LC’s are Locations for Storing Stuff  – Here are the Traditional Ones:

Literacy Center – Since BOOKS GO IN EVERY CENTER, I don’t care for a Library display filled with way too many uncategorized books. I prefer a quiet location for a few theme-based books and words. If you’re using a unit or theme system, read a theme-based book and make a Word Wall with theme-based words on it during Circle Time and put them where the children can see the words and interact with the books during the day. You might also put your books-on-tape and earphones here or in your classroom Safe Space. All Learning Methods (Movement, Sensory, Manipulation, Construction, Role Play, and Expression) are used when a child interacts with books.

Math is Everywhere – If you prefer to have a designated area for math skill development, put things in it like counters, math games, shape toys, and the like, but remember that math (and writing and science and art) begins with the LM of Manipulation, a multi-use term, covering any activity that uses fine motor skills to build strengths of both physical (use of tools and printing) intellectual, and mathematical nature. Markers, fat and skinny crayons, computer keyboards, tongs, plastic tweezers to pick up cotton balls, tracing paper, construction paper, stationery and envelopes and stamps all go in this center as well as lacing cards, beads and strings, and little paint brushes.  Include locks and keys and other hardware items that children can manipulate.  Many teachers have a separate Writing or Kindergarten Center for development of printing skills. Math, counting, shape, and size books go here.

Sensory, Touchy-Feely, Science – This area should be filled with both natural and manmade items.  This is where the gerbil and the fish live and where there are rocks, leaves, worms, dirt, sand, water, and machines and appliances to take apart, look inside of, and try to put back together.  Sensory Tables – every day. Call it the Science Center if it makes more sense to you, your parents, and your kids, but remember that its main purpose is to be a place where the LM is Sensory Exploration. Books about biology, zoology, botany, geology, meteorology, chemistry, physics, machines, and space go here.

Social Studies – Often separated into Dress Up and Blocks, (and if this is your choice, put them next to each other for crossover learning) these are two areas where children learn about self, family, community, sociology, geography, history, and ecology through the LM’s of imitation, imagination, interaction, or Role Play and Construction.

If you have a Dress Up or Home Center it must include NON-STEREOTYPICAL clothing with raw materials being greatly superior to Disney Princess gowns and plastic Kim Kardashian high heels! Give the children plain skirts, capes, hats, and pieces of material, feathers, costume jewelry, and community helper outfits that are as plain as possible so they can create from their own imaginations. Foods and food containers, menus from a variety of restaurants, dolls and home stuff goes here and books about families and homes go here. 

If They Build it, They will Learn – Construction is one of the ways children learn best. Your block area should contain developmentally appropriate blocks of a variety of shape, size, consistency, weight, and color because math. But man does not live by blocks alone! This area should also have raw materials and tools for construction like rolls of masking tape, blunt-edge scissors, empty potty paper, wrapping paper, paper towel, and tin foil tubes, access to markers or crayons, measuring tapes, and scales. Animal and people action figures, globes and maps, and books about buildings, jobs, people, families, homes, and society go here.

This Center may just be called “Blocks”, but it is SO much more.  This is an area that builds strengths of all kinds, is always very popular with the children – boys AND girls!!! – and one that teachers sometimes do not participate in as much as they should.  As the children design and build, teachers need to ask them questions and give them facts and language about their constructions.  Taking photographs of the creations and using ‘post-it’ notes to label them brings amazing language and literacy skills into play.  In fact, the Construction Center brings into play strengths from EVERY aspect of the curriculum.  Do not overlook its incredible learning potential.

Be Art Smart – The Center usually thought of as the “Art Center” is an area that needs to include all media possible for the LM, Expression through art, music, dance, and drama. Art is the creation of original pieces in a variety of media using clays, paints, finger paints, papers of all colors and sizes, material of varied textures and designs, markers, crayons, chalk, paintbrushes, art tools, and both natural and manmade objects. If space is available, an easel of some sort should be present.  Parents appreciate aprons, smocks, or adult-size tee shirts for protection of clothing, but educated them to the fact that learning is messy.

This Center does not include color-in-the-line-ditto sheets from commercial coloring books or pre-designed craft projects, but materials and equipment for original creation and expression. 

