Instead of Worksheets...Do THIS to Learn Letters!

You know how I feel about worksheets and workbooks, right?

You might have been surprised to find out that I bought a handful while I was at the Dollar Tree the other day.  Some of you thought maybe I lost my mind and bought glitter.  But I assure you, I dislike workbooks even more!

It might have been the only purchase from Dollar Tree that I thought I might regret :)

So WHY did I buy them?

I am actually very excited to show you that you do NOT need them!  You can use some of the other treasures I bought from the Dollar Tree to play and learn with letters!

What is wrong with the workbook?

Workbooks/worksheets are close-ended.  This means that there is only one right answer.  For young children (preschool and kindergarten) we should be promoting thought and exploration.  As soon as we tell a child that they are wrong, their motivation is stifled.  Just imagine for a moment, the scenario below: (I am the one who filled this out, I couldn't bring myself to subject my children ;) )

Parent: Write the letter G.

Child: (Copies the capital and lower case letter)

Parent: Make sure you stay on the line.  This G is not touching the bottom line. 

Parent: Circle the picture whose name begins with g.

Parent: Yes, guitar and gum are right.  Mouse does not start with g.  It starts with M.  Why didn't you circle the next one?  It starts with G.

Child: Mmmmm-monkey.

Okay, the child is NOT wrong with the gorilla/monkey and gate/fence examples.  Do you see how this would be exhausting for a child?  Do you like to be told that you are wrong?  This is more of a "testing" tactic versus a learning experience.

Workbooks do not promote active learning.

Active learning requires 5 core elements:
1. A child should have MATERIALS.

2. A child should be able to MANIPULATE those materials.

3. A child should have CHOICE during the activity.

4. The activity should promote child THOUGHT and LANGUAGE (talking about their reasoning).

5. The activity should allow for adult SCAFFOLDING (this is supporting the child's exploration, helping them to the next level).

Workbooks do not meet these 5 core elements.  I'm not even sure they include any of them.  What do you think?  

So what can you do instead?

You are here because you want your child to learn about letters.   How can we give children opportunities to play with letters, but in a more hands-on and developmentally appropriate way?

Dollar Tree is redeeming itself here.  Look at what I bought:

Wooden Letters and Ice Cube Tray

I found the letters in the craft center.  I love including these in my loose parts collection. I grabbed a few ice cube trays just to give my children a place to sort the letters.  Children can come up with their own sorting categories: letters in their name, letters that have straight pieces, letters that have curves, etc.

Pool Noodles and Paper Towel Holder

I took 2 pool noodles and cut them into pieces.  I wrote capital and lower case letters on each with a permanent marker.  I had to squeeze the paper towel holder with a pair of pliers to make it skinnier for the noodles to fit.

After lots of exploration with the materials, you can use this to begin working on the child's name. This is a great way to begin to explore the child's name.  Set out just the letters in the child's name on a tray.  See if they can build a name tower.

Letter Beads

These can also be found in the craft section.  You can include pipe cleaners for the child to string them on.  We actually dropped a few into each ice cube tray and filled with water.  We are going to "excavate the letters" tomorrow.  

Wood Blocks and Tweezers

The small wood blocks are from the craft aisle and the tweezers are in the school aisle.  I used a paint pen to write the lower case letters on each block. We made "alphabet soup" by pouring all of them into a large bowl.  I invited my children to pick out a cube using the tweezers.  A way to extend this is to invite children to write what letter they found on the mini-etch a sketch board. 

Alphabet Stamps

This is not a Dollar Tree find, but you can get the ones pictured here. I love stamps because it is still supporting fine motor development, but it is a little easier than a paper pencil task.  You can obviously use stamps on paper, but you can also stamp into rolled out playdough.  Get a great recipe here. 

Speaking of playdough, here is another great post with a letter invitation. 

You can see all of these activities in action on this FB video.  Go here to watch it!

Q & A Session: Conflict Resolution and Time Out

 

 Did you catch the replay of the first ever Q&A Facebook Live Session?  You can check it out above.

Some highlights from today's discussion:

When should you step in when conflict arises?

