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PRE-K UPDATE
JULY 5, 2018
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Here's the latest news from The Long Island Pre-K Initiative, your source for
expert training and useful resources:
www.nassauboces.org/pre-k
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Take advantage of the more relaxed summer months; try these tips for nurturing children's creativity
In the summertime we all tend to feel a bit more playful--so it's a perfect time to focus on encouraging the growth of children's creativity. It's not something we can teach, writes Mitchel Resnick for the Mind/Shift website. Rather the trick is to create a fertile environment in which children's imaginations can flourish.
He envisions creative learning as including five stages: imagine, create, play, share and reflect. For each of these, Resnick proposes two strategies, for a total of 10 tips for teachers and parents. They include:
#2 Encourage messing around. "Most people assume that imagination takes place in the head, but the hands are just as important. To help children generate ideas for projects, we often encourage them to start messing around with materials."
#4 Embrace all types of making. Resnick points out that some children like to build with Legos, while others might want to make jewelry or draw a pictures. "Help children find the type of making that resonates for them. Even better: encourage children to engage in multiple types of making."
#6 Extend time for projects. Resnick believes that squeezing projects into a set period of time undermines creative thinking. "It discourages risk taking and experimentation," he writes, "and puts a priority on efficiently getting to the 'right' answer."
Click here to read all 10 tips for nurturing creativity; they are drawn from Resnick's book,
Lifelong Kindergarten.
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What one teacher did when four-year-olds playing "super heroes" scared some of their classmates
There are always kids who play "super heroes," writes blogger Teacher Tom, and, just as predictably,ee there are some other children who become afraid. What's more: the kids don't usually talk about this. Instead they tell their parents, who may eventually say something at school.
In a June 11, 2018 blog post, Tom describes how this happened recently at his school, and details how the group discussion with children went.
For one thing, the "super heroes" were stunned to hear that some of their classmates were afraid of them. "But we're the good guys." For another, it became apparent that most of the children were neutral about the super heroes--and they let their more timid friends see they weren't fearful.
"This won't be the last time we will need to talk about this," writes Tom, "but it was a good starting point...As for the super heroes they have been quite sincere in the desire to not frighten their classmates going forward, even if they sometimes forget as they immerse themselves in dramatic play."
Click here to read the full story; you may have to scroll down to find the June 11, 2018 post.
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Socioeconomic differences play out over summer break--but they may not be what you expect
In the summer after kindergarten which kids are more likely to practice writing with a family member? Those from "poor" and "near-poor" households, according to a study
from the National Center for Education Statistics. But higher-income students were more likely to be read to.
It's not surprising that more affluent children (69%) visited a zoo or aquarium--but so did more than half of the children from poor households in the study (54%). The bigger difference: visits to art galleries, museums or historical sites (63% of "non poor" children went to them over the summer vs. 32% from low-income households.)
And there was no difference at all when it came to one important warm-weather activity: 76% of children overall played outside every day during the summer after kindergarten.
Read more.
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Farm to Preschool program (and farm stand) is now in Islip
It's now in it's fifth year, but it has a new site: Long Island Farm to Preschool is now at the Kiddie Academy of Islip in Islip Terrace. During the spring, each Pre-K class got
hands-on lessons in healthy eating and helped plant a container garden. The first harvest: radishes. "The students were fascinated with their colors and spicy crunch," according to the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., which administers the program through a grant from the New York State Department of Health.
The program also includes a weekly farm stand, held every Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. through the end of September. Produce is from a family-run farm in Mattituck--and the farmers are on site to answer questions. Even better, there are cooking demonstration and recipes offered each week.
Visit the
Child Care Council's website to learn more about the program, the location of the farm stand--and to check out the recipe archive from past summers. To get updates, you can follow the program on Facebook or on Twitter @LIFarm2Preschool.
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We need you to help us plan our fall conference
We invite teachers and other early educators to join the committee that will help plan and carry out our full-day conference on Tuesday, November 6. The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 18 at 8:30 a.m. at the Nassau BOCES Farber Administrative Center, Garden City.
To let us know you're interested, please email prekconference@nasboces.org.
Date: November 6, 2018
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Place: Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury
Keynote: "What if Everybody Understood Child Development" by Rae Pica
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This week's job listings for early ed on Long Island
Full-Time Toddler Lead Teacher (42 weeks)
Part-Time Teacher Assistant
Suffolk County Community College Children's Learning Center, Brentwood
E-mail resume to calderv@sunysuffolk.edu
For the Long Island Head Start positions listed below
E-mail resumes to humanresources@liheadstart.org
Full-Time Teacher Assistant
Full-Time Family Advocate--Bilingual
Full-Time Family Advocate
Part-Time Family Advocate--Bilingual
Substitute Teacher Aide
Long Island Head Start, various locations
Full-Time Teacher II (Infant/Toddler)
Long Island Early Head Start, Huntington, Islip, Patchogue
Full-Time Teacher Aide
Long Island Head Start, Various, Patchogue Early Head Start
Family Educator/Home Visitor--Bilingual
Patchogue Early Head Start
Parent Involvement Specialist
Purchasing Processor
A/P Bookkeeper
HR Administrator
Long Island Head Start, Central Administration Patchogue
EHS-CCP Disabilities Services Consultant
EHS-CCP Mental Health Consultant
EHS-CCP Health Consultant
EHS-CCP Nutrition Consultant
Long Island Head Start, Central Administration, Patchogue
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Here's how to add your school's staffing needs to this list:
In the body of the e-mail, include the following information:
For our records:
- Your name
- Your position
- Your e-mail and phone number
For the listing in our e-newsletter
- The name of your school and the town it's located in. You can include your web address, if you have one.
- A very brief description of the position or positions you want to fill. (For example: "Part-time Teacher Assistant" or "Full-time Pre-K Teacher."
- Information about how potential applicants should contact your for details or to apply. (For example: "Call Jane Smith at 631-xxx-xxxx" or "Send e-mail to jane.smith@schoolname.org")
It's important to understand that:
We will not include information about salary. We will not include any descriptions of your school or program, although we can include a link to your school's web site.
We will publish your information a single time. If you still have openings, you can e-mail us again with the details and we will run the information again.
Our e-newsletter is typically sent out on Wednesday mornings. However, it may be mailed on a different day, depending on content or technical considerations.
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative reserves the right to edit information; space in the e-newsletter is very limited.
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About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a grant-funded project that seeks to strengthen partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and to share information about research, policy and best practices for early learning. Administered by Nassau BOCES, it is supported with expertise from The Early Years Institute and funds from the Rauch and Hagedorn Foundations. Our partners: Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Western Suffolk BOCES, and the Child Care Councils of Nassau and Suffolk.
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NASSAU BOCES DEPARTMENT OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220 Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org
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