? STEM is a real-world focus. STEM is hands-on learning that applies to the world around us. STEM is the future.  Exposing kids to simple STEM ideas at an early age today sets a foundation for higher learning tomorrow.

STEM builds and teaches creativity, problem solving, life skills, ingenuity, resourcefulness, patience, curiosity. STEM is what shapes the future as our world grows and changes. STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM is everywhere and in everything we do and how we live. From the natural world, around us to the tablets in our hands that show us the world far, far away. STEM builds inventors!

WHY CHOOSE STEM?

Our kids thrive with STEM activities. STEM activities push kids to expand their horizons, experiment, problem solve, and accept failure to success. Teachers need to choose STEM activities early on and present STEM activities in a playful way. You will not only teach your kids amazing concepts, but you will build a love for exploring, discovering, learning, and creating!

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

February 1, 2017

Music Play

Creating Centers for

Musical Play and Exploration

The presence of music in young children’s lives can sometimes be taken for granted. In most early childhood classrooms, teachers and children sing a song or two at circle time. Many teachers use musical strategies to help children handle transitions for example, singing “We’re cleaning up our room, we’re cleaning up our room, we’re putting all the blocks away, we’re cleaning up our room” to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”. Parents often sing lullabies and traditional rhymes to their young children. At home and in the car, parents play recorded music

they themselves enjoy. They may play a “kid’s’” tape or CD to keep the children happy and occupied on the road. Music certainly is present in the lives of many young children. Nevertheless, there is a growing awareness that music is underused and under addressed in early childhood education. In the early years, musical aptitude is still developing. Infancy and early childhood are prime times to capitalize on children’s innate musical spontaneity, and to encourage their natural inclinations

to sing, move, and play with sound.

Creating Centers for Musical Play and Exploration

Music is in the air in Ms. Viola’s Head Start classroom. She has a large collection of CDs, most of which were recorded specifically for children. Music often plays in the background during greeting, snack, choice, and nap times.

Music is in use in Mr. Kerry’s pre-K classroom.

“Piggyback” songs remind children of expected

behaviors and add a pleasant dose of calm to

transitions that might otherwise become chaotic.

Music is on the lips of Mrs. Rosetti’s kindergartners. Morning circle begins with a greeting song, followed by children’s selection of two more songs from the class’s impressive repertoire. Afternoon circle is the time for learning and practicing new songs. Each of these teachers might say, “My classroom is very musical,” and each student is providing something of value.

Why does music not receive deeper attention in early childhood education? 

Teachers may not recognize the full value and potential of providing for children’s musical development and may not understand the many ways musical involvement can enhance development and learning in other areas. They may believe that musical development is important only for a small number of highly talented children. They may be intimidated by the specialized expertise of music educators or inhibited by their own lack of knowledge about music education or a perceived lack of musicianship. 

NAEYC and MENC (National Association of Music Education [formerly the Music Educators National Conference], www.menc.org) are collaborating to promote the full inclusion of music in early childhood curriculum.

Young children engage in music as play. Though many early childhood educators may not consider themselves musicians or music educators, they generally do feel comfortable with the medium of play. When offered a variety of drums and strikers, children play with sound.

By exploring and “messing around,” they discover they can make one sound by striking one drum and a different sound by striking another. Their drum play is supported because adults expect and allow for the “noise.”

When young children hear music, they move to it.

Supportive adults share their joy and delight in their fun, also, listening and moving in response to the music. Once children learn to sing, they create their own melodies and invent their own words to familiar songs. Their song play is supported when adults demonstrate authentic interest, interact with children through song, and engage in their own playful song making.

Play is central to early childhood education, and it is a primary vehicle for musical growth. When early childhood

teachers recognize the playful nature of children’s musical activity; music education may look more like familiar territory. Young children engage in music

as an exploratory activity, one that is interactive, social, creative, and joyful.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

January 23, 2017

Why Young Kids Learn Through Movement

Children acquire knowledge by acting and then reflecting on their experiences, but such opportunities are increasingly rare in school.

One of my children is spinning in a circle, creating a narrative about a princess as she twirls. The other is building a rocket ship out of a discarded box, attaching propellers made of cardboard and jumping in and out of her makeshift launcher. It is a rainy day, and I’ve decided to let them design their own activities as I clean up and prepare a meal. My toddler becomes the spinning princess, imagining her character’s feelings and reactions. What seems like a simple story involves sequencing, character development, and empathy for the brave princess stuck in her tower. The rocket ship my first grader is working on needs a pilot and someone to devise the dimensions and scale of its frame; it also needs a story to go with it. She switches between roles and perspectives, between modes of thinking and tinkering.

