The impact we have

Have you ever thought about the impact your childhood has had on you as a teacher? Have you ever thought about how your past impacts the future of the children you care for? Dr. Tamar Jacobsen has written an interesting book, Don't Get So Upset. When we realize that research has shown us that "emotional memory stored in the brain during the first 4 or 5 years of life is un-erasable," you realize the enormity of responsibility we have when we care for children. Yet, our reactions to children's behavior is very often a reaction to the parenting we received. WOW! This book helps you to work through and think about your own life and its impact in your classroom. This reflective practice pays dividends for children. The author included a favorite quote that has impacted me over the years as well. I'd like to share it with you:
"I've come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. IT is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated and a child humanized or dehumanized. " Haim Ginott (1972)

Tips for Early Educators and Practitioners:

For the Birds

A child in my class asked why the birds weren't singing much anymore, which led to great explorations on migration and song birds. We are housed in an old, large church and can hear birds outside our windows and even sometimes even see them in the sanctuary! Fall and winter create inviting times to explore birds, their homes, and their behaviors, such as migration.

I like to create interesting display/play areas with bird-related materials to explore such as artificial nests, eggs, feathers, and bird families (craft stores are good sources), as well as nesting materials (dried grasses, leaves, ribbon, twigs, shredded paper) and books about birds. I will often make up little bird stories to share with the children at story times. I like to bring in real nests, eggs, and feathers, but display these in clear plastic cases to avoid any germs. I will also play bird recordings (and nature sounds) and make sure I put out lots of craft feathers in the art area.

We try to photograph the birds we see near our program and display these and use them in charting, etc. We work on simple charting, graphing, and categorizing by color, sound, size, same, different, etc. We like to enlarge the photos to get really close-up views of the birds. I've mounted these onto foam board and hung them from the ceiling in our room. The children have also glued feathers and such on the enlarged copies.

We find out what we know, don't know, and want to know. We like to see what direction these materials lead the children and explore their questions, ideas, and interests. ~PA Preschool Teacher

Do you have a great tip or good thing? Send us your best tips! Email Christine at crb16@psu.edu or contact the Better Kid Care Program at 814-865-7894 or 800-452-9108 (within PA).

This was taken from the latest issue of the BKC newsletter. You can read the rest here.