My Melting Pot Curriculum

I have taught preschool for years, since I was 18 actually, and in those 17 years I have come across  different curriculum's.  Creative Curriculum, ABEKA, HighScope,  My first job as a lead teacher came at the age of 19 at a daycare that had just opened.  I had only worked as an aide in classrooms so this world of lead teacher was new, exciting, and a bit scary for me.  I was thrown into a 3 year old classroom, no instruction, nothing, just me, my classroom, and adorable three year olds, and I was expected to do something...anything to teach them!  I had the basics down; we needed to do art, we needed to have centers, we needed a schedule..but how did I figure out that art, what activities did I put in those centers, how did I go about making a daily schedule that met the needs of the kids in my class?  Sadly, this daycare provided me with nothing...so I went to the off campus bookstore and looked through books for a good deal of time...and finally bought my first, of many, Mailbox books.  It had everything...art, centers, tips, themes..it was a start!  I was not at that daycare very long and it closed its doors shortly after I left. 
After leaving the failing daycare for something better...and trust me, anything would've been better..I found another job as an assistant teacher in a 3 year old class.  They provided a curriculum, materials, and monthly meetings and training.  I learned so much working there and had the opportunity to be the lead teacher of the 3's for a while.  I moved on when a better opportunity presented itself and fell in love with my new job as, again, a lead teacher for 3 year olds.  I was introduced to the Creative Curriculum and was instantly in love with it!  I had always believed that children learned through play, but now I was looking at a whole curriculum based on that belief!  How awesome!!  The Creative Curriculum quickly became my favorite! 
Fast forward a few years, three kids and three moves later, to the opening of my own Family Child Care.  The FCC uses the Creative Curriculum, so it was easy for me to fall into making lesson plans, creating activities, and setting up learning centers.  Being in school to finish up my degree, I have been studying curriculum's and my addiction to Pinterest, has shown me activities based on Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and others.  I am drawn to these activities because they, like the Creative Curriculum, encourage play and exploration, hands on activities that are fun, but still encourage learning.  I am a huge fan of the natural approach of Reggio Emelia and think about that when decorating my classroom and when setting up activities.  I put Montessori's learning trays into play when setting activities out at the table.  I consider the multiple intelligences theory when creating activities. 
I like to pull bits and pieces from many different options to create a unique learning experience for the kids I care for.  I do not believe that one size fits all when it comes to curriculum and I think it's an important job of the teacher to research different ones to find what works in her class.  What works for me and my FCC?  This melting pot curriculum! 

Fall...Fabulous Fall!!

Holy Cats Batman!!  I can't believe I haven't blogged since March!!  As always it's been crazy busy at The Owls Nest and at my house in general!  Summer was tons of fun as we explored the ocean, the rainforest, bugs, ice cream, and possibly the coolest theme ever, Mad Science!!  Our Mad Science theme deserves its very own post...it was that awesome!!
Our academic year started the first week of August and we kicked the year off right with our Back to School theme, followed by All About Me, and Colors.  We implemented share days, so the kids can bring something special from home to share with the group.  The Owlets think it's pretty cool and they do a great job of sharing their treasures.  I try to ask questions, one of them being "Where did you get your ____________?"  The answer...from all of them...is always...."From my home!"  Well, yes you are correct, that treasure did come from your home!!  I love conversations between 3 year olds...they are the best! 
Finally, we have made it to Fall...my favorite time of year.  The temperatures aren't as miserable, although, I would welcome a day in the low 70's compared to the mid 80's...the leaves are turning,  pumpkin patches are opening, the wonderful smell of pumpkin is filling the air...oh so many reasons it's my favorite time of year!!  I also think the best preschool themes rear their heads in the fall...apples, pumpkins, popcorn..This week we are doing our Apple theme!  This is probably one of my favorite themes during the year.  I only wish there was an apple orchard close by so that I could take the Owlets to pick their own apples!  That would be a wonderful adventure for us! 

 This is our Apple sensory tub. It is full of oatmeal, cinnamon sticks, and plastic apples.  I added spoons, scoops, and bowls.

 Welcome to The Owls Nest Orchard!

 This is quickly becoming a favorite table tray activity.  Sticking cloves into an apple...smells amazing!

Dramatic Play Apple Orchard.  I added an  apple tree so customers can pick their own apples, added baskets of plastic apples, jugs labeled "Apple Cider", a pretend apple pie, bowls, cups, forks, and a cash register with scale. 

Just go to Alaska!!

