Elevating Early Childhood

What does it take to teach preschool children how to draw? I get asked this question a lot, so I thought why not share my answer with all my listeners?

Yes guys, you've guessed it, it's another "Calm Down Corner Special" episode!

If you've ever wondered "Is directed drawing right for my class?", then this episode is the right one for you.

A few years ago, directed drawing became a trend on the internet, and as a result, many pre-k educators started asking themselves if they should be adding this activity to their preschool curriculum.

My answer? I personally think it’s not a very good idea.

Why is that?

Well, you might want to listen to this episode to find out the answer.

So, what are you waiting for?

Let's get to it!

Key Takeaways:

Is directed drawing right for my class? (00:00)

Story time! (00:40)

Fact #1: Learning to draw is a developmental skill (02:33)

Fact #2: The ability to draw is tied to the child's fine motor skills (07:12)

Fact #3: Motivation to draw or write is needed (07:41)

Myth #1: It is our job as teachers to teach our students how to draw (10:20)

Myth #2: Directed drawings make great bulletin board displays (15:54)

Myth #3: Directed drawing is a great way to practice listening skills (16:55)

Myth #4: You're not a good teacher unless you're doing directed drawing with your students (18:11)

Myth #5: Parents love it (18:54)

Additional Resources:

Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

Learn more about my membership program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

Get replay access to the 2021 Soar to Success Summit here.

Learn more about creating the perfect Morning Message here.

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Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

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Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers

If you’ve ever taught young children (and my bet is you have, since you’re listening to this podcast) then you’ve probably had your fair share of daily fires to put out.

I feel you, I’ve been there too.

It’s no secret that the daily life of an early childhood educator isn’t always sunshine and roses. And sometimes, it’s just really, really hard.

One of the issues many pre-k teachers struggle with is what to do when all their students want to go to the same center at the same time!

As you know already, some centers are simply more popular than others (like the dramatic play center, for example), so it makes sense that everyone wants to participate in it.

When that’s not possible, you may have to limit the number of students in a center.

How do you do that?

Tune in now to find out!

Key Takeaways:

What to do when your students want to go to the same center (00:00)

How I manage my classroom (00:56)

How to get students interested in other centers (03:22)

What if your class only meets a few days a week? (08:10)

What to do when there are too many kids in one center (10:09)

A few practical tips for you (14:23)

Additional Resources:

Got a burning question for Vanessa? Get your answer on the Elevating Early Childhood podcast here.

Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

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Onward & Upward!

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Disclaimer:

Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.

As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.

You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers

Teaching young children literacy skills can be tricky. They’re such an important skill that it can become downright intimidating to teach them to your students.

Which one do you even start with? Letters? Letter names? Or letter sounds?

Sometimes, the answer to that question seems obvious. But, most of the time, it’s truly not. And so, deciding which skill to start with can give even the most seasoned preschool educators a headache.

But, lucky for you, this is exactly what I’ll be discussing in this week’s episode of Elevating Early Childhood.

Tune in now and learn all you need to know about teaching literacy skills in preschool and which one to start with.

Are you ready?

Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Letters, names, and sounds: Which comes first? (00:00)

Learning the alphabet is not a linear process (03:48)

One recommendation you need to follow (06:46)

Answering the second part of the question (08:04)

Additional Resources:

Got a burning question for Vanessa? Get your answer on the Elevating Early Childhood podcast here.

Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

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Disclaimer:

Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.

As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.

You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Elevating Early Childhood!

Before we start, let me ask you a quick question: Do your preschool or pre-k students need help learning how to count and develop number sense?

If your answer is "YES!" then you've come to the right place, because that's exactly what I'm discussing today.

As you know, math doesn't come easily to everyone. Some children have real difficulties with it, while others find it super fun and easy, almost like solving a puzzle game.

However, the math activities I'm sharing with you today are an exception, because all your preschool students will love them. They're fun and engaging, and they make math as simple as it can be!

So, are you ready?

Let's dive in!

Key Takeaways:

Fun math activities for your preschool classroom (00:00)

Has this ever happened to you? (02:17)

Target finds always help! (04:04)

"No prep, please," you said? (09:28)

Ice-cube trays for the rescue (13:07)

Make it super fun! (17:55)

Keep it simple (21:48)

The magic number (24:58)

Additional Resources:

Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

For bear caves, click here.

Want to buy colorful lunch trays? Click here.

Get foam dice here.

Click here for gator grabbers.

In need of a pocket cube? Click here.

Grab some mini-erasers here.

Listen to episode 24 here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

--

Onward & Upward!

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Disclaimer:

Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.

As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.

You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers

Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.

As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.

You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.

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In last week's episode, I discussed how you can help your students develop their fine motor skills before working on their scissor skills.

If you haven't listened to that episode yet, I invite you to do so, because the tips I gave in that one are going to build the foundation the children will need to develop and hone their scissor skills.

Today, I pick up where I left off. I'll be focusing more on scissors and what you can do to teach your young students how to use them.

To many, it seems like using scissors is something that's super easy to do. However, like everything else, it's a skill, and your students will need to work on it.

How?

I answer this question in today's episode of Elevating Early Childhood, so tune in now.

Key Takeaways:

Previously on Elevating Early Childhood (00:00)

Step #1: Ripping (01:42)

Step #2: Snipping (04:40)

Step #3: Fringing (08:36)

Step #4: Straight lines (10:53)

Step #5: Zigzag lines (14:40)

Step #6: Curved lines (16:43)

Step #7: Right angles (19:17)

What to do if your students can't hold Fiskars scissors (21:12)

Additional Resources:

Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.

Learn how to teach your students scissor cutting skills here.

Click here for my tips for teaching scissor cutting skills in your preschool classroom.

Get your FREE Printable Scissor Skills Checklist here.

Get your Cutting Skills Printable Bundle here.

Get Fiskars Blunt Tip Scissors here.

Get Preschool Training Scissors here.

Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

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Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers