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Large group of happy kids, boys and girls playing with blocks in kindergarten class constructing simple houses
PRE-K UPDATE
AUGUST 22, 2018
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

Study says effective teachers turn to their colleagues for advice--and our survey says that's what you're doing
Researchers at Northwestern University spent five years studying elementary teachers to see what characterized "expert teachers." What they found out: these educators were more likely to seek advice from their peers. "It seems that the better the teacher performed, the more likely they were to go out and obtain feedback on how to be even better."   Read more

So it's good to know that Long Island Pre-K and K teachers frequently ask for advice. When we surveyed participants at our Summer Institute in June, close to 80% answered "colleagues" when we asked "Where do you go for answers to your questions about teaching young children." 

Other frequent responses to this question included: the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and conferences/workshops. A number of online resources were mentioned such as the Fred Rogers Institute, Language Castle, Pinterest, Pre-Kinders and TED Talks.

Here are books Long Island teachers recommend when it comes time to welcome students in September
We also asked our Summer Institute participants to share ideas for back-to-school days in Pre-K and K. These titles are available from Amazon and other online sellers, but don't forget you can also borrow them from your local public library. Here are seven books they recommend:
  • The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing (part of a series that also includes The Night Before Kindergarten)
  • Maisy Goes to Preschool by Lucy Cousins
  • David Goes to School by David Shannon
  • Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness by Carol McCloud
  • The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
  • We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio
  • A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon

10 more read-alouds to help start your school year strong
The reading nonprofit Brightly has put together a list of books just right for classroom read-alouds--and they offer some suggestions for related activities, too. For example, they suggest reading Crunch, The Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap, and following up with a puppet show or other dramatic play on the topic of making friends. Similarly, the whimsical Take Your Octopus to School Day by Audrey Vernick offers an opportunity to develop a shared vocabulary of "feeling words." Click here for the complete list.

What Mr. Rogers knew all along about the science of learning
"Yes, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was slow. It was repetitive," writes Anya Kamenetz for NPR, and "this was thoroughly developmentally appropriate....The show was also deep, and not afraid to get dark. The topics and the format, it turns out, are as relevant to education and child development as they ever were."

For example, Kamenetz points out that the TV shows were carefully thought out to give young children the tools to deal with what Rogers called "the inner drama of childhood--from sibling rivalry to anger to trauma. "Today," she says, "the science has caught up. Research tells us social and emotional skills, including self-regulation and being able to recognize emotions, are as important to success as academic achievement." Read more

A year ago today we shared this article, which proved to be popular with our e-news readers. We thought we'd offer it again, as you prepare your classrooms for September.

Here's why a "decoration blitz" is bad for kids
As you prepare your classroom for a new school year, you may want to consider leaving some walls bare: Research suggests kindergarteners taught in "highly 
decorated" classrooms were more distracted and even scored lower. 

Kindergarten interior decoration child picture on wall. Preschool class waiting kids. Colour balloons on floor. Playroom with white table. Art room education children s creativity. Mess in classroom.
An article from  The Hechinger Report describes the study and quotes other early education experts as well. For example, Gillian McNamee is director of teacher education at the Erikson Institute in Chicago: "When I walk into a classroom, often they are almost wallpapered with materials from head to toe. And, for an adult, let alone a child, it can make you dizzy and lose focus."

One Illinois teacher reports: "My personal approach is you don't put anything up if the children have not made some sort of prior connection to it."  Another is quoted: "All the promotional stuff is more for the teachers and parents than it is for the kids. What's on the wall should only be useful and helpful to kids."

Click here to read about the 2014 study and learn more about what teachers have to say.

Note: photo above is a "stock" image that supposedly shows what a kindergarten classroom should look like. 

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.







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