Music, dance, and drama are also included as forms of Expression.  Music, in fact, must be an integral part of every day in the preschool just as reading and math are integral to the learning process.  Music is used as a teaching tool in building factual knowledge and memory and in managing every routine part of the day from Arrival through Dismissal.  Equipment for expression here includes musical instruments and, if space, devices for listening to music individually.  Dance, or movement, must also be an integral part of every day, used as learning tools and for recreation and relaxation. Puppets and, if space, a puppet theater would be appropriate in Expression. Books about art, line, shape, color, artists, dancing, poetry, music, folktales, and nursery rhymes should be available here .

DID I MENTION THAT BOOKS MUST BE AVAILABLE IN EVERY CENTER?

Next Blog: The System – Year by Year

Learning Centers (LC’s) are the actual locations of the materials children use in learning. Learning Methods (LM’s) are the ways children have of processing and organizing information into learning.

LC’s are for storing stuff; LM’s are for documenting how learning happens.

Preschool classrooms are traditionally arranged by LC’s that are titled, labeled, and based on the “subjects to be taught”. They are thought of as specifically designated areas of a preschool classroom in which learning experiences are offered.  The LC system is helpful for the purposes of storage and display of materials, it does give teachers and children a sense of order and a way to build skills of logic, reasoning, matching, sorting, and comparing during cleanup, and it is a way of organizing the children’s movement through the day, assuring that each child will engage in a variety of experiences (part of the “whole child” philosophy of education.

The most widely used method has been to designate a Center to each of the Learning Fields: (Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language-Literacy – which may include a Library and/or a Listening Center – Math, Science, Social Studies – which may include both Blocks/Trucks and Home – and Art).  Some teachers prefer a more specific designation to include differences in the developmental levels of their children (a Writing or Kindergarten Center for four and five-year-olds or Tummy Time Center for infants and babies).

I believe that the strength expectations (standards, milestones, objectives, whatever you call them) are so interrelated and so ingrained in the purposeful play experiences in every area of the program, that LC’s should be used just for material storage and traffic control, but not for experience (‘lesson’, if you must) planning.

Organize with LC’s, but Lesson Plan with LM’s – All of the Strengths of Body, Mind, and Spirit are gained through Purposeful Play through these Learning Methods: Movement, Sensory Exploration, Manipulation, Construction, Role Play, and Self-Expression. Rather than designing Lesson Plans that show WHERE the children will learn, I think a good plan should show WHAT specific skills will be gained and HOW the learning will happen. Lesson Plans need to tell parents what experiences will be offered to gain specific strengths through these learning methods.

But I Gotta’ Have My Centers! – OK, if you feel most comfortable with designated Learning Centers, please use common sense in their arrangement and placement (quiet v. noisy and messy next to sink) and creativity in their naming. Labelling them is a good literacy builder, but the best literacy builder of all is this:

PUT BOOKS AND WORDS IN EVERY CENTER, EVEN THE PLAYGROUND!!!!

YES!  The playground is a Learning Center – Movement is not only free play time or “recess”. Please allow freedom in free play playground time, but it must also be seen as a time of guided and supervised muscle and brain building experiences. Teachers must interact with children here just as in the classroom.  Bring blocks and books and balls to the playground.  Use other areas of your facility/campus for gross motor experiences too – yards, big indoor areas, and hallways can be used for active learn-while-you-play experiences. There is a great debate currently about the term “recess”. All reputable experts in child development, brain growth, and pediatrics agree that All children under the age of eight MUST have child-chosen free play outdoors when possible, EVERY DAY. This physical freedom of movement, unplanned by curricular aspects, is an absolute necessity for health, learning, and behavior.

Next Blog: Other LC’s

Design v Order

Design has to do with the way things are physically arranged for the purpose of safety, ease and efficiency.  Order, however, can be a subjective term, defined differently by individual teachers.

Creating an appearance of order in the classroom makes the teachers’ job of assuring safety, managing unsafe behaviors, planning experiences, and assessing progress and need easier and more efficient. Many educators believe a sense of physical order also affects the quality of the learning itself.  Order is helpful in developing skills of categorizing, sorting, counting, identifying, naming, connecting or matching objects to concepts, and determining the placement of materials for easy and accessible storage. Labeling materials and their storage areas is helpful in gaining literacy skills. Order can be helpful to individual children who need assistance with attention span and focus and those who need routine and structure to discourage distracting behaviors.

