Game Show

At our reflective practice group this month we did a little game show where participants were blindfolded and given large letters of a scrambled word.  Once they were given a clue, they had to feel what letter they had and figure out together what the word was, then unscramble it and hold up the letters to spell the word. 

Here are the clues – can you guess the words?

1.     Having back and forth conversations with children is vital for them to learn communication skills

2.     Get down on the floor, or sit at the table and do this with the children

3.     All ages will benefit from music – do this often

4.     Books and language should be part of every day.  Several times a day, do this with the children

5.     Getting children to talk and think for themselves is how they learn to communicate.  A way to do this is to

6.     As often as you can, relate what you are doing with the children to their real

7.     Show you enjoy being with the children by doing this

8.     This is the kind of behavior you want to give the most attention to

9.     This kind of play will score most highly in the ERS assessment

10. This is a place online where you can review bite sized ideas to elevate your teaching practice

Answers

1.       TALK

2.       PLAY

3.       SING

4.       READ

5.       ASK

6.       LIFE

7.       SMILE

8.       GOOD (really, positive, but it had too many letters!)

9.       FREE

10.   BLOG (you are here !)

What's Up With The Low Health And Safety Scores?

As you may know, the scores for the Environment Rating Scale in the areas of health and safety are coming in very, very low.

You may wonder why that is.  The ERS uses three entities to keep up with the latest research:

›  Caring for our Children  http://cfoc.nrckids.org/   

›  CPSC http://www.cpsc.gov/   

›  USDA http://www.usda.gov

These three set a very high standard that, while best practice, are very hard to attain.

There are going to be some lapses even in the most health and safety conscious program.

There will be a child who wipes her nose and does not wash hands…

There will be a child that does not create enough lather with the soap…

There will be a child that enters the classroom and does not wash hands…

It just happens!

Be aware of these standards since they are a great thing to aspire to.

Focus more, though, on the parts of the ERS where you have a better chance of success.