Replacing Letters of the Week with Real Learning

Here's another snippet from my new book, Monday Memo: Creating Change in Early Childhood Education, One Message At a Time. 

As we  discussed,  this year will be about building relationships  and implementing developmentally appropriate practice. We  connected the research about how children  learn with the importance of being intentional teachers.  Some of what  we discussed was new to you.  During our discussion of the Vermont standards for kindergarten  readiness, we noted that decoding (reading) and writing are not required skills for four year olds.

 

The amount of time used for teaching letters and sounds can now be used to offer free time experiences that increase their independence,  i.e. getting dressed, communicating  their needs, caring for each other,  problem  solving skills, etc.  You can also  use that time to allow  the children to explore interesting materials that people bring into the classroom.

 

Remember  when we practiced setting up materials in an intentional  way to get the children interested?  Jacquie and Jenn sorted rocks and put them in glass baby food jars. They displayed the jars on a mirror to offer a visual appeal. Then they took a few big shells and placed some small rocks in one and larger rocks in the other. Next to the rocks they placed a magnifying glass. They told us their intent was to encourage the children to explore and maybe sort the rocks by size. We all agreed that this display was much  more interesting than the red bowl of rocks that they usually have sitting in the science area.

 

Developmentally  appropriate practice  and child centered learning  have been  proven  to be excellent  ways to teach children.  This combination  of the constructivist  and sociocultural theories  tells us to create  experiences  that allow children  to construct  meaning. Giving children  ample time to have these experiences lets them  share what  they  are learning  with their peers. The  role of teacher  as facilitator  means  you “guide” learning  experiences, not “teach knowledge.”

Want more?  Order your copy of Monday Memo today at Amazon.com! 

Where's your copy?

"I have an autographed copy and it's such a wonderful book.  Everyone needs to keep this on their desk, on their nightstand--somewhere close to you!!"

Thanks, Pam!  I'm so glad you are enjoying Monday Memo!  

To get your copy, go to www.monday-memo.com.

From Done to Done-r: The Road to Amazon.com

You may remember this post on Facebook and Twitter not too long ago:

Ahhhh! The book is DONE! DONE I tell you! And yes, I'm crying. Bet you would, too, if you were in labor for 28 months and delivered a 182 page baby. 

That's right! Monday Memo: Creating Change in Early Childhood Education, One Message at a Time is DONE! I shouted it at the top of my voice from my living room, I sent texts to friends using lots of !!! and :)), and I told anyone who answered their phone that finally I. Was. Done! I accepted everyone's praise and congratulations, knowing that I'd finally met one of my biggest life goals. Then I took out my To Do list, created back in the fall of 2011, to see what I could start on next. 

(But I didn’t quite understand what done meant/when done was really done.)

About an hour after my post, I received a message from my publisher, telling me that there were big problems with the layout and that we needed to make some changes before it could be ready for the printer. 

And then there were problems with the hand drawn cover art. 

And then there were 12 days of final design changes, last minute re-wording, and a few finishing touches. And then finally I finished my book a 2nd time. 

I woke up last Saturday to the following email. 

From: Publisher

To: DJ 

Your book was officially born at 7:45am eastern time. Proofs are ordered. Regards.

Whoohoo! NOW I have a book. NOW I can cry again and email my family who will whoo hoo right on cue. 

And now that its finished (again), I wait. And wait. And wait. The wait is driving me crazy.