Many teachers prefer a somewhat loose or less structured sense of physical order believing the children themselves will create their own system of managing their learning and behavior and may even tend to be more independent, efficient, and creative because they have increased ownership of the environment.

Organized Chaos v. Chaotic Organization

Without a doubt in my mind, one of the greatest preschool teachers I know, was Sharon Poteat (just called Poteat by her twos and threes). Poteat’s room was a DISASTER in the eyes of most adults. Walls were covered with huge pieces of chart paper listing quotes from her children like MY FAVORITE VEGETABLE; WHAT DO YOU CALL YOUR MOMMY’S MOMMY?; and WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE LEFT ICE CREAM ON THE PLAYGROUND? Children’s artwork hung from the ceiling, sat in the windowsills, and adorned the shelves – even in the bathroom. Her children took their shoes off during dress up and wore pirate and princess costumes to the playground and chapel. What resulted year after year were children who delighted at coming to school where they felt free to create, experiment, discover, and explore; children who knew words meant thoughts and ideas and THEIR words were important; and parents who were so happy with their children’s accomplishments, they recommended Poteat to every new parent who came along, some sending new siblings year after year.

On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for a strict order to ‘stuff-putting’. The best examples are the classrooms of Montessori in which every piece of material and equipment is stored and labeled with careful precision, and the classrooms using the Reggio Emilia approach. The minimalism of Reggio is inspiring. A minimal look to a classroom allows the children to design the environment – have ownership of the environment – by use of their own art and words.

As long as the children can have easy access to the materials (limited in number to encourage turn-taking, but sufficient in amount not to cause frustration) and can age-appropriately take part in restoring the order at the end of the day, teachers should stuff the stuff where it is best for learning.

Next Blog: NO LEARNING CENTERS?!?!?! Are You Nuts?????

 

 

Materials and Equipment – I don’t think it is necessary to talk about ALL the materials and equipment needed in a classroom except to say that the ‘stuff’ you use must be:

• Safe and Age Appropriate
• Suited to gaining the specific Strength Expectations of the Program
• Clean and Well Maintained
• In sufficient number/amount so all children can have access to it

Let’s Talk About Toys – Classrooms must be equipped with equipment and materials through which children can learn by these Learning Methods:

• Movement
• Sensory Exploration
• Manipulation
• Construction
• Role Play
• Expression

The materials that are offered to the children should be open-ended and raw, rather than plastic, primary-colored, one-answer-only “toys”. In some German childcare centers, the teachers institute “NO TOY” days, during which the children must use their imaginations and raw, real objects to create learning experiences. What a wonderful way to create truly valuable child-centered learning!

Classrooms must be filled with books.

Classrooms must be decorated with children’s art and words.

Classrooms should be filled with natural materials in all shapes and textures.

Classrooms should be filled with REAL objects (both natural and man-made) that invite questions and do not automatically give answers; objects that encourage wonder; objects that can be moved and moved with; objects that can be felt, seen, heard, and even smelled and tasted; objects that can be ‘messed’ with; objects that can be built with and taken apart and made into other things; objects that can inspire creativity and imagination; and objects that can be used in dance, song, art, and verbal expression.

Admit it, preschool teachers are natural hoarders. We tend to keep everything that is given to us – and everything we find in other people’s trash – in the hope that it will make a great learning tool. If your program has storage for egg cartons, potty paper, paper towel, and tin foil tubes, food storage containers and lids, scraps of material, scarves, hats, costume jewelry, and the like, then keep it! This stuff, plus nuts, bolts, locks, keys, (things the Reggio teachers call ‘loose parts’) old appliances with unsafe parts removed, and natural items like rocks, leaves, pine needles, maple seed pods, and all the other things ‘normal’ people see as junk ARE the best learning tools.

Next Blog: Setting 3 – Where to Stuff the Stuff

The creation of Educational Safety depends on careful physical organization of the learning environment that is determined by the use of space, quality and variety of materials and equipment, and the number of children in the learning community.

I talk about the elements of choice and arrangement of furniture, equipment and materials in a preschool classroom in terms of safety, space, spaces, and stuff.

