Pre-K teaching times, Mar. 2013

Pre-K Teaching Times

Classroom Management: Helping students relax and reduce stress in the classroom

The following tips can help students relax and can reduce stress in the classroom.
Draining: Extend both arms out in front of your body parallel to the floor. Have the fists closed palms facing down. Pretend your arms are faucets on a sink. Your closed fists are acting as drains. To open the drain relax your fingers by opening them and making a swishing noise (sssshhh). The noise represents water flowing out of a faucet. Close the drain by tightening your fist. Tighten them so that your arms, neck, and face are constricted. Then, open the drain and release with the sound.
Ballooning: Blow up a balloon, and then hold the lips of the balloon and allow the air to escape. Explain how we can do this with our lungs. Have the children inhale a number of times and holding it to blow up their lungs like balloons. Then have the children purse their lips and allow the air to escape.

Pretzel: Sit or stand crossing the left ankle over the right ankle. Extend the arms out in front and cross the left wrist over the right wrist. Interlace the fingers and draw the hands up toward the chest. Close your eyes and breathe with your tongue pushing flat against the roof of the mouth when inhaling and releasing when exhaling. The pretzel shifts the electrical energy from the survival centers of the brain to the reasoning centers. This creates hemispheric integration. The tongue pressing against the roof of the mouth stimulates the limbic system to work with the frontal lobes. Dr. Dennison discovered this posture releases emotional stress and can help with learning disabilities.
Stretching: Stretching helps release tension from muscles and preoccupa-

tions from our minds. Stretching can improve circulation, strengthen breathing, relieve fatigue, release nervousness, improve flexibility, promote mental clarity, and energize the system. The following activity is based on Martha Belknap's work and book called Mind Body Magic: Creative Activities For Any Audience. It is called A-B -C Stretching. It uses the letters of the alphabet to lead children in stretching their bodies.
A = Arching (link your thumbs and raise your arms overhead and arch back)
B = Bending (reach forward toward the floor)
C = Climbing (with both hands, pretend to climb up a wall high onto your tip toes)
D = Dancing (sway your body side to side and spin around)
E = Energize (five jumping jacks)

March 2013
Inside this issue:
Classroom Man- 2 agement.

March Math

3

Madness

The Importance 3 of CLASSroom Organization in Pre-K

Social Studies 4

The Windy

5

World of Pre-K

Teacher to

6

Teacher

20 Year Cele- 7 bration

GELDS

7

Classroom Management: Helping Students Relax and Reduce Stress in the Classroom (continued)

F = Flip (flip hands from palm up to palm down)
G = Growing (lengthen different body parts neck, shoulders, arms, fingers)
H = Hugging (give themselves or each other a hug)
I = Inline Skating (pretend to skate around the room)
J = Jumping (jump forward, backward and side to side)
K = Kicking (do a Charleston kick)
L = Leap (leap over a pretend stream and leap back)
M = Moving (stretch your fingers wide apart pull them together)
N = Nodding (move the head up and down slowly)
O= Opening (open your mouth and close it; open your arms wide and close them)
P = Patting (pat your knees twice and then your toes twice)
Q = Quivering (shake your whole body)
R = Running (run in place)
S = Swimming (pretend to swim with different strokes)

T = Twisting (keep the feet still and twist your back to look behind you)
U = Up (slowly raise one leg up and put it down, repeat with the other leg)
V = Vibrating (have different body parts shake and relax)
W = Waking up (stretch up high and pretend to yawn)
Y = Yawning (pretend to yawn)
Z = Zipping (pretend your shoes have zippers; bend over and zip them on)
Extensions to A-B-C Stretching: Have the children create their own stretch alphabet. Have children who have pets watch how they stretch when they wake up. Use animal or pet names in the alphabet as children teach others how their dog stretches.
Have children use the alphabet to spell their own names. Have children spell with stretching and guessing each other's words. Words such as joy, smile, play, etc., are fun. Post the words on your word wall or chart paper. Stretch to a rap beat.
Taking a trip: Brainstorm with the children where they would like to go on a trip.

