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Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom: Fueling Imagination and Learning
Sparking creativity in young minds is paramount in early childhood education. It's not just about pretty crafts; it's about fostering critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a lifelong love of learning. This post dives deep into a treasure trove of creative resources perfect for enriching your early childhood classroom, offering practical ideas and innovative approaches to nurture the blossoming creativity of your students. We'll explore readily available materials, budget-friendly options, and engaging activities that cater to diverse learning styles and developmental stages. Get ready to transform your classroom into a vibrant hub of imagination!
Harnessing the Power of Everyday Materials: Low-Cost Creative Resources
Don't underestimate the potential of everyday items! Transforming readily available materials into engaging learning tools is not only cost-effective but also fosters resourcefulness and environmental awareness in your young learners.
Cardboard Creations: A World of Possibilities
Cardboard boxes, tubes, and egg cartons are versatile canvases for endless creative explorations. From building magnificent castles to designing imaginative vehicles, the possibilities are truly limitless. Encourage collaborative building projects, fostering teamwork and communication skills. Add paint, markers, and recycled materials to further enhance the creations.
Nature's Art Studio: Exploring the Outdoors
Embrace the natural world as your classroom's greatest resource! Collect leaves, twigs, stones, and flowers for nature collages, textured paintings, or imaginative sculptures. This hands-on experience connects children with their environment and promotes sensory exploration. Remember to emphasize responsible gathering and environmental stewardship.
Recycled Wonders: Giving Trash a New Life
Plastic bottles, bottle caps, fabric scraps, and newspaper can be transformed into unique art pieces and learning tools. Create musical instruments from recycled materials, design puppets from socks, or construct vibrant mosaics from broken ceramic tiles. This fosters creativity while teaching about recycling and sustainability.
Investing in Essential Creative Tools: Long-Term Resources
While everyday materials are invaluable, certain tools can significantly elevate your creative teaching toolkit. Strategic investments in these resources can yield long-term benefits.
High-Quality Art Supplies: Inspiring Quality Work
Investing in a selection of high-quality paints, crayons, markers, and clay provides children with superior tools to express their artistic visions. The vibrant colors and smooth textures inspire more detailed and satisfying creations. Remember to choose non-toxic and age-appropriate materials.
Dramatic Play Essentials: Building Imaginary Worlds
Props for dramatic play, such as dress-up clothes, toy kitchen sets, building blocks, and puppets, significantly enhance imaginative play and storytelling. These resources encourage role-playing, social interaction, and language development. Consider creating your own props using recycled materials for added cost-effectiveness.
Digital Tools for Creative Exploration: Embracing Technology
Age-appropriate educational apps and software can provide engaging creative outlets. Interactive storytelling apps, digital art programs, and music creation tools can introduce children to new technologies while fostering their creative abilities. Always ensure that digital resources are used responsibly and in moderation.
Engaging Activities: Bringing Creativity to Life
The right activities can unlock a child's creative potential. Here are a few examples:
Storytelling and Creative Writing: Nurturing Language Skills
Encourage storytelling through various mediums: puppet shows, picture books, or even creating their own stories with drawings and simple text. This fosters language development, imagination, and self-expression.
Music and Movement: Expressing Emotions Through Art
Introduce music and movement activities like singing, dancing, and playing simple instruments. These activities stimulate creativity, enhance physical coordination, and provide emotional outlets.
Collaborative Art Projects: Fostering Teamwork and Sharing
Organize group projects like murals, large-scale sculptures, or collaborative storytelling sessions. This fosters teamwork, communication, and a sense of shared accomplishment.
Adapting to Diverse Learning Styles and Needs
Remember to cater to different learning styles and developmental stages. Some children may thrive with hands-on activities, while others may prefer more structured projects. Provide a variety of options to ensure inclusivity and cater to individual needs. Consult with specialists if you have children with specific learning needs to ensure appropriate adaptations.
Conclusion
By incorporating these creative resources and engaging activities into your early childhood classroom, you can cultivate a learning environment that nurtures imagination, fosters self-expression, and empowers young learners to reach their full potential. Remember that creativity is a fundamental aspect of child development, and providing the right tools and opportunities is crucial for their growth and success.
FAQs
Q1: Where can I find affordable art supplies for my classroom?
A1: Check out dollar stores, teacher supply stores during sales, and online retailers for bulk discounts. Consider requesting donations from local businesses or organizing a classroom fundraising event.
Q2: How can I incorporate creativity into my daily routine?
A2: Start with short, simple creative activities during transitions or free-play time. Integrate art and music into other subject areas, such as science or math, to make learning more engaging.
Q3: What if I don't have a lot of space in my classroom?
A3: Utilize vertical space with wall-mounted organizers and shelves. Focus on multi-purpose resources that can be used for various activities. Rotate materials regularly to maximize space.
Q4: How can I assess children’s creative development?
A4: Observe children's participation in creative activities, their problem-solving skills, their willingness to experiment with different materials and techniques, and their ability to express themselves through various art forms. Focus on the process rather than solely on the final product.
Q5: How can I encourage parents to support their child's creativity at home?
A5: Share ideas and resources with parents through newsletters, parent-teacher meetings, or a classroom blog. Suggest simple home-based creative activities that parents can do with their children. Highlight the importance of fostering creativity in a child's overall development.
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom Judy Herr, 2007 |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for the Anti-bias Classroom Nadia Saderman Hall, 1999 This unique approach presents information in a simple, straightforward manner. Hundreds of activities are demonstrated to represent an integrated curriculum approach. Developmental benchmarks provide best practice for infants/toddlers and planning for early childhood and elementary classrooms. Curriculum webs illustrate how to support anti-bias skill building. Creative Resources for the Anti-bias Classroom has a comprehensive focus on children from birth to twelve years. It promotes self-esteem and individual uniqueness while providing developmentally appropriate interactions. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for Bulletin Boards in the Early Childhood Classroom Judy Herr, Yvonne Libby, Yvonne Libby-Larson, 1997 Interactive bulletin boards are presented along with their developmental goals. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Nurturing Creativity Rebecca T. Isbell, Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa, 2016 Tap into children's natural curiosity and scaffold their creative abilities across all domains of learning--and nurture your own creativity! |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom Judy Herr, 2011-10-13 A theme based curriculum, this book is presented in Alpha order and contains over 2500 new activities, books, and songs; five new multicultural themes, new green themes, and various sections have been updated. Themes range from Ants to Zoo animals. Each theme contains a variation of the following content depending upon that theme: Curriculum, web, theme goals, concepts for the children to learn, vocabulary, bulletin board, parent letter, music, fingerplay, science, math, dramatic play, arts and crafts, sensory, large muscle (gross), small muscle (fine), field trips, social studies, group time, cooking, transitions, books, multimedia, recordings and song titles. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Expressing Creativity in Preschool Teaching Young Children, 2015 Much of the content in this book is adapted from Teaching young children (TYC), NAEYC's award-winning magazine ...--Page [120]. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Activities for the Early Years Stella Skinner, 2007-02-22 ′An excellent resource for all those working with young children... jam-packed with exciting, inspirational activities that encourage young children to nurture their creativity and imagination while helping practitioners to facilitate what children do naturally... It is a book that celebrates and encourages original thought and action to support learning through exploration and investigation, recognising that creativity is about representing one′s own image and not reproducing someone else′s′ - Early Years Educator ′[I]nspirational... This book is easy to read, refreshing and exciting, and I would recommend it to all those working with young children. It is also useful for students, clearly articulating the reasons for providing well-organised child-initiated creative opportunities rather than adult-directed activities′ - Nursery World It is an interesting and informative manual aimed at those who work with children in the 3-5 years age range, and is therefore most suited to anyone in a Pre-School or Day Nursery setting, and could also be valuable to a Reception Teacher...over all, I found this to be a very useful book′. - National Childminding Association Packed full of exciting ideas and powerful visual aids, this book will help those working with young children to encourage and nurture their creativity and imagination. The book takes examples of what has worked in an early years setting, and transfers these inspirational activities onto the page. The book includes: practical activities in Art, Dance and Music and ideas on how to link them together; advice on how to make the most of music, lighting, space and nursery resources; showing how the work supports the Foundation Stage Curriculum; ideas for cross-curricular work; suggestions for recording children′s progress; advice on how to choose materials, and a list of specialist suppliers. Everyone involved in working with young children should read this book. Nursery practitioners, early years teachers, Sure Start workers, play workers and Children′s Centre staff will find it an invaluable resource. It is also useful for specialist staff in hospitals and other areas of health. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Loose Parts Lisa Daly, Miriam Beloglovsky, 2014-10-06 Use loose parts to spark children's creativity and innovation Loose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Alluring and captivating, they capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and motivate learning. The hundreds of inspiring photographs showcase an array of loose parts in real early childhood settings. And the overviews of concepts children can learn when using loose parts provide the foundation for incorporating loose parts into your teaching to enhance play and empower children. The possibilities are truly endless. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom Judy Herr, Yvonne R Larson, Yvonne R. Libby-Larson, Kurt Bornada, Juan Toro, Herr, 1999-10-28 Whether you're embarking on an exciting new career in early childhood or have been teaching your children for several years, this is the one resource you'll treasure. It is the most complete guide to planning a developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children. This text focuses on the growth of the whole child and includes hundreds of activities that make education interesting and challenging for young children. You'll get 67 themes with goals, concepts, vocabulary words, music, finger plays, experiences in mathematics, art, and cooking, resources and much more. An introduction helps teachers use the book more effectively, including discussion of how to use the thematic approach, suggestions for writing parent letters, and criteria for selecting children's books. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Family Child Care Homes Linda J. Armstrong, 2011-07-22 Create a warm and inviting place where children feel at home. Discover the many ways your home can provide comfortable places where children love to learn and love to be. Filled with no- and low-cost ideas, this book demonstrates many unique and practical possibilities for your home's indoor and outdoor spaces. Chapters are packed with colorful photographs and provide examples and tips for designing learning zones, selecting items, organizing materials, and more. Checklists, resources, and questions are included to help you evaluate your setting, implement changes, and create a place that feels like a second home to the children in your care. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Curriculum Teaching Strategies, Gryphon House, Delmar Thomson Learning, 1988-01-01 The Creative Curriculum comes alive! This videotape-winner of the 1989 Silver Apple Award at the National Educational Film and Video Festival-demonstrates how teachers set the stage for learning by creating a dynamic well-organized environment. It shows children involved in seven of the interest areas in the The Creative Curriculum and explains how they learn in each area. Everyone conducts in-service training workshops for staff and parents or who teaches early childhood education courses will find the video an indispensable tool for explainin appropriate practice. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Play Activities Lisa Rappaport Morris, 1989 |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Visible Learning in Early Childhood Kateri Thunder, John Almarode, John Hattie, 2021-09-13 Make learning visible in the early years Early childhood is a uniquely sensitive time, when young learners are rapidly developing across multiple domains, including language and literacy, mathematics, and motor skills. Knowing which teaching strategies work best and when can have a significant impact on a child’s development and future success. Visible Learning in Early Childhood investigates the critical years between ages 3 and 6 and, backed by evidence from the Visible Learning® research, explores seven core strategies for learning success: working together as evaluators, setting high expectations, measuring learning with explicit success criteria, establishing developmentally appropriate levels of learning, viewing mistakes as opportunities, continually seeking feedback, and balancing surface, deep, and transfer learning. The authors unpack the symbiotic relationship between these seven tenets through Authentic examples of diverse learners and settings Voices of master teachers from the US, UK, and Australia Multiple assessment and differentiation strategies Multidisciplinary approaches depicting mathematics, literacy, art and music, social-emotional learning, and more Using the Visible Learning research, teachers partner with children to encourage high expectations, developmentally appropriate practices, the right level of challenge, and a focus on explicit success criteria. Get started today and watch your young learners thrive! |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for Infants and Toddlers Judy Herr, Terri Swim, 2002 Presents a comprehensive resource guide for parents, caregivers, and educators who work with infants and toddlers, and features up to three hundred activities designed to promote physical, language and communication, cognitive, social, and emotional development at eight stages from birth to thirty-six months. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: In Search of Deeper Learning Jal Mehta, Sarah Fine, 2019-04-22 The best book on high school dynamics I have ever read.--Jay Mathews, Washington Post An award-winning professor and an accomplished educator take us beyond the hype of reform and inside some of America's most innovative classrooms to show what is working--and what isn't--in our schools. What would it take to transform industrial-era schools into modern organizations capable of supporting deep learning for all? Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine's quest to answer this question took them inside some of America's most innovative schools and classrooms--places where educators are rethinking both what and how students should learn. The story they tell is alternately discouraging and hopeful. Drawing on hundreds of hours of observations and interviews at thirty different schools, Mehta and Fine reveal that deeper learning is more often the exception than the rule. And yet they find pockets of powerful learning at almost every school, often in electives and extracurriculars as well as in a few mold-breaking academic courses. These spaces achieve depth, the authors argue, because they emphasize purpose and choice, cultivate community, and draw on powerful traditions of apprenticeship. These outliers suggest that it is difficult but possible for schools and classrooms to achieve the integrations that support deep learning: rigor with joy, precision with play, mastery with identity and creativity. This boldly humanistic book offers a rich account of what education can be. The first panoramic study of American public high schools since the 1980s, In Search of Deeper Learning lays out a new vision for American education--one that will set the agenda for schools of the future. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Making and Tinkering with STEM Cate Heroman, 2017 Explore STEM concepts through making and tinkering! |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Planning in the Moment with Young Children Anna Ephgrave, 2018-01-29 Young children live in the here and now. If adults are to make a real difference to their learning they need to seize the moments when children first show curiosity, and support their next steps immediately. This book embraces the concept of planning in the moment and emphasises the critical role of the adult in promoting child-led learning, giving early years practitioners the confidence and insight to work and plan in the moment, and enabling the children in their care to live, learn, play and develop in the here and now. Planning in the Moment with Young Children maintains a strong link to practice, providing numerous examples of how practitioners can integrate spontaneous planning and rich adult–child interactions into their everyday practice and early years curricula. From timetabling to setting clear rules, creating enabling environments, keeping records and making use of a variety of materials, the book demonstrates the multitude of ways in which practitioners can encourage child autonomy and respond