Safety – Obviously everything in a learning community for young children must be chosen and arranged with the purpose of keeping the children safe. It’s just common sense that the furniture and equipment purchased, donated, or available must be developmentally appropriate for the level of the community. This may be harder for home day care centers than public, privately owned businesses, and government or faith-based schools, but basic safety is the first and most important element in design. Sometimes overlooked items are splinters in tables, use of folding chairs, tippable shelves, peeling paint, sharp corners, and toy parts that may choke.

As for the arrangement of furniture, look at the community from the point of view of the children who will be in it. Get down on the floor and see what they will see and want to lick, bite, eat or climb on and see what they may not see and bump into. For both choice of materials and equipment and its arrangement, keep in mind what you know about the developmental behaviors of each age level. (Babies put everything in their mouths, Toddlers may run away, Twos may throw stuff, Threes are clumsy, Fours have horizontal vision – they see the horizon before what is immediately in front of them and their energy level moves them toward it – and Fives may enjoy taking things apart to see how they are made or work).

I used the word, ‘obviously’, but I have seen some incredible preventable accidents involving equipment, materials, and design – Fat little baby thighs pinched in high chairs, a teacher’s aide cooking soup in a crock pot on a shelf above an Infant’s crib, tiny Lego blocks instead of less edible-size Duplo blocks for Toddlers, a teacher using spray paint in a closed classroom full of Twos, Threes climbing up the front of unanchored shelves, storage of cleaning solutions on bathroom floors, giving a five-year-old an Exacto knife for making Valentines, and many, many, hanging, reachable, or visible extension cords being used to plug in electrical appliances.

Keeping the children alive is our basic mission. Safety is the number one priority.

Space and Spaces – It sometimes seems that there is never enough space in a preschool classroom – and if there is space, it seems as if administrators always want to sneak more little bodies into it. Generally speaking, you need to have 35 square feet of indoor space per child. Find the area (measure width by length) count your children, and figure it out. That’s your space.

There are definite functional spaces that you need to make space for in your community. For Infants (birth – 6 mos.), Babies (7 – 12 mos.), and Toddlers (12 – 24 mos.) these spaces are Eating/Feeding, Sleeping, Hygiene, Personal Storage, and Play, with Play including indoor and outdoor spaces and enlarged as the children grow in size and mobility.

For Twos through Fives, the spaces change to Eating, Hygiene in the form of a bathroom with toilet and sink, Personal Storage that is accessible to the children, and Play including outdoor spaces, of course, and indoor areas made up of space for Whole Group activities, Small Group activities, and a Safe Space that is NOT a ‘naughty spot’ for misbehaving learners, but a private space for a child needing rest, respite, or relaxation.

Note: Not talking about Learning Centers here, but classroom spaces.

Next Blog: Setting 2 – Stuff

AND I MEAN IT!  – IF A CHILD IS BEING HARMED OR THREATENED PHYSICALLY or EMOTIONALLY, SPEAK UP USING THE CHAIN OF COMMAND SET UP BY YOUR PROGRAM.

If it’s not an immediate emergency, give the chain of command system time to work.  (Sometimes administrative actions are taken that you may not see – and frankly do not need to see).  If you feel your concerns are not being met using the chain of command, be firm and respectful in your insistence that action be taken. 

Use concise and clear written documentation that is FACT-BASED, and if you have concerns that your supervisor is not handling this issue, take them one step above this person in the chain.  Do not discuss these concerns with other staffers unless you are unsure of what you may have seen and feel the need for corroboration.

If you feel there is harm being done to any child in a home or any other place, document your concerns, and report them immediately using the chain of command, but keep those concerns in strict confidence until you are questioned about them during any investigative procedure in or outside your program.

If you disagree with coworkers on issues of appropriate methods of teaching or discipline, discuss this with them.  If NO CHILD IS BEING HARMED OR THREATENED PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, OR EDUCATIONALLY BY AN ALTERNATE METHOD OR DIFFERENCE IN PHILOSOPHY (AS LONG AS THAT PHILOSOPHY DOES NOT DEFY PROGRAM VALUES) AGREE TO DISAGREE AND LET IT GO. 