In the video I talk about moving closer to the children, creating proximity.  This gives you, as the adult, a first row seat to what is going on.  Is everyone safe?  What actually is happening?  By getting close, we are able to see both sides of the conflict while making sure that everyone is okay.  

Then, you need to wait and see what solutions the children develop.  Remember that sometimes their solutions do not make sense to the adults in the room :) If both children are in agreement, the solution is a success!

Why is the brain important in regards to behavior?

I demonstrate the hand model of the brain developed by Dr. Siegel. This model will help us facilitate young children's behavior development as they move from flight/fight responses to more sophisticated behaviors. 

What are my thoughts on "time-out?"

I approach the subject of using time-outs.  I do not feel that is a one-size-fits-all approach for behavior issues that arise.  The reason is that the time-out does not teach the child a new, appropriate skill.  Time-outs do not take the function of the behavior into consideration.  If you want more information about the functions of behavior, check out this video and head to the 10:30 mark. 

I do think that calming corners or spaces are very beneficial.  This is never used as a punishment, instead it is used as a strategy for regulation.

What other questions can we tackle in the next Q&A?  

Make sure to leave them in the comments or email them to me at branchandblossomatelier@gmail(dot)com

Last Minute Mother's Day Gift

Are you still looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift?

I have an idea for you!  Send your kids on a "scavenger hunt" for the answers to the follow questions about grandma...or even yourself :) :

1. Find something that is her favorite color.
2. Find way to show me how tall she is.
3. Show me something she loves to eat.
4. How old is she?  Find that many items to count.
5. Show me something she is really good at.
6. Show me something she does NOT like.
7. What cartoon or book character remind you the most of her?

This scavenger hunt works well for smaller children because they are concrete thinkers.  You can take photos of the children with the items they find and compile it into a photo album. 


Or you can do what I did.  I used the iMovie app on my iPhone to create a quick video. You are welcome to insert the photos below into your own movie for your mother :)

This project is developmentally appropriate and it also has our children stop and think about the loved one :) 

Here are the photos you are welcome to use:

Using an ABC Chart to Track Behaviors

You have heard me say that I LOVE talking about behavior.  

This week on our Facebook Live, we talked about the benefit of tracking behaviors using an ABC chart. You can see that video here. 

All behaviors that we engage in have a FUNCTION.  This means that everything we do has a way of accomplishing SOMETHING.  The same is true for challenging behaviors.  Children engage in challenging behaviors in order to accomplish SOMETHING.  This SOMETHING is the FUNCTION of behavior.  When we document behavior using an ABC chart, it gives us clues to figure out the FUNCTION of the behavior.  

You can get a copy of the chart here.  This is a Google document, you will click "make a copy" and then you will be able to type right in.  If this doesn't work, you can use this form below: 

Let me show you how you will use this form. 

I suggest using one form for each day.

1. Write the time the behavior incident occurred.

This will be important for finding patterns.  For example, you will be able to look over a period of days or weeks to see that the majority of behavior incidents are occurring in morning.  This will be a clue.

2. Fill in the B column.  You will write exactly what the behavior looked like. 

Avoid writing things like "threw a tantrum" or "fought her brother." These terms do not tell us exactly what is happening.

3. Think back to what happened RIGHT before the behavior occurred.  Write this in the A column.

This will be the trigger or setting event.  Overtime, a list of antecedents will prove helpful in our detective work!

4. In the C column, write what happens right after the behavior incident.

In the C column, I wrote what happened right after Q hit her brother. This gives us a clue to the function or what the behavior is ACCOMPLISHING. 

Why is it important to collect this information in this way?

The goal of collecting this data is to find out why the children are engaging in these behaviors.  Once we know the WHY or what the behaviors are ACCOMPLISHING, we can teach children a replacement behavior that is more appropriate.  You can take this documentation to IFSP or IEP meetings.  Everyone will be so thankful!  You have a big chunk of the work already done!  

Follow along for more info:

Keep following the page or the blog for the next step in the process.  We will be looking at how we determine the WHY or FUNCTION of the behavior is.

Pet Project: Representational Drawings

Representational Drawings of Our Pets

Creating representational drawings is a very important piece of project work.  It encourages children to turn the abstract into something concrete.  This, after all, is the basis of writing.  We are instead using art to meet the same objective. 

