Preschool Assessment(Part 2)

How do you tell your preschooler the results of your assessment? Why does he or she need feedback?

You can tell your preschooler about his/her results by giving verbal or visual feedback:

-Verbal Feedback can be using simple statements about your preschooler's performance. For example: "Jonas, I have noticed an improvement in letter writing but you needs lots of practice." That is much better than saying: "Good Job!" or "Needs Work".  Giving specific feedback after an activity is the way to go. Talking to your child about learning is an important part of their developmental growth.

-Visual Feedback can be in the form of a happy or sad face, a growth chart/graph , a checklist with pictures, or instructions with pictures and words. Visual assessment is a very important part of learning.  Emotions play a strong role in sending the message that something is great or still needs improvement. On the other hand, graphs or charts are a great resource to show growth in a particular learning skill or knowledge. Checklist and visual instructions are a great self-assessment tool also.

Giving out a grade is NOT the most effective form of feedback. When you give visual or verbal feedback, you are targeting skills, knowledge and attributes of the lesson. It helps the learner see WHERE he or she needs improvement and HOW they need to improve.

Documentation

In order to give effective feedback, you need to document behavior. Even as a parent, it gives you time to reflect on your teaching style. This can serve as a great assessment tool as you go back everyday to look for patterns in behavior. This form of assessment is called Assessment of Learning. It is ongoing and provides you with your child's strengths and weaknesses. So that you build on his/her weaknesses by working with the strenghts (i.e. if your child loves pictures then print out lots of visual cues for him/her to learn the lesson effectively.) That's the reason why I love using Gardner's Multiple Inteligences. They target varied needs that benefit the learner immensely. 

Verbal and Visual feedback is a form of Assessment for Learning as it informs the learner about their learn about themselves. It is unique for each learner and guides them to take charge of their own progress.

On one last note, mistakes are a form of learning. It is very important to remind your child and yourself. Kids learn by doing and it is very important for their developmental growth to make mistakes.

Enjoy everything you do!

Annie

Preschool Assessment

Assessment or Evaluation of learning is very important both for learning and teaching. How? As a teacher of your preschooler, you will design projects or lessons on the basis of appropriate developmental and learning needs. Similarly, through assessment of and for learning, your preschooler will benefit from lessons that cater to his or her needs. 

How to assess your preschooler? You do not want to make it formal like a test but use informal strategies that assess while your preschooler has fun. For preschool Assessment, I target a few specific/core areas based on the "Multiple Intelligences" (MI)

Here is my diagram that demonstrates easy assessment methods based on the MI:

   © Everything Family Guide

Logical(Mathematical) - I look for patterns and numbers in everything and then have my preschooler relay the information back to me. For example, while reading a story read page numbers, count the number of funny pictures, look for repitition in the story such as repeating words or sounds, etc.

Visual(Spatial) - look for and at visual clues in the work that you do. Use manipulatives like puzzles, pictures, graphs, stickers, etc. for spatial development. For assessment, ask your preschooler questions when looking at pictures (still & moving) and ask for more details. Ask him or her to draw a picture after each activity that details what you did or an event.

Linguistic(Literacy) - explain everything using descriptive words (Be a role model when talking, doing or seeing.) When your preschooler uses a simple word, ask him for more details. For example, if he asks you for his 'car' then ask him about it's color, shape, make/model, etc.

Musical(Auditory) - when you are doing a listening activity like audio books or videos then have your preschooler describe the sounds: "what kinds of sounds do you hear? Loud, Chirp!, High, Soft, etc." If you are playing in the park or at home, take sound breaks where you stop everything you are doing and listen/talk about sounds you hear. Listen for patterns in a story or beats in a song.

Interpersonal(People Smart) - play social games like "Charades" or "Guess my Emotions!". Act out role play scenarios to help your preschooler learn about the ways of behaving around and understanding people.  Ask lots of 5W & H questions about everything you do to build his/her comprehension.

Naturalist - apply lesson objectives from learning activities to real life scenarios. Compare and Contrast how things might play out in real life. For example, in a story about a puppy that gets lost you might ask your preschooler about how he/she feels if something they love got lost. 

Bodily/Kinesthetic - turn everything you do into a moving activity. For example, if you are learning the alphabet then have your preschooler make the alphabet in sand, with play dough, by drawing/painting the letter, etc.  If you are reading a book about fall, then take a fall walk in the park and collect twigs and leaves. Don't forget to take 5 minute "Brain Breaks" (aka physical activity).