Two of the areas where lack of confidentiality can become HUGE problems are the gray areas of personal friendships or family relationships among staffers and parents and that of staffers who are also program parents.  If a teacher has a personal or familial relationship with a parent outside of school (on the same bowling team, live next door, are sisters or sisters-in-law) she MUST NOT SHARE confidential work-related information with that person.  If a teacher is also a parent in the program, she MUST NOT SHARE confidential work-related information with other parents.  It is just that simple.

Leave the gossip to TV and social media personalities who get paid for it.  There are many things that can damage a or even ruin a preschool program, including child abuse, the use of inappropriate teaching methods, financial mismanagement, hiring of unqualified staff, and failure to comply with licensing and accreditation standards, but breaching confidentiality is high on the list.

Next Blog: Educational Safety – The Setting 1 – Spaces and Stuff

The other BIG problem for a teaching staff is a lack of regard for the confidential and private issues of information about a child, a group of children, a parent or family, or program staff members.

There is nothing that can do more damage to the level of professionalism of a program than a lack of confidentiality.  Confidentiality means keeping child, parent, and program information private.  Disclosure of private information undermines the relationships between parents and the program; between staff members; and between teachers and children.  It destroys trust and self-esteem, crushes morale, disrupts the sense of community, and is simply unprofessional and wrong. The disclosure of some information is ethically wrong, while some disclosures may even be illegal!

Child information that is ethically wrong to share is a personal opinion about the child that has nothing to do with how his progress, needs, or behaviors affect his learning.  If there is a need for collaboration or assistance from a coworker with a factual observation or if a group of teachers and administrators are working together on class placement or assessment issues, there may be sharing of pertinent and factual information only.

Child information that is illegal!  to disclose without permission from parent or guardian is child health history, custody issues, and residential information.  It may also be illegal to take a child’s photograph without parent or guardian permission.

Family and parental information that is ethically wrong to disclose without express permission from a parent is family crisis status, family relationship information, ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference information, personal relationships with program staff, and any unfounded gossip or rumor concerning a family.

Family and parental information that is illegal! to disclose without express permission from a parent is address, phone number, identification numbers, income, health history, criminal background, child custody and marital or domestic issues.

Staff information that is ethically wrong to disclose is personal/family crisis, family relationship information, work related or job performance issues and salary information.

Staff information that is illegal! to disclose without express permission is residential address or contact information, identification numbers, and criminal background, if any.

Child Information  

• Always protect personal information about any child by getting a signed statement of permission to release from parent or guardian
• Only take photographs of a child with use of a signed statement of permission from parent or guardian and do not post photographs to social media
• Only share information about a child with coworkers when collaborating about a specific need

Parent Information                 

• Always protect personal family information from release to other parent, coworker, or to the public

Coworker                               

• Always protect and maintain the sense of program community by keeping personal, job performance, and salary information confidential
• Never share personal opinion about another teacher’s job performance with anyone but supervisory staff persons 

Keep it to Yourself – Lack of confidentiality is one of the biggest ‘deal breakers’ in the preschool business.  Practice a good work ethic by communicating openly and honestly with other staffers.  Share your strengths and weaknesses with your team teaching partner so you can share classroom duties, but NEVER share payroll information and try not to share negative personal thoughts on job performance issues outside your room, unless you are professionally collaborating about BIG concerns!

Next Blog: Confidentiality 2 – HOW?

 

One issue that causes the greatest difficulty in the management of any business, school, organization, or program is trouble with communication. Nothing can ‘gum up the works’ or cause more problems for a preschool program than poor communication (in any direction) 

Elements of Good Communication – The components of high quality communication are clarity, continuance, and respect.  All messages and communiques must be accurate and easily understood by recipients. Communication must be carried out on a continuing basis, and must be worded with respect and regard for the person reading it or listening to it.

Communication can be carried out by spoken word, phone, email, text, or by documentation on paper.  Often a written document carries more import and emphasis than spoken word, so a combination of documented and spoken word is necessary for the most accuracy and the clearest comprehension.  Some issues require written documentation such as parent and staff orientation material, class calendars of “news” and future events and assignments, program notices of financial, curricular, or procedural concerns, and minutes of meetings.