to the unique needs of each child. Examples from practice are rooted in theory, fully contextualised, and exemplified by original documentation sourced from the author’s own experiences and from a wide variety of settings. Key features include: over 180 full colour photographs to illustrate practice; photocopiable pages including planning sheets, documentation and activity sheets; advice on working with parents, individual children and groups; tailored guidance on working with children at different stages of development from birth to age 6 years; relevance to a range of settings, including childminders, pre-schools, nurseries and schools. When children are allowed to select where, with what, and how to play, they are truly invested in their play, they become deeply involved and make dramatic progress. This book is an outstanding testament to a responsive and child-led way of working in early years environments. Practitioners will be guided, inspired and supported to work spontaneously and reactively – planning as they go and celebrating the results! |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Creativity Project Colby Sharp, 2018-03-13 Book advocate Colby Sharp presents more than forty beloved, award-winning, diverse and bestselling authors and illustrators in a creative challenge! Colby Sharp invited more than forty authors and illustrators to provide story starters for each other; photos, drawings, poems, prose, or anything they could dream up. When they received their prompts, they responded by transforming these seeds into any form of creative work they wanted to share. The result is a stunning collection of words, art, poetry, and stories by some of our most celebrated children book creators. A section of extra story starters by every contributor provides fresh inspiration for readers to create works of their own. Here is an innovative book that offers something for every kind of reader and creator! |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Materials and Activities for the Early Childhood Curriculum Joan Packer Isenberg, Jennifer L. Durham, 2014-06-27 Note: This is the bound book only and does not include access to the Enhanced Pearson eText. To order the Enhanced Pearson eText packaged with a bound book, use ISBN 013383154X. Innovative, practical, and easy to use, Creative Materials and Activities for the Early Childhood Curriculum is the ideal research-based resource for helping all children from infancy through grade five learn in, through, and with the arts, while meeting national and state standards. With a focus on teaching the creative arts and other subjects in ways that engage children’s minds and bodies, it looks at the teacher’s role from multiple perspectives by addressing the concepts and importance of creativity, classroom environment, planning, and assessment. Included are over 400 standards-based activities, an abundance of children’s literature suggestions, arts-infused content-area chapters, differentiated strategies across age and grade levels, technology suggestions, inspiring photos, practical examples, lesson segments, case studies, guidelines, and practical tips that can be put to immediate use in the classroom. Also included are a number of user-friendly approaches for using arts-based learning to meet the needs of diverse learners. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded video to illustrate key concepts and pop-up assessments. Improve mastery and retention with the Enhanced Pearson eText* The Enhanced Pearson eText provides a rich, interactive learning environment designed to improve student mastery of content. The Enhanced Pearson eText is: Engaging. The new interactive, multimedia learning features were developed by the authors and other subject-matter experts to deepen and enrich the learning experience. Convenient. Enjoy instant online access from your computer or download the Pearson eText App to read on or offline on your iPad® and Android® tablet.* Affordable. The Enhanced Pearson eText may be purchased stand-alone or with a loose-leaf version of the text for 40-65% less than a print bound book. *The Enhanced eText features are only available in the Pearson eText format. They are not available in third-party eTexts or downloads. *The Pearson eText App is available on Google Play and in the App Store. It requires Android OS 3.1-4, a 7” or 10” tablet, or iPad iOS 5.0 or later. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Transforming Teaching Marie Masterson, 2021-03 Child-centered lesson planning provides a system to strengthen teaching. Great lesson planning helps teachers to choose a range of strategies that match what children are learning and doing-- from directed mini-lessons to facilitated group activities. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Welcoming Classroom Johnna Darragh Ernst, 2014 Engaged families make a difference in the lives of their children! The children in today's early childhood classroom are more culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse than ever. As a teacher, your challenge is to partner with each family through recognizing their individual strengths, concerns, priorities, and resources. In The Welcoming Classroom: Building Strong Home-to-School Connections for Early Learning, Dr. Johnna Darragh Ernst offers practical ideas for creating a welcoming atmosphere for families that will encourage them to participate in their children's learning community. Learn practical ways to connect with families from varied cultural and language backgrounds and abilities. Gain new strategies for creating a home-school link to support learning. Create a richer learning environment by integrating unique family cultural perspectives. Learn ways to encourage family participation in decision making. Learn strategies to develop families as resources. Communicate the message that all families are valued members of the learning community. From improving children's school readiness to encouraging positive engagement with peers, promoting student academic achievement, increasing graduation rates, and helping reduce the negative impact of poverty, the benefits of engaging families early will impact the young children in your care long after they leave your classroom! Johnna Darragh Ernst, PhD, is a professor of early childhood education at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. She specializes in helping early childhood professionals connect with families to create inclusive early childhood classroom communities. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Participatory Creativity Edward P. Clapp, 2016-07-01 Participatory Creativity: Introducing Access and Equity to the Creative Classroom presents a systems-based approach to examining creativity in education that aims to make participating in invention and innovation accessible to all students. Moving beyond the gifted-versus-ungifted debate present in many of today’s classrooms, the book’s inclusive framework situates creativity as a participatory and socially distributed process. The core principle of the book is that individuals are not creative, ideas are creative, and that there are multiple ways for a variety of individuals to participate in the development of creative ideas. This dynamic reframing of invention and innovation provides strategies for teachers, curriculum designers, policymakers, researchers, and others who seek to develop a more equitable approach towards establishing creative learning experiences in various educational settings. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: From Play to Practice Marcia L. Nell, Walter F. Drew, Deborah E. Bush, 2013 Describes play workshop experiences that give educators a deeper understanding of play-based learning and illustrate the power of play. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Early Childhood Curriculum for All Learners Ann M. Selmi, Raymond J. Gallagher, Eugenia R. Mora-Flores, 2014-08-12 Early Childhood Curriculum for All Learners: Integrating Play and Literacy Activities is designed to teach early childhood professionals about the latest research on play and early literacy and then to show them practical methods for adapting this research to everyday classroom practices that will encourage the development of learning skills. The authors link solid, play-based research to specific developmentally appropriate practices. By combining these two areas, the text demonstrates that academic learning and play activities are highly compatible, and that children can and do develop academic skills through play. In addition, the text focuses on socio-dramatic play, a recently acknowledged, essential aspect of child-initiated play interactions. It provides specific strategies that link these interactive behaviors with the early academic skills needed for the initial primary grades. Implementation of the information presented in this book will enable children to experience a richer transition into primary education classrooms. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Young Children and the Arts Carol Korn-Bursztyn, 2012-04-01 Young Children and the Arts: Nurturing Imagination and Creativity examines the place of the arts in the experiences of young and very young children at home and in out-of-home settings at school and in the community. There is great need for development of resources in the arts specifically designed to introduce babies and toddlers to participatory experiences in the visual arts, dance, music, and storytelling/theater. This book presents valuable guidelines for early childhood teachers, families, caregivers and community organizations. Young Children and the Arts presents a comprehensive approach to the arts that is aligned with early childhood developmentally appropriate practice and that combines an exploratory, materials-based approach with an aesthetic-education approach for children from birth to eight years of age. It addresses both how the arts are foundational to learning, and how teachers and parents can nurture young children’s developing imagination and creativity. The models presented emphasize a participatory approach, introducing young children to the arts through activities that call for engagement, initiative and creative activity. Additionally, Young Children and the Arts addresses the intersection of early childhood education and the arts—at points of convergence, and at moments of tension. The role of families and communities in developing and promoting arts suffused experiences for and with young children are addressed. Young Children and the Arts examines the role of innovative arts policy in supporting a broad-based early arts program across the diverse settings in which young children and their families live, work, and learn. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Connect4learning Julie Sarama, 2016-02-01 |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Early Childhood Curriculum Suzanne Krogh, Kristine Slentz, 2001-04 This is the fourth volume in our four volume book series. This volume will consider the differing needs of teachers at varying age levels and the balance between naturally intergrated learning and subject-oriented cirriculum. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: British Columbia Early Learning Framework , 2021 |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Language of Art Ann Pelo, 2016-10-10 Typical art resources for teachers offer discrete art activities, but these don't carry children or teachers into the practice of using the languages of art. This resource offers guidance for teachers to create space, time, and intentional processes for children's exploration and learning to use art for asking questions, offering insights, exploring hypotheses, and examining experiences from unfamiliar perspectives. Inspired by an approach to teaching and learning born in Reggio Emilia, Italy, The Language of Art, Second Edition, includes: A new art exploration for teachers to gain experience before implementing the practice with childrenAdvice on setting up a studio space for art and inquirySuggestions on documenting children's developing fluency with art media and its use in inquiryInspiring photographs and ideas to show you how inquiry-based practices can work in any early childhood setting Ann Pelo is a teacher educator, program consultant, and author whose primary work focuses on reflective pedagogical practice, social justice and ecological teaching and learning and the art of mentoring. Currently, Pelo consults early childhood educators and administrators in North America, Australia, and New Zealand on inquiry-based teaching and learning, pedagogical leadership, and the necessary place of ecological identity in children's—and adults'—lives. She is the author of several books including the first edition of The Language of Art and co-author of Rethinking Early Childhood Education. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Teaching: Science in the Early Years and Primary Classroom Ann Oliver, 2013-06-20 Practical, useful and informative, this book provides ideas and suggestions on how to interpret and develop the primary science curriculum in an interesting and challenging way. Bringing together creative thinking and principles that still meet National Curriculum requirements, the themes in the book encourage teachers to: teach science with creative curiosity value the unpredictable and unplanned thrive on a multiplicity of creative approaches, viewpoints and conditions be creative with cross-curricular and ICT opportunities reflect on their own practice. For teachers new and old, this book will make teaching and learning science fun by putting creativity and enjoyment firmly back onto the primary agenda. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Project Approach for All Learners Sallee Beneke, Michaelene Ostrosky, Lilian Gonshaw Katz, 2018-09 The Project Approach for All Learners: A Hands-On Guide for Inclusive Early Childhood Classrooms provides early educators with an in-depth understanding of how to implement the Project Approach with all students. A practical resource, it is designed with an Implementation Checklist, illustrative videos, training materials, Powerpoints, and downloadable forms to support application in inclusive settings-- |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Culturally Responsive Teaching Geneva Gay, 2010 The achievement of students of color continues to be disproportionately low at all levels of education. More than ever, Geneva Gay's foundational book on culturally responsive teaching is essential reading in addressing the needs of today's diverse student population. Combining insights from multicultural education theory and research with real-life classroom stories, Gay demonstrates that all students will perform better on multiple measures of achievement when teaching is filtered through their own cultural experiences. This bestselling text has been extensively revised to include expanded coverage of student ethnic groups: African and Latino Americans as well as Asian and Native Americans as well as new material on culturally diverse communication, addressing common myths about language diversity and the effects of English Plus instruction. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Experiences for Young Children Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, 2002 This refreshing and passionate book will inspire educators to keep the joy, the adventure-in a word, the FUN-of learning through creative and challenging teaching. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Resources for Bulletin Boards in the Early Childhood Classroom Judy Herr, Yvonne Libby, Yvonne Libby-Larson, 1997 Interactive bulletin boards are presented along with their developmental goals. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy Pia Rebello Britto Ph.D., Patrice L. Engle Ph.D., Charles M. Super Ph.D., 2012-12-14 Early childhood development research offers solutions to several of the world's social and economic problems - solutions that can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, improve the health, education, and wellbeing of the global population, and yield high rates of return on investment in the formative years of life. And yet over one-third of children worldwide under five years of age still fail to achieve their full developmental potential due to malnutrition, poverty, disease, neglect, and lack of learning opportunities. Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy calls for placing early childhood development at the top of the global policy agenda, enabling children to achieve their full developmental potential and to contribute to equitable economic and social progress worldwide. The volume presents evidence-based programs and policies for advancing the positive development of young children across the globe, focusing on developing countries. An international ensemble of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners present evidence from multiple disciplinary, sectorial, and analytical perspectives, emphasizing the importance of scientific findings in promoting child development and addressing programmatic challenges to quality, sustainability, measurement, finance, and capacity. Sponsored by the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), the premier international association of developmental scientists, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a leading organization for promoting children's wellbeing worldwide, this Handbook will be invaluable to policy advocates, program managers of national governments, international NGOs, and development agencies, as well as to scholars and students in the areas of child development and global policy. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creative Activities and Curriculum for Young Children Mary Mayesky, 2014-08-25 CREATIVE ACTIVITIES AND CURRICULUM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, 11th Edition, is filled with fun, creative, and easy-to implement activities for young children. You'll be encouraged to exercise your own creativity as well as learn how to help young children do the same. Hundreds of activities, up-to-date research, recipes, finger plays, information on how to select children's books, and more make this book an invaluable resource for you and others planning to work creatively with children across the curriculum. This is a book you'll want to use throughout your professional career. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Unscripted Classroom Susan Stacey, 2011-05-17 Inspires early childhood educators to use innovative practices through stories from real teachers who use emergent curriculum in their classrooms. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: Creativity and the Arts with Young Children Rebecca T. Isbell, Shirley C. Raines, 2013 Includes information about artistic development, children's books, creative drama, movement, musical development, musical instruments, physical development, play, puppetry, recipes, singing, children with special needs, tools and materials, two dimensional art, etc. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless, 2014-10-28 Smart leaders know that they would greatly increase productivity and innovation if only they could get everyone fully engaged. So do professors, facilitators and all changemakers. The challenge is how. Liberating Structures are novel, practical and no-nonsense methods to help you accomplish this goal with groups of any size. Prepare to be surprised by how simple and easy they are for anyone to use. This book shows you how with detailed descriptions for putting them into practice plus tips on how to get started and traps to avoid. It takes the design and facilitation methods experts use and puts them within reach of anyone in any organization or initiative, from the frontline to the C-suite. Part One: The Hidden Structure of Engagement will ground you with the conceptual framework and vocabulary of Liberating Structures. It contrasts Liberating Structures with conventional methods and shows the benefits of using them to transform the