This is a different post from those I would usually write. However, I thought that “tales from a teacher” may be interesting to write about from time to time. As teachers, there are sometimes events that stick in our minds, and this is one that has been stuck in my mind this week.

Following a conversation with my former co-worker last week, today I’d like to look at the importance and necessity of giving children the skills to speak up for themselves. It’s so important for us, as adults, to help children feel confident and comfortable expressing their opinion about what they like and what they don’t like.

The story

So as not to make this post too long or too preachy, here is the gist of it: my co-worker was approached by a parent last week who was, in her words, visibly upset about something. The parent explained that their child didn’t want to go to summer camp anymore because they were constantly hearing a playful word: “silly”.

This word is used by children and teachers at the school and the connotations of it are nothing but playful and, in my opinion, much better than other words.

A tangent

As we live and work in an international environment, it is common for us as teachers to have to explain some of the words that we use as they are very specific to where we come from.

For example, I say “oopsie daisy” when tripping, dropping something, or knocking into something. “Oopsie daisy” is what we said when I was a child, when I worked in England, and I’ve continued to use it throughout my time in Prague.

I cannot count how many parents have come to me and said, “my child keeps saying ‘oopsie daisy’, what does it mean?”.

Back to the story

The parent, after hearing my co-worker’s explanation as to why that word was used and what it means, was still quite upset. They reiterated that their child now did not want to be at summer camp because of the use of the word. This parent believed my co-worker should have seen this word upset the child and immediately stopped using it, while also telling other children not to use it as well.

It was, in the parent’s opinion, part of a teacher’s role to intervene in this – and indeed any – situation where a child may be upset, regardless of the reason. Due to the lack of intervention, this child was no longer going to attend summer camp at this school.

I do understand this parent’s point of view. I am sure that I wouldn’t be pleased if my child kept saying they didn’t want to go to school. The parent wanted, as I would have, an explanation. 

Reaction

My co-worker was extremely shocked by this conversation and explained the reason behind the use of the word. She also explained that the child had never seemed upset, often used the word herself, and had never expressed negative feelings towards it.

The child in question is very talkative and comfortable at school and my co-worker was surprised that she didn’t speak up about not liking something.

When we discussed this in more detail it led to a conversation about the importance of children speaking up. Not only this, but adults giving them the tools to do so.

Why is this important?

You may ask, why should a child speak up when their parents can do so for them? And this is a fair point. My answer to this would be that parents (or teachers) aren’t always going to be there to do it for them.

Let’s put it this way: if a child were behaving inappropriately in class, would you expect the teacher to wait till you, as a parent, arrived to speak to the child? (I hope your answer to this is no).

Don’t get me wrong, parents must be able to speak with their child’s teacher and this relationship is very important. Should it come to it, it may be good to also speak with the school’s management.

Parents and teachers can and should show children that their opinion is important and how to express it.

In teaching independence, independent thinking, creativity, and all the important social skills that children should learn at preschool, teaching them how to speak up is of equal importance.

This helps children feel confident enough to say “I don’t want to play mummies and daddies again” to their peers.

It helps them feel secure enough to play in the sand when they have forgotten to bring their wellies to school and they can’t play in puddles.

They can say “stop trying to scribble on my picture” when their friends are not playing nicely.

They are confident enough to go to the teacher if someone is physically hurting them or not using nice words.

Of course, it is the job of a teacher to pay attention and make sure that the children in their care are happy and safe! Of course! However, teachers are (though we don’t seem like it) only human! We can’t always do everything so we must teach children these skills.

So how do we teach said skills?

Modelling behaviour

I believe that one of the best ways to teach something is to model it, to show the desired behaviour in a real setting. This works with how you’d like your child to speak with you – “Would you close the door for me please?” vs “shut the door!” – how you would like the children in the class to sit during circle time, and many other situations.

So how do we model this? Firstly, make sure that your behaviour is the same as what you’d like children to learn.

If I am sitting sprawled on the floor with my phone on my lap, children see this and they will copy me and, most probably, want to see my phone. If this is fine for you, then okay. However, in circle time, I sit with my legs crossed, my listening ears turned on, and my good-looking eyes looking at whoever is talking.

This is because I expect the same behaviour from the children in my class.

Explaining behaviour

After the behaviour has been modelled, it is necessary to explain the reasons why we do these things.

In the past, I have had children in my classes who played poorly with their friends and this caused them to be alienated by their peers. Although a hard lesson, this was a perfect example for the children as they had an actual experience of how their behaviour affected others and how it, in turn, affected them.

Keep in mind, however, that if you would like for a child to behave in a certain way, you must do so yourself. The phrase “do as I say and not as I do” keeps popping into my mind while writing this.

Result

The conversation with my co-worker ended with us agreeing that it was sad for a child to have left and for them and their parent to have felt unhappy as a result of this situation.

In a perfect world, we would have wanted the child to stay and for her to learn how to speak up and for her to do so. However, all we can do is endeavour to understand, adapt, and continue to teach these skills so that we help raise confident children.

What do you think?

Do you agree with our thoughts on this? Would you perhaps go about this another way? What are your thoughts on this topic in general?

Please do let me know if “tales from a teacher” is something you’d be interested in seeing more of.

Fingerplays are great fun and can be used to teach, entertain, and more. First, let’s look at what a finger play is.

What is a fingerplay?

A fingerplay is a rhyme or song that uses hand and finger movements to accompany them. I’m sure you’re aware of some typical English ones like twinkle, twinkle little star or the incy, wincy spider.

Fingerplays help practice and develop fine motor skills, aid language development – especially useful in an international environment – and, very importantly, are fun! Fingerplays can be used at all different times of the day at preschool or at home; getting and holding children’s attention, helping to distract and relax, and teaching language.

Circle time

Fingerplays are great to use during circle time as they, when used in routine, help children understand what activity is coming next.

I like to use a certain fingerplay when children sit down for circle time as it gets their attention, focuses them on me, and lets them know what kind of behaviour is expected and appropriate for circle time.

Gaining focus

This also relates to circle time as fingerplays are great at getting children’s attention when it is lost or there is a disruption.

I use them often during transition periods, along with silly songs, to help children when waiting to use the toilet or waiting to return from outside play.