Movement allows children to connect concepts to action and to learn through trial and error. “If you walk into a good kindergarten class, everyone is moving. The teacher is moving. There are structured activities, but generally it is about purposeful movement,”comments Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a professor emerita of early-childhood education at Lesley University and the author of Taking Back Childhood, describing the ideal classroom setup. In the classroom culture, she advocates for, “[Kids] are getting materials for an activity, they are going back and deciding what else they need for what they want to create, seeing how the shape of a block in relation to another block works, whether they need more, does it balance, does it need to be higher, is it symmetrical. These math concepts are unfolding while kids are actively building and moving.”

Research has shown repeatedly that children need opportunities to move in class. Memory and movement are linked, and the body is a tool of learning, not a roadblock to or a detour away from it. Any parent who has brought home a kindergartener after school, bursting with untapped energy yet often carrying homework to complete after a seven-hour day, can reasonably deduce why children today have trouble keeping still in their seats. Many children are getting 20-minute breaks, or none. (In Florida, parents whose children have no recess have been campaigning to legislate recess into the curriculum.) Recess, now a more frequent topic of research studies, has been found to have “important educational and developmental implications.” Schools that have sought to integrate more movement and free play, such as short 15-minute recess periods throughout the day, have seen gains in student attention span and instructional time. As Carlsson-Paige points out, “Recess is not a separate thing in early-childhood education.”

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

January 17, 2017

Can Movies Replace Books in Reading Class?

Can students' time in reading class be spent as profitably with a bowl of popcorn and a movie as with a novel and notebook?

In central New Jersey, a former school board member and parent are raising questions about the Hamilton Township School District's policy of allowing teachers to use movies for instructional purposes and teaching students reading skills through short excerpts instead of whole books or stories.

Research says that teachers might screen movies or portions of movies in order to stimulate discussion, but that the movies wouldn't be part of the teacher's approach to teaching reading skills.

 George Fisher, a former district school board member, argued in an email to the Trentonian that teachers should not use films to supplant, rather than to supplement, novels, and that asking students to read excerpts instead of whole texts is depriving them of important context. 

Fisher said this approach could lead to ignorance among students. From his email to the paper:

"Text is most certainly not simply a part of a text or a work. It is the book, the work, itself," he added. "A student assignment may well be to analyze a part of the book and compare it to/contrast it to, fit it into the whole of the book. It is not to analyze that 'part' in isolation. How can one do the required analysis of a part without knowing the whole?!"

Fisher writes that, while middle school standards for literacy ask students to be able to analyze live or filmed dramatizations of literary works, they wouldn't permit teachers to entirely replace reading a novel with watching its movie incarnation.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

December 2, 2016

What is Child Art?

CHILDREN love art because it’s fun and provides them with authentic self-expression, but how important is art to a child’s healthy development? Children’s art is many things to many people. To a parent, art is a display of a child’s imagination. To an educator, it’s a teaching tool. To a psychologist, art is a way to understand a child’s mind. To a grandparent, it’s a way to feel connected. To a librarian, it’s a way to enhance book knowledge. To a child, art is a way to have fun, make decisions, and express choices. Picasso wrote, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Is children’s art an act of genius? Are children more creative than adults? Perhaps, the spontaneity of children’s art is in their imagination. Child art simply impressed Picasso, like most child behavior, is direct and uncensored. A young child doesn’t analyze his work – he paints freely and with pleasure, enjoying the fine and gross motor experience of moving paint over paper and watching lines, shapes, and colors come to life. Art puts a child in the “driver’s seat” and provides freedom: the freedom of choice, thought, and feeling.

“Every child is an artist.

The problem is how

to remain an artist

once he grows up.”

—PABLO PICASSO

Art is a Language

Do you remember seeing a photograph that communicated a whole world of feeling? Perhaps it was a famous photograph or simply a family snapshot that captured the richness of a special moment. A picture is often worth a thousand words. Visual images communicate emotions and complexities in a way that words cannot. The ability to communicate non-verbally is particularly important for children. Art is a powerful tool that gives children the ability to express their thoughts and emotions long before they can fully express themselves with words. Once you acknowledge that art is a language, the importance of respecting a child’s artwork becomes obvious.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra                                         

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

November 28, 2016

November 21, 2016

Nothing comes easy when you are teaching or raising a child.  There are struggles in every step of the process…from fine motor control, to behavior management.   My parents would always say “raising and teaching children is an art form.”  There are so many ways to teach a child any one skill.  Many times, you must try several different approaches to help a child learn. Today I have for you some must know tips for every classroom or home that is helping a little person learn.  Perhaps you have seen some of these ideas – these are the most popular things people searched for.  I hope they help you help the little people in your life.

Need help teaching a child to hold a scissors, try our friendly shark trick!

