I learned just as much from actually teaching preschool as I did in all 10 years of graduate coursework.

No matter how much or how little formal education you’ve had, maybe you’ve had a similar experience?

Today’s question comes from Sam who teaches 2 and 3 year olds....

Q. Do you think it’s appropriate to ask them ‘what day is it?’, ‘what month is it?’, ‘how many days are there in the week and month?’ I think they’re too little. We can sing the days of the week and clap the syllables but that’s enough isn’t it?

Do you work in a program where children in your class are currently required to wear masks?

If so, what are some strategies you’ve found to help children keep their masks on?

This week I’m looking to YOU to help one another and to help Amber* the Director of a small preschool.

Some of you have been teaching since early in the pandemic, whereas others have just gone back this Fall.

I recently received this question from a reader in Plovdiv, Bulgaria but I’m certain it will resonate with early childhood professionals around the world…

“We try to have some time for rest and relaxation in the afternoon after lunch. We have a really hard time making children lay down for a while and relax...advice?

- Katerina (name changed for privacy)

Katerina, many teachers share your rest time struggles!

And, while it’s easy to pinpoint nap time or quiet time as the problem, in reality the solution starts much earlier in the day…

Last week I shared that challenging behaviors are sometimes the result of well-intentioned activities that are not “appropriate” for the age group or developmental abilities of one or more children in your class.

In fact, a lot of common early childhood practices are actually too hard, too easy, or simply not meaningful for the age group that they are commonly used with.

That’s true not just about actual lessons or activities but also about common ways we interact with children - things we say or do.

Did you know that some percentage of the challenging behavior in early childhood classrooms is due to activities and expectations that are not realistic for the age group?

...or, sometimes our activities are generally great for the age group but are not a good match for one or two kids.

How’s it going?

I’m writing to have a quick chat with you today about dragons.

Ha! Yes, dragons.

I’m wondering if you’re reading dragon books, playing dragon games, doing dragon things?

Do you have kids who are trying to run out of the room, refuse to come to story time, or otherwise resist joining the group?

This is a VERY COMMON phenomenon in toddler, preschool and kindergarten classrooms...and even in the older years.

Especially at the beginning of the school year.

It's perhaps especially common this year when so many young children are joining in-person early childhood classrooms for the first time in their lives.

And it's undoubtedly especially common for…

Every so often in the past year and a half, when I sit down to write to you, all I really want to say is:

How are you doing? ....no, really?

All the strategy in the world is the last thing on my mind and I'm just wondering, gosh, how are you holding up over there?

Something about so many schools finally going back to 100% in-person learning (I know many of you have been in-person for months or over a year) just highlights how little our society - policy makers and all too often program administrators - look to teachers and early child caregivers as the experts that you all are.

Just once, I'd like to see decisions made about whether and how to do things in early childhood programs and classrooms fall into the laps of the actual people doing the work.

by Barb O’Neill

Conference Creator, Host and Interviewer

(NOTE: this is a numbered list but the order is random, not based on order of importance).

I started sharing the 10 things in a separate post but it was getting LONG so I decided to split it up (let’s face it even I have a short attention span and even when I am writing about my favorite things). Read 1-5 from the list here: transformchallengingbehavior.com/blog/10things

6. You can give your art materials a name like “Mr. Glue” and then use a little story to teach children how to use glue in ways that keep Mr. Glue safe (and that don’t result in squeezing out the whole bottle on the first go).

Hats off to Sally Haughey for turning little lessons in to magic moments infused with play…