Here, fingerplays keep attention as children have to focus on the song, rhyme, and hand movements to join in. The key here is to vary the fingerplays so that children don’t get bored by them.

Relaxing/distracting

Again, this relates to the point above, as fingerplays can help a class calm down should there have been a disruption in the classroom. For example, my last classroom was directly connected to a cloakroom and there would often be people going in and out.

By nature, children are curious and easily distracted by people leaving and entering, saying hello, or just generally speaking and they would need their attention to be brought back to the circle. In this situation, fingerplays that catch children’s interest because of their subject, words, or actions are great. The visual and auditory stimulation brings their attention back to the teacher.

Teaching language

Music and songs are a great way for children to learn a new language and, in an international environment, teachers use songs and fingerplays a lot to teach keywords and phrases.

Often, there will be fingerplays that will be used over and over again as they help children understand the topic or activity due to their repetition.

Teaching behaviours

Fingerplays are a great tool for teaching behaviours or desired language as they get children used to the words and their uses.

During circle time, if the goal is for children to sit cross-legged or to keep their hands to themselves (and not wandering over the face of someone sitting next to them!) then this behaviour can be modelled with a fingerplay.

This is also a great way to encourage positive behaviour rather than negative: by making the positive behaviours fun, children will be more inclined to copy.

Themes and topics

Depending on the centre that a child attends, they may have daily, weekly, or monthly themes. Themes should supplement a child’s early education experience and there are dozens of fingerplays for each and every topic.

An old employer of mine once said that a teacher should always have at least 5/6 fingerplays/songs/rhymes for each topic off the top of their head. This may sound like a big ask but, after a few years of teaching or educating your child, you will have a whole repertoire. 

Learning preschool skills

Fingerplays are a really good way for children to learn numbers and countless rhymes help do so. By using their hands and fingers while counting, fingerplays start to develop the connections between the brain and hands.

Songs like 1,2,3,4,5, once I caught a fish alive are super fun. Even if children are not able to use their fingers correctly (holding up the right amount of fingers to the corresponding numbers) they still hear the numbers and assign them to the action of counting.

For toddlers

Fingerplays like twinkle twinkle or mummy finger are very nice for toddlers as they are well-known, simple, and easy to follow along with. Though some of our small friends may not be able to speak yet, they enjoy using their hands and fingers to be involved.

I’ve often found that children start to sing before they start to speak in sentences – initially just using words, of course, and fingerplays are a great way to develop vocabulary.

I’ve often found that children start to sing before they start to speak in sentences – initially just using words, of course, and fingerplays are a great way to develop vocabulary.

Do you know any finger play songs?

Fantastic Fingerplays

In our world of technology and lifestyles that are more sedentary, children need to have opportunities to take part in physical activity from a young age. Although health reasons are so important, there are many other reasons why physical activity is a great resource in a preschool daily routine.

Engagement

Preschoolers are often full of energy and they should be able to use up some of this energy throughout their day at school. Of course, there are times when it is more pertinent than others, but physical activity needn’t be saved for P.E lessons or extracurricular activities.

In circle time, for example, physical activity and movement help children to stay focused and engaged. Rather than just sitting and listening (and probably zoning out), moving and different physical activities can really help children concentrate.

For example, in a toddler classroom, simple things like songs and fingerplays – hand movements that go along with songs and rhymes – keep children engaged and involved in the activity.

By just singing a quick song or playing an active game with bubbles or balloons can keep them interested and more willing to listen once refocused on the activity.

In an older classroom, when identifying letters or numbers, games like racing to the board make learning much more fun and topics easier for children to remember.

Writing on the board, calling out, and having the children race to identify the letters (like in the picture above) can be much more effective tools when learning these early literacy skills than merely repeating the letter over to commit it to memory.

Practicing fine motor skills

Children are more engaged and interested when the practice of fine motor skills is aided by physical activity. Fine motor skill practice needn’t be limited to sitting down and learning to write.

Varying activities to produce similar or complementary results is a great way to help preschoolers develop skills.

Practicing gross motor skills

To practice gross motor skills as part of the daily routine, a preschool teacher can include activities like throwing into their lessons and daily activities.

If the theme is “at the zoo”, for example, physical activities for this topic could include “feeding animal” games where children have to throw balls into boxes or circles, to “feed” the animals at the zoo.

Yes, we’re not in a P.E lesson, but rather than sitting and talking about seals eating fish, giraffes eating leaves, etc. children will remember more about the topic because their brains connect it with a fun physical activity rather than a sedentary retelling and recalling of information.

Relaxation

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “how can physical activity or movement help with relaxation?”. I’ve actually had a lot of success with helping children relax and calm down by using exercise, yoga, stretching, or silly songs and fingerplays. 

An example

One example that comes to mind takes me back to a couple of years ago where I had a child who had difficulties with anger and overstimulation.

For him, something I found very effective when he was getting angry and becoming aggressive towards another child or teacher, was to ask him for help with a task – a physical task. Don’t worry: there was no forced child labour here! 

When situations, where this child was overstimulated, occurred, I’d come up with a job for him to help me with: “my friend, the lunch lady will come soon. Can you please help me move the chairs in the dining room?”.

This partly worked because of the distraction but his anger was, more often than not, calmed by him having a healthy and positive outlet for it. He was able to utilise his strength (of which he had a lot), to do something productive through physical activity and this really helped him relax. 

Preparing for nap time

I’ve also had success with children who aren’t very happy to go to sleep at nap time. If you’ve not had or don’t have a child who resists sleep then I am very happy for you! They don’t come around very often, in my experience! 

In situations where children didn’t want to sleep, a good activity was to exercise and get their heart rates up. This may sound counterproductive because this can get children excited again.

Our focus was getting heart rates up, breathing rates up, and then slowly bringing them down through deep breathing and, eventually, leading to rest. 

Let me know!

Do you have any experience using physical activities in the classroom or at home to teach skills? What worked well for you? If you try those relaxation methods, please let me know how they work out!

What a testament it is to outdoor learning that it takes three posts to cover all the benefits and how they can be used in a preschool daily routine. The more I have researched this topic, I have seen that I have, semi-unconsciously, included outdoor learning in my teaching for years. This shows how easy outdoor learning can be incorporated! Shall we dive back into more benefits?