Intrapersonal(Self Smart) - teach and learn about self, community, and culture. Reflect your beliefs and ways of doing things when teaching a new concept. Talk about acceptable and unacceptable boundaries. Talk about positive body image and feelings. Test your preschooler's knowledge by asking him or her about how they might act or react during certain situations.

Overall, this is just a general idea for assessment. I would love to hear some of your tips and/or suggestions.

Annie

Audio Books

I love using Audio books as a reading tool. You can find audio books in your local library or bookstore that are fun, engaging and provide a fresh perspective on reading. I love reading to my kids but it nice for them to hear the story from someone else. 

Some audio stories are read by the author and some are read by story book readers. Some stories are accompanied with background music and some have cool sounds and noises. Some readers have an animated voice, while some have a "serious" voice. Some stories are funny and animated, while some are full of interesting facts.  Your child can listen to an audio story on speakers or use a headphone. Your child can read along or they can follow along with an adult's guidance. 

What I really like about audio stories is that they can be above grade/age level and still be interesting for your little guy! 

Here we are listening to some cool audio books:

Silent Words Loud and Clear by Pulver & Reed© Everything Family Guide

Get Out of Bed by Robert Munsch© Everything Family Guide

Do you read audiobooks with your kids? Any ideas or tips for using audiobooks with preschoolers?

Annie

Great Toy for Toddlers!

Today, I found this pretty awesome tactile toy for my toddler. It's not a new concept but its pretty helpful for teaching the concepts of shapes and colors. 

© Everything Family Guide

We have some other similar toys that teach shape and name identification.  These types of puzzles are great time filler for toddlers. Here is a link for toddler puzzles with knobs at Melissa and Doug toys...

Annie

Connect The Dots

Connect the Dot activities are a great time filler. They can be used during quiet or transition time in the day. These activities teach the concept of alphabet, number, symbols, and shape identification and recognition. They also serve as a great writing practice tool.  For this activity, I drew a helpful teaching tool to accompany the activity. I wrote alphabets in a row with arrow keys to show where to go next. Then I pointed to the next alphabet to guide my son along as he connected the dots using a pencil. At first, I had let him try it himself but he was confused. Then I gave him the visual guide and he flew through the rest of the page. 

© Everything Family Guide

© Everything Family Guide

Lesson learned: Visual tools or cues go a long way in teaching the learner.

Any suggestions,

Annie

Story Book and a Craft

We read the story "Carl and the Puppies" by Alexandra Day. The book teaches the concept of responsibility and accountability. It is also my son's favorite topic. It's a level one book which is good for beginning readers published by Square Fish. Level one books usually use simple and repetitive language. They also have clues about the story in the pictures.

© Everything Family Guide

Craft Theme

This craft is based on puppies. My son chose the colors for his craft. I provided him with a blueprint of how the shapes might look like. This outline is good for little kids who need extra guidance.

© Everything Family Guide

The Technique

We used the technique of tearing for making shapes. Then we matched the torn shapes to the blueprint to make sure we had everything. 

© Everything Family Guide

We added details by marker and added extra torn shapes in a different color forspots  on the puppy. Here is the final result:

© Everything Family Guide

Annie

First Snow

So we got lucky here and were blessed to have it snow earlier in our city!

 First Snow of the Season© Everything Family Guide

7 Math Preschool Activities

We had a great weekend! How about yourself? I hope all went well for you and family! :) We also got a chance to practice our math skills this weekend.

© Everything Family Guide

Here is a descriptive list of engaging preschool math activities that we did:

1. Number Practice - count numbers out loud by placing counters/manipulatives in a row or in a pile. I used an egg carton but you can use just about anything (i.e. ice cube tray, plate, empty jewellery container, etc.) I like using an egg carton as my son can hear the manipulative drop in the box and move to the next number. It adds a visual, auditory, and kinesthetic component to the learning experience. 

© Everything Family Guide

         

2. Color Sorting - In this activity my son sorted the manipulatives (buttons) according to color. It is always a good idea to use a tray or container with sections to help your child sort easily. Sorting is an essential early math skill as it teaches your child to identify and categorize objects. You can also sort in other ways according to size, features, names, types, and other categories.

© Everything Family Guide

3. Number Writing Practice - if your child is ready then you can start number writing practice. This will help strengthen your child's hand muscle control. 

© Everything Family Guide

          

4. Show in Different Ways - for this activity you can informally test their knowledge by asking them to show you other ways of representing something. In this instance, my son showed the number zero using his fingers. Your child can also show you through body movement, sing-a-song or poem, using their fingers, drawing, etc.

