14/05/2020

18 Tips And Tricks For Educators New To Remote Teaching

Remote Learning montage vector image including laptop clock think bubble and textbook

With much of the world under lockdown, schools closed, and parents and students working and learning from home, educators everywhere are finding alternative ways of teaching their classes remotely.

Many schools are set up for some kind of remote learning, but there are an equal number for whom this is a whole new world, especially for elementary educators. It’s also true that while teachers probably have lesson plans ready for the upcoming semesters, it’s a whole different ball game to suddenly put all these lessons online without disrupting any learning.

The most important thing for educators to remember about remote teaching is…

…go easy on yourself. Our first tip – not included in our official list because we want to call it out – is to practise self-kindness. We’re all in a new situation and it will take time to get used to. Some things you try will work, and some won’t. That’s ok. We’re all learning together.

Rest assured, if you can use a phone and the internet, you are more than able to teach remotely! You have the subject knowledge, teaching experience, and you know your students. The most important thing to do is try and bring the feeling of a classroom setting into their homes.

18 Tips for Educators

1. Use your existing lesson plans

Take those plans and put them online. You’ll have to tweak them a little for the digital world, but you have the majority of the content you need already. As you get used to doing this, you’ll develop your own methods. You might find that constructing all your lessons in a similar way every time makes the whole process more efficient – and gets your students into a routine they recognize.

2. Find software that works for you

There’s plenty of educational software out there. If your school isn’t using one particular system, try Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams or Moodle. Any of these platforms will help you work collaboratively and engage students in an online learning environment.

3. Be available online during the time you’d normally teach

It’s important to still be there to answer student questions when they’d normally be able to ask them. Software helps here, too. Conferencing platforms like Skype, Google Hangouts, and Zoom can all help you stay connected. You may also want to schedule some time outside of normal teaching hours to provide any extra support students may need.

4. Connect your students with each other

Your students (and most likely you, too) will miss the social, collaborative, and peer-to-peer aspects of the classroom, and the ability to ask questions if they don’t understand something. Try and facilitate this as much as possible while teaching remotely.

5. Record (and pre-record) some lessons

Pre-recording your lessons can make remote learning more efficient. You can do this at a time that suits you, and make it available to your students when they need it. It also helps to record your live sessions as it means students can go back and listen to them again if they need to.

6. Set your lessons up to run as smoothly as possible

Decide what you are going to say in live sessions in advance. You don’t need a script, but you do need direction. At the beginning of each lesson, ask your students to turn off their microphones and cameras so you limit distractions as much as possible. Try and limit the length of time you’re talking to your students so they stay as engaged as they would in a normal classroom where everything is much more interactive.

7. Set ground rules

We’ve mentioned turning off mikes and cameras, but students also need to understand that when they log into their remote lesson, they are effectively at school and normal school rules remain in place.

8. Stay in touch with parents

It’s going to be much more difficult to know how your students are really doing. Keeping communications open with parents is vital. You could do this via email or text, and most schools will be updating their website and social media accounts regularly, too. Don’t forget that parents will need support as well. It’s daunting to suddenly have to homeschool your child so you could let them know you appreciate them helping out with remote teaching their child.

9. Take it step by step

Getting used to a remote learning set-up takes time, so don’t try to do everything all at once or try anything overly complicated too soon, especially if you’re new to remote teaching. Allow both yourself and your students time to settle in. A 15-minute recorded lesson that students can pause and rewatch with time for them to process and apply the lesson is a good start.

10. Keep in touch with students individually

Send an email or a note through your classroom management system to ask how your students are getting on, that you’re missing seeing them, and are looking forward to seeing them back at school.

11. Provide feedback

Keeping in touch with your students also means providing them with qualitative feedback. It’s something that can be easy to forget if you’re teaching remotely but it gives students a feeling that they are working with purpose, and they generally want to know how you think they’re getting on.

12. Stay in contact with your fellow teachers and school staff

It’s not just your students that it’s important to keep in touch with. Your colleagues are experiencing the exact same things as you. You can help each other by sharing these experiences, giving each other tips, and learning from what others are doing. Plus, it’s great to have that support network.

13. Create a routine

This is definitely more difficult when you’re teaching remotely than when you are in school. But it’s important for you, your students, and their parents to stick to a routine to have consistency and to set expectations.

14. Motivate your students

Being able to motivate your students is also more difficult when they’re learning from home with all the distractions and temptations that brings. Set goals for your students, both individually and as a class. Involve students in the process of setting these goals so they buy into them, and make sure both they and their parents understand the goals and why you’re working towards them.

15. Recognize successes

Share individual student successes with the class in a video. Create online certificates of achievement. Celebrate wins!

16. Recognize the emotional impact that COVID-19 is having

This is a difficult time for everyone, and it’s important that you talk to and reflect with your students about what’s happening. There are plenty of resources available to support you as you do this.

17. Get hands-on

Just because you’re teaching remotely doesn’t mean you can’t give your students a hands-on, engaging experience!

18. Have a well-thought out physical space in which to work

You need to be comfortable at home in order to deliver remote learning lessons well. Set up a space that works for you – and let the people you live with know when you’ll be on video!

Do you have any other tips for Remote Teaching? We would love to hear from you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This guest blog was written by Arduino Education

Arduino Education classroom programs progress students through STEAM from middle school to university, increasing in complexity to challenge them as they develop their skills.

All programs include a range of electronics such as programmable boards, sensors, mechanical parts, simple open-source software, online content for students, and guided training and support for educators.

The products students learn with are the same as those used professionally in companies around the world, in applications like rapid prototyping, AI, drone technology, and machine learning.

Check MTA’s Arduino Education Range

Shop MTA>

17/04/2020

5 Great Reasons To Play Board Games With Your Children

There’s no school or preschool for many kids right now and with no play dates, sporting events or birthday parties to look forward to, life could be a little tricky at your house as you try to live, learn, work and play under the same roof.

If the novelty of ‘physical distancing’ is starting to wear off and your internet data levels are going through the roof because your children all want to watch ‘screens’ while you’re trying to work from home, why not pull out a board game to keep them engaged and interacting with one another for a while?

Games have been used since time immemorial for teaching social and academic skills to children and adults alike.

Did you know that the games of Go and Chess both evolved from being a way to test the mind of a military leader to a way to pass the time? The board games of today are no different.

Aside from building strong family ties, spending time playing board games with your children can have a surprising range of social and academic benefits.

I’ve been a teacher for over thirty years and wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve played board games with my students. The child psychologists, speech therapists and occupational therapists I work with today also often use board games to help children to develop the skills they need to succeed at home and in the classroom.

With a good board game, you can do the same with your own children!

Benefits of Board Games

Some of the benefits your child can gain include:

• Building resilience

Games that involve a chance to randomly experience a set-back can help your child learn resilience. By playing games like Snakes and Ladders , you can help your child learn to bounce back from a disappointment and keep pushing towards an end goal.

• Learning how to cope with winning and losing

Playing games with others helps children learn to focus on having fun, rather than winning or losing. However, it also teaches them how to cope with both sides of that coin. Rather than celebrating and gloating they learn to move past the glory of winning and focus on having fun as a group. When you play board games with your children, you can show them how to recover from a loss and do better in the next game instead of sulking over coming second.

• Learning patience and the concept of waiting for one’s turn

This one can be difficult in our fast-paced world but taking the time to play with your children can help. In my children’s health and education practice in Sydney, we make frequent use of many of the board games made by Orchard Toys that are perfect for teaching young children this skill. We particularly like the Bus Stop Game and Where’s My Cupcake?, which combine real life scenarios with great lessons in turn taking.

Board games build thinking skills

Games can also be played to help children consolidate curriculum skills that they’re learning at school or preschool.

By playing board games with your child, they get opportunities to practice:

• Early number skills such as matching, counting, and keeping a score

Matching games teach children observational skills as well as being able to pair like with like. One of our favourites to play is Monster Bingo

A key skill for children to learn prior to going to school is the ability to count. Games that can support correspondence counting make the time spent to learn the skill more enjoyable for everyone. A fun one to start with is Catch and Count, which helps children learn to count and recognise numbers.

Keeping score is a step up after learning to count, and can be applied to most games, even if it’s only a simple “OK, I won this game, mark it down.” When the game is over, you can ask, “How many games did you win? How many did I win?”

Another Maths option is a game like the Magic Spelling Game. Kids have lots of fun learning addition and subtraction and quickly come to understand that count how close all the players are to winning is the key to the game.

• Early literacy skills that are learned when a child reads for a purpose

Adding games to your child’s leisure time on a regular basis can also aid them immensely as they develop early literacy skills. Games can vary from letter recognition to reading for a purpose, such as reading the ‘Chance’ cards from Monopoly. Our favourite for this group is difficult to choose, but it might just be Sight Words String Ups which combines vocabulary building, reading and fine motor skills in an innovative game that kids enjoy.

As you spend time playing with your children on a rainy day, you’re not only helping them to learn and build skills, but you’re also building memories.

When they get to play games with you, they learn many life skills that will serve them, as well as a relationship that will only grow with time.

So next time a friend or relative asks what to buy your child for a birthday or other special occasion, why not suggest a board game or two?

They’re the kind of gift that just keep on giving!!