While Lead Teachers do most of the actual communicating, administrators are responsible for the overall effectiveness of the system.  Clear written staff orientation information and individual job descriptions are a MUST.  Everyone must know exactly what is expected of her and have a clear understanding of the chain of command.  Many problems can come from unclear job descriptions, differences in interpretation of mission, philosophy, and practices, and differences of opinion about ‘who does what?’, ‘where do I go for help?’, and ‘what if I have a problem?’’ types of questions.

Putting It in Writing

Among Staff Persons – Sometimes it makes people nervous to receive a written statement at work. If you are not concerned about your job performance, worry less about documents from administrators. A document makes things more clearly understood and there are times when clarity is a MUST.

With Parents – With the increase and ease of technology, communicating by email and social media is a much easier and more efficient way of seeing that everyone who needs information can get it. Parents need this communication so they can be as involved and informed as possible about procedures, events, needs, and emergencies.  Parents greatly appreciate being informed but also appreciate the volume being kept at a minimum (or they will ignore it).

With Children – It is wonderful for a child to receive a personal note from his teacher that congratulates him for his successes, his attempts, his progress, his behavior, or his attitude. This is a technique that boosts self-esteem, motivates appropriate behavior, and helps a child to connect printed word with meaning. A personal note of a positive nature does more to make a difference in a child’s world than a hundred notes about the “bad things he did at school today”. Make every effort possible to give this gift to each child at least once or twice during the school term. Don’t overuse it as it needs to keep its “specialness” – but know that using it in moderation works wonders.

Teachers spend A LOT of time writing notes to parents, creating lesson plans, making calendars, contributing to newsletters, doing assessments, filling our administrative forms for requesting stuff and using space, and completing accreditation and licensing requirements.  It can feel as if it takes away precious time spent with the children, but it is a necessary evil. 

Learn to be brief and concise in notes to parents and in mandated forms needed for licensing and accreditation. Use short clear sentences that make information easy to understand. Use pre-printed lesson plan and calendars that can be “filled in” with your ideas each week/month, and keep post-it notes and notebooks for jotting down observation facts so assessments are not so tedious later on. 

If you find you spend more time on paperwork than interacting with your children, talk to administrators and co-workers to see how to reduce the paperwork. Never take time from your attention to the children to complete paperwork.

Putting It in Words

Among Fellow Staff Persons – Talk to each other politely and in an informal, but professional way.  If you are speaking to a group of coworkers, and there are language differences among the staff, try to speak the language most in common to all, so there is no confusion and no feeling of exclusion. Likewise, do not assume that because you do not speak the language being used, that you are the object of the conversation. Smile and greet each other as you need to greet the children and parents and if there are philosophical differences, DISCUSS THEM IN PRIVATE AWAY FROM ANY PARENT OR CHILD!  Model manners and warmth at all times.

With Parents – During formal conferences with parents, make sure to stress strengths before tackling need or behavior issues.  Try to limit talking to parents to greeting at arrival and saying goodbye at dismissal times rather than having discussions while you are supervising the children.  Assure a parent with concerns that you’ll get to them at another time or make sure the children are completely supervised by another staff person before giving attention to a parent or any visitor.  NEVER TURN AWAY FROM THE CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM OR ON THE PLAYGROUND TO HAVE A CONVERSATION THAT DISTRACTS YOU FROM CAREFUL AND WATCHFUL SUPERVISION.  Let your parents know at Orientation (and remind them often) if you turn from them or choose not to engage with them while you’re with the children, that you are not being rude, but caring for their children.

With Children – Young children are extremely vulnerable when it comes to tone and nature of language.  They often react less to what you are saying than to HOW you are saying it.  Speak to Infants and Babies in a calm pleasant way so a mood of safety and peace is created.  Speak to Toddlers and Twos in a clear and understandable way because they are beginning to hear and understand the message as well as the tone.  Speak to Threes, Fours, and Fives with clarity, but also with a sense of wonder and interest.  The tone must match the message.  Use “big” words but explain them.  There is a difference in nonsense words, which are fun and silly and should be used, and baby talk. Baby talk and speaking in a high-pitched sing-song voice is demeaning and not a good way to model appropriate speaking for a young child.  Enthusiasm and wonder, yes. Baby talk, not so much.

A Final Word on Words:  Except for times when big NOs are necessary for safety reasons, if you have nothing positive, informational, or uplifting to say FIRST, to a child, a parent, or a coworker, it may be best to recall what our mothers taught us, and say nothing at all.

