Using the Home As Learning Environment by Magda Bedros, MS

Using the Home As Learning Environment by Magda Bedros, MS

You are the most important teacher for your child For Infants/Toddlers every thing is education to them, every experience is a window of opportunity to make a connection to build trust, and develop his or her brain during Reading to them Feeding Resting, Napping Diapering

Shower your children with language Vocabulary target at 100,000 words when they enter school Information talk Expansion talk Open-ended questions

Read to your child Introduce new words

Math Home Made Materials& Games By Magda Bedros, MS

Math Content Standards Numbers and operations Algebra Geometry Measurement Data analysis and probability.

Math process Standards Problem-solving Reasoning Communicating Connecting Representing

Home Math Materials & Games Include Concrete manipulative Blocks, Home Made blocks, Milk Cartons Counters, any objects bottoms, rocks, apples, plates, cups, trees, leaves, fingers etc--- Pattern blocks, poker chips, colored dots Two-color counters Plastic caps, and can lids different sizes A variety of containers Money, coins Measuring materials, spoons, cups, cans, pots

Home Math Materials & games Include Cont. Symbolic materials Dice Dominoes Number lines Graphs Specific computer programs Other visual models Cards

Home Math Materials & Games Include Cont. Abstract representations Plastic numerals Price tags from store items Grocery store lists Building plans Calculators Computers Telephone books

Match Materials & games with the Standards Numbers and operations Printed items containing numbers and mathematical or scientific symbols e.g., signs, labels, brochures, advertisements with charts and graphs Things with numbers on them e.g., calculators, playing cards, thermometers, simple board games with dice or spinners Numbers made of wood, plastic, or cardboard (make sure they are sturdy so children can hold, copy, and trace them) Discrete items children can easily count e.g., beads, blocks, shells, poker chips, bottle caps Paired items to create one-to-one correspondence e.g., pegs and peg boards markers and tops, egg cartons and plastic eggs

Match Materials & Games with the Standards continued Geometry and spatial sense Materials and tools for filling and emptying water, sand; scoops, shovels Everyday things to fit together and take apart e.g., Lagos, Tinker toys, puzzles, boxes and lids, clothing with different types of fasteners Attribute blocks that vary in shape, size, color, thickness Tangram pieces Wooden and sturdy cardboard blocks in conventional and unconventional shapes Containers and covers in different shapes and sizes Materials to create two-dimensional shapes e.g., string, pipe cleaners, yarn Moldable materials to create three-dimensional shapes e.g., clay, dough, sand, beeswax

Match Materials & Games with the Standards continue Geometry and spatial sense continued Things with moving parts e.g., kitchen utensils, musical instruments, cameras Books that feature shapes and locations, with illustrations from different perspectives Photos of family activities from different viewpoints Materials that change with manipulation or time e.g., clay, play dough, computer drawing programs, sand, water, plants, animals Materials to explore spatial concepts (over/under, up/down) and to view things from different heights and position e.g., climbing equipment, (large cartons from appliances and furniture), boards Maps and diagrams

Measurement Match Materials & Games with the Standards continued Ordered sets of materials in different sizes e.g., nesting blocks, measuring spoons, pillows, paintbrushes, drums Ordered labels so children can find materials and return them to their storage place e.g., tracings of measuring spoons in four sizes on the pegboard in the house center Storage containers in graduated sizes Materials that signal stopping and starting e.g., timers, musical instruments, tape recorders Materials that can be set to move at different rates of speed e.g., metronomes, wind-up toys Things in nature that move or change at different rates e.g., slow- and fastgerminating seeds, insects that creep and scurry Unconventional measuring tools e.g., yarn, ribbon, blocks, cubes, timers, i cubes, containers of all shapes and sizes Conventional measuring tools e.g., tape measures, scales, clocks, grid paper, thermometers, measuring spoons, graduated cylinders