Featured Products:

Sight Words String Ups

About the Author

Sonja Walker is the best-selling author of School Ready: A practical and supportive guide for parents with sensitive kids. She is also an experienced teacher, speaker, mum and the founder of Kids First Children’s Services, an award-winning pediatric health and education practice in Sydney where she leads a highly experienced team of child psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and teachers. Sonja’s mission is to help kids to thrive, not just ‘cope’ by supporting their parents and teachers with practical solutions and easy ideas that make life happier at home, preschool and school. Sonja presents keynote speeches and workshops in preschools, schools and corporate settings and is a sought after media commentator on topics related to children’s learning and development. To contact Sonja, please visit www.kids-first.com.au

Shop MTA>

13/03/2020

Creating Real World Solutions With The Micro:bit

The BBC Micro:bit is a favourite Digital Technologies tool of mine that allows our students to design solutions to problems, create games, make music and respond to the surrounding environment.

The small handheld micro-controller can be coded by students using Block Code, Python, Javascript or Scratch 3.0, making it a versatile tool that can be adapted for students in primary and secondary classrooms.

The features of the Micro:bit are;

USB connector: Connects to a computer for power and to load programs onto the Micro:bit
25 LED lights: Can be individually programmed to show shapes, text or numbers
2 buttons (A and B): Programmable input buttons
Light sensor: The LEDs on the Micro:bit can also act as a light sensor to detect ambient light
Edge Connector: 25 external connectors, called Pins, on the edge of the Micro:bit allow you to connect to other input and output electronic hardware, including LEDs, motors and sensors
Battery socket: Power the Micro:bit using batteries
Reset button: Restarts the Micro:bit
Radio: Communicates with other Micro:bits
Bluetooth antenna: Wirelessly sends and receives signals to Bluetooth enabled PCs, smartphones, or tablets
Processor: Where the program is stored and executed
Compass: Detects the direction (north, south, east, west) the Micro:bit is facing
Accelerometer: Detects if the Micro:bit is being moved, tilted, shaken or in free-fall and at what acceleration
Temperature sensor: Detects the current temperature of the Micro:bit in degrees Celsius

Introduction to the Micro:bit

The Makecode platform, developed by Microsoft, allows students to code using Block Code and Javascript. It has a great range of project tutorials for students to work through to develop their understanding of, and familiarity with, the Micro:bit.

Website: https://makecode.microbit.org/

My favourite tutorials:

Rock, Paper, Scissors
Name tag
Step counter

Step Counter

Extension: Have students personalise and/or make enhancements to the code.

Step counter – Enhanced with a message displayed on the Micro:bit when the user reaches 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 steps.

Once students have developed a basic understanding of how the Micro:bit works, they can be given a range of projects or challenges to solve individually or in small groups. These challenges will allow students to use their imagination and creativity to design their end product.

BOSON – Starter Kit for Micro:bit

Micro:bit is a simple micro-controller that can be enhanced with a range of add-on resources to allow students to achieve even more. The Boson Kit comes packed with easy-to-attach modular blocks to further empower student creativity and projects.

The Boson Kit features:

Micro:bit expansion board
Push button
Motion sensor
Rotation sensor
Sound sensor
LED light
Mini fan
LED strip
Mini servo

Incorporating the features of the Boson Kit into their designs allows students the opportunity to create solutions that can respond to a variety of inputs or sensors and respond or act with a desired output.

Micro:bit Pets

Students create their own Micro:bit Pet. The pet must react to different Micro:bit movements by using the LEDs and sounds to showcase the pet’s emotions. Students use art and craft materials to design and create their pet, integrating the Micro:bit to act as their pet’s face.

Materials:

Art and craft materials
Micro:bit

UN Sustainable Goals

There are a total of 17 goals that make up the UN Sustainable Goals. I focus on two or three that connect to the current learning themes taking place in our classroom when undertaking this project. This provides students with a real-life scenario to develop a solution using the Micro:bit.

Students need to apply their content knowledge from our units of work in class, to generate ideas, code a solution and create a prototype.

Examples created by students aged 11-13 years old.

Automated Street Lights
Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
As pedestrians walk on the footpath at night, the light above sensors their presence and switches on. This provides light where it is needed, saving energy as they are not on all night long.

Class Countdown
Goal 4 – Quality Education
This device will be installed in every classroom and every student wears a synced watch. As students enter the classroom they press button A to automatically mark the roll. If students require teacher assistance, they press button B on their watch. If the teacher wants all students’ attention on the floor, they get a countdown timer to appear on the LED screen of their watch. This was designed to save time in the classroom so teachers and students can work more efficiently.

Tree Cut Down Warning System
Goal 13 – Climate Action
Goal 15 – Life On Land
Trees in forests have sensors attached. When a tree is cut down it notifies the rangers, so they can then locate where the tree is and stop deforestation before it occurs.

Turtle to Clean the Ocean
Goal 14 – Life Below Water
The turtle swims in the ocean collecting rubbish. It was designed to appear like other animals in the ocean so as not to scare others.

