Making a Portfolio For a Play-Based Classroom

This is the first post in a 8 part series of "How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...?" 

1. Making a Portfolio for a Play-Based Classroom.
2. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Social/Emotional Skills?
3. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Language and Literacy? 
4. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Math?
5. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Science?
6. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Social Studies?
7. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Health and Safety?
8. How Does a Play-Based Classroom Teach...Fine Arts?

     I am killing two birds with one stone by not only breaking down how children actually learn in a play-based setting, but by also organizing my ideas for my own classroom portfolio.  Documentation is an essential exercise for early childhood educators who follow a play-based curriculum. 

Why make a portfolio?

• Because there are still many parents, teachers, and directors who still differentiate play from learning.

• Portfolios tell your story. They document how you meet standards, your classroom routines, classroom traditions, the teacher's creativity, and the children's joy all in one place!

• Pictures speak a thousand words. 

• Portfolios demonstrate consistency in your curriculum.

• When teachers are prepared with a portfolio that is organized and up-to-date, the teacher gains credibility.

• When a parent comes in asking, "So what did they do today?" about their three year old, you can confidently say, "Play," with a visual portfolio showing how play supports learning.

• Portfolios serve as a great resource when accreditation assessors come a-knockin'! Nothing growing in the garden at the moment? No worries! It's all documented in the classroom portfolio.

• Maintaining a portfolio gives teachers feedback. What worked? What didn't? What were the children's interests? What are the program's strengths and what do we need to focus more on?

• You can take portfolios with you wherever you go. Hey. In this economy, it never hurts to be safe. If you end up in a situation where you need to find a new job (or even just want a raise!), a portfolio is the perfect resource to have on hand.

Tips for Assembling a Classroom Portfolio: 

• Know What Kind of Portfolio You Want To Make.  It might sound obvious, but before you start this project, ask yourself, "What do I want my portfolio to tell people?" In my case, my objective is to design a portfolio that portrays what standards we meet through play.
 

• Gather Your Basic Information. Make copies of your daily schedule, hand washing procedures, disinfecting schedule, daily reports, a sample of your planning, parent newsletters, class expectations, and whatever else you have on your Parent Information Board. 
 

• Take pictures throughout the year. I've found blogging to be the perfect excuse for me to take out my camera more often. Make it a habit to carry your digital camera around with you at all times. Technology has made it possible for some camera phones to have nearly equal quality to a digital camera.

• Organize as you go. As you take pictures, mentally organize what standard the activity meets. When you upload your photos onto your computer, sort them into files according to your needs. You might sort them by Early Learning Standards, by date, or by what type of activity it is. It's up to you. For a long time, I only had mine organized into only two folders: "Printed" and "Needs To Be Printed." :)

• Make neat, legible labels. Once you have the paperwork and photos organized, it's time to make labels. If you choose to write the labels with your hand, please make sure it is neat and legible. You also use a label maker, or type and print labels from your computer.
  
  This is important: if you decide to make an Early Learning Standards Portfolio, like me, make sure the labels are specific to each strand and sub strand.
  
  The Arizona Early Learning Standards read like this:
  
       "Strand 1: Knowledge of Self
             Concept 1: Self Awareness. The child demonstrates an awareness of his or herself.
                 Indicators: a) Demonstrates self-confidence."

• Assemble. By now, you have an objective in mind, your papers and photos organized, and labels are made. Now all you have to do is assemble! :)

Take your time! This is a huge undertaking, and I'm well aware of all the MILLION things that teachers already have on their plate. Do a little bit at a time, and you will have a killer portfolio to show for it!

Organize Your Crayons, Markers, and Colored Pencils

The Problem:

I've been searching for ways to make my art and writing center more organized. I'm sick of marker lids being lost, basket contents getting mixed up despite all labeling, and colored pencils being forgotten. 

I found these thin baskets that are meant for organizing drawers at the dollar store. They were only 3 for a dollar! 

How I Did It:

1. I hot-glued strips of construction paper to the bottom of each one: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, black, pink, purple, white, and brown.
2. Then I sorted my crayons, (and later) my markers and colored pencils into the baskets according to their color. 

What works: 

• Markers are lasting longer, now that lids don't get lost in one, huge bucket of markers. It is easier to find a marker lid in a small basket of only 4 markers. 
• This is a natural color sorting activity. I over hear the children correcting each other, "NO...that goes in the red one!" 
• I have more space on my writing shelves. I've since filled that empty space with baskets of stickers, pencils, note pads, dry-erase markers/ boards, various types of paper, calendars, etc. The extra space means more space for creativity!
• The great thing about using baskets (as opposed to cups or cans) is that they are stack-able!
  
  
  What Doesn't:

• I love my new organized shelves. The only qualm I have is that children may not learn to sort crayons from markers, and markers from colored pencils. This may become an issue when they move on to the next classroom. However, it works really well for my classroom of young 3's!

Happy playing!

I'm going back to school.

Hello bloggers!

I've never really taken the time to talk about me, personally, but I just wanted to give a quick update about this upcoming fall semester. I am currently going to school to earn my AA in Early Childhood Education. This semester I will be taking 7 credits (3 classes), as well as working 30-35 hours a week. I'm also married, and I have a 2 year old (soon to be three) at home. This semester is likely to give me gray hairs!

Between family, work, school, and the blog, something will have to give, and it will probably be the blog (and probably house work...yes...I foresee lots of housework piling up, and fast food in my future...)

I will continue to try to update when I can--once the semester starts, I will try to keep up with a schedule. I still have LOTS of ideas and pictures to share with you all! This was also my way to communicate with parents, and I am really regretting that I won't get to devote as much time to this endeavor.

These past six months I have come to LOVE blogging to the point of obsession. I have learned so much from fellow bloggers, and I have grown as a teacher as a result.

THANK YOU for taking the time to read my little blog...a baby in the world of blogging! It means the world to me whenever I see that someone has been inspired by one of my posts, or just happens to click on by while searching for ideas for the classroom.

This is certainly not the end, and hopefully it will not be an extended break. I will keep you posted as often as possible.

--Gina

Plunger Prints

Ooey Gooey Lady Groupie Alert!

I LOVE the Ooey Gooey Lady. Her ideas for the classroom are developmentally appropriate, messy, and FUN. 

Plucked straight out of the Ooey Gooey books, here is an activity that is sure to please, sure to get messy, and sure to be developmentally appropriate:
Plunger Prints.
Don't worry. These were new. I bought them from the dollar store specifically with this project in mind! :)
Do yourself a favor, and do this one outside!

We did ours on a water day.

This was at the tail-end of our school year, so the only paints left were blues, blacks, and browns. The kids didn't seem to mind at all. They were too busy learning a new skill...

...because it takes some serious muscles to pull a wet plunger from a piece of paper with paint on it!
The plunger suctions to the paint, and you can either slide it off, anchor the plate with your foot and pull really hard, or walk around with a paper plate stuck on your plunger. They figured it out eagerly and quickly. I was impressed.

I used logs to hold the paper down. If I could do it again, I would use even more paper, because this was very popular!

See why it's a good idea to do this one outside?

After the paint ran out, I busied myself with taping the paper to the fence to dry (and be displayed). Meanwhile, the boys had filled up a bucket of water, and began cleaning the plungers...

I need to hire these guys to fix my toilet!

Their WHOLE bodies were involved in this activity

The plungers were sparkling clean by the time we went inside.

While the boys were busy cleaning the plungers, we found out that the paper plates had become stuck to the sidewalk. This is pretty typical in hot, dry climates like Arizona. The paint-soaked paper plates dried quickly, and were glued to the pavement. The girls scratched, scratched, and scratched away to get the paper plates off, while I aided them by keeping the area wet (to soften the paper).