Independence

Surely you didn’t think I would not mention independence in this topic! In many – if not all – of my posts I talk about the importance of teaching independence to preschoolers and the positive effects that it has. How does outdoor learning support this? Previously I spoke about children solving problems themselves as they were not directly under the watchful eyes of teachers while playing outside. As with problem-solving, independence is encouraged as children feel more free to make their own decisions.

While outside, children decide for themselves what they are interested in and create their own tasks to amuse themselves. Being outside is not only about free play, I often see children discovering or learning new things independently or in groups. 

In my last school, there were stinging nettles in the playground which I drew the children’s attention to. I offhandedly remarked that there may also be some dock leaves around which soothe nettle stings, and the children then couldn’t get it out of their heads. As we went back into the cloakroom to change for lunch, the children asked more and more about dock leaves. I pulled up a picture and showed them what dock leaves were and they seemed satisfied.

Cut to two or three days later, two children in my class came up to me and showed me a handful of leaves they’d picked: “Hayley? Are these the doctor leaves?” (seemingly dock leaves had been given a new name). Independently, these children had taken it upon themselves to learn, explore, and ask for new knowledge. They had taken control of their learning.

As experienced teachers, our heads are full of topics and different ways to teach them. As important as it is for teachers, to have this wealth of ideas, it is great for us to take a back seat and allow our preschoolers to teach themselves. I’ve spoken before about lessons we believe to be really interesting and fun where our classes have little to no interest. By watching the children in our classes, we can see what interests them, how they like to learn, and how to engage with them in a way that we may not have considered before.

Playing with friends

In this respect, playing with friends comes under the subheading of independence. I’ve spoken about free play before but let’s look at it when it comes to outdoor learning. Learning how to play with others is a huge part of a preschoolers journey.

Playing independently with friends while outside can lead to situations like the “doctor leaves” as I mentioned above. It can also lead to real friendships being forged.

In my experience, preschoolers will play with anyone and everyone, as long as they’re having fun. While outside, whether learning or playing, children learn how to entertain themselves and each other. Here, teachers are not dictating the activities – or I believe they shouldn’t be doing so – and this allows children to behave differently. I’ve observed children who behave very differently depending on who they are playing with and this is a huge part of their social development.

Playing alone

As important as socialising is, being able to play alone is very useful and important for children. I’ve worked with teachers who take it upon themselves to start playing with a child who is playing alone because they don’t want the child to feel left out. While this is a nice thing to do – depending on the situation – I believe that children should be allowed and encouraged to play alone. Yes, this may mean that we miss out on the entertainment of their observations and questions, but their ability to entertain themselves is invaluable. Outdoor learning encourages confidence in children. When children can play alone and don’t need constant entertainment, their imagination and creativity can blossom even further.

Creativity and imagination

Creativity is a great gift for a preschooler to have and it can be seen during art or science activities, working with sensory materials, and when making up games. Outside learning encourages creativity in ways that aren’t always possible within the classroom. In the classroom, there are toys, books, magic sand, playdoh, etc. for preschoolers to use and play with. Outside, there may just be a few bicycles or scooters, some gardening tools, or merely a wide-open space. In the mind of a child, open space has endless possibilities!

When children are not given toys that serve a specific purpose, or specifically led to an activity that has a clear beginning, middle, and end, they can create games and activities for themselves. When outside, children are stimulated by different sights, sounds, smells, and experiences that encourage them to explore and create.

An example of this is when children use items as something they’re not directly intended for. Sticks can be picked up and used as magic wands, guns (however controversial this may be, I have seen most children do this with one object or another), witch’s broomsticks, and many more things. Forts and houses can be built in bushes and kitchens and restaurants regularly appear where all-natural food is served.

Inquisitiveness

Children, even ones new to preschool or childcare, are generally familiar with toys and their uses/purpose. They know how toy cars move and expect that toy fire engines have extendable ladders, doll’s houses have furniture that can be rearranged, and puzzles have spaces for each piece. 

Outside the classroom, however, children come face-to-face with materials, objects, and natural resources that they aren’t familiar with. Children can be left to their own devices and find out what each of these new items do or they can be shown by a teacher, an adult, or a peer. Children need to question things and this will aid them greatly in their future school career and in life: children that question things – and are encouraged to do so – grow up into free-thinking young people and adults.

Outdoor learning – three parts seems to be enough

As I hope I’ve shown, I am a big fan and believer in learning outside the classroom and I believe that the lessons children learn outdoors are invaluable for their futures. Although outdoor areas are not always available in preschools or childcare centres, I hope that this series of posts has encouraged you – as caregivers – to find more time to be outside. If your child is lucky enough to go to a preschool, nursery, or childcare with outdoor facilities, I hope you encourage their teachers to spend as much time outside as possible! 

Should your child’s educational environment not have outdoor facilities, I hope you have been inspired by these posts to do some outdoor learning with your child in your free time. I am sure that you all will learn a lot together.

Previously I looked at what outdoor learning is and some of the benefits that this type of program has for preschool children. Today I’d like to look at a few more benefits and how to use them in a preschool daily routine. Who knows? This could end up being a three-parter!

Physical health

This may be the first thing one thinks of when talking about outdoor learning, as the health benefits of stepping outside the classroom are numerous. Children’s exposure to fresh air and the time spent outside can help them burn off energy which isn’t possible in the classroom.

“Teacher talks”

I was recently speaking to my friend and former co-worker about her rather lively class. We talked about the days – which I am sure every parent, guardian, and childcare worker knows very well – when preschoolers are full to the brim with energy. It was agreed that, on these days, there is little to no point in staying in the classroom and expecting children to carry out the day’s activities that you’ve prepared.

The two of us also remarked that we’ve worked alongside teachers in the past who would still try to continue their lesson even though their class – or even just a few members of the class – were restless. Not only, I believe, is the teacher setting themselves up for failure and a sore throat from repeating the same things, but this is so unfair on the children! Let’s remember that we’re not studying for PhDs here…this is preschool!

Always be ready to adjust

Instead of staying in the classroom, what I have done on days like this is go through a quick circle time and then head off outside to burn off some energy. Depending on the theme of the week or that day’s topic, it is possible to adjust the lesson to take place outside.