Wellbeing Watch
Goal 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing
This wellbeing watch helps fight mental health issues. When button A is pressed, either a joke, funny emoji or funny sound will play at random to cheer the person up. When button B is pressed, it notifies authorities of the location and that this person is in trouble and needs urgent attention.

The Micro:bit and Boson Kit allow students to work through the design process to prototype and solve real-life problems. These resources give students the creative freedom to explore and generate ideas through hands-on learning experiences. How are you using these tools in your classroom?

Featured Product:

Boson Start Kit for Micro:Bit & MicroBit

How do you use Micro:bit in your classroom? We would love to hear from you!

About the author

Eleni Kyritsis is an award winning Year 3 teacher and Leader of Curriculum and innovation from Melbourne, Australia. Eleni facilitates professional learning workshops around the world that focus on unleashing creativity and curiosity in classrooms. You can contact her at elenikyritis.com and @misskyritsis

Shop MTA>

28/02/202007/03/2022

Everyone Belongs: Celebrating Harmony Day In The Classroom

Australia is an incredibly diverse country that people from many different backgrounds call home. Considering that nearly half of Australians are either born overseas, or have one or more parents that have been born overseas (Australian Bureau of Statistics), it is no wonder that Australia is considered one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.

I consider myself extremely lucky to teach in such a vibrant, multicultural country and acknowledge the responsibility of celebrating this diversity in my classroom. Celebrating the rich diversity of all students is something that should be embedded into classroom practices each and every day. While fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom happens on a daily basis, there are some special dates throughout the school calendar, such as Harmony Day, that provide a further opportunity for us to celebrate the rich diversity of our amazing country.

What is Harmony Day?

Harmony Day, which is held on the 21st of March every year, is widely celebrated in the community and at schools around the country. This significant day coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is a time to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity and promote inclusiveness, with its key message being ‘Everyone Belongs’.

On Harmony Day, many schools engage their community in a variety of activities. These activities aim to teach understanding of how all Australians equally belong to this country and enrich it, as well as promote cultural respect for all. There are various ways to celebrate this special day in the classroom, read on to find many ideas and activities to implement at your school. *

Ways to celebrate Harmony Day in the Classroom

Wear Orange

Invite students and staff to wear orange on March 21st to celebrate Harmony Day. This might sound simple, but did you know that orange is the chosen colour to represent Harmony Day and it signifies social communication and meaningful conversations? The Australian Government, Department of Home Affairs (2019) explains that this chosen colour relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. In the past, I have used this tradition as an opportunity to talk to my students about what this colour means, which has sparked many rich conversations.

Promote Diversity Through Books

One of the best ways to build children’s understandings of different topics is through books. Two of my favourite books to read with my students on Harmony Day are ‘Celebrations Around The World’ by Mike Ingram and ‘Whoever You Are’ by Mem Fox. Both of these books celebrate diversity, invite students to think deeply and can be used as a platform to provoke rich, meaningful conversations.

Celebrations Around The World’ is a big book that explores the diversity of our local communities, our nation and our world. This book looks at celebrations from around the world and is key for developing children’s understanding of other cultures and the world around them. I have also used this book to celebrate some of these culturally significant days in my classroom, such as Chinese New Year and Saint Patrick’s Day.

‘Whoever You are’ is beautifully written and celebrates children’s uniqueness, while pointing out that common humanity unites everyone. “Their lives may be different from yours, and their words may be different from yours. But inside, their hearts are just like yours”. This thought-provoking quotation from the text invites students to explore the notion of diversity and inclusion further through discussion.

Featured Products:

Celebrations of the World Big Book
Whoever You Are Book

Multicultural Paper Chain Dolls

This next Harmony Day activity was inspired by the aforementioned text ‘Whoever You Are’. We read this book before making these multicultural paper chain dolls. We had a fantastic discussion about how we may be different in ways, which is what makes us special, and how we are all similar, before commencing this activity.

When making their paper chain dolls, students were encouraged to represent a wide variety of cultures through highlighting their appearance like skin colour, special clothing and interests etc. I love how these paper chain dolls look like they are holding hands, representing that it is important to live in peace with one another, regardless of how we may live our lives.

Featured Product:
Whoever You Are Book

Invite Families To Share Their Culture

Inviting families into the classroom is often encouraged in order to bridge connections between home and school. To foster this partnership further, invite families to come and share something about their cultural background with the class on Harmony Day. I have implemented this special ‘show and tell’ in my classroom before, where families shared different aspects of their lives with the class. One of the mothers of my students came from India and was kind enough to give Henna tattoos to all of the children. Another parent was born in China and taught us how to make Chinese dumplings to celebrate Chinese New Year. I have also had parents share their special outfits, pictures, dance, music and food. What better way to develop an understanding of different cultures, as well as gain a better understanding of students and their families?

