Newsletter Blog

Shirlene Law   What do you think of when you hear the phrase “writing in preschool?”  For some, the word “writing” conjures up visions of dotted worksheets with repetitive alphabet letters.  Others may think of the squiggles and lines and circles drawn on notepads and chalkboards throughout their classrooms.  For many teachers, the bigger question becomes, “Is teaching writing developmentally appropriate in preschool and, if so, how?”  Just like reading great books, engaging in rich conversations, understanding the concepts of the alphabet, and strong foundational language skills matter, writing is a critical component of the early childhood Language Arts curriculum.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has described appropriate writing practices in early childhood in the book, D evelopmentally Appropriate Practice, 3rd Edition . 1  The following focus areas provide guidelines and suggestions from NAEYC for su...

By Will Bollwerk Imagine a group of three to five year olds running around a playground while teachers sit idly by, monitoring yet engaging each other in conversation or taking the time to check their text messages. The playground is a reasonably safe place. It is clean and sterile. The equipment composed of hard plastic and brightly colored metal pieces. The children running around on the black rubber matting. Nearby, a field as large as a football stadium, lays unused. The grass is soft and inviting. The trees sway in the autumn breeze. Countless insects are waiting to be found by curious eyes. Why is the field going unused? Are the teachers unaware that is exists? Perhaps they aren’t allowed by the agency to take children anywhere but the playground. Maybe they have no idea what treasures a field of grass and trees might hold. More likely than not, the teachers are afraid. This situation is all too common in the early childhood field. Early childhood educators are over...

By Jared Lisonbee “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing 1 .” –Albert Einstein Children are born curious. They begin engaging with and discovering their world from the day they are born. As young children gain the ability to wonder, ask questions and make connections, they discover the joy of learning which pushes them to discover even more. Unfortunately, as many children progress across childhood, the spark of curiosity that leads to a love of learning diminishes. The “how” and “why” questions common in early childhood may be replaced by “What do I need to know for the test?” or “Just tell me the right answer.” In our world where technological advances are happening at a rapid pace, curiosity and creativity will be increasingly essential characteristics to have. Parents and teachers working with young children have a big influence on supporting children’s continued curiosity. Unfortunately, adults may also c...

By John Funk             Current research indicates that the two top factors in curtailing negative behavior in the classroom are nurturing positive relationships with the children and providing high quality supportive environments (classrooms). (1)             After years of supervising pre-service teachers, I understand fully how critical supportive environments are in our early childhood classrooms.  In the current collaboration between the University of Utah and Granite School District, we use the ‘Big 8’ format for classroom management. (2) Those eight strategies include:   Expectations:   Teaching and stating clearing the expected behavior.   Attention Prompts: Having signals or prompts to get the children’s attention.  (“When you hear the train whistle, stop and look at the teacher.”)   Proximity: Being close to the children (not calling across the roo...

Hello Utah Educators! UAEYC recently received a request for more information and more examples of how to use dialogic questions in the classroom.  Our President Elect, Sheila Anderson, was able to provide some great resources. Click HERE for a free online module. Click HERE to visit the main website developed by the key researchers on this particular issue. If you have a question or concern that you would like to see addressed here on our blog email us at: assist.uaeyc@gmail.com. Likewise, if you have information that would be useful to the Utah Early Childhood Community, write or video a small blog entry and email it to us at: assist.uaeyc@gmail.com.

We have received permission to share the article from NAEYC featuring our very own Ilse Wilson. Check it out:  http://www.naeyc.org/ tyc/article/Ilse_Wilson .