For example, there have been occasions when a class has been full of energy (which is totally normal and natural for preschoolers) and they weren’t able to concentrate. We have begun to sing some silly songs, or play some games, but the most effective use of their energy was to go outside. If there is a classroom assistant, then they or the teacher can quickly prepare a treasure hunt or print off a game of outdoor bingo, so the children still have some teacher-led time for the day.

Mental health

Being stuck inside (again I will reference Covid19), is hard for everyone. For me during the lockdown here in the Czech Republic, I was less motivated than usual, and a lot more tired.

As an adult, we can rationalise things and this helps us to understand and cope with situations which are as unprecedented as a lockdown, but we must think about how hard this is for children. Without there being something tangible to understand, an abstract situation like “we have to stay inside for the foreseeable future”, can be very difficult for children to comprehend.

With Covid19, we had to stay inside. In preschool, it should not be the same! As I wrote last week, there are not a lot of preschools here in Prague that have private outdoor space. Having only worked in schools with outdoor space, this is hard for me to get my head around.

Above, I speak about the physical health benefits of outdoor learning, but what about the mental benefits? As well as boosting cognitive development – with the use of different materials, tools, and resources only found outside the classroom, outdoor learning helps preschoolers feel more free and more confident in their abilities as they are allowed to explore and create without being told what to do by a teacher or adult.

Confidence and problem solving

On one occasion, a few children were making an “ice cream stand” in the sandpit while a lot more were running around. Some other children came and knocked all the “ice cream” off the shelf the children were serving from and one was very upset. My small friend went over to the runners and explained to them that they had made another friend sad because they had knocked the sand over and that they should be more careful next time. The runners took this and apologised while myself and my co-workers looked on, very impressed to see the confidence of this child as she stood up for her friend.

As the children were not inside and under the strict watchful eye of a teacher, this child found the confidence to become the teacher herself.

Fine motor skills

Outdoor learning can help develop both fine and gross motor skills in preschoolers and, once again, this is in a way that is not possible within the classroom. Children develop some of their motor skills at different speeds and different ages depending on a variety of factors. Outside learning allows children to develop these skills while not even realising they are doing so.

In the classroom

Concerning the development of fine motor skills, it can often be seen that some preschoolers are loath to practise in the classroom. Playing with puzzles, sensory tables, and colouring pictures are great fine motor activities but only if the child has an interest in them. 

Outside the classroom

When outside, children develop their fine motor skills without even realising it! The children who love to run and explore may find a beetle or a spider and then try to pick it up, understanding that they should use “soft hands” to handle creatures. A child who doesn’t really enjoy puzzles may see flowers and pick them to make a daisy chain or just to collect them as a present for their parents.

There are endless opportunities for developing fine motor skills with outdoor learning and activities to do so are easy to add to a lesson plan. Park bingo needs children to circle the item they have found or to stick a sticker onto their bingo card, collecting flowers to make a witch’s brew needs dexterous fingers, and making mud pies in mud kitchens needs well-developed hand and arm strength.

Gross motor skills

I’m sure you saw this one coming, but let me ask you a question: how much can children run around, climb, cycle, or dance when they’re confined to a classroom? Even if they can, it can be dangerous to take part in such activities indoors, with a lack of space just being one of the factors.

When a preschool or childcare centre has an outside area, I think it is such a waste to not use it as much as possible! My dad always used to say: “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”. I have met a lot of international families who are not used to children going outside during the cold winters here in Prague but are sold once they see their children’s red cheeks and hear the stories about their outdoor learning that day.

When left to their own devices outside, children run. They race, they play tag, they play cops and robbers (or whichever variant it is that day). I love to see the children involved in some form of competition where they organise races by themselves, whether it be on foot, scooter, or bicycle.

While inside, children cannot race, in fact, we speak about this a lot with children: it is much safer to walk while inside. Inside, activities like running, climbing, or learning to ride a bike are either impractical, impossible, or dangerous. Outside, however, there are endless opportunities for these activities.

A real life example

I have a friend who works in a school with a large tree in the garden. This tree has branches that are low enough for the children to climb up independently. He told me that many teachers had requested the tree be cut down or the branches removed so that children could not climb it, so that there would be no danger of them falling. Understandable, of course. But what about teaching children how to climb the tree safely? What about giving them the freedom to explore by themselves? What about helping strengthen their gross motor skills by teaching them how to support their own weight while climbing a tree?

My friend, fortunately, won the argument about the tree and it still stands in the school playground, where children love climbing and exploring by themselves.

I mention above that learning in different environments can be more interesting for children and they do things outside that they wouldn’t be interested in in the classroom. It’s the same for gross motor skills!

(One more) real life example

I’ve had a few children over the years who hated walking. They would complain about having to walk while going to the playground, request to be carried when going on trips (aged five!), and sometimes just stop in their tracks when they’d walked just a few meters. With those children – some of whom still came to school in their prams at four years old – we took it slowly. We’d have activities to keep us occupied while walking: like “I-Spy”. We’d have races to the top of the hills so the children wouldn’t be as aware of the different inclines. We’d play “we’re going on a bear hunt” and have the children who didn’t like walking take the lead! 

All these activities encouraged those children to unconsciously develop their gross motor skills, have a greater interest in running, jumping, and climbing, and, in some cases, really helped their physical fitness – which is something we’ll discuss soon.

Part three

As suspected, this is another long post. It looks like part three will be coming next week, then, when I’ll look at independence, creativity, inquisitiveness, and focus with regard to outdoor learning.

I hope you all can spend lots of time outside between now and then and are inspired by some of the ideas in these posts. Enjoy your outdoor learning!

In the wake of the Covid19 pandemic, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been thinking more and more about outdoor learning and outdoor lessons. When I spoke to families here in Prague, many of them were understandably worried about sending their children back to school once it was deemed to be okay to do so. 

By nature, preschoolers are inquisitive and don’t follow “social distancing” rules and are still learning self-care skills – like getting a tissue when they sneeze, or their nose runs. After being asked for my advice, I couldn’t stop thinking about outdoor learning and how important and useful it is, especially now. 

What is outdoor learning?

Simply put, outdoor learning is lessons, activities, and play that take place outside, in nature, or in the playground. Basically, not in the classroom. There are many benefits of outdoor learning and it can be incorporated into a “normal” school day. Of course there are forest schools which have their entire programs outside, but today I’d like to focus on outdoor learning in a “regular” preschool setting. 