As a teacher, I have helped a lot of children learn how to hold a scissors correctly. It can be difficult to teach a child how to hold scissors correctly but I found a fun and easy method that children love.   It is important to teach correct use of scissors because you want the child to feel comfortable while cutting and secondly, if the child holds the scissors correctly it makes using the scissors and cutting well so much easier!

To teach the correct way to hold a scissors, you can have the child pretend his/her dominant (writing/cutting) hand is a shark.  Show the child how the dorsal fin of the shark (your thumb) is pointed upward and swimming around…  Fins up and swimming!  Now that the fins are up/the thumb is pointing upward, you are ready for the friendly shark!

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

November 14, 2016

3 Important Skills Needed for Reading

1- rhyming words

2- syllables

3- phonemes

Now, what exactly do we want kids to do with rhyming words, syllables and phonemes. What are phonemes, anyway?

 Rhyming Words

Rhyming words are words like rat and cat or even head and red. Rhyming words are words that have ending sounds that are similar. While there is such a thing as imperfect rhymes {words like home and bone, found in the song, “This Old Man”}, I like to focus more on the rhymes that end the same, like house/mouse or dog/frog. Rhyming words are not always spelled the same; they just need to sound the same. Here are some things we want kids to be able to do with rhyming words:

Recognize when words rhyme and when they don’t

Produce rhyming words: You ask: “What rhymes with cat?” and they answer, “Rat.”

Playing with rhyming words, especially for young children, can be as simple as integrating easy songs into your routine. We’ll explore more ideas!

Syllables

Syllables are the “big parts” in words. For example, words like cat or fish only have one syllable. Words like happy and table have two syllables. For those who find it tricky to hear syllables, I tell people to put their hand under their chin and count the times they “drop” their child when they say a word. Generally, this is the number of syllables the word has. Here are some things we want kids to be able to do with syllables:

Phonemes

This is where I usually lose people. Phonemes. It sounds so teacher-y, doesn’t it? So, what exactly are phonemes? Phonemes are the individual sounds in words. For example, the simple word cat has three phonemes {or individual sounds} /k/ – /a/ – /t/.

What makes this one a little tricky, especially for adults trying to teach phonemes, is that some words have more letters than phonemes. Take the word light, for example. While it has 5 letters, it only has three phonemes {or individual sounds}: /l/ – /i/ – /t/. We will explore more about phonemes on days 4-6 of this series. But for now, let’s see what we want kids to be able to do with phonemes:

Isolate phonemes, such as “What’s the first sound you hear in the word bear?”

Blend phonemes. For example, “I’m going to say the sounds in a word very slowly. See if you can listen to what I say and tell me what word it is: /m/-/ee/.” {me}

Separate phonemes. For example, “How many little sounds do you hear in the word bug?” {3}

Counting phonemes is a more advanced skill that typically comes AFTER kids have mastered rhyming and syllables. Many children will also be reading easy texts, like those found in Reading the Alphabet, before they have mastered counting and manipulating phonemes.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological Awareness is a broad term. It refers to the awareness of sounds in a word. A child with phonological awareness can identify and create rhyming words, count syllables in a word, or (on the smallest level) identify and manipulate individual sounds in a word.

Phonemic Awareness fits under the umbrella of phonological awareness. It is an awareness of the smallest units of sound (or phonemes) in a word. For example, a child with phonemic awareness could hear that the word bat has the sounds:  /b/  /a/  /t/. A child with keen phonemic awareness could change /h/ at the beginning of hat to /c/ and know that now, it’s the word cat.

Phonological and phonemic awareness activities are things your child can do with their eyes shut.  They only need their ear as they identify and manipulate sounds within words. The visual letters are not needed. {By the way, when you add letters to the mix, it’s now called “phonics”.}

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

November 7, 2016

Science in Early Childhood Classrooms

The need to focus on science in the early childhood classroom is based on several factors currently affecting the early childhood community. First and foremost is the growing understanding and recognition of the power of children’s early thinking and learning. Research and practice suggest that children have a much greater potential to learn than previously thought, and therefore early childhood settings should provide richer and more challenging environments for learning. In these environments, guided by skillful teachers, children’s experiences in the early years can have significant impact on their later learning. In addition, science may be a particularly important domain in early childhood, serving not only to build a basis for future scientific understanding but also to build important skills and attitudes for learning.

What Is Science?

Science is both a body of knowledge that represents current understanding of natural systems and the process whereby that body of knowledge has been established and is continually extended, refined, and revised. Both elements are essential: one cannot make progress in science without an understanding of both. Likewise, in learning science one must come to understand both the body of knowledge and the process by which this knowledge is established, extended, refined, and revised.

