Little House Lessons

Rotations are great for 2 reasons (and more):

1. They provide opportunity for youngs to learn the process of time management (sand timers).

2. They allow plenty of space for social-emotional development with peers WHILE granting them control over how they use their time.

(And, it gives teachers a fantastic amount of time to observe and assess!)

🌟👫 Welcome to our flexible and fun center time! 🎨🧩 In today’s video, I’m excited to show you how we empower our preschoolers with choice and responsibility during their playtime. 📛 Each student has a name tag with a Velcro dot on the back, allowing them to attach it to any center they choose during our hour of center time. This system encourages autonomy and decision-making as they navigate where they want to play and for how long. It’s all about fostering independence while having loads of fun! ⏳ When a center gets full, we use sand timers to ensure everyone gets a turn. Depending on how long kids have been at a center, I set the timer for three or five minutes. Once the sand runs out, it's time for a new group to enjoy the activities. This helps teach patience and sharing in a very tangible way. 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️ During the first few weeks, I’m actively involved in managing these transitions—making sure everyone’s name tag is in the right spot, centers are cleaned up, and that all children are interacting kindly. It’s crucial not only to establish these routines but to reinforce them consistently, ensuring our little ones truly understand and follow the rules. 📝 Remember, establishing clear expectations and routines from the start is essential for a smooth and successful year. It might take extra time and effort early on, but it sets the tone for a fantastic year of learning and growth. 👉 You can find all the materials used, including center signs, name tag spots, and extra name tags on my website, preschoolvibes.com. Plus, I use alien tape to keep signs secure—it’s a game changer! 🎥 Watch now to see how we navigate center time with creativity and care, ensuring each child feels valued and independent. Let’s make this school year the best one yet! 🌈✨

Adults are triggered. And when we are triggered it means WE have more healing to do. And kids can’t develop healthy patterns on their own.

I listened to a mom once tell me how children biting is sinful and needs to be punished.

My whole body reacted to that statement because it was so deeply wrong.

Biting is actually something we ought to expect. It’s simply a communication tool used by children who, in the moment, cannot use words and need to be heard.

We definitely refocus the behavior and give them MANY opportunities to bite on things they can while teaching them tools for speaking when they aren’t yet able or when they’re too emotionally activated.

Parents - children are not sinful. The way we parent them can be sinful when we place adult expectations onto children who are developing exactly how they were built to.

We need to really stop taking child appropriate behaviors and turning them into issues. Just gently refocus and move on.

I have heard far too many situations of children who are declared "naughty" because they throw(please do not use that word to describe a child...ever) .

Please listen to me:
Throwing is NOT bad behavior.
The bad behavior is adults who prevent children from throwing or worse, PUNISH children who throw.

It is the adult's responsibility to provide "YES!" opportunities to throw.

I have heard ALL the exceptions, with my favorite being "What if a child throws in anger?"

That is still not "bad behavior". That is simply a child who needs thoughtful coaching in regards to how to handle anger. It is also a child who, more often than not, does not have enough opportunities to throw.

Back to the point of this post:

Throwing is a NEED, it is usually NOT an expression of anger, it is a physical NEED.
It is one of Chris Athey's identified "Play Schemes". It is one of many ways children are wired to collect information about this world.

Think about all you learn from throwing different things! There is much to be learned.

Throwing also provides a gazillion benefits for the developing body!

Throwing IS PRE-writing (note: PRE=BEFORE). Throwing requires all the same muscles to coordinate together as writing does! Everything from the CORE to the fingers is needed for throwing. All of those muscles (core, upper back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, wrists, hands and fingers) need to be able to work together in order to throw AND in order to write.

Throwing is PRE-reading (again PRE=BEFORE). In order for eyes to read a line of words, they need to be able to track things in REAL SPACE (NOTE: not a screen. Eyes need depth, they need REAL. Throwing provides an excellent opportunity to develop visual tracking skills.

Throwing also involves eye-hand coordination, ESPECIALLY when what is being thrown is a pendelum. Eye-hand coordination is necessary for writing.

My go to solution for opportunities to throw is nylon shower puffs. They are inexpensive, they are soft and can easily be come a pendelum, or have a strip of fabric or ribbon added for even more enjoyment. Stuffed animals are also fantastic (I stocked up years ago on these stuffed mice from Ikea...wonderful for throwing)

I coach children to use the "noggin test". If they are unsure if something is okay to throw, tap it on your noggin (head) first. If it makes no sound, it's typically safe to throw. Is it a perfect test, no...but it creates an opportunity for a child to pause and think before throwing.

Obviously this method is probably not going ro work with an 11 month old who NEEDS to throw... but you can still begin coaching this technique AND....you can do your job by knowing who your throwers are and keeping safe materials near them.

Go forth and LET THEM THROW!!!
Change YOUR behavior.

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***Book my VALUABLE keynote or workshop for your next training event : "The MISSED NEEDS in "MISS"behaviors". It is all about the needs ALL children have that, when missed by the adults leads to unnecessary stress in the environment. It addresses SIMPLE changes and awareness that leads to significant reductions in stress for both adults and children so EVERYONE can be their best self!****