Embed Multicultural Resources Into Classroom Learning Spaces

Embedding multicultural resources into classroom learning spaces is something I do all year round, as I’m sure many other educators do as well. Using and highlighting multicultural resources is another idea of how to celebrate diversity in the classroom during Harmony Day. I love using multicultural resources in my early years classroom as it fosters the concept of ‘Everyone Belongs’ and means that everybody feels represented. By naturally incorporating multicultural resources into play, children are able to develop their understanding and acceptance of different cultures in a natural and authentic way.

In home corner, my students enjoy engaging with our multicultural play food, which exposes them to food from all around the world. Food is such a big part of culture and I’ve heard many students talking about how they have eaten this or that at home, as well as ask others what particular items are, thus learning about unfamiliar foods.

My students also love playing with our multicultural dolls in the home corner, all of which have different physical appearances. Representing many cultures through classroom resources encourages children to understand the rich diversity of our population.

Another resource that I use in my classroom to represent cultures is multicultural wooden dolls. These are some of our most loved play resources and they represent a wide range of cultures and showcase the rich diversity of people within our community.

My students love using these dolls with our wooden blocks, as well as with our town set, which is fantastic as it builds children’s understanding of our society being incredibly diverse with many people who have varying beliefs, cultures, interests and appearances.

Featured Products:

Multicultural Play Food Assortment – 100 pieces

The Happy Architect Town Set
Wooden Multicultural People – Set of 42

Hello! Konnichiwa! Ciao!

How many different ways can you say hello? I asked my students this last year and was impressed by how many ways they knew how to say hello in different languages. We also referred to a video on YouTube to learn some new greetings we weren’t familiar with already. We made a poster of the many different greetings and proudly hung it on our door to greet any visitors to the classroom.

Everybody Belongings Puzzle Artwork

What better way to show that ‘Everyone Belongs’ than with this puzzle piece artwork? This is a great collaborative artwork to complete with students for Harmony Day and is very effective when all of the pieces have been put together. Each student can complete a drawing of themselves and then cut out their puzzle piece. Once all joined together, this artwork clearly shows that even though we are all unique in our own ways, we can still join together and that everybody belongs.

Explore Homes Around The World

Celebrating Harmony Day is an opportunity to learn about how cultures around the world live and many children find it fascinating to learn about this. My students enjoyed learning about the different types of homes people live in around the world and matching these to countries on the globe.

As children engaged in this imaginative play, they were developing their understanding and acceptance of many cultures through an age appropriate and authentic activity.

Featured Product:
Multicultural Block Play Set – 33 pieces

Jigdraws- Pack of 20

What are your favourite ways to celebrate Harmony Day in the classroom? We would love to hear from you!

References:

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cultural Diversity in Australia

Australian Government, Department of Home Affairs , Harmony Week.

ABOUT HEIDI:
Heidi Overbye from Learning Through Play is a Brisbane based, Early Years Teacher who currently teaches Prep, the first year of formal schooling in Queensland. Heidi is an advocate for play-based, hands-on learning experiences and creating stimulating and creative learning spaces. Heidi shares what happens in her classroom daily on her Instagram page, Learning Through Play. See @learning.through.play for a huge range of activities, play spaces and lesson ideas.

Shop MTA>

11/10/2019

Celebrating Christmas In The Classroom Part Two

It’s almost everybody’s favourite time of the year again… Christmas is coming! As a teacher, I love this time of year – assessment is complete, report cards are handed in, it is time to celebrate a year of achievements! Continue reading “Celebrating Christmas In The Classroom Part Two”

27/09/2019

Sustainability In The Early Years

Young children in many early childhood settings around the world are demonstrating awareness of their impact on the environment and ways to minimise it. A five-year-old in Ireland reportedly explained to an international research group that sustainability means ‘to save the world for later’ Continue reading “Sustainability In The Early Years”

13/09/2019

Early STEM Activities: Part Two

A range of various materials which can be used for STEM activities

In Part One of Early STEM Activities , I discussed what STEM is, why STEM is important, listed my favourite STEM materials and shared some of my favourite STEM activities. In Part Two of this Early STEM Activities blog, I am excited to share plenty more STEM ideas. Continue reading “Early STEM Activities: Part Two”

16/08/2019

All Time Favourite Literacy Resources

Close up of alphabet sorting tray and magnetic letters on classroom desk

Developing literacy skills in young students is extremely important in the early years and a large proportion of the school day is spent teaching these skills. To help me develop my students’ literacy skills, I use a wide variety of teaching tools and resources within my literacy program. Over the past few years, my collection of literacy resources has grown, yet I always seem to return back to my favourites; the resources that can be used in a myriad of ways. In this blog, I have compiled a list of my ALL TIME favourite literacy resources that I use regularly in my classroom and explain the different ways they can be used.

