The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is proud to be part of Long Island's Regional Technical Assistance Center for Pre-K and Early Education. Visit its web page for links to all partner organizations. Many have important COVID-19-related resources to offer: www.nassauboces.org/rtac
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You'll be lucky if you get a spot in an upcoming workshop!
Reserve your seat now.
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Understanding the Pre-School Special Education Process:
Partnering with Families Through the Process
This presentation will provide Pre-K professionals with a foundational understanding of the preschool special education process. In this session, you will explore strategies for discussing the process with parents/guardians in order to encourage family involvement and cultivate home/school partnerships. In addition, the presenters will discuss considerations for determining when a child should be referred for special education in light of early childhood development across five functional areas. Participants will be provided with several online resources to enhance their understanding of the special education process, as well as gain helpful strategies in order to partner with families throughout this journey.
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Time: 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Registration: Free, but registration is required
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Tools for the Mind: Effective Teaching and Joyful Learning - Developing Self-Regulated Learners Through Play
This presentation will provide an overview of the Tools for the Mind curriculum and will highlight some key ideas about self-regulation, its impact in young children’s development and learning, and how to best support its development through mature make-believe play and the Vygotskian Theory. Deborah Leong, President and Co-Founder of Tools for the Mind, and
Luis Gallego, Partnership Development Manager, will use examples from Tools classrooms and anecdotes from Tools teachers to highlight the impact and effectiveness of Tools of the Mind curriculum and approach. Attendees will see how this approach empowers teachers to support self-regulation and make-believe play along with addressing academic content.
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Time: 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Registration: Free, but registration is required
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PLC: Sharing Our Practices for STEM/STEAM in the Pre-K & Kindergarten Setting
A professional learning circle - or PLC - is comprised of a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise and works collaboratively to learn from one another. With support from experienced moderators, this PLC will offer the opportunity for participants to share with one another some of their favorite practices for STEM/STEAM in the Pre-K & Kindergarten classroom. This is the second PLC Zoom session provided during the winter and spring that will serve as a platform to share and exchange ideas. Our PLCs are designed for teachers, teacher assistants, administrators, directors and other early educators. You can register for one or more of our collaborative PLC sessions that will be offered this year.
Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Registration: Free, but registration is required
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Playful learning may be the optimum way to teach |
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Child’s play is actually serious business, and may be the best way to help children through tough times. According to an article by Karen D’Souza in EdSource, because children don’t have frequent opportunities to exercise choice and control, free play can help them learn independence while easing their stress. Research is showing that play boosts the well-being of young children as the pandemic still factors into their daily lives.
Some research suggests that play is so powerful that it can be used to close achievement gaps in children ages 3 to 6. The article demonstrates that, if play is used properly, it can be a great tool in helping children’s learning in math and science. Play can help “creativity blossom" and D’Souza further states that, as a result, "critical thinking is born." Building a fort or taking part in a game of make-believe can be a way to engage in learning.
We all learn better when we are motivated and enjoying the learning process. In fact, play improves memory, and allows children to have a better understanding of the world and the way it works, including high-level concepts like the laws of gravity, conservation of liquids/mass, and mathematical concepts like more vs. less.
Play is not only beneficial when it comes to cognitive skills. According to the article, it also helps “children cope with the trauma of growing up during a pandemic.” It is an outlet for relieving stress by focusing on something fun, as children need to be given time to learn interpersonal skills that lacked development through isolation and lockdown.
According to D’Souza, play can actually help “build the architecture of the growing brain.” When play and safe nurturing relationships are missing in childrens’ lives, stress disrupts learning and social behavioral habits. “In the presence of childhood adversity, play becomes even more important.”
Unfortunately, recess has gotten shorter in recent years because the focus has shifted toward more instructional time to meet academic benchmarks. “The time on the playground pays off in the classroom with calmer children who have an easier time focusing on the lesson,” says D’Souza. “A child who gets enough time on the swings is less likely to act out in class.” Because of its many benefits, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day.
Play can be incorporated into the academic activities in the day as well. “Children who dress up and tell stories are learning how to shape a narrative, a precursor to learning to read and write,” says D’Souza. “Children playing a board game where they have to count the spaces are learning about numbers and values, laying a foundation for math.” When teaching occurs through play, children are often more relaxed and focused because they enjoy it; additionally, they are more likely to remember what they learned.
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Why masks do not hinder preschoolers’ language development |
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According to an article by Janette Neuwahl Tannen in News @ The U, a team of psychology researchers at the University of Miami found that young children produce the same amount of language with or without masks on their faces. Another finding showed that they actually produce more speech sounds while they are wearing masks.
The researchers compared two classes that consisted of three and four-year-old children at a preschool. One of the classes was studied before the pandemic began in 2020, and the other was studied one year later, when masks were suggested for children under the age of 2. You might wonder how they were able to track language comprehension and sounds; the research team had students and teachers wear a vest adorned with a Language Environmental Analysis device that would actually measure the number of sounds coming from the people who would wear it.
Results showed that there was no change in the children’s ability to learn and produce language, regardless of whether or not they were wearing masks. Samantha Mitsven, a lead researcher on the study, said, “We didn’t find any negative effect of mask use on children’s own language production.”
In fact, the results surprisingly revealed that “children were producing more complex speech sounds while wearing masks than without them,” said Neuwahl Tannen. “This suggests that masks do not lower the quality of children’s speech.” Some of the children may have spoken louder, or teachers may have provided more support for children to be heard, but the study showed that children were “definitely able to communicate in the classroom-even with those masks on.”
These results may even be applied to older students too; however, more research will determine if that is in fact the case. Lynn Perry, another lead researcher, went on to further explain the purpose of the study. “This is really a critical age where we want to be sure they are getting high quality language opportunities to be set up for success in kindergarten.”
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Celebrate children’s books about hope |
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The theme of many new children’s books is a dream of brighter days ahead. According to an article by Jean Dugan in Exchange, there is a lot of light to come out of the pandemic, and some of it can be found in her list of stories. A few of her picks include the following:
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The World Made a Rainbow, by Michelle Robinson. “Rainbows have always been a sign of hope, and early in the pandemic they were popping up in windows everywhere,” says Dugan. “These pictures were a way for young children to deal with a strange new world.” The same sentiment is explored with the use of rainbows in…
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Share Your Rainbow: 18 Artists Draw Their Hope for the Future. Eighteen illustrators make rainbows of their own creations, while sales from the book benefit the World Central Kitchen.
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When You Need Wings, by Lita Judge. Being in new situations can be scary. The child in this story finds strength that she didn’t know she had.
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Like the Moon Loves the Sky, by Hena Khan. The phrase “inshallah,” which in Arabic means “if God wills it,” is used to express hope for the future. In this story, a mother uses the expression to “offer her love and dreams for her growing child.”
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Managing Challenging Behaviors
Presented by Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., this training will address the meaning behind children's challenging behaviors. Participants will engage in conversations and activities to help reframe their understanding of challenging behaviors and the possible causes of it. They will also reflect on their own practices and create new strategies that can be implemented when challenging behaviors are being exhibited in the classroom
Date: Monday, March 7, 2022
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: Non-member $70, Member $30
Location: 99 Quentin Roosevelt Blvd, Suite 201, Garden City
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71 Clinton Rd. Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: 516-396-2220
www.nassauboces.org/pre-k
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