Lessons outside

The last school I worked at had a large outdoor area for the children to play and we were fortunate enough to use it a lot during the summer. You may think that it would be harder to keep a preschooler’s attention outside when there are a lot of distractions, but it made for such fun lessons. We would set up blankets outside on the grass and have circle time. I love for circle to be filled with stories, questions, and talking in general. While outside, the children had even more things to say as they were inspired by the noises, sounds, and smells around them.

In outdoor learning, children and teachers are not constrained by some factors that would make lessons impractical in the classroom. For example, science experiments: last summer we made balloon powered boats and spent the morning building them, filling up a large paddling pool, and experimenting and racing. The children (and I) had so much fun with this activity that just wouldn’t have been possible – or as fun – in the classroom.

Example lessons (featuring a visitor)

Other lessons like gardening are doable within the classroom but children don’t really get to use their senses by touching, handling, and smelling the soil and seeds. Outdoor learning, in this case, allows for a real hands-on experience and for a lot of mess!

Last year, the (wonderfully lovely) grandmother of my student was visiting from Argentina, where she grows fruit and vegetables in her back garden. She came to school that day and led a lesson on planting and growing tomatoes. Once again you may think that, with this not being a person the children knew and there being external distracting factors, the children would not be interested and would rather play. Quite the contrary! The children were captivated as grandma showed each child each step and they were allowed the freedom that would be difficult to achieve within the classroom.

My tomato plant, unfortunately, was blown off the balcony on a windy day. Luckily I still received regular updates from the children on how theirs were growing.

Social skills

One of the main reasons, as I have written in previous posts, that people send their children to preschool is to develop and enhance their social skills. In my previous post about free play, you can see many ways that this is done in the classroom. Social skills are further developed during free play outside and can also be with outdoor learning, without the formalities and constraints that go along with being in the classroom.

When children learn and play outside, they are often more likely to play in groups. Some children who exclusively play with the toy garage alone while in the classroom, are often caught up in a race car game with their peers when playing outside. And those children who love to play mummies and daddies in the classroom? Outside we see them involved in princess rescue games with children they wouldn’t usually play with while inside.

When taking part in outdoor learning and outdoor lessons, children work well in groups as the activities often call for it. Some of my favourite activities for my older students are going to the park to play park bingo, I spy, and treasure hunting for different things in nature. The vast majority of the time, children begin to form groups when looking for different items and talk amongst themselves, without the need for teacher involvement.

Playing outside

To be honest, it is my dream to have my own preschool and, should that happen, I would make sure to spend as much time as possible outside. Being in a capital city, it is especially hard to find a preschool with an outdoor space, but I really think it is invaluable for a child’s preschool experience.

Outside play is a key part of outside learning as there are so many more things to do, see, and explore while outside. Play and exploration can be incorporated into lessons as children can be taught games and sports which instills a sense of competition and confidence. By teaching children how to play outside and to appreciate and understand nature around them, their overall preschool experience is enhanced, and many skills are developed.

Part two

There is a lot to be said about outdoor learning and it would be a shame to condense it too much. For this reason, let’s split this post into two parts…stayed tuned for part two next week.

Most of the learning done in preschool is done through play and active, dynamic activities, however, this is generally led by a teacher. In this post, I’d like to talk about free play when it is child-led (and you know I love child-led learning).

What is free play?

Free play, by definition, is an unstructured play that children take part in and is led by them, rather than adults. I have seen first-hand, the importance of free play in preschoolers, and the skills that it enhances.

Why is free play important?

Free play is important for preschoolers as it enhances their social skills, their confidence, their imagination, and their independence. Free play can take place within the classroom, or outside – should the preschool or daycare be fortunate enough to have an outside area.

I have had parents speak with me in the past and ask that I, and therefore my colleagues, plan and prepare games for children during their free playtime. This was most frequently requested – though I have to say that it’s only a handful of parents who have spoken of this – with regards to outside free play.

Their rationale was that children should not be able to roam around in the playgroud without direction. These parents said that children should be led by their teachers during this time so that their games were facilitated by adults, and therefore more purposeful.

The first time this was brought up, I am sure that my amazement was very obvious! I explained to these parents all the reasons why children should take part in free play and that it is just as important as the rest of their learning experiences at preschool.

Social skills

I speak about social skills in many of my blog posts as I believe that the development of social skills is one of the key reasons to send a child to preschool. Free play develops social skills with all ages and should be encouraged from the start of each child’s preschool experience.

Free play enhances social skills in preschoolers as they begin to acknowledge and enjoy the company of other children.

I’ve known children who really only have experience playing with their parents and caregivers and were very used to everything within their play going their way. By playing alongside other children without an adult’s direct influence, children improve their communication skills, problem-solving skills, and understanding of others.

In the international schools I’ve worked at, I have often seen children speaking English far more during free play than in lessons. This is because they have the motivation of communicating with others and making friends.

Confidence

Free play, whether inside or outside, can be met with challenges as children may not know how to use a toy or do a puzzle, for example. Personally, I am a “learn by doing” learner and free play helps children who learn in this way too. What I mean is, if something is constantly done for you, there is no reason to learn how to do it yourself.

During free play, children can explore, discover, and understand how things work by themselves, thus enhancing their confidence in themselves.

Imagination

There are few things, for someone who works with children, as entertaining as children’s imaginations.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to an art show where I bumped into a family I knew. The show was on Japanese Calligraphy and, alongside the beautiful pictures, there were also the brushes used to create these pieces.

One of the children took it upon himself to be our guide and showed us all the pictures and tools on display; you would be so surprised at how many pictures, in his mind, were actually of ninjas! I wish I could remember all the explanations he gave us as they were so clever and entertaining. My favourite, however, was that one of the beautiful brushes used to paint this calligraphy was, in fact, is a horse’s tail that shoots arrows out of it.

Imagination! It’s an incredibly wonderful thing.

Anyway – sorry for the tangent, I very much wanted to share that example of imagination – free play helps develop and encourage imagination in a way that adults cannot teach. We may see a firefighter’s hat as being just that, but a child sees it as a portal to a world made of fire (a child has genuinely said this to me)!