Chunky Alphabet Beads

There is something about threading activities that really captivates children’s attention. I have used these Chunky Alphabet Beads in both kindergarten and school settings and both age groups have adored them. On top of the obvious hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills that threading resources promote, there is also a range of literacy skills that these Chunky Alphabet Beads encourage. I have used these beads with my students to develop their letter recognition skills, name and word building skills, as well as awareness of uppercase and lowercase letters and alphabet sequence. Some of the activities I have implemented using these Chunky Alphabet Beads include:

- Spelling names (focus on using uppercase letter followed by lowercase)
- Spelling sight words
- Spelling CVC words
- Matching uppercase and lowercase beads together
- Sequencing the alphabet
- Letter finds (e.g. finding all of the e’s, or finding the letter that makes a /s/ sound)

Featured Products:

Chunky Alphabet Beads
Flower Sorting Tray

Wooden Alphabet Sorting Tray

I LOVE resources that can be used in a variety of ways, which is why this Wooden Alphabet Sorting Tray is included in my list of All Time Favourite Literacy Resources. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have used this tray in my early years classroom and it is one of my ‘go-to’ resources when planning hands-on activities for literacy rotations. Some of the activities I have implemented using this Wooden Alphabet Sorting Tray include:

- Sorting and matching magnetic letters into compartments (using tongs for added fine motor opportunities)
- Matching an uppercase letter manipulative with the matching lowercase compartment
- Practising letter formation by writing letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper and then placing them in the matching compartment
- Writing words that start with each letter on a piece of paper and then placing them in the correct compartment
- Beginning sound match-up (having a range of small toys and sorting them into the correct compartment according to their beginning phoneme)

Featured Products:

Wooden Alphabet Sorting Tray
Easy Grip Tweezers
Magnetic Lowercase Letters

Alphabet Bean Bags

In early years classrooms, there are many times in the day when students are transitioning from one activity to another. I like using these transition times as a teachable moment to consolidate learning and to give the children an opportunity to showcase their understanding. One of my favourite ways to transition students (e.g. from the carpet to the tables) is by throwing an alphabet beanbag to each student. Each child will catch their beanbag and tell the class what letter they are holding. This activity can also be adapted by having the student explain what sound that letter makes, or say a word that starts with that letter. Besides transitioning, other activities I have implemented using these alphabet beanbags include:

- Throwing beanbags into a hula hoop and saying the name of letter/correlating sound
- Laying letter cards out on the carpet and throwing the beanbags on top of matching letters
- Uppercase/Lowercase game where the beanbag is thrown and then depending on what side it lands on, students will say “Uppercase!” or “Lowercase!”

Featured Products:

Alphabet Bean Bags
Alphabet Wall Frieze

Phonix CVC Group Work Set

Along with making CVC words, some of the other ways we have used these Phonix cubes in the classroom include:

- Building sight words
- Building word families
- Building names (they have uppercase on one side, lowercase on the other)
- Sequencing the letters of the alphabet (my students love this one because they end up with a really long creation, which they think is fun!)

Featured Product:

Phonics CVC Group Work Set

Lowercase Alphabet Dough Stampers

Playdough is ALWAYS a hit in my classroom and is perfect for developing those important fine motor skills as well as allowing children to engage in sensory play. To add an extra element to playdough play, I love adding these Alphabet Stampers to our playdough table to encourage letter exploration and word building. We frequently use our Alphabet Stampers to practise our sight words, which is a great way for students to familiarise recognising, reading and spelling these important words. Other ways we have used these Alphabet Stampers in our classroom include:

- Stamping names into playdough
- Stamping CVC words into playdough
- Tracing letters with a finger after stamping

Featured Product:

Lowercase Alphabet Dough Stampers

Write and Wipe Sleeves

These Write and Wipe Sleeves have saved me SO much time and money over the past year, which is why I’ve included them on my All Time Favourite Literacy Resources list! What teacher doesn’t love saving time and money?! There is no need to laminate sheets with these Write and Wipe Sleeves, I simply place whatever sheet I need for the lesson inside the sleeve and then voilà! Students can write with whiteboard markers on these sleeves and then easily wipe away. Some of the activities we have used these Write and Wipe Sleeves for include:

- Roll and Write sight words
- Tracing and writing sight words
- Tracing letters or using resources (rocks etc) to trace over letters
- Making playdough letters

Featured Product:

Write and Wipe Sleeves

Storywands

Developing oral language skills and comprehension skills are vital components of our early years curriculum. One of my favourite resources to support development of both of these skills are Storywands. Storywands are a fun way to encourage discussion and understanding of stories. We have used them in whole-group shared reading sessions, as well as small-group guided reading. Each star has a different question on it, which encourages students to focus on different story elements. These Storywands are used extensively as part of our reading program and in a variety of ways, including:

- In whole-group shared reading
- In small-group guided reading (where each student answers a question)
- Using one star per lesson as a focus (for example, students will draw a picture to answer the question, ‘How did the story end?’)
- To focus on developing the reading skill of prediction
- To focus on developing oral retelling skills

Featured Product:

Storywands

Wooden Alphabet Discs

I have a weakness for any type of wooden resource – especially ones that can be used in so many ways! These Wooden Alphabet Discs have 26 uppercase and 26 lowercase discs and are perfect for simple letter recognition and letter matching games. I have used these beauties in both kindergarten and school settings in a variety of ways, including:

- Letter match-up sheets (matching letters, matching uppercase to lowercase)
- Looking for alphabet discs in rainbow rice

Separating numbers and letters (with the addition of Wooden Number Discs)
Letter Partner game (hand out uppercase and lowercase discs to students and then they have to find their partner with the matching letter)

Featured Products:

Wooden Alphabet Discs
Active World Tray
Coloured Plastic Bowls – Set of 6
Easy Grip Tweezers
1-20 Wooden Number Matching Discs – 40pc

Lowercase Letter Beads

You already know that my students LOVE threading activities, so it probably won’t surprise you that I have included these Lowercase Letter Beads in my list of All Time Favourite Literacy Resources. I love that these beads are lowercase and they can be used with lots of different tools such as string, laces or even pipe cleaners. We mainly use these beads to practise spelling our sight words. Our favourite way to do this is by threading them onto a string as well as using tongs to pick them up and arrange them into a word. Other ways we have used these Lowercase Letter Beads in the classroom include:

- Spelling names
- Sequencing letters in the alphabet
- Creating a string of words in word families (e.g. mat, cat, sat)

Featured Products:

Lowercase Letter Beads – 288 pieces
Fine Motor Tweezer Tongs

Alphabet Soup Sorter Cans

Last, but definitely not least, on my list of All Time Favourite Literacy Resources are these Alphabet Soup Sorter Cans. My students always get super excited whenever I bring these out because of their fun nature and opportunities for hands-on learning. This resource encourages students to sort the object and letter cards into the correlating cans and supports alphabet awareness, letter and sound recognition. Some of the ways I have used this resource in my classroom include:

- Whole group activities when introducing a letter/sound
- Consolidating a group of sounds (e.g. SATPIN)
- Small group sorting with some or all cans

Featured Product:

Alphabet Soup Sorter Cans

Have you used any of these resources within your literacy program? What is your all time favourite literacy resource? We’d love to hear from you.

ABOUT HEIDI:
Heidi Overbye from Learning Through Play is a Brisbane based, Early Years Teacher who currently teaches Prep, the first year of formal schooling in Queensland. Heidi is an advocate for play-based, hands-on learning experiences and creating stimulating and creative learning spaces. Heidi shares what happens in her classroom daily on her Instagram page, Learning Through Play. See @learning.through.play for a huge range of activities, play spaces and lesson ideas.

02/08/2019

Magic And Wonder: Creating A World Where Children Lead

Young girl exploring whilst walking over tree roots

“Drink in the beauty and wonder at the meaning of what you see.” Rachel Carson

I recently watched the film ‘Mary Poppins Returns’, and as the film came to a wonderful and uplifting end, I was struck by a couple of strong elements that weave their way through the film and demonstrate how we can allow children to take the lead in their quest for answers to questions that matter to them.

Talking about it

We are a society that struggles with grief, we don’t know how to talk about it, how to enable it and how to live with it. In my own experience, grief is often overwhelming and debilitating, so I was surprised to see this children’s film, based on P.L. Travers’ books, featuring grief and loss as central and underlying themes. ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ is a lesson on living with grief, it’s woven through the film in a number of ways, the loss of the children’s mother, the impact this has on their father, the impending loss of the family home, the loss of of innocence and that sense of wonder and the loss of childhood. We are reminded throughout the film of the strong community ties that were quintessential of that time, ties that we see less and less of now in our sprawling cities and disconnected lives. There is a very strong emphasis on the need to talk to others about our problems, and a clear message that talking to family and friends when you are struggling allows you to get the support you need to effectively manage your feelings.

Seeing the world through children’s eyes

When Michael Banks is told he’s “forgotten what it’s like,” by the Balloon Lady, he responds, “To hold a balloon?” , “To be a child,” she replies.

This simple quote by the Balloon Lady (Angela Lansbury, 93) captures the other main element that runs throughout the film, “When did we forget how to be children?”

This film was built around the notion of letting children lead and giving them opportunity to give a voice to their ideas and theories, to delight in the magic and unexplainable and be in the moment with them.

This begs the question; are we, as early childhood educators, at risk of becoming so focused on curating the child’s life with us (every moment accounted for and photographed, notes on toileting, eating, sleep, pencil grip, physical skills, knowledge, social networks and everything in between) that we are missing the very thing we should be focused on? How children see the world and how they understand and make sense of what they see.

Have we actually forgotten how to be children and to see the world as children see it?