Match Materials & games with the Standards continue Patterns, functions, and algebra Materials with visual patterns e.g., toys in bright colors and black-andwhite, dress-up clothes, curtains, upholstery Materials to copy and create series and patterns e.g., beads, sticks, small blocks, pegs and peg boards, writing and collage materials Shells and other patterned items from nature Original artwork and reproductions featuring patterns e.g., weavings, baskets Pattern blocks Routines that follow patterns Stories, poems, and chants with repeated words and rhythms Songs with repetitions in melody, rhythm, and words Computer programs that allow children to recognize and create series and patterns

Match Materials & games with Data analysis the Standards continue Tools for recording data e.g., clipboards, paper, pencils, crayons, markers, chalk Materials for diagramming or graphing data e.g., newsprint pads and easels, graph paper with large grids, poster board Small objects to represent counted quantities e.g., buttons, acorns, pebbles Boxes and string for sorting and tying materials into groups Sticky notes and masking tape for labeling

Supporting and Extending Spontaneous Math Investigations Promote problem-solving: Model problem-solving strategies and dispositions. Share your own joy when you solve a problem. Acknowledge frustrations and give encouragement. Pose questions and make comments along the way. Invite children to use the guess and check method make a guess, check it out, and try something else if the idea does not work. Reflect on why the first idea did not work. Monitor your response. When we are too quick to reinforce we lead children to focus on an adult s reaction rather than concentrating on their problem-solving and reflection

Supporting and Extending Spontaneous Math Investigations continue Encourage reasoning: Use words and phrases such as or, not, if then, because, some, all, never, and probably. Encourage children to make guesses, and to investigate and justify them Ask questions that require investigation and reasoning: Are you sure? How do you know? Why do you think that? What else can you find that works like this? What would happen if? I wonder how this could be changed? What would the pattern be? What if? I wonder why? Is it because?

Supporting and Extending Spontaneous Math Investigations continue Provoke communication: o Label and describe. o Verbalize and restate concepts and processes. o Use clear, age-appropriate mathematical language. o Ask questions to help children clarify or extend their ideas. o Listen attentively to what children say. o Give children many opportunities to talk with and listen to their peers. o Work in small-groups or pairs.

Connect math to real-experiences: Highlight math with children s experiences using calendars and clocks, cooking, counting books, etc. Incorporate numbers, shapes, and patterns into movement games. Use sand and water to develop measurement concepts. Draw attention to math in everyday play and daily routines. Supporting and Extending Spontaneous Math Investigations continue

Supporting and Extending Spontaneous Math Investigations continue Practice representing: Introduce children to a wide variety of representations pictorial (drawings, maps), graphical (bar graphs made from stacked objects, timelines, pictographs), and symbolic (tables, prose descriptions). Use representation to help children remember what they did and explain their reasoning. Invite children to verbally or concretely represent a concept. Refer to your own representations.

Life Science Living things people, animals, insects, birds, fish and plants are a source of endless fascination for young children. Observing and talking about a variety of living things helps children learn about basic needs, ways of moving, life cycles, habitats, growth patterns and the interdependence of living things, life cycle.

Here are some ways children learn about life science: Measuring themselves and recording their own heights and weights

Collecting and sorting different types of leaves

Matching and sorting pictures of animals based on what they look like, where they live or what they eat

Using a magnifying glass to study worms, insects or a flower

Planting seeds, giving them sunlight, water and plant food, and watching them grow.

Quality Life Science Curriculum Includes Time Provide children ample time for freeplay/independent exploration Plan structured learning experiences (for example, small-group activities). Allow and encourage investigations to extend over several weeks, with each day s activity building on those of the previous day. Example, Air

Making Use of Science Tools Supporting the development of scientific inquiry means including opportunities to explore and practice using scientific tools. Tools help children extend their investigations, track data, and make observations and comparisons.

Adult Support Children learn science through relationships with supportive adults. Beyond creating a physical environment that supports inquiry and a daily schedule that provides time for thorough investigations, adult can do much to enhance a child s inquiry process. Observe Celebrate wonder Assist, rather than direct Encourage cooperative exploration Scaffold young children s investigations