Imagination helps develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, creativity, and understanding which are all key to a child’s future learning.

Independence

My favourite thing to talk about! Free play encourages independence and ties in with imagination: children can make up their own games, their own roles, their own rules, and their own outcomes. By allowing children to play freely and independently, their sense of autonomy is boosted and improved and their ability to problem solve is developed.

Independence in free play also ties in with social skills; many children will realise and understand that their behaviours can impact their play and who they play with.

For example, I have had children in my classes who would snatch toys away from others, use “not nice” words, and dictate and dominate play. Of course, children will come to us, as teachers, and either “tell tales” on this behaviour or complain that no one wants to play with them.

As teachers, as adults, we can explain and model appropriate behaviour as much as we want, but it is in these social situations where children experience first-hand how their behaviour affects themselves and others.

Introducing free play

Children are not always able to play by themselves and need the assistance of adults. In toddler classes, where children are two years old, it is common that children will still be engaging in parallel play. As teachers, we can facilitate interaction between children when they begin to show an interest in each other.

In classes where the children are older, but they are new or shy, I have often begun to play “alone” with a toy or puzzle that I know children are interested in. The modelled behaviour leads children to come and join in, or ask to join in. As more join, I slowly remove myself from play so that the experience of free play can be enjoyed without it being dictated by me.

Free play outdoors

In my experience, free play outdoors can be a lot easier for children as they have more space and freedom to explore.

Free play outside is great to observe as the stories, games, parts, and role-play that children come up within this more “open” environment. Whether it be a game of catch, mummies and daddies, knights and ninjas, or just plain racing, free play outside is an important and fun learning experience for preschoolers.

Free play at home

This can be an interesting one and I bring it up because I don’t think everyone sees its importance. Within the last few years, whether it be factors like technology, or for any other reason, I have noticed more and more children who are not able to engage in independent free play.

One example that comes to mind was a child who joined my class a couple of years ago: he’d attended school before, his communication skills were appropriate for his age, but he was really uncomfortable when being outside and frequently asked me when it was time to go inside.

After seeing this over a few days, I saw that he also struggled to entertain himself during free play indoors as well (as it was summer, we were outside for a large portion of the day). So, of course, I would play with him and encourage him to play with other members of the class as I spoke about above. However, it was really hard for him once I withdrew from play.

I could have stayed and played alongside the children but that would have defeated the point in their independent free play and the development of all these skills we’ve looked at! So, I asked him mum if he played by himself at home. Her answer? No, we always play with him and entertain him. We then had a discussion where I listed all the reasons I’ve written about and the importance for children to play freely and independently. It took some time, it took some coaching – his mum was so sweet and always asked for “free play homework” from me – but he eventually was able to play with other children and, equally as importantly, by himself.

The importance of free play

As adults, as teachers, it is our job to teach children the skills I’ve written about above and to prepare them for their future experiences. The importance of free play, in my opinion, should never be overlooked and should be included in the daily routine of every child.

What are your thoughts on free play? Is your child independent in their play? Do you have any tips for encouraging independent free play? Please share any tips that you’ve found useful too.

Previously I mentioned what I call “silly songs”, and today I’ll let you know what they are, why, when, and how I use them.

What is a silly song?

Let’s start off with: what is a silly song? The name came about when, during circle time, a child said, “Hayley, can we sing that silly song from yesterday?” I love this name and now it’s stuck!

A silly song can be a song with an abstract theme, a funny dance, silly words, or something that we can just make silly along the way. I use them to say good morning, in circle time, snack and lunchtime, getting dressed, going to sleep…the list goes on.

Why do I use silly songs?

I personally have a few different reasons for including silly songs in teaching.

1. Having fun with language – Linguists and language teachers will tell you how important it is to make mistakes when learning any language. This is largely to do with the theory that by learning what “not to do”, you learn how to edit your mistakes and clearly understand a language – if you’re interested, this explains it much better than I can: https://blog.thelinguist.com/2018/06/05/learning-a-language-mistakes/.

Please, however, take this with a pinch of salt as children learning languages are different from when we attempt to do so as adults (the use of the word “attempt” is directed at me as I still can’t get into a good Duolingo routine).

I believe silly songs help children make mistakes and play with words, helping them understand that it is okay to make mistakes.

2. Children’s involvement – with silly songs there is no “right” answer. Children who are more shy or worried about getting things “wrong” can engage and have fun with silly songs and this helps build their confidence. 

3. A change of pace – sometimes, as I believe any preschool teacher will tell you, the children in your class will just have no interest in your activity of the day. This is fine. As adults, we also sometimes don’t want to take part in things too.

Silly songs are great for this as children don’t see it as “learning” or as you asking them questions to elicit a response. I once had a class who learnt so much about Australia through this song when they could not concentrate at all during circle time.

Seriously, how many 3-year-olds in the middle of Europe know what kookaburra is?

4. Learning through song and through play – music is such a great way for children to learn, especially when they’re learning a language. Building on what I mentioned above, letting children know that it’s okay to be silly and have fun with language and words helps them see learning as fun!

When do we use silly songs?

As I mentioned, silly songs can be used at any part of the day and for any activity. They can be ones that children know and are used to, new songs, or ones that are completely made up for that particular moment. The best part about a silly song is that it doesn’t even really need to make sense!

Circle time

In the morning, in circle time, I use silly songs to warm us up for the day and get those “wiggles” out. One of my favourite songs to sing before we sit down is The Jellyfish, I’ll link the “cute” version of it first:

Why is this song so great?

1. It gets our wiggles out – as I mentioned before, children can’t be expected to sit down in one place and listen without some kind of fun interaction.
2. It gets children focused on their teacher (or whomever is leading circle time) – if children are excited and full of energy, use this to your advantage; they’ll focus on you without needing a “shh” battle.
3. Use of repetition – this is one of the reasons that we teach through song and why children learn well by singing; the words are repeated and help children get comfortable with using and understanding new words.
4. It helps with focusing and listening – this ties in to point number 3: for children to be involved in the silly song, they need to listen to follow and understand what words and actions are coming next.

Transitioning

Transitioning from one room to another in a preschool can take organisation, especially with large classes. I always have my children line up and be ready to sing a song before moving from one room to another. I used to just do a soldier’s march “(left, left, left, right, left”) but then all the other classes started to do it and we wanted to be different!