© Everything Family Guide

5. Mazes - doing mazes is a great fine motor activity for building strong hand muscle control. It is also a great handwriting practice starter activity for early learners. There are many different maze activities that are either educational or 'fun'. My son loves mazes and we do them all the time as a transition activity.

© Everything Family Guide

6. "Power of Ten" - this is the best research based program to teach number counting and other math skills like addition, subtraction, and multiplication. I made my own cards to practice basic skills. First, I had my son demonstrate the five colored squared card by placing manipulatives similarly in an egg carton. The rule is that you have to use an egg carton with ten boxes (snip off the two extras). You will start from the bottom left and go upwards as you place your manipulatives in the egg carton. It took some tries for my son to grasp the concept but he is doing well now. Slowly, I will add more learning games or skills to our routine for teaching math skills using the "Power of Ten" method.

© Everything Family Guide

7. Number Match - we matched our "Power of Ten" cards to number flash cards for additional number recognition practice.

© Everything Family Guide

I have been focusing a lot on preschool math skills. I want my son to always be on top of the game when he starts school next year. I am a bit anxious and nervous but I hope I can help my son do well in school. Any tips or suggestions from other moms out there? Let me know...

Annie

Fall Scavenger Hunt

We went on a fall scavenger hunt to our neighborhood park. I wanted to see how   much interest my son would take in scavenger hunts. For the scavenger hunt, I did up a simple sketch of common items you find outside during fall (i.e. pine cones, twigs, leaves, etc.) 

© Everything Family Guide

We had a nice walk in the park and in the end, we went to the sand park. Overall, we had a blast doing all activities!

© Everything Family Guide

Annie

5 Strategies to Build your Child's Reading Skills

These tips will help build and strengthen your child's early literacy skills:

© Everything Family Guide

1. Talking to Build Phonics Awareness - Phonics is a way of teaching sounds and connecting those sounds to the alphabet. Start talking to your child from birth. Use simple sentences to avoid confusion. Speak in a loud and clear voice to teach proper pronunciation of words and sounds.  Talking to your child will help him or her learn oral language. You are your child's guide, so be careful with your words. Sample talking activities include:

• Practice Word Sounds using a Mirror as this is another visual tool that helps you in forming the right sounds with your mouth.

© Everything Family Guide

• Favorites (what are your favorite things, foods, books, toys, movies, places to go/be, etc.)
• Self or Body Image (play a body parts game; where is your nose? Talk about positive self image)
• Feelings and Emotions (be a role model, especially at stressful times, as your kids pick up on negative behaviors faster than the positive ones. Explore different types of feelings and how to deal with negative feelings). 

© Everything Family Guide

2. Dramatic Play - play based learning is crucial for building your child's social skills. This probably requires less preparation than any of the other activities. This is best time for practicing child-led play. Sample dramatic play activities:

• Pretend and Play Toys (i.e. cash register, doctor's set, tools' kit, pretend kitchen, etc.
• Social Interactions (talk about and model ways of behaving in various social scenarios such as the supermarket, mall, at someone's house, at home, in a restaurant, during a disagreement with friends, etc.)
• Play classic games like hopscotch, hide and seek, catch and run/tag, rhyme/song games, clapping games, Follow the Leader games, I Spy, musical chairs, Simon Says, etc.

Great resource for teaching Social Skills 

© Everything Family Guide

3. Practice with Print - firstly do not expect your child to write perfectly! He or she is still deveeloping their hand muscle control. Your goal is to help strenghten those hand muscles by allowing your child to engage in fun writing practice activities. Always start off with easy and fun activities. Sample writing activities include: 

• Doodle Toys are great for writing practice.
• Sand in a box or Salt in a bag method is great for writing practice. It also makes a great sensory activity.
• Practice drawing different types of Lines (i.e. zigzag, curvy, straight, etc.)
• There are tons of Practice Writing Apps for toddles/preschoolers that help your child practice without wasting paper.
• Dotted Words writing practice is another way to practice their writing. Use a lined notebook for teaching how to write in between lines. Model the correct way to hold a pencil.
• Practice writing using various medians like pens, markers, paint brushes, chalk, etc.