Here's what worked: 

This activity is great for building gross motor skills:   

Arms, shoulder and back muscles are needed to push and pull the plungers, and incidentally, these are the same muscles needed for writing. In a way, this activity was a very effective pre-writing exercise!

This activity is a language booster:

  Here we put real meaning to the words, "plunge," "suction," "grip," and "circles." 

It meets Early Learning Standards: 

Making prints with plungers meets the AZ Early Learning Standards by allowing the children to use a variety of writing tools, materials, and surfaces to create marks.

Clean up time was almost more fun than the actual painting:

Clean up time took more time than the actual painting. However, in this case, clean up became almost more fun than the painting, so it worked out. When we were done, I hosed everyone down, and we continued on with our day.

Here's what didn't:

I only had four plungers available for a class of 13. 

Silly Ms. Gina. I should know better by now! If it's possible, try to have one for each child. If the budget doesn't allow for that (these plungers were only a dollar at the dollar store, but they were a part of a larger purchase), try to have at least enough for half of the kids. 

The Paper ended up being blown down by the wind:

 I thought I taped it pretty good, but by the time we came out in the afternoon, that paper was gone. So much for our cool plunger print display! It's times like this that I have to remind myself, "Process, NOT product." The process was enjoyable, and the product...not that important.

  

I forgot to explain what plungers are really meant for BEFORE the activity.
While I put them away on the bathroom shelf, one of the children exclaimed excitedly, "PLUNGERS! THOSE ARE FOR PAINTING!" 

Uh-oh.

Happy playing!  

Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Howdy from over here in Arizona!

I am all up to date with technology, now, and have not one, not two, but THREE accounts to share with you.

Follow me on Twitter:  

https://twitter.com/#!/Playbas​edClssrm

Twitter is a great way to quickly share links, and give a short description (140 characters, to be exact). This way, all the hours spent poring over new ideas, articles, and pictures won't be spent in vain! I can actually share some of this with others who are interested. Yay!

Follow me on Facebook: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Play-based-Classroom/252515388097475

 

Just about everyone I know has one, and not everyone has a Google account. Facebook is a convenient way to quickly connect to your readers, as well as interact with them. You can even purchase a Facebook ad space for your blog, and target it to your audience. This gets the word out to potential readers. I love my new Facebook account, because it has also allowed me to interact with other bloggers, and I get quicker feedback from my readers. 

 

Follow me on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/blndmxcn04/

I am hopelessly addicted to Pinterest. It is a free website that allows you to "pin" photos of your favorite ideas onto a virtual board. You can categorize your bulletin boards into as many categories as you like. I already have 24 boards! When you come across an idea online that you really like, click "Pin it," and pick the photo to pin. It will link you back to the original site every time.

Here is a list of my personal boards:

1. Art
2. Cooking
3. DIY
4. Dramatic Play
5. Fine Motor
6. Gifts
7. Gross Motor
8. Ideas for Classroom Design 
9. Language and Literacy
10. Marble Runs
11. Math Skill Builders
12. Multicultural Activities
13. Music Ideas
14. Outdoor Classroom Ideas
15. Painting with...
16. Playdough Ideas
17. Recycling
18. Sand and Dirt
19. Science Activities
20. Sensory Ideas
21. Teacher Resources
22. Things To Do With Water
23. Tinkering and Construction
24. Transition Ideas

Disclaimer: The majority of the pins are not my original ideas (although some pins are from Play-Based Classroom). When you click on the Pin, it will take you back to the original post. Enjoy!

Happy Playing! 

Glove Spider

Preschool teachers don't have much time in a day for making cute little projects..

at least THIS one doesn't! 

My day is all about efficiency. I don't do arts and crafts that require me to do much more prep work than gathering the supplies, and maybe cutting a large sheet of paper to cover the table.

