Have a personal style that they
bring to their classroom. Activities can be
successfully implemented in a variety of ways, based on
what ‘works’ for you.
Know how to adapt activities to
their group of children. Choose the activities
and ideas that you think will work for your class, and
adapt or tweek them to meet the needs and interests of
your children.
Can often expand upon and enhance
the ideas for activities. Often teachers can come
up with things that we never thought of! Please use a curriculum as a springboard, and incorporate any
additional ideas you may have.
Know how to be resourceful and
creative, and scrounge around and find materials for
their classrooms. Some of the best classroom
enrichments are not things that can be purchased from
educational catalogs. Not everything needs to be handed
to experienced teachers, and in fact, most teachers want
to be creative pull things together for their classrooms.
(And don’t children prefer and appreciate real
objects… sometimes just playing with the boxes
things come in?)
Read the interest cues of the
children, and expand upon these areas. Materials
and activities do not necessarily need to be completely
put away and finished at the end of the week if the
children are still showing interest in them. Responsive
curriculum is all about capitalizing and incorporating
the interests and natural curiosity of children.
Know making activities and materials
for the children to use is part of teaching. A
fun part! If possible, rest time is sometimes a good time
to work on curriculum materials for the next weeks’
theme. Ideas are included for teacher-made materials.
Will ask someone at their center to
assist them if something seems unclear. If there
is something you don’t understand, ask someone for
clarification or to help you. We are all learners.
Know that offering children choices
between a variety of diverse, challenging activities
eliminates many classroom behavioral problems. Preparation
of the classroom environment is one of the best and most
effective tools a teacher has for guiding behavior.
Know that children learn through
play, and learn best through hands-on activities. Continually
look at your classroom schedule, environment, and
activities, and evaluate if there are enough interactive
experiences for your children in which they are active
participants.
Children develop skills and
self-confidence through doing things for themselves. Children
should be allowed to do as much by and for themselves as
they can. It is the process, not the end product that is
important - and where most learning actually occurs.
Some themes lend themselves better
than others to activities. There are weeks when
general ideas and activities will be necessary to round
out the curriculum.
Know the benefits of the local
library. The library is an amazing teaching
resource and can transform your classroom! Take advantage
of it!
Take responsibility for learning and
knowing specifics related to children’s allergies,
center policies, and state regulations. Safety is
always first and foremost – as is adhering to
applicable rules and regulations governing the center
