 |
|
PRE-K UPDATE
MAY 15, 2019
|
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
|
Are the current crop of Kindergarteners "doomed" because of stress on academics over play?
New Jersey Kindergarten teacher Phyllis Doerr is worried about our 5-year-olds. In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, she writes about Kindergarteners who are
being pressed to read and write before they are developmentally ready--and who are being asked to sit still far longer than is healthy. "...the brains of 5- and 6-year-old children have not changed," Doerr writes. "Psychologists, researchers and educators who have done the work for a very long time point to the same conclusion: Kindergarteners will not thrive as long as we continue to push developmentally inappropriate concepts."
What does work? Learning through play. Doerr offers a Kindergarten "Bill of Rights" that includes the right to make a mess, the right to free play outside, and the right to quiet time. It's her belief that if educators adhere to such principles, "...we will no longer hear that our youngsters are disinterested, hating Kindergarten, acting out and 'failing' because they are not yet reading." Click here for the full article.
|
Would you like to present at this year's full-day conference,
"Best Practices for Teaching Pre-K & K"?
Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Place:
Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury
Time:
8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
This event is for teachers, teacher assistants, administrators, directors and other early education practitioners. Each year, approximately 500 attendees come to learn from nationally known experts and local educators.
The "Best Practices" conference is an opportunity to share proven, research-based ideas for working with young children. Each workshop will last 90 minutes, which includes time for questions and answers. Fifty to seventy-five participants generally attend each workshop. If your proposal is accepted, you will be extended one free registration.
Click here to complete the online proposal form. Deadline: Friday, June 14, 2019.
Still have questions? Email us at prekconference@nasboces.org
Registration for the conference will be opening soon. Watch for announcements.
|
Next Thursday (May 23) is Outdoor Classroom Day -- but it's about getting students outside every day
This worldwide event started in London as "Empty Classroom Day," but has since grown to an international observance involving schools in 100 countries, including the U.S. The campaign's goal: "to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play." And organizers offer a wealth of online resources to get you started.
Need research to make your case? Download the just-published Playtime Matters (May 2019) or Muddy Hands (November 2018), a report on a worldwide survey about outdoor play ("From muddy hands and dirty faces...to higher grades and
happy places"). For example, Playtime Matters makes the point that "Playtime is disappearing to make way for more lessons--but playing outdoors can deliver results that the classroom can't." They cite benefits including resilience, social-emotional skills, better mental health, more readiness to learn--and just plain happiness.
Or just looking for ideas for activities? You can download lesson ideas for a "texture walk" or a "micro hike"--or just refresh your thinking with "10 tips to make playtime better."
The bottom line: "The fun that comes from play is a crucial part of childhood and essential to health, wellbeing and learning."
|
From National Head Start--25 easy (and affordable) ideas for nature play
For young children, enjoying the outdoors can be as simple as digging a hole, counting bugs on a log or using a watering can. You can create a naturalistic area at your program by growing lots of plants (including a vegetable garden), providing opportunities for water play and collecting "loose parts" for outdoor construction play.
"If the site is naturally rich, [children] will find plenty to do. And be sure to stress play
with nature--i.e., digging, wading, picking, catching, smelling, climbing, etc.--not just play
in nature."
Download the 25 ideas brochure from Head Start's Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC).
|
Are dogs in your classroom the next big thing?
According to an article on the We Are Teachers website, bringing trained therapy dogs into classrooms is a growing trend. The reason: "Therapy dogs help with
everything from trauma to reading interventions to a positive school climate."
Author (and teacher) Elizabeth Mulvahill cites a National Institutes of Health study, for example, that showed therapy dogs in the classroom had a calming effect on children and promoted social interactions. And in research from the University of California, reading to dogs improved students' skills between 12 and 30 percent.
However, it's important to use properly trained animals, such as dogs from Pet Partners, Alliance of Therapy Dogs or Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.).
Click here to find out more.
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