Here is what we need you to do:

1. Gather the drawing materials you have at home. I like to start with just pen or pencil.

2. Look at your pet. How many eyes does it have? Does it have ears? How many? Does it have a nose? Does it have legs? Can you count them? What covers its body? How can you draw that? What else can you draw so we know that it is your pet?

3. If you do not have a pet, you can draw Motu. He loves to see pictures of himself! 🥰🐶

4. You can also find a stuffed animal to draw.

5. Post a photo in the comments or direct message it to me! I’d love to add it to our online portfolio as we continue to study pets.

You can look back at our Concept Web from the start of our project.

Look at the representational drawings you have made:

Pet Project: The Beginning

Pet Project: A Group Project that Everyone Can Join

I am glad that you are joining us virtually to engage in our Pet Project.  I am so passionate about Reggio-Inspired project learning and thought that we could all use this time with our children to engage in a project.  Our family chose to study pets because we do have a dog at home.  I know that not everyone has a pet, but most of you have experience being around someone's pet.  You may even have "pet" stuffed animals that you can study over the next few weeks.

Our first task during a project is to gather our ideas.  We will continually come back to this step throughout the project.  We start by creating a concept web.  You can see the Facebook Live video here.  These were the ideas from my four children.  

We still need to add your children's ideas!  Make a concept web with them.  I would love to see your webs.  You can add them to the comments on Facebook, direct message them to me, or email them to branchandblossomatelier@gmail.com

We also made a list of things we know about Motu and the questions we have about him:

Once again, send us your ideas and questions!  We will update our webs!

Next, we will begin representational drawings of our pets!

How to continue to work on IEP goals during this social distancing break

How to Continue to Work on IEP Goals During this Social Distancing Break

There are so many unknowns right now in the world.  And maybe you are concerned about maintaining progress on your child's IEP goals during this break.  The last thing you want is for your child to regress without regular therapies.  Maybe your child's teacher has given you activities to work on these skills.  Maybe you are working on these via technology. Maybe you are unsure of where to begin.

First let me tell you this.  You are an amazing parent.  Providing your child with a safe and secure home during this stressful time is your top priority. Let me repeat that.  Your top priority to so create a safe and secure home.  We know that this is true based on all of the educational literature and research.  We as educators, have studied Maslow's hierarchy of needs.  

Next, if you would like to look for opportunities to work on your child's IEP goals during everyday routines...please keep reading.  I want to introduce you to the embedded skills matrix.  This sounds fancy, but it is just a chart that looks at your everyday activities and allows you to find ways to embed your child's goal.  The embedded skills matrix is used by special education teachers to provide authentic practice of IEP goals throughout the school day.  This same matrix can be used in the home.  In fact, many early intervention providers create these for families to work on IFSP outcomes. 

In this chart above, you will see that the daily "home" activities are listed down the left column.  I am not suggesting that this is your schedule but more of a routine.  Your routine may look different than mine.  Stick to a stricter routine if that is important to your child.  You may want to create a visual schedule if you feel that it would help your child.  

Across the top row, you will list the IEP goals that are the top priority.  It is okay if these are not word for word from the IEP.  If you are having trouble prioritizing which goals are the most important, reach out to your child's teacher.  If the teacher is not available, I would be happy to help you!

In the body of the matrix or chart, you will write how you can work on each goal.  For example, this child's goal is to maintain attention to a task for 3 minutes.  During outdoor time, you can roll and ball back and forth for several minutes.  Encourage your child to stay with the activity.  

I think you will be surprised at how often you already are working on your child's IEP goals throughout the day.  You will be even more surprised to see how easily these goals can be worked into (embedded) into the routines that you are already doing.  This is great!  This is called generalizing the skill.  This means that your child can do this skill a variety of different ways in a variety of different settings. 

Ready to create your own?

You can hand write your own matrix or you can use this google doc link: HERE.

You will need to go to "File" and select "Make a copy." This will allow you to type in the boxes.  You can change any of the routine events to fit your families schedule. 

I hope this helps!  And as always, if you need assistance please email me: branchandblossomatelier@gmail.com

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