Using guided imagery, lead the children on the trip. In the story emphasize actions that require stretching, moving, and breathing.
If the children decide to go to the zoo, have them stretch like animals, look up to see the tall giraffes, look down to see the small frogs.
If they decide to go to the beach, have them sway like palm trees, reach up to grab coconuts, or move their hips like hula dancers. Let your imagination run wild. Ask the children what they would see next, how it would move and how they might move to see it, touch it or taste it.
Source: Conscious Discipline -- 7 Basic Skills for Brain Smart Classroom Management
By Dr. Becky A. Bailey
GA READS ALOUD
Join DECAL staff on March 19th for Georgia Reads Aloud Day! We
encourage every school/center to participate by reading aloud to
children and logging in your books on our website counter. Visit our
website for more details!

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Pre-K Teaching Times

March Math Madness

March presents many opportunities to gain students' interest while teaching math. One opportunity is Grid Games. Grid Games can be adapted to fit any topic and can be used to teach and reinforce one-to-one correspondence, counting, and numeral identification. Students roll the dice and identify the number or count the dots. They then count that number of manipulatives and place them on a grid. They play until the grid is full. A quick visit to www.prekinders.com/gridgames will get you started with some free, ready-made grids to fit almost any theme. This site has grids designed for counting 1-10 and for counting 1-20.

Integrating literacy with math is another way to gain students' interest. Counting books, such

The Importance of CLASSroom Organization in a Pre-K Environment

as Five Little Bunnies (available free on www.prekinders.com/ easter-theme), are an excellent way to teach math skills while addressing literacy. Other free math printable concept booklets can be found at www.hubbardscupboard.org . Just click on the literacy link; then click on printable booklets. An inexpensive themed notepad, such as shamrocks or bunnies, can be taken apart, laminated, and turned into Math Mats for "on/off" games. (See page 152 of the "Off to a Good Start" handbook available at http://www.decal.ga.gov/Prek/ OffToAGoodStart.aspx for a full description of "on/off" games.) Cutting each page of the notepad apart with irregular cuts can also turn them into themed puzzles. No matter which activity you choose to plan, make math fun!

Classroom Organization, one of the three domains of the CLASS observation tool, refers to the organization and management of students' behavior, time, and attention in the classroom. Classrooms function best and provide the most opportunities for learning when students are well behaved, consistently have things to do, and are interested and engaged in learning tasks.
Teachers must help students develop skills that enable them regulate their own behavior, get the most out of each school day, and maintain their interest in learning.
Following are some ways this can be done: Monitoring and redirecting children's behav-
ior look for cues, such as body language and facial expressions, that indicate children may be moving toward more disruptive or inattentive behavior. Redirect misbehaviors before they escalate.

Being consistent with consequences. Providing consistent, clear learning activities
squeeze as much instructional time into the day as possible. Making the most of transitions develop consistent and interesting routines to help children transition from one activity to the next or from one area of the room to another. Actively involving children plan activities that encourage participation. Presenting information through a variety of modalities plan activities so that children have interesting things to look at, listen to, or touch. Sharing in their interest and enthusiasm have fun, sing, dance, join in. Asking many questions ask questions that direct the children's attention to what you are discussing.

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Social Studies

Social Studies encompasses our respect and appreciation for other peoples and cultures. Pre-K children now have greater exposure to families from different cultures, countries, and lifestyles. Pre-K children are curious about differences in dress, celebrations, and foods. Many children may have the "picky eater" syndrome because of less exposure to a variety of foods. Do you have students in your classes who shun trying new foods?
SS 2b: Children demonstrate an emerging awareness and respect for culture and ethnicity
Activity: Bread, Bread, Bread
Materials: The book, Bread, Bread, Bread by Ann Morris. A variety of breads to explore: bagel, pita, scones, tortilla, rye, sourdough, and croissant.
Large Group: Gather children and present various breads. Search the Internet ,so you can provide information about these types of breads. Where are these types of breads common? (example: rye in Germany; croissants in French cultures; and pita in the Middle East). Show children these countries on a map or globe, but add that these breads are

also common in our community because people bring their preferences for food with them! This is how we learn to enjoy different foods and breads. Allow students to contribute personal experiences with their families' favorite breads. Create a list of what types are commonly eaten in their home. Present the Book: Bread, Bread, Bread.
Read to the children. Discuss. Fingerplay: Tortilla, tortilla pa-ra Mama Tortilla, tortilla pa-ra Papa Tortilla, tortilla pa-ra Bebe Tortilla, tortilla pa-ra mi!