Next Blog:  Confidentiality!!!!!

For children to be successful learners, the environment of learning has to be one of physical, emotional and educational safety. I’ve written about physical and emotional safety at length. Establishing an environment of Educational Safety has to do with the aspects of the Staff, the Setting, and the System of organization of the program.   

Staff – Every program must guarantee that all of the adults in it work with professionalism in terms of continuing education and training; in ability, attitude, and appearance; in appropriate communication; and in holding strict adherence to confidentiality with regard to each child, each family, and the program for whom they are employed. 

Training: Have Some Class! – Regulations on administrative and teacher credentials vary from state to state and within states according to program, but if possible:

• Program Directors should hold Professional, Bachelor, or Master Degrees in Early Childhood Education, Curriculum, or School Administration and I strongly suggest that Directors of preschool programs have classroom experience in order to carefully and appropriately supervise, assess, and support staff.
• Administrators must also provide education and training opportunities and incentives for staff to continue updating professional training.
• Lead Teachers should hold either a Child Development Credential (CDA) or its equivalent in hours and components or a full Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development. 
• Assistant Teachers should have proof of having actual successful work experience in a formal early childhood program and have completed or be in the process of receiving formal professional training if they have none. 
• All persons who will be directly working with children (including those with degrees and those who will be teaching enrichment classes like art, music, drama, or technology) should have proof of a minimum of forty hours of local or state provided training in Early Childhood Education which includes the components of Child Development Theory and Research, Health, Child Abuse, Nutrition, and Developmentally Appropriate Practice                                                                                                                                                               
• Because of the amount of study and research done in the fields of human development, brain growth, learning, and special need, teachers must continually update their professional training in these areas.
• ALL persons working at a preschool program – whether directly or indirectly involved with classroom or enrichment teaching – must have successfully completed training in First Aid and CPR.

Ability, From the Top Down

Directors – Aside from the responsibilities outlined in most formal job descriptions, Directors should have the desire and ability to create a sense of community within the program including the use of clear, open, continuous, and correctly written and spoken communication, by being a fully visible and active participant in program activities, and by building and maintaining morale. They must have the desire and ability to support the staff through provision of sufficient equipment, materials, continuing education, and if possible, financial compensation, and in moral support when issues arise in which teachers need “backup”. They must model professionalism for the staff and mandate it firmly – to the point of dismissal of staff persons with poor performance.

Teachers – All adults working with young children must have a complete understanding of child development, learning, the program curriculum, and all aspects of the program policies and procedures. They must be familiar with each child’s strengths, needs, special needs, interests, and personality. They must be familiar with each child’s family in terms of situations that might affect learning progress or need. They must have the ability and desire to create and maintain a positive Emotional Environment in an assigned community of learners, the ability and desire to be an active, warm, and communicative member of the community of employees and supervisors, loyal to the program and all staff persons from Director to Maintenance Staff. They must have the ability and desire to treat parents and family members with acceptance and the greatest amount of respect, to be physically fit enough to actively participate in all learning experiences with the children, and to dress and speak appropriately for work in a professional setting. Whew!

Teachers Make or Break the Program – The quality of the teaching staff and the reputation of the teachers is the most important factor when it comes to the reaching of the goal of optimal learning for each child; for retaining the quality of the total program; and for the status of a program within a neighborhood or community.

Teacher quality can determine accreditation factors, the awarding of grant monies or funds to a public program, and the opinion of prospective clients to a private, faith-based, or commercial preschool program.

Attitude and Appearance

• Attitude means showing interest and enthusiasm from the first child’s arrival in the morning until the last one goes home in the afternoon or evening.  (And, sorry to have to say it, not standing around with a cup of coffee watching kids play!)
• Attitude means separating your “home stuff” from your “work stuff” and every staffer from the office to the janitor’s closet jumping in to help when needed, when asked, and when you aren’t asked, but see a need.
• Appearance can be a big issue for some programs – tats or no tats; piercings or no piercings; shorts, jeans, dresses, or uniforms; purple hair or no hair; weight! It is up to the administrators and parents to determine what is appropriate and up to the staff to adhere.
• Preschool teachers must be healthy and active.  They must MOVE in the classroom and ON THE PLAYGROUND! As for dress codes, I say clean and comfortable. Clothes don’t make the teacher; attitude does.