The FCC requires each home to have a quiet area, it's a great idea for when a child needs some quiet time away from the group for a variety of reasons.  I have been trying to come up with a cute idea for my quiet area and have been coming up empty.  I am addicted to www.pinterest.com and I was ecstatic when I found an idea pinned by madeintheshadeinsecondgrade.blogspot.com.  Having the opportunity to live in Alaska for four years was an amazing experience and I miss it every single day, so bringing a little bit of the beautiful state to The Owls Nest just seemed like the perfect idea.  I bought a green bathroom rug from Target, printed off some pictures from Alaska, and made a sign that says "Alaska: A place to chill".  I'm going to add a basket of books, stuffed animals, and quiet activities for a child to do when they are in Alaska! 

Marbled Eggs

Start with shaving cream

Add paint 

Use a spoon, toothpick, or fork to stir the paint into the shaving cream.  I like the marbled look!

Press paper (ours was cut into an egg shape)...remove from paint and remove excess shaving cream...we used the edge of a piece of paper and jumbo craft sticks

Let the paper dry

We made our into a pretty garland decorate for Easter! 

Light Box

This recovery has been pretty boring...OK, really boring!  I have been pretty productive though or as productive as one can be from the couch!  I have created calendars and made lesson plans through May..I've made a list of bulletin boards I want to create and of a thousand projects I want to do for and with my Owlets. 
This is the first one on my list.  I have read some articles about light boxes and decided that my school needed one.  If I can, I like to DIY, so after researching them on a few websites, I found a tutorial for a DIY light box on www.pinterest.com from http://www.teachpreschool.org/2011/06/diy-light-table-for-preschool.  I used a smaller container than the website used, but added black poster board around the sides, parchment paper on the lid to diffuse the light, and two tap lights that I secured to the bottom of the tub with Velcro.  This light box will be easy to store when not in use and I think the Owlets will really enjoy using it!  I have found a few activities for the light box, but I need to look for some more!  I'm super excited about this new addition to The Owls Nest! 

Awesome New App

Books...I love them, my kids love them.  I think that reading to children from a very young age is so important and teaches them to love books and reading when they are able to do it on their own.  We are constantly going to the bookstore or local library to get books based on something my kids are interested in or something that we are doing at The Owls Nest.  I have bookshelves full of books for kids that my own kids read and that I use weekly for FCC...and I am always searching for a way to organize them so I know what I have and so I can avoid buying duplicates (which I'll admit I've done more than once...)
Years ago when I taught at a CDC I tried to go through all my books, sort them by category, and make a list...I think I made it not even halfway through my stacks before I was over that idea.  I put them in containers with theme related items but realized that some of them were books my kids liked to have read to them before bed, so that didn't work.  I have relied on my memory (bad, bad idea) when I am in the bookstore or library...I knew I needed a better system!
Tonight, while sitting on the couch (because I can't do much else while recovering from surgery...ugh) and pinning educational pins on my most favorite website ever I found the solution to my book problem!  I was so excited and I had to share it in case you too have a ton of books and need a database to keep track!  The app is free and is called BooksApp2.  You can add books by scanning the ISBN number (it has a built in scanner), typing in the ISBN number, or snapping a pic of the cover with your phone..the app does the rest, sorting the books by author and subject!  This awesome app is exactly what I needed and I will always be able to open it up and make sure I don't already have a book before checking it out or purchasing it! 

Playing Catch Up...Again

I can't believe that I haven't posted on here since November...that's insane!  To say it's been crazy around here would be an understatement...with family, friends, FCC, homework (mine and Clever Owl's), and as of last week surgery and recovery...crazy doesn't even begin to describe it!  My FCC is full and those cute little Owlets keep me super busy!  We've done a lot of fun things since November...and I have lots of pictures on my Facebook page of all the things we've been into.  I was sad to have to close for three weeks to have my hysterectomy and recover some...I miss my little friends and can't wait to open back up and get back to normal.
 My plan of being up and back to my old self two days after surgery didn't happen and having  to sit and be taken care of is driving me a little crazy.  I am blessed though to have such an awesome hubby, he took two weeks of leave to take care of me.  I think I'm driving him up the wall though trying to do things I'm not supposed to do...I joked today that if I wanted to do something that I shouldn't I'd have to wait til he wasn't looking!  

I was happy that my last week of FCC we were able to celebrate the amazing Dr. Seuss and all his wonderful works!  The kids enjoyed the activities that were in the learning centers based on some of his best works.  My first week back will be the week before Easter, so the theme will be Eggs!  One of my friends, who is also a FCC Provider and I will be planning an egg hunt for our little friends!  It should be a lot of fun!
I am going to make an effort to do much better at posting activities that we do during school!  Well, I guess I'm off to pin more educational activities, exercises (can't wait til I can do that again!), and recipes to experiment on the family with!