Centers:
Math: Review how to wash hands before visiting the math center. At math, cut up various bread types for children to taste and explore. Which types do you like the most and least? Why? Graph your answers on chart paper.
Dramatic Play: Add clothes and props from different cultures for dress up. Display modern and traditional photos from the Internet or magazines showing styles of clothing from different countries.
Science: Talk about grains. If possible, bring in samples and compare to flour. How do wheat and bleached flour compare and contrast?
Music: Explore instruments of different people/places: banjo, maracas, drums, bongos. Move to different rhythms.
Cooking: Make cornbread, biscuits, or muffins in class. Perhaps ask a parent to volunteer to do this activity. Allow children to sample these breads with butter, honey, jams. Explain that many children in Georgia love cornbread, biscuits and muffins!

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Pre-K Teaching Times

The Windy World of Pre-K

Because young learners are curious about the world around them, teachers should provide them with opportunities to explore, investigate, and experiment with a variety of materials As spring approaches, try some of these "windy" activities to excite your children about the world around them.
Can You Blow It? In the science center place some items that will easily move when blown and some that will not move. (cotton ball, piece of paper, plastic or paper cup, wooden block, rock, feather, pom pom, etc.) In a small group ask children to predict which objects can be moved by blowing and which ones cannot be moved. Relate the children's blowing to the wind. Remember to introduce the word "predict" to them and talk about how scientists make predictions and then test them to learn about things in our world. Have a way to sort the items so that children can place them according to whether they moved or not. Place the materials in the science center, and let the children continue to explore to determine if the objects can be moved when they blow on the object. Encourage them to bring other materials to the science center that they can "test."
Observing the Flag
Take the children outside to the school's flagpole every day for a week or longer. If you don't have a flagpole, help the children create a wind sock from paper and paper streamers to take outside and observe. Create a graph (like a weather graph) to record if the wind blew the flag each day. If the wind is blowing, have a child draw a flag on the flagpole or place a flag sticker in the box. If the wind is not blowing,

place an X in the box. At the end of the recording period count how many days the flag was blown by the wind. This could be extended by comparing two different months.
How Far Can You Blow a Feather? Place a piece of masking tape on the floor to mark the starting point. Give each child a feather and have them place the feather at the starting point, get close to the feather, and blow it as far as they can using one breath. Have the children mark the spot where the feather stopped. Use wooden cubes or another nonstandard unit such as paper clips to measure the distance each child blew the feather. This is a fun small group activity; allow children to try different lightweight objects and discuss which ones went further and why. Or use a straw, a cardboard tube, a small handheld fan, or other "blowing" instruments and compare which blew the objects the longest distance.
Keep It Up The object of this game is to blow a feather and keep the feather from touching the ground as long as you can. The feather cannot be touched by anyone and can only be blown. Time the children to see how long they can keep the feather in the air or set a goal of 30 seconds or longer, depending on how well your children are doing with the activity. This is also a great activity to place in the science center.
Ribbons in the Wind
Using long strands of three-inchwide ribbon or crepe paper streamers, tie a small loop in one end. Give each child a ribbon to take outside on a windy day. Have the students hold a ribbon with their arm up in the air and watch how the ribbon blows in the wind. Talk