Next Blog:  Educational Safety – Staff – Communication & Confidentiality

 

Creativity Counts – Use your imagination, some artistry, and some literacy learning to give your community a name. Use alliteration, rhyme and humor.  Some I’ve seen were Mrs. B.’s Bees, Miss Katie’s Kangaroos, the Big Twos (in comparison to the Little Twos who did not turn three during the program year) Mr. Drake’s Ducks (and they quacked wherever they went in a wonderful line of loud four-year-old ducklings), The Pre-K Palace, (“Where We Act Like Kings and Queens”), and The 3 Amigos, a class of bilingual three-year-olds.  If they are ready, let the children vote or have input on class names and mascots.  Put up signs on the classroom door, and use the name in program newsletters, take-home calendars and memos (“News From the Twos!” or “What’s Buzzin’ with the Bees!” or “A Royal Announcement from the Palace!”).

And a personal note from me – NO APOSTROPHES IN PLURAL NAMES, PLEASE!                  IT’S TWOS, NOT TWO’S!!!!!

Community Work Works – Engaging the community in small whole-class projects to build skills in problem-solving, fitness, and creativity can also develop the spiritual skills of empathy and service to others. These can be planned or spontaneous.  If a child cannot find his pacifier, ask the community to help in the search.  If a ball gets stuck on the roof or in a tree, ask the community for suggestions on how to retrieve it.  If the class is studying oceanography, let the community create a big mural to display outside the classroom.  If the playground needs cleaning, the garden needs weeding, or the baby class needs its crib sheets folded, ask the community to lend a hand. 

Engage the community in big projects.  Whole-program projects done well can build skills in all curriculum areas. A canned goods collection drive in which each class participates allows the children to build skills of Mind (cognition, language-literacy, math, science, and social studies) as the children plan and talk about the event, ‘read’ labels and make signs, count cans, and learn about where the foods come from and how they’re grown, who needs the food and why it’s needed.  It builds skills of Body (health, gross and fine motor) as they lift and stack the cans and learn about nutrition.  It builds Spirit skills (self-awareness, expression, family, and humanity) as they involve their families and learn about the needs of others and how they can help.

Engage the community in developmentally appropriate competitions among other classes in the program.  Healthy competition is NOT a sin in early childhood programs as long as the emphasis is on the WORK, NOT THE REWARD, there are no big prizes and no big time winners and losers. It’s not about who collects the most cans, it’s about the community having a shared goal, practicing empathy, and making an impact on others.

A Final Word on Community – Build a community of learners by making sure that teachers participate in the work and play as equal community members with special responsibility and privilege.  Obviously, teachers must be present during all parts of the day for the purposes of safety, but they must also take an active role in play and work and not be detached from the action at any time.  Instead of doing paperwork, teachers must be involved in Center Time or whatever you call that time when children are free to work/play/explore in the Learning Centers. 

At meal and snack times, teachers must sit with the children and carry on conversations and discussions, rather than acting as waiters.  You must be actively involved on the playground rather than merely watching the children play.  There are no coffee breaks in the preschool day.  There are rarely even bathroom breaks! 

I went to visit a classroom of Threes one time and for the entire four hours, neither teacher in the community carried on a conversation with a single child!!!  They gave instructions, told the children what to do and WHAT NOT TO DO, but there was not a single moment of active listening or personal conversation.  I was appalled, because these teachers were nice ladies who seemed to like kids, but had no clue that their lack of being an active part of the community of learners was a BIG detriment to the efficiency and excellence of the “teaching” they thought they were doing so well. 

Remember that the community of learners should also include the administrative, clerical, maintenance staff and enrichment instructors too!  Some of the greatest learning moments I’ve seen happened when the children celebrated the janitor’s birthday marching to his mop closet with signs and cards to give him hugs!

Teachers of young children need to know the difference between “leading” and “lording”, between supervising and bossing, and between a child-centered and a teacher-centered learning community.  The more often teachers are involved in play, in conversation, and as active listeners, questioners, and resources, the more the children feel the spirit of teamwork and community, and the easier it is to reach the mission of high quality learning.

Next blog:  Educational Safety – Teachers Make the Program!