Before turning to a deeper discussion of science for the very young, it is helpful to describe the view of science. The goal of science is to understand the natural world through a process known as scientific inquiry. Scientific knowledge helps us explain the world around us, such as why water evaporates and plants grow locations, what causes disease, and how electricity works. Scientific knowledge can help us predict what might happen: a hurricane may hit the coast; the flu will be severe this winter. Scientific knowledge can also help solve problems such as unclean water or the spread of diseases. Science can guide technological development to serve our needs and interests, such as high-speed travel and talking on the telephone.

The Content of Science for Young Children

Children entering school already have substantial knowledge of the natural world, much of which is implicit…. Contrary to older views, young children are not concrete and simplistic thinkers…. Research shows that children’s thinking is surprisingly sophisticated…. Children can use a wide range of reasoning processes that form the underpinnings of scientific thinking, even though their experience is variable and they have much more to learn.

The content of science for young children is a sophisticated interplay among concepts, scientific reasoning, the nature of science, and doing science. It is not primarily a science of information. While facts are important, children need to begin to build an understanding of basic concepts and how they connect and apply to the world in which they live. And the thinking processes and skills of science are also important. Teachers when working with developing curriculum, have focused equally on science inquiry and the nature of science, and content—basic concepts and the topics through which they are explored. In the process of teaching and learning, these are inseparable.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

October 28, 2016

Differentiation in Early Childhood? It Can Be Done!

Hello everyone, my name is Marsha McGuire, from A Differentiated Kindergarten.  Today, I will explain to you what my blog is all about.

My blog is a mixture of ideas and activities to use in your classroom with a little fun thrown in to liven things up, I also have a special interest in Differentiated Instruction. 

The one thing that I constantly hear from student-teachers and teachers who haven't quite caught on to differentiating their instruction, is 'it's soooooo overwhelming" or "I can't quite get my head wrapped around it"  For those teachers I like to suggest starting out with only tackling one thing  and build up.

Remember, you can differentiate by responding to a student’s interests, learning profile or readiness.  So, to start with you might want to tackle tiering one activity, just to get your feet wet.

I do think it will be helpful, especially to us visual learners, in giving you an idea of what it might look like to tier and how to go about thinking about tiering an activity.

First identify your key concept . . . this is your common core; standard or whatever skill or concept is ESSENTIAL for them to master.

Next Pre-assess . . . this is where you can do a simple thumb up, thumbs down quick test to get an idea of what they already understand. This shouldn't be a paper/pencil test necessarily

Then create your whole group experience or lesson.  I like to make this fun and interactive so that I get them HOOKED and interested.

And finally, you're ready to create your activity. This is where you adjust the pace, steps or complexity based on your students and place them in the corresponding tiers.

Enjoy,

Ms. Nora Sierra

EC Assistant Principal

Discovery School

October 24, 2016

What Are Sight Words and Why Are They Important?

What Are Sight Words and Why Are They Important?

 Sight words (high-frequency words, core words or even popcorn words) are the words that are used most often in reading and writing.

In classrooms across America, the development of sight word recognition continues to be a top priority when instructing emerging and beginning readers.

They are called “sight” words because the goal is for your child to recognize these words instantly, at first sight.

Why are Sight Words Important?

Sight words are very important for your child to master because, believe it or not, “sight words account for up to 75% of the words used in beginning children’s printed material”, per Study to Identify High-Frequency Words in Printed Materials, by D.J. Kear & M.A. Gladhart. There are different sight words for every grade level. Each set of words builds upon the other, meaning that once your child learns the sight words in Kindergarten, he will be expected to still recognize those words as he learns new words in first grade, and so forth.

Many of the over 200 “sight words” do not follow the basic phonics principles, thus they cannot be “sounded out.” Beginning readers need an effective strategy for decoding unknown words, and being familiar with sight words is an effective method. 

Other benefits of sight words include:

• ·       Sight words promote confidence. Because the first 100 sight words represent over 50% of English text, a child who has mastered the list of sight words can already recognize at least half of a sentence. If your child begins to read a book and can already recognize the words, chances are he won’t feel discouraged and put the book down, rather he’ll have more confidence to read it all the way through. And, choose another!
• ·       Sight words help promote reading comprehension. When your child opens her book for the first time, instead of trying to decipher what ALL of the words mean, she can shift her attention to focus on those words she is not familiar with. She will already know at least half of the words, so focusing on the other half helps strengthen her understanding of the text.
• ·       Sight words provide clues to the context of the text. If your child is familiar with the sight words, she may be able to decode the meaning of the paragraph or sentence by reading the sight words. And, if a picture accompanies the text, your child may be able to determine what the story is about and come away with a few new words under her belt.

Enjoy,

Nora Sierra

Early Childhood Assistant Principal

Discovery School

(504)221-7790

(504)221-7791(fax)

(504)9500-1720(school cell)

(504)9985-0732(mobile)

nsierra@discoveryschool.edu.hn