Early childhood educators' tips for classroom environment

The school year has brought successes and challenges ensuring a positive learning environment for each child enrolled.  It is important to share with colleagues’ techniques/strategies that have worked well for areas of leadership, learning environment, instructional content, assessment data and self-reflections.  Here are some tips that can be incorporated as or modified to your setting.

1.     1.   Use various means of technology to keep parents abreast to important dates and events happening in classroom and/or school.  Check out http://www.remind.com to give short text messages,

2.      2.  Create a class website to post pictures, work samples, dictations, and other helpful information.  Check out www.google.com or www.wix.com,

3.      3.  Post next to the entrance door the “Question of the Day” that reference content discussed so parents can engage in conversation with child of what was learned.  This is also a great tool to record children’s conversation (dictation) the next day,

4.      4.  Select a student to be class reporter and use flip camera to decide what event(s) to verbally record the action.  Afterward, post direct quotes from class reporter,

5.      5.  Teach children different helpful words in sign language as another means of communication.  The child can sign a need while teacher is talking with another person,

6.      6.  Write caption of children’s end products and include skills, domain areas, and other information deemed needed to gain better understanding of what’s being viewed,

7.      7.  After discussion of study theme topic, let the children draw picture and give dictation.  Laminate the pages and compile into a book that is displayed in book/literacy center or another related center for content, and

8.      8.  Record topics of interest shared by children, then let them vote to determine upcoming study theme or align with another theme to enhance learning to higher levels of cognitive thinking.

As the school year continues other helpful tips will be shared to assist early childhood educators to implement best practices.  If you have helpful tips please share ensuring our children will become productive citizens of society.