I am not one of those teachers who spends hours creating cute little creations out of construction paper, felt, or socks. Being the only teacher in a classroom of 13 students keeps me busy enough. That being said:

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make the EASIEST puppet ever!

Step 1: Gather a glove and googly eyes (I had some googly eye stickers on hand, and these were perfect.)

Step 2: Either glue or stick the eyes onto the glove. 

TA DA! 

We gathered in a circle, and sang Raffi's "Spider on the Floor" song. The laughter and squeals of delight were beautiful. When were done, I put the spider in the home living area, and he has explored every corner of the room via little hands. 

Happy playing!

Coffee Oobleck!

One of our lovely teachers, Ms. Leslie, brought in a week's worth of used coffee grounds for us to use. I immediately added them to our sensory table, thinking they would be an instant hit! 

Not so much. 

I didn't get it. How could they not be drawn in by the smell alone? I even tried sitting at the table and inviting the children to come join me...I had a few takers, but no one stayed for long.

Usually it's just a simple fix to draw the children in to the sensory table. In this case, our simple fix was the addition of cornstarch (I added two cups.)

...and a container of water.

I also added wooden spoons (for those who don't like coffee's gritty texture), measuring cups, and measuring spoons.

Jackpot! The table began gathering attention, although they didn't immediately dump the cornstarch and water.

 Instead, they used the measuring spoons to mix

Their favorite thing to do was transfer the cornstarch and coffee grounds into the cup, watching the water slowly swirl, mix, change colors, and settle.

You can see the layers of cornstarch, coffee grounds, and water. The children lovingly called this, "Chocolate milk."

The language this activity inspired was amazing. The kids started calling it the "coffee table," and spouting out words like "mochachino, and cappacino."

I heard stories of Mommies and Daddies who always drink coffee...

...and how coffee was for grown ups only, although no one really knew why.

Eventually, the container became so fill, that the water overflowed, creating a river of coffee.

...And this became a new sensory experience. The smell was incredible, but to be honest, the texture was not. It was very gritty and wet, which was off-putting to most of the kids. Most...but not all (obviously).

They truly savored the process of creating a new substance. It was very relaxing to watch the white cornstarch swirl and mix with the contrasting, brown coffee.

The next day, I added another box (2 cups) of cornstarch to the table, as well as some more water.
*Side note: If you decide to do a coffee/water/cornstarch combo...leave the mixture UNCOVERED over night, or it will mildew. I've forgotten this in the past, and came to class the next day with a healthy growth of mold...and well, you can just imagine the smell. Ugh. Leave it uncovered!

There was more mixing action...

You can see the coffee in the table change as it gets more attention from the kids. The consistency is thicker, like gravy.

Eventually, all the cornstarch is dumped, and little hands start to mix it up. The process took two days...If I had my way, I would have done it immediately. Adults are efficient like that. But children need time to explore, and figure things out on their own.

Here it is...Coffee Oobleck: Mix 2 boxes of cornstarch (4 cups), 2 cups of water, and a few days worth of coffee grounds (maybe 3-4 cups?)

 

 

 

 Just like normal oobleck (cornstarch and water), this was completely addicting to play with, and filled the classroom with beautiful smells.

Ready for some nerdy talk?
The cornstarch/water combo creates a non-newtonian substance. It's viscous in nature (something all cooks know from when they add a little cornstarch to sauce...it thickens up!). This substance looks like a liquid, but when you touch it, it feels solid. When you force the molecules into motion (for example, letting it drip from your hands), it acts as a liquid once again.

Because of the unique nature of oobleck, you can roll a ball, and watch it melt before your eyes. 

Did you know that coffee grounds act as an exfoliate?  
Who knew? The cornstarch will leave your skin feeling silky smooth, and the coffee rubs away dead skin! 

 So, rub your hands in some coffee oobleck, and after you rinse, they will be rejuvenated and silky smooth. Bonus: They'll smell great, too!

Happy playing!