Seeing the world through children’s eyes is challenging, because it requires us to suspend our existing thinking and knowledge and to see the world with new eyes for the very first time, to be in the moment each and every day, for every child. For some, this their everyday practice, whereas for those of us who are more like Michael, and have forgotten what it’s like to be a child, it can be a struggle to really listen and see and we can often be bogged down in the collecting, curating, cleaning and the sound of our own voice. Anne Pelo challenges us to “fall into moments” with children, to “join our attention” with them and what they are doing, to put down the pen and pad, to listen more deeply to what children are saying, to look at the world with the child’s eyes and see that everything is new.

“To be as curious and as open to what is possible as a child.”

Now, this is not new thinking. In fact, I believe the song lines of our First Nations People is an extraordinary example of explaining how the world came to be, such was the richness of these song lines that they are actually linked by generations of storytellers to the beginning of the Dreaming.

Rachel Carson, writing in the Woman’s Home Companion magazine, July 1956 said:

“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”

Carson challenges us to be these adult companions, to listen deeply to children, not muddy their ideas with our rationalism and encyclopaedic knowledge, but to be lead by children as they discover the world around them. She asks us to be the keepers of “Awe and Wonder” in each child.

This reimagining our own role in the early childhood space is supported in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), asking us to enable children to actively construct their own understandings and contribute to others’ learning. They recognise their agency, capacity to initiate and lead learning, and their rights to participate in decisions that affect them, including their learning.’ EYLF p.9

This is a powerful way of seeing how we engage and enable children to be at the very centre of their learning journey. It will challenge how we let children take risks and has the potential to enrich the lives of families as they learn how powerful and uplifting those moments can be when adult and child are captured by the beauty, wonder and awe of what is around them.

The solutions to climate change, curing diseases and making clean drinking water accessible to everybody on this planet will be solved by a child who sees the world through a lens that we can provide and build into their thinking. This pattern of reflective thinking could be set out in a series of simple questions that ask the child and adult to focus, such as:

“What would you like to know about …?”
“What do you think will happen if your idea is correct?”
“What do you think will happen if… or when…”
“Why do you think that will happen?”
“What will you need to do to find out…”
“How might you let others know about this?”
“How might you do this again?”

“Wonder is the centre of all motivation and action in the child. Wonder and beauty are what make life genuinely personal. Wonder attunes to beauty through sensitivity and is unfolded by secure attachment. When wonder, beauty, sensitivity and secure attachment are present, learning is meaningful.” L’Ecuyer (2014)

“Facilitate and engage, then step into the world of children.”

Who was Rachel Carson?

Rachel Carson worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (1936-1952) and in 1962 published “Silent Spring” based on her research into the effects that pesticides, in particular DDT, were having on birds, fish and small animals. It is cited as one of the catalysts for the birth of the environmental movement. It also reflected on something else that Ms Carson had been mulling over for sometime, which is how children see the world and how this engagement was being diminished by the modern world in which they lived.

About the Author

Neville Dwyer has a long history in early childhood services, with 32 years as Director of a community-based long day care service and, prior to that, five years coordinating a mobile children’s service and a short stint teaching at TAFE.

In 2005, Neville received the National Excellence in Teaching Award – Early Childhood and 2009 his early childhood service was the first to be named as a winner in the Australian Awards for Teaching Excellence in the School and Its Community section.

Neville has also sat on a number of management committees, including those for Griffith Neighbourhood House, Griffith Early Intervention, Western Riverina Family Day Care Scheme, Western Riverina Respite Care, Riverina Children’s Activity Van, Mobile Resources Services Association and Contact Inc. In 2018, he completed a 25-year stint as a board member of the CCSA (Community Connections Solutions Australia – previously known as the Country Children’s Services Association of NSW).

Neville’s passion is outdoor play environments, the natural world, risk and its value in play and development, technology, management, STEAM, and a service model that provides much more than just child care for preschool children.

Further Reading

Anne Pelo, in the “Thinking Together Video series ‘Joining children’s inquiry – with Anne Pelo” , Early Childhood Australia, 2015

Pelo A The Language of Art: Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood Settings. Red leaf Press

Pelo, A ; The Goodness of Rain, Exchange Press 2013

L’Ecuryer, C (2014) The Wonder Approach to Learning, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Oct Vol. 8, Art 764 www.fronCersin.org

“Help Your Child to Wonder,” Woman’s Home Companion magazine, July 1956 h[p:// digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/ref/collecCon/document/id/1055

19/07/2019

Early STEM Activities: Part One

Hero image showing a completed stem activity featuring the three billy goats gruff

STEM! It’s a word we have all been hearing a lot about lately! At the beginning of this year, I started teaching at a new school and quickly learnt that STEM was a focus for teaching and learning. Continue reading “Early STEM Activities: Part One”