Early Childhood Resources

Scissors and Children

by Carly Lloyd on January 2, 2012

How young is too young for a child to be using a pair of scissors?

I happily give two years olds a pair. I would have given several of the eighteen month olds scissors too if we had them in our room all the time and wouldn’t been seen as a novelty.

Some of those two year olds are unsure how to hold and use them and will watch carefully of how the others are using them.

Some become frustrated quickly and put the scissors down.

Others pick it up and can use them with ease.

What Should You Do?

Provide numerous opportunities to use scissors. If you have the pencils and textas out, why not put the scissors and glue out too?

Support them as they are using the scissors. It is not that easy to use scissors for the first time, try and think from how it feels for them to be using and learning about new technology.

Supervise. They are scissors and while they are probably “child” scissors you still need to watch them.

Demonstrate how to use them. Sit alongside the children as they are cutting and you cut too.

Use smaller groups. I would suggest having four-five at the table with you while cutting. It is easier to assist and model with a smaller group.

Provide scissors all the time. This makes them less of a novelty and shows the children you know that they are capable.

Do you incorporate cutting with scissors into your programs with the younger children?

[Image Credit: Pinterest]

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Lego In An Early Childhood Setting ~ Space City Lego

by Carly Lloyd on October 10, 2011

Over the past few weeks the five year olds in the three to five room have been exploring the Space City Lego*.

As soon as I walked into the centre carrying the four boxes I had children questioning me, “Is that for us?” I smiled and explained that it was. They have since been putting them together in small groups with their Early Childhood Teacher.

While at first only five stayed for the entire hour long process (of putting together the smallest box) the grins on their faces when they proudly showed off their work was priceless.

Through this joint venture they were learning and problem-solving through the Lego (Outcome 4.1 & 4.2, DEEWR, 2009). The children were working together to solve their problems, and therefore playing and socially extending their skills (Outcome 3.1, DEEWR, 2009). As the Lego pieces are small, it works on furthering the children’s fine motor development, in particular their hand/eye coordination (Outcome 3.2, DEEWR, 2009). Using the visual representations from the instructions to read and guide their building (Outcome 5.2, DEEWR, 2009). All the while talking through the processes (Outcome 5.1, DEEWR, 2009).

Over the next few days they continued to put together the pieces of the Lego. Each time working on a bigger box. Before long they began to discuss the instructions, and even made their own. Through this interaction with the instructions the children are being exposed to print and text in a context which they are able to find helpful and realistic (Outcome 5.2, DEEWR, 2009).

They have enjoyed exploring the Space City Lego and now around 7-10 students will sit and help their Early Childhood Teacher during the building process.

While the box states that it is aimed at the older children, those between 5-12 years, the almost four – five year olds would sit and put together the Lego. Most without needing the instructions.

After watching the children, mainly boys put together this Lego, I wonder if there is any Lego specifically aimed at girls or that is gender neutral?

*Note: These are no longer available for giveaway as it has closed.

[Images taken from lego.com]

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Space City Lego Giveaway

by Carly Lloyd on May 11, 2011

I love Lego and so when I was contacted about hosting a giveaway I jumped at the chance.

So this afternoon, because I am currently off work due to hurting my tailbone, I spent making the entire Lego Space City!

After three hours it was all finished, I think I had a few breaks in there.

I must take my hat off to Lego because they have really great and simple instructions and even the bags are numbered in the bigger boxes. While I made the two smaller boxes in an hour the other two took an hour each.

The only thing I didn’t like, because well I think you all should know, is that there is no door in the space shuttle. Okay, so maybe there isn’t meant to be one, but I was just a little concerned for Mr Lego Man. Oh and you simply must look at all the Lego men/woman’s faces. Some made me have serious giggles.

I know, enough about me blabbing on about how much fun I had this afternoon, you want to know about the giveaway!

I have two Space City Lego packs to giveaway valued at $279.96 each. What do you get in your pack?

A Satellite Launch Pad; Space Shuttle; Space Moon Buggy; and a Space Centre!

Yes, four things all to yourself [or your children!]

Everything has an age range 5-12 years and there is super tiny things that babies can swallow so I would definitely stick with 5 years and up.

How To Enter:

Modeling Behaviours

by Carly Lloyd on April 5, 2011

Today during afternoon tea, one of the children was not drinking. Confused, because most days he will simply push the sipper cup away, without even taking a sip, the other carer and I wondered if he wasn’t used to drinking from that type of sipper sup.

Which then lead to me, grabbing my own sipper cup and modeling the behaviour.

For under threes, I find modeling a great teaching technique for showing children the type of behaviours that you would like to see.

Modeling can be used throughout everyday and often we do it without realising.

What was the most recent behaviour that you modelled to a child?

[If you are wanting to learn more about teaching techniques, I highly recommend MacNaughton & Williams as a great professional development tool.]

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Creating an Observation Systems and Records

by Carly Lloyd on April 4, 2011

Within any setting, creating an observation system and record is always a great idea. If you are working within a prior to school setting, the regulations dictate how many observations need to be compiled each month, according to how many days they attend.

Focusing specifically within prior to school settings these are the steps that I took to develop my observation record:

Create a table format in Word or similar, using six columns and then as many rows as needed [depends on how many children you have to observe].

Once you have that then you can put the children’s names in the first column, and observations 1-4 across the next four columns. In the final column this can be a space for extra comments or observations. As not every child will need four observations, shade the extra columns for those that attend three days or less in a light grey [this will enable you to write over if you do happen to see and write an observation, but allows you to see how you are going with your tracking].

Then as you complete each observation, write the date in the box and then you have a record for each month.

If you have computer-based portfolio’s be sure to update them as soon as you write an observation, it is a lot easier then having to go back and check to see if you put that observation in yet.

But who should you observe on what day?

Well this is where you set up a monthly, fortnightly or weekly observation system. I set mine up as a monthly chart and have around two children per day to observe, which means that they are my focus children for that day however, it does not mean that if I don’t notice something else I wouldn’t note it down.

So for this I just created a five column table with either five rows [monthly], three rows [fortnightly] or two rows [weekly].

Along the top you write the headings as the days of the week. Then in the rows place the children’s names in. Be sure to make sure that the child attends on that day too!

It is a good idea to spread your observations for each child across the month, so if a child comes only one day per week, observe them two out of four weeks that they attend [e.g. week 2 and 4] which will space out the observation dates and give a holistic view of that child.

Grab a premade template: Observation System-Record Template

Any questions? Leave a comment or shoot through an email.