way people collaborate, learn, and discover solutions together. Part Two: Getting Started and Beyond offers guidelines for experimenting in a wide range of applications from small group interactions to system-wide initiatives: meetings, projects, problem solving, change initiatives, product launches, strategy development, etc. Part Three: Stories from the Field illustrates the endless possibilities Liberating Structures offer with stories from users around the world, in all types of organizations -- from healthcare to academic to military to global business enterprises, from judicial and legislative environments to R&D. Part Four: The Field Guide for Including, Engaging, and Unleashing Everyone describes how to use each of the 33 Liberating Structures with step-by-step explanations of what to do and what to expect. Discover today what Liberating Structures can do for you, without expensive investments, complicated training, or difficult restructuring. Liberate everyone's contributions -- all it takes is the determination to experiment. |
| creative resources for the early childhood classroom: The Giant Encyclopedia of Lesson Plans Kathy Charner, Maureen Murphy, Charlie Clark, 2008 Contains over 250 lesson plans created by teachers for use with children ages three to six, each with learning objectives, a circle or group time activity, and related book, snack, songs, poem, and play suggestions; grouped in a variety of categories, including animals, colors, health and safety, outer space, seasons, weather, and others. |
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Early Childhood Classrooms Play materials in the classroom are extremely important for multiple developmental perspectives such as cognitive, social/emotional, physical, and …
Intelligence Augmentation in Early Childhood Education: …
Intelligence Augmentation in Early Childhood Education 757 among young students. By providing new and innovative tools and resources, IA can help students engage with complex information and …
Creating Rich Language and Literacy Environments: A R…
Early reading success is a strong predictor of academic success in later grades, and the early childhood years (birth through age 8) are critical ones for literacy development. After grade three, …
Types Of Early Childhood Program Philosophies** - EC …
High quality early childhood programs teach children to think creatively so they may succeed in a complex and ... Children develop the capacity for creative thinking, problem-solving abilities and social …
Creative woodwork in early childhood - Birth To 5 Matters
Practice: Nurturing creative and critical thinking in early childhood education. Pete won the national award (2019) from the Creative Learning Guild for his work promoting creativity in education. Pete …
Powerful Role of Play in Early Education Resources - (CA D…
Play is a critical and defining feature of childhood, particularly early childhood. Play is a young child’s world, and that world can be observed in an infant’s first exploration of an object through …
Creative Activities & Assignments Toolbox - Unive…
from early childhood catalogs that contain design programs, actually designing the creative area at your work site and taking digital photos, or contacting a center to go in and create …
DECE FY21 Classroom and Materials Guidance - infohub.…
(CLASS) and the Early Childhood Environmental Ratings Scale (ECERS) through December 2020. The DOE will focus on quality improvements in supporting early childhood programs …
Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education
An Open Educational Resources Publication by College of the Canyons ... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 4 ... Observations are …
Play-based pedagogy: An approach to advance young c…
orientated early childhood programmes are chief contributors to long-term academic gains because they allow children to be creative through the course of developing their resourcefulness, …
Creative by Nature: on Young Children’s Creative Thinking …
experience and creative thinking development can lend strength to a growing body of evidence indicating important life skills, including creative thinking, can be fostered through …
EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSESSMENT: IMPLEMENTI…
Early Childhood Assessment: Implementing Effective Practice 2 landscape for educational assessment, NAEYC and the NAECS/SDE jointly drafted a position statement entitled Early …
The Importance of Play for Young Children - NAEYC
begins. The foundations of play are in the early relationships that a newborn forms with the people and the world around her. For example, the responses she receives from her first social smiles …
Designing indoor spaces for living and learning in early c…
© The Education Hub 2019. All rights reserved. https://theeducationhub.org.nz/category/ece …
Early Childhood Program Guidance for Children Ages B…
how to integrate technology and interactive media into early childhood programs. Technology and media should not replace children’s creative play, multisensory - explorations, social …
ECED 1306 MUSIC & MOVEMENT FOR CHILDREN
Jun 22, 2022 · Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum, 5a); CKC’s, CKC’s, Building a Meaningful Planned Program of Learning and Development, 3.A.3 6 Create a classroom …
Research Foundation: Language and Literacy - Tea…
The Creative Curriculum shows early childhood educators how to intentionally infuse literacy practices in their classroom and use the environment as a natural source to ... is composed of resources …
21st CENTURY LEARNING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD GU…
kindergarten. We have focused on three age ranges within early childhood: TODDLERS/EARLY PRESCHOOLERS Ages 18 months through 3 years PRESCHOOL/PRE-KINDERGARTEN Ages 3 through 4 years …
Early childhood care and education educators’ underst…
classroom are from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, the key indicator of a proficient educator is the ability to employ child-centred strategies for an inclusive classroom. According to …
Nature's Classroom: Outdoor Learning in Early Childhood
benefits of nature play and its practical application in early childhood programs for our youngest students and their families. This school improvement plan aims to provide a comprehensive …
Alignment of The Creative Curriculum - earlychildhoodn…
New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council and Council on Children and Families. (2012). ... New York State Early Learning Guidelines. How . The Creative Curriculum ... Manages classroom …
THINKING WITH MATERIALS - Reggio Australia