 © Everything Family Guide

4. Singing Rhymes and Rhythms - Rhyming and rhythm go hand in hand. Rhymes consists of rhyming words that have matching sounds. Rhythm is like a beat/sound that follows a pattern. Singing will help build your child's vocabulary and teach them a strong awareness of phonics/word sounds. Kids love to sing or move to the rhythms of songs or poems. Add actions, visuals (pictures/labels), and physical movement to the songs or poems. Sample singing activities include:

• Make everything that you do into a song with rhyming words. 
• Introduce new words with poems or songs
• Break words into syllables when teaching new words using rhythmic movements such as clapping, stomping, etc.
• Choose songs according to seasonal themes to build hype. For example, sing apples or trees songs in fall.
• Make your own musical instruments from everyday household objects like rhythm sticks, shakers/maracas, bells, etc.
• Sing a book (use picture books or books that have lots of rhymes).

5. Shared Reading and Read Aloud - Shared reading is when you read a book together and read aloud is when you read a book out-loud. You also discuss, ask questions, and share each others' thoughts during these processes. In order for your child to fall in love with reading, you need to read to him daily.  Sample reading activities include: 

• Point out common usage words/Dolch words (i.e. it, is, the, on, etc.) as you read together.
• Practice Dolch/Sight words with your child using flashcards or apps.

© Everything Family Guide

• Encourage questioning by asking lots of questions and never denying your child the rights to ask questions.
• Always prompt your child to draw a scene or character from the story. Then ask questions about what or who it is.

I hope these tips will help address and strengthen your child's literacy skills,

Annie

Speech Therapy and Language Practice

Just recently, my preschooler has started talking in complete sentences using clear identifiable word sounds. He still struggles with some sounds but it was a lot of hard work. Like every other parent, I worried too much when my child was not talking according to our provincial health milestones. I understand that all children are different and learn/grow at their own pace. But my son was really behind and we started to get worried.

Practicing speech sounds using a mirror © Everything Family Guide

So, I booked an appointment with a speech therapist to get additional help and advice from a professional. We went for three sessions and learned a whole lot of valuable information to help our preschooler.  At the time, he was 3 1/2 years old and was always speaking with a lisp and used an almost babyish way of saying everything. Hardly, anyone could understand him, except for me. I was working full time and was pregnant with the second baby. So this was an added stress for me as a mom. Even, my husband and his grandparents could not comprehend what he said most of the time. We also noticed an escalation in aggressive and disruptive behavior in our son.

During our meetings with the speech therapist, she tested his vocabulary, his sentence formation, his understanding and visual comprehension, his behavior and language during play, and his eating habits. Here are some tips that she shared with us (I hope and pray that they can be of help to you as well, if needed): 

1. She tested his vocabulary by asking him to identify picture objects.
2. She watched him eat his lunch and inquired about his chewing and drinking habits. To check for high or raised Top Palate in the mouth. This can happen to bottle-fed babies sometimes.
3. She watched his play habits and interactions with others and his surroundings. 

After assessing our case, she gave us the following tips:

• Describe EVERYTHING using adjectives
• Use simple sentences
• Talk slowly and in a clear loud voice
• Provide many opportunities for child-led play
• She told us to discontinue use of a sippy cup or bottle and to encourage drinking milk/water from a glass. We have been very successful with that all thanks to the handy-dandy straw.
• She informed us that sometimes, children get aggressive or easily frustrated when they feel unheard or misunderstood. This partly due to their lack of speech or limited speech/communication.

Overall, my son benefited a lot from our guided support and he is speaking very well now. He is also learning new words every day!

What are your thoughts on our scenario or other speech therapy tips and experiences?

Annie

Rolling Art

This colorful painting project was easy and fun to do. The art project will create a marbled effect or streaks. This project was an inspiration from Micheal's craft corner.

Materials needed:

• Balls (i.e. marbles, bouncy balls, wooden balls)
• Paper
• Deep tray (cardboard or plastic)
• Water color paint
• Wash cloth

What to do:

Caution: do this activity in a carpet-free zone, as it can get very messy.

1. Gather your supplies. 

2. Set up a piece of paper on a tray and dab little blots of paint on various parts of the paper.

© Everything Family Guide

3. Now gently lower the balls in the tray and start rolling. Carefully roll the balls across the tray until you have very little or no white space left. Keep a wash cloth handy for icky fingers. My art teacher in high school used to tell us: "Art is complete when you see no white space!"  She was right as this gives you an opportunity to try your very best. I always expect the best from my kids (no pressure..haha). This gives them a chance to try their VERY best. This has nothing to do with the final product or end result. It only has to do with their efforts and determination. 

© Everything Family Guide

© Everything Family Guide

4. When you are done, let it air dry. Here is the end result:

© Everything Family Guide

Annie

The Importance of Play

Play is important for the healthy development of your child.  You have