After more than 100 practice assessments, there are a few
things that make me yawn.
What color is it?
What shape is it?
How many are there?
Spending time on the calendar (even with toddlers!)
In Early Achievers, we are trying to move so much deeper than
this. We want to advance children’s
learning, thinking and reasoning skills.
These very basic questions are so common, yet at such a
basic level. Yes, it’s good for children
to know colors and shapes, and to be able to count. It feels though, that providers are rarely going
deeper than this. Ask these questions on
occasion, but spend more of your time going deeper. How questions. Why questions. Get the children thinking, not just
recalling.
Similarly, how important is it that children know the month
and day of the week? From my observation,
they are usually just guessing, anyway.
Perhaps there are more valuable ways to spend a short group time than
the calendar. Maybe discuss something
they will be doing later in the day and encourage them to plan it out – what will
we need to get ready? What are the steps
we should take? Brainstorming and
planning are great thinking skills.
Challenge yourself to go deeper. How can you get children to think?