Materials in Early Childhood Engagements with materials are certainly not new in the early childhood litera-ture. Since the 19th century, early childhood scholars have emphasized materials’ importance for …
Developing Inquiry-Based Science Activities in Early Chi…
Science is a unique content area in early childhood education because it is well suited to children's innate curiosity about daily life and ways of gaining natural experience (French, 2004). Eshach and …
Developing Creative Thinking with Intentional Teaching Pra…
CREATIVE THINKING THROUGH INTENTIONAL TEACHING 3 Abstract This action research was conducted in an early childhood Montessori Primary classroom using intentional teaching practices …
Family Engagement Plan Suggested Activities - Texas E…
students arriving from early childhood settings; (vii) Providing and facilitating referrals to family support or educational groups based on family interests and needs; (viii) Communicating short- and …
Standards for Dance in Early Childhood - NDEO
and become aware of themselves and others through creative movement. A pre-school child enters a dance class or classroom with a history of emotional experiences. Movement within a class …
Creative - Early Childhood Education and Care
• involving young learners in classroom decision-making, for example, planning seating arrangements, the location of resources and use of space • promoting an inclusive classroom climate where …
Digital Resources in Early Childhood Literacy Develop…
early childhood (e.g., Kirkorian, Wartella, & Anderson, 2008). One important advantage of digital resources that is less prominent in traditional nondigital resources is their multi-modal capacity …
Early childhood development teachers’ perceptions on the …
The use of ICT in early learning offers opportunities for metacognition and creative development with young children and provides supports to improve the learning and play experience of …
Module 2 The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale a…
PlayAreaVs.Clearly Defined Play areas: •Are spaces to play •Can be within another play area •Can be with materials for different types ofplay Clearly defined interestcenters: •Only have materials …
Key Messages of the NAEYC/Fred Rogers Center P…
mation in our homes, offices, and early childhood settings. This position statement offers guidance—based on research-based knowledge of how young children grow and learn—on both the …
CDA Competency Goals and Functional Areas
Creative . Student provides a variety of equipment, activities and opportunities to ... Student is a manager who uses all available resources to ensure an effective operation. The student is a competent …
The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool
Early Childhood Education Updated March 2013 Program Description1 The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, Fourth Edition, is an early childhood curriculum that focuses on project …
Leadership in Early Childhood Education: How Head-Start Di…
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Leadership in ... supports and resources which impacts educators overall teaching quality. Climate (Bloom & Abel, 2015) ... -Little, …
Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Educatio…
An Open Educational Resources Publication by College of the Canyons ... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 4 ... Observations are …
Inclusion happens with a puppet: puppets for inclusiv…
practice in early childhood settings Olivia Karaolis School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia ... and resources. With such a clearly mandated movement for inclu-sive …
Critique of the Creative Curriculum for Preschool - U…
University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice Volume 2|Issue 1 Article 2 4-27-2018 Critique of the Creative Curriculum for Preschool Hannah Gullickson …
Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Child…
in early childhood programs is built upon solid develop-mental foundations, and early childhood professionals are aware of both the challenges and the opportunities, educa-tors are …
Lay the Foundation for Year-Round Success. - Teaching St…
A nurturing classroom community can help children develop critical ... chance to try out The Creative Curriculum ... Adapted from The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, which has been trusted …
RESOURCE GUIDE - Frog Street Press
become more creative and multimodal in his or her own thinking and learning when planning for diverse modes of learning The following scenario offers a glimpse into an early childhood …
Early Childhood Education - Hagerstown Community Coll…
Early childhood educators often work within a day care facility or in an early childhood classroom under the general supervision of a lead teacher or director. You may also choose to transfer to a …
The Power of Documentation - NAEYC
tion in the early childhood classroom setting. Formats that work A bulletin board can be a form of documentation, but there are any number of other possible formats, including a …
Research Foundation: Mathematics - Teaching Stra…
The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is composed of resources that support early childhood educators through every step of the process of teaching math to young children. Our math-related resources …
Supporting Emergent Bilingual Children in Early Learning
in ways that are familiar to them and promote early literacy skills. Your children’s home languages and cultures can be resources that will support and enrich the classroom learning …
Young Children and the Arts - Arts Education Partnership
menting arts-based early childhood programs and resources. This framework suggests that chil-drenÕs learning in the arts can best be established through dialogue among professionals specializ …
Barriers to Implementation of Play in Early Childhood Class…
ability to implement play in the early childhood classroom. According to Pyle and Bigelow (2014), teachers in Ontario receive conflicting information from top-down management such as from the …
ECED 368: Curriculum & Methods: Art, Music, Creativ…
Sep 11, 2020 · Help Resources 5 Personal Conduct & Professionalism 6 Classroom Behavior & Confidentiality 6 Academic Honesty 7 Other Campus Policies 7 Technology Guidelines 9 ...
How to integrate play and teaching in early childhood …
in your early childhood setting: it may look different for every group. Many early childhood settings develop free play programmes aligning with the traditional emphasis of early childhood education …
Using Concrete Manipulatives in Mathemat…
Dimensions of Early Childhood Vol 45, No 1, 2017 19 the relevance of mathematical mate-rial for students. Instead of delving straight into an abstract concept, the use of hands-on interaction with concrete …