Enter a musical great: Laurie Berkner.

This then became the transitioning song for my class and they absolutely loved it! We even managed to keep it relatively quiet – as dinosaurs go, anyways.

Another way of transitioning the children enjoyed was simply saying “let’s get ready to RUMBLE”. I left my most recent school at the beginning of this year and was so touched to hear that the children continue this on without me!

Quiet time or story time

Quiet/storytime may take place before lunch, after lunch, or before sleeping and, in preschools, this often involves a story. Sometimes stories just won’t cut it and the children’s energy is just too high. Here, I use silly songs to get their attention and have them focus on me but calm them down at the same time.

My most recent favourite song to use here was taught to me by a friend who is a teacher at a Montessori school. The song is called “The Ugly Buzzard” and is very silly, mainly to do with the faces that can be pulled when singing it. I wish I had a video to show you of one of my classe but, for privacy reasons, unfortunately, I can’t – you’ll have to make do with just me doing it!

We start with 5 “ugly buzzards” and then count down until they have all flown away, getting quieter all the time. Even though the song is silly, and we do silly faces and actions, the children are involved and copy our volume, meaning they can get quieter and quieter, perfect for quiet time!

Music

I’m sure you were expecting this one – music is a great time for silly songs! Here the children can be as loud and silly as possible – the louder and sillier the better, in my opinion. This is a great opportunity for them to make songs up themselves, rhymes, actions, the lot! We always have time for each other to share their silly songs (often they’re our well-known ones) and have a lot of fun.

Get singing and let me know any silly gems I can add to my repertoire! 😊

Circle time is a really key part of a preschoolers day and it’s something that parents often ask me about. I’d like to give you – as part of an insight into your preschoolers day – an idea of what circle time is.

What is circle time?

Circle time is really any part of the day where children and teachers come together and sit in a circle – as the name might suggest.

Circle time is used to aid and encourage communication and socialisation between children. It is not just for this, however, as we use circle time to introduce themes and topics, come together and share, and prepare the children for the day at preschool.

I personally like to sit at the same level as the children in my classes rather than elevated on a chair, as, in my experience, it makes them feel more comfortable sharing and opening up.

When do we have circle time?

Circle time is often used at the start of the day or at the end of the morning, bringing children together in an organised way without the formality of sitting at tables and chairs – something that isn’t easy for little ones.

Circle time in the morning is focused on the tasks and themes of the day and generally follows the same routine and structure. When we have circle time later in the morning, this is often used as “downtime” for the children to relax after a busy morning, often with a story.

What happens in circle time?

Most of my experience in preschools is with children aged 2-5 years old. There are, as you’d imagine, some differences with the length of time spent sitting in a circle, depending on the age of the class, and also the teacher talking time to child talking time ratio. However, many other parts of circle time remain similar.

Below, I’ll show you what circle time looks like in my class where the children are aged 3-4 years old:

Before we say “hello”

With my most recent class, circle time took place at around 10 a.m. so most of the children had already been at school for about 2 hours. In this time, they’ll have most probably built up some energy to expel and it can be really hard for them to sit down for some time.

For this reason, I like to start by “getting the wiggles out”. Here, I will whisper or not say anything at all while encouraging the children to copy my stretches, beginning with fingers, and stretching or “wiggling” our whole bodies. This gets the children engaged as they have to watch rather than listen.

After having gotten “the wiggles out” and once everyone is focused, the children are ready to start circle time. It is still important, however, if children are expected to listen to their teacher and peers, to keep active during circle time with songs, games, and interactive activities. 

Hello

This step is logical. We start by saying hello to each other and welcoming our friends to class that day. I’m going to try and put links in for songs that we sing but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find one for my regular good morning song. Luckily it’s not complicated at all.

This hello song comes from a colleague I had about six years ago and goes something like this:

Class: “Hello *child’s name* how are you?”

Child: “I am fine and what about you?”

Super easy, editable and it can be used with all ages and levels of English. When I’ve a new class, we begin by singing altogether and using the “I am fine and what about you” as a model. As the children get more confident with each other, with me, and with English, I encourage them to sing independently or to choose a friend to sing to. Then, we use different feeling words.

Most recently, my preschoolers liked using the adverb “very”: “I’m very, very, very happy” or “I’m very, very, very, very excited”, for example. This got huge giggles out of everyone as they all tried to one-up each other.

This will then lead to a counting activity where a helper will count how many children are at school today. Other variations are how many boys or girls, how many are wearing red slippers, how many are wearing green jumpers, etc. This encourages early maths skills like counting, grouping, and comparing.

Calendar

Our next step in circle time is the calendar and we start with what day of the week it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKqAblcwFOA. The children then choose the correct card and stick that card on the board (like in the picture above).

On Mondays, we speak about our weekends and how we spent them. My main goal here is to encourage the children to speak, to be confident and comfortable speaking in front of their friends, recall a story, or even just make something up.

I had a child this year who told us every Monday that he’d been to the cinema to see Frozen 2. This may seem pointless, but with encouragement, he began to add more detail each time he recalled this activity, and I was so pleased that he was speaking in English and adding to his vocabulary with such confidence.

As the children get older, their language skills and social skills become more developed, and their confidence increases, I encourage them to ask questions to each other like “did you have popcorn when you went to the cinema?”. Some of my most shy students have really come out of their shells when taking part in these activities and it’s been great to see.

Next, we go on to the date and this is great for practicing counting and number recognition. We start with touch-counting as a class and each day a different member of the class (a helper) is invited to stick the correct date on the board.

We then move on to finding which month we’re in – this may sound too much for some 3-4-year olds but here I am trying to get them comfortable with words they will use regularly as they grow up.

It is not expected of the children in my classes, especially those for whom English is a second or third language, that they know the order of the days of the week or know every month of the year. However, in this relaxed and informal setting, this is a great opportunity for children to get comfortable with a wide range of words and language. 

Weather

Once we’ve got our date on the board, we move on to the weather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUSbazn3STo.

We really enjoy being theatrical, so this song is accompanied by over the top dancing and gesticulating which the children love and always get involved in. It’s also a great way to get any more “wiggles” out that may have built up! Once the weather has been discussed, the correct weather card or cards are stuck on the board.