about how the wind blows things around, and although we can't see the wind, we can see how the wind moves things around us. Let the students play with the ribbons as they blow in the wind. Help the children notice other objects blowing in the wind.
Great books with a wind theme: Air Is All Around You by Franklyn M. Branley Gilberto and the Wind by Marie H. Ets Kite In the Park by Lucy Cousins Kipper's Kite by Mick Inkpen (great touch and feel book!) Like A Windy Day by Frank Asch Millicent and the Wind by Robert Munsch The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day by A.A. Milne
A Windy Song Idea The Wind is Moving (Are you Sleeping) The wind is moving, The wind is moving, Things around, Things around, Kites and flags and tree leaves, Kites and flags and tree leaves, Moving all around. Moving all around.
The Wind is in my Hair (The Farmer in the Dell) (shake head around and move fingers through hair as singing) The wind is in my hair, The wind is in my hair, Oh what a bad hair day, The wind is in my hair!

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Teacher to Teacher
What routines/activities do you implement throughout the day to promote phonological awareness?

At calendar time when writing the morning message, we compare the beginning sounds in various words; we clap out the words in the sentences as we read what is written. At times we create rhyming words using the helper's name, day of the week, or another familiar word reflected on the message board.
For music and movement I sometimes play a rhyming song or a letter sound song.
Story times reflect rhyming books, alliteration books, alphabet books; book choices support the level of phonological awareness my children are working based on my assessment data.
Pam Vickers
During clean up, I go to the Dramatic Play Area and say, "Let's put away all items beginning with the "C" sound. Children begin to put away carrots, cakes, cucumbers, etc. I then challenge them with another letter sound and then do this for several rounds before moving to another group.
During the reading of a book, I ask children to listen for a certain sound or word and clap twice if they hear it while I am reading. It is important to preview books before reading so

that the focus sound or word happens frequently.
During longer transitions, we play the Silly Sentences Game. The children make up funny sentences with all words beginning with the same sound. It does not matter if the sentences make sense...the children just love the silliness of the activity.
Another transition activity is Beat the Sand Timer. How many words can we brainstorm beginning with the same letter before the sand stops flowing?
Lali Holloway
Finger plays help me reinforce rhyming throughout the day and are quick to use during transitions or down time. I teach finger play during our large group meetings and use visual aids (flannel board items) to reinforce the rhyming word components. Then, during transitions, we simply recite the finger plays, and I ask children to recall which words rhyme. The visual aids help support children in remembering what rhymes.
Cindy Colado
My children enjoy playing Treasure Chest. I give each child a card reflecting an upper and lower case letter. Children

then move throughout the classroom and find one object that begins with their letter sound. We come back to the group and share.
Lekina Strickland
Line up if your name begins with this sound..."B," or line up if your name rhymes with this word. Also, while reading a book, I will sometimes pause, repeat a word from the story, and we count syllables.
Tracy Reid
During transitions we recite nursery rhymes to help children stay engaged. Also, during transitions or a few moments of down time, we find objects in the room that begin with the same sound as a word I say.
Kym Zamora and Jennifer Thomas
During transition or lining up, we sort the children by number of syllables in their names. We sometimes play a game called Pack for a Picnic where we brainstorm items that begin with a certain letter. This can sometimes get very silly! Also, we say the beginning letter sound in children's names to dismiss to activities or line up.
Sharon Pooler

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Pre-K Teaching Times

Georgia's Pre-K Program 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, SE 754 East Tower Atlanta, GA 30334 Phone: 404-656-5957
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Call the BFTS office and Pre-K Consultant on duty at 404-656-5957. Pre-K Consultant contact information also can be found on the website. www.decal.ga.gov

The Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS)

Website and Logo

The Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) are in the final stages of revisions. One of the last steps in the revision process is to solicit public review and comment. DECAL has launched a new GELDS website that allows everyone to examine the GELDS and make comments. The website address is:
www.gelds.decal.ga.gov
Please explore and comment on the GELDS. Your feedback will help as we make final revisions to the standards. Eventually, the site will serve as a portal for all GELDS information and resources: links to training webinars and other opportunities for professional development; lesson planning ideas; parent resources; videos of exemplary teaching practices using the GELDS shot at model learning programs. As we move forward with the GELDS roll out this year, this new website will be a valuable resource for everyone.
Also, we are excited unveil the new GELDS logo!