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Teacher, Woodworker, Castle Builder
July 25, 2008
I'm more interested in arousing enthusiasm in kids than in teaching the facts. The facts may change, but that enthusiasm for exploring the world will remain with them the rest of their lives.
-Seymour Simon, writer of science books for children
-Seymour Simon, writer of science books for children
"I don't know if wood is any better than clay or drawing for young children, but it is a wonderful material. It allows you ways to work with all kinds of different learning styles. You can plan and assemble a construction or you can remove pieces like a sculptor. That means you can either build your way towards something or you can see into the wood and try to bring that something out. You can just slam and bang an alligator together, or you can work on it forever, cutting the shapes, using the grain. You can leave the wood plain, just letting it speak for itself, or you can really deck it out with paint, pasted-on cloth, and sparkles.
"Some people think of wood as bulky and demanding and not likely to give a child much chance for expression. But I can tell you that's not the case. I worked with a child whose mother had cancer. The child was nervous and stressed. Her family was walking that fine line between being honest and trying not to scare the child. In woodworking, she spent a lot of time making germs. She used that process to think through a whole set of questions about living and dying and contagion. When she was done, she had a concrete object that she could use with me to play out other questions or fears."
The latest book from Exchange — Professionalism — addresses the issue of professionalism in the early childhood setting. This collection of Beginnings Workshop articles includes these sections:
- Being Teachers
- Professionalism
- Caregiver Health and Safety
- Mentoring
- Observing Children
- Collaboration
- Child Care in Unique Environments
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ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
GOOGLE HIRING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS: Google has expanded its employee child development program by opening a world-class children's center in Mountain View, California and is now hiring teachers.
Comments (1)
Displaying 1 CommentEducational Consulting
Cambridge, MA, United States
I want to comment on the article about preschoolers getting kicked out of programs. Those children who present such challenges need help, and if a classroom does not have the personnel to provide the help, the program should do what it can to help the family find help. This means more than giving a list of other programs. Of all children with serious behavior challenges, 50 % have communication issues of some kind; help for child and family should begin with focused observation and assessment. A Comprehensive behavior plan should be written. Comprehensive means that plans should be made to be able to respond to the child's behavior outbursts so that safety is preserved for all, while NOT reinforcing the behavior. The second part of a comprehensive plan means determining what the child needs to understand and learn to be able to live with the group, and then teaching the child. The third part of the plan should address underlying needs, whether they are sensory integration, communication, emotional or whatever. All three parts belong in a Behavior plan. Meanwhile, the teachers need support for this difficult and draining work. We should keep in mind that the rest of the class of children will be keenly aware of how a difficult child is dealt with, and they are learning. What do we want them tto learn from a difficult situation?
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