In the preschool where I am observing, there is a strong focus on advocacy and working with the families. I have been working closely with the Assistant Director, who is also the curriculum coordinator. She has stated that they have very specific goals when it comes to developing their lesson plans. They are required to meet several of the Illinois State Learning Standards every day in the classrooms. Their lesson plans even have the standards listed on the side so they can highlight which standards they are working on. This allows them to see if they are missing any or if they are particularly heavy in one area over another.
There focus is very much academic and they know the importance of literacy development. Each day the teachers read a book that correlates with theme for the week. They then plan the activities around that theme. As I was walking through the different classrooms, I could so many different examples of literacy. The rooms had many different things labeled, in one classroom they were labeled with English and Spanish words. The bulletin boards had many art projects that linked literacy to their work. For example: one classroom had made dinosaurs and then completed the sentence, If I had a dinosaur I would ____________. Let me tell you there were some really funny ideas.
I also learned that in the center they have a lending library where the children get to check out a book and take it home in their special school library bag. It was really fun to see how excited they were about taking the book home. They also have a lending library for their parents. It contains books on many different subjects including child behavior, arts and crafts and even cooking with children.
The center used to have a children's librarian come in twice a month and read to the children, however due to budget cuts in the library she is no longer able to go to private schools and must focus solely on public schools with high at risk populations. They do however get to have her come back once a year to help them out with their literacy night. This is a family night where children get to hear stories, do some crafts and even make a snack that goes along with the story.
I feel that the administrators, teachers and families are very strong advocates for their children. They seem to be very involved in their children's education. I have picked up quite a few tips that will help as I write my paper that will help me to provide information about how to advocate for literacy development.
Hi Debbi, my name is Darlene Berry and I enjoy reading to the children as well. The program you are talking about seems to offer so much to the children and their families regarding literacy. The lending program is a wonderful idea. The children can take their adventure home therefore the parents can interact with them as well.
ReplyDeleteMy daycare is working with a preschool for all program and they offer the same thing to the children. One of my children last year took a book home for reading and their dog tore it up, wow! I was a bit upset about that because I feel as though it is a great program and I really would hope that some of the parents would feel the same way. It was no reason for that book to be in the mouth of a dog however I do try to understand that sometimes parents get overwhelmed with life and things happen.
We also have a lending library at our center for the students. I like the idea of having materials for the parents as well for resources on behavior, at home activities and cooking. I would like to add this to our lending library.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a children's outreach specialist who comes to the center once a month and does a story time with the students. It is a great program. It is a shame that the funding got cut and they can no longer visit private schools. We also have a story teller come monthly named Mr. Hassan. He tells African folk stories and is wonderful. He brings in literacy, music and cultural experiences. We have to pay a monthly fee for his visits, but it is well worth it.
This sounds like a very nice facility with the lending library and the focus on state standards. Is this a daycare center? What type of qualifications do the teachers need if they are teaching state standards? This facility sounds like they are very engaged in the children's academics and are focusing on the right areas of development.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a theme per week and I am in charge of getting library books for the month. I usually get 3 to 4 different books per week so the teachers can repeat the books a few times during the week to build their literacy development and understand the content more extensively. I also like to check out a few books that are just for fun for those crazy transition times throughout the day. I wish we had a more extensive library at the daycare for the teachers and the students. The lending library sounds like a great way to get parents involved in their child's literacy development.
We are a preschool center that has a structured preschool program in the morning and then we offer extended care for the children that have parents that work fulltime. We require our teachers to have at least an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Development. We pride ourselves in having a very strong academic program and that is what we are known for in our community.
DeleteHi Debbi:
ReplyDeleteI see in the school where you are observing are very interested in children academic performance. Literacy is very important in the children life, all the activities related to literacy help children development. The best thing that all centers and schools should have is a good library, where the parents can go and interact with their children. Having a librarian to come at least once a month is very good idea children enjoying a lot, it is very sad to have a low budget and the ones who suffer the consequences are our children.
Hi Debbi:
ReplyDeleteI see in the school where you are observing are very interested in children academic performance. Literacy is very important in the children life, all the activities related to literacy help children development. The best thing that all centers and schools should have is a good library, where the parents can go and interact with their children. Having a librarian to come at least once a month is very good idea children enjoying a lot, it is very sad to have a low budget and the ones who suffer the consequences are our children.