I had a class once that was obsessed with the word “overcast” (coming from England, this is a frequently used word when talking about the weather). It could be the most beautiful, clear, cloudless day, and I’d have 15 children adamantly justifying that it was, in fact, overcast just so they could use this word! Often we will also discuss what clothes we believe will be appropriate for the weather and activities that we’d like to do when outside.

“Silly songs”

“Silly songs” are always included in my circle times as the children (and I) enjoy them so much. I’ll go into more detail about “silly songs” and my affinity for them in another post, but I would like to mention them as part of my regular circle time. “Silly songs” are a great tool for playing with language, moving and stretching, and keeping children’s attention and enthusiasm high.

Theme or lesson of the day

After we’ve done the steps above, it’s time to introduce the lesson of the day. This may be by showing flashcards to elicit discussion about the topic, for example: pictures of different community helpers.

It may also include playing games that tie into our theme or topic, like putting puzzles together as a class, or it may be a discussion about a particular topic: “what do we see when we go to the beach?”.

Circle times can last 10 minutes or they can last 40 minutes – although I wouldn’t suggest this as the children may get bored and not be interested in further tasks in the lesson. It’s important that circle time is relaxed, fun, interesting, and gets our small friends ready for their day of learning.

Are there other areas or your child’s day that you’d like insight on? Let me know and we can go through them all together!

Last week I wrote about teaching activities that promote independence and life skills before teaching more typical “preschool skills”. Today, I’d like to share the ways I’ve successfully taught pre-writing skills once my students were ready to learn them.

I won’t be mentioning the ages that I did each of these activities at, but rather a rough order in which they should be completed. This is because, as I spoke about before, if different independence skills have not yet been mastered, your preschooler may not be ready for writing.

These activities can be done at home and in the classroom, and your preschooler may have some experience with them already.

One of the key things about pre-writing skills, I believe, is to make it fun and interesting for them so that they stay engaged and interested.

Initial skills

Strengthening the muscles in your child’s hands and fingers is key before they can be expected to hold a pencil. Forget about writing implements for the time being and try some of the ativities below:

Playdough – you may not immediately think of playdough being a part of pre-writing, but it is so useful when building manipulative skills and muscles in the fingers and hands. Making playdough is also a super easy and fun activity to do with children at school or at home.

Baking– Baking with your preschooler is not only a fun and easy activity but it builds so many skills. Listening to and understanding directions are added bonuses, as your child strengthens their finger and hand muscles by kneading dough, mixing, and stirring.

I like making apple crumble with children where they cut apples independently and get to work the ingredients between their fingers – such a simple and delicious task!

Tearing paper – this may come across as a bizarre activity, but it develops fine motor skills well and is also good fun.

Try making suncatchers with your child by asking them to tear paper into small shreds and gluing them onto pre-cut shapes.

Lego/Duplo – hours of fun can be had with these materials and they are great for independent play, group play, and imagination. Most recently, the children in my class enjoyed making spaceships. I was so impressed with their attention to detail and how well they focussed on this child-led task.

Here, children are using very small pieces and improving their dexterity in a way that gives them tangible results – developed fine motor skills are a great by-product of this activity.

As fine motor skills develop

As your child’s fine motor skills develop and the muscles in their hands and fingers strengthen, you can move onto some more complex activities and games.

Threading beads – this can be done with wool, yarn, pipe cleaners, etc. This can be a short filler activity or a longer, more thought out part of independent play. Threading is also a fun way to work on cognitive skills like patterns – something your child will be working on at preschool too as part of their early maths skills.

Finger puppets – the children in my classes have always loved finger puppets whether they are made from paper, card, felt, or shop-bought puppets.

While manoeuvring the puppets and making up or retelling a story, your child is strengthening their fine motor skills. This task also helps practice recalling stories, which is a part of early literacy.

Painting – you can use a thick paintbrush, your fingers, pegs with pompoms on the end, or even cotton earbuds to paint with. This is a great creative activity where children can mix colours, explore patterns, and get good and messy!

Tracing in sand or shaving foam – here you may find that your child starts to make patterns, draw shapes, or they may just make a mess.

Each of these are important steps for pre-writing as they help children move from left to right, up to down, and vice versa.

Sensory tables – this is another messy one where children can have a lot of fun exploring. Sensory tables can be made up of many different items to encourage a variety of skills. When developing fine motor skills, a sensory table with small beads, beans, rice, pasta, pompoms, and some tweezers is great.

Indicators your child is ready to move on to the next step

If you see that your child’s drawings start to form shapes and look different from scribbles, this is an indication that their motor skills are ready to move onto the next step.

Another indicator is that your child shows an interest in letters and numbers that they see around them; perhaps asking what words say. I often see, living in Prague, that children start to show an interest in tram numbers around the time they are ready to start writing too.  

Pre-writing ready

If and when your child is ready, try the two techniques below and see how they work for you. I will also add links so you can see for yourself.

Crocodile technique – the children I’ve taught really love this as I initiate it as a game. The way I teach it is that your hand and fingers are a crocodile and they are hungry and want to eat fish (a pencil or a pen).

It is also very easy to correct or to enforce by saying “remember the hungry crocodile”, and children correct their finger position themselves.

Here’s a link for you to see this technique in action: https://www.griffinot.com/supporting-pencil-grasp-development/crocodile-snap-childrens-song/

Sock on the hand technique – this one really is as it sounds. All you need is an old sock to cut a hole in!

Cut two holes in the sock and have your child place their hand inside with their finger and thumb sticking out.

Put a pencil in your child’s hand and have them hold it with their thumb and forefinger. This trains muscle memory and, once the sock can be removed, your child will find holding a pencil much easier

Other methods to teach pre-writing skills

These are just the ways that I teach pre-writing and writing skills but there are so many more out there. Why not ask your child’s teacher for their methods, too?

You may find that your child has well developed fine motor skills already and doesn’t need the help of these methods to start to write. That’s fine!

It’s also fine if your child needs to try all of these techniques and even more before they can hold a pen or pencil and start writing their name.

Remember that all children learn at their own pace and that it is our job, as teachers and parents, to help them along the way.

How did your child get on with these techniques? What was successful for you? Please leave a reply to share your own tips that worked for your child.