Arts in Education Portal

"This project was grounded in the belief that very young children are competent, capable learners who demonstrate an explorative attitude as they ‘re/present’ their ideas, thoughts and feelings with multiple mediums. Much of the learning, discoveries, creativity and innovations of very young children happen in front of our eyes but need to be framed in understandable ways in order for adults to fully grasp the power and impact of what is unfolding..."

Educació i les TIC

Oooh this looks interesting!

Inspiration for Early Childhood Education's cover photo

Mindstretchers Training & Consultancy

"One of the barriers to the successful inclusion of children with additional needs is that of ‘participation’. Children have ‘access’ to early childhood settings by welcoming the enrolment, including the child physically in to the setting with other children. Most of the time children are participating in the program in some form however a closer look at the quality and level of participation is crucial in order to be beneficial for all stakeholders."

25 Alternatives to "Good Job" - Picklebums

Following on from the last post, I want to share this poster made by Kate at Picklebums! When I first came across Kate's poster, I printed it out and stick it up at home and in the preschool. Over time, I found myself naturally using these phrases when responding to children. Try it out! http://picklebums.com/25-alternatives-good-job/

Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job!” (**)

This is worth a read... Praise vs Encouragement http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/five-reasons-stop-saying-good-job/

“We Want To Learn About Mushrooms!” – The Excitement (And Mild Terror) Of Child-Led Learning

This is an excellent account from an early years educator who describes how and why she moved to following a child led curriculum. #aistear #emergent #enquirybased #curriculum #aistearsioltapracticeguide

Mayo Branch of HighScope

If you are implementing HighScope in Msyo you might be interested in the new branch of HighScope in Mayo. To keep updated on the plans and the activities of the branch please follow. Please like and share the page with colleagues who might be interested and are using the approach.

The clear tubing can be got in the marine section of a pet store, less than €4

Timeline Photos

Follow up activity: Day 2 I talked to the children about what we had done on day 1 & about our plan for today's activity.. The children talked about the process of making their mixtures the previous day. I gave each child a clear tube(around the size of a child's wrist, or a little bigger), a dropper and their mixture tubs.(I put baby oil through the tubes before giving them to the children, this helps the mixture move easily through the tubes). The children used their droppers to transfer their mixtures into the clear tubes. It was so exciting to watch the mixture move through the tube!!! I used water resistant glue to stick the tube together then wrapped it in a small amount of tape.(if anybody can think of a better translucent way of sticking them together, please share, and maybe a way the children could do this themselves:))) The children loved the process of this activity and were really excited their end products, Enjoy :)))))

Timeline Photos

On day 1: For a Small Group Time Activity we explored mixing Cornflour and water together. I talked about the ingredients, getting ideas of what the children thought it might be like when we mix the two together!! I gave each child the right consistancy of water and cornflour in two seperate clear containers, a bowl, spoon and a dropper. Back Up Materials: Paint and Glitter. After the children explored mixing the ingredients together the children used the Back Up materials to add to their mixtures... I gave each child a small clear container(e.g. Old Film roll cases, small medicine cups). The children used their droppers to transfer their mixture into the containers.(I talked with the children about our follow up activity, using the mixture for making our very own personal braclets). Label the film case/medicine cup with children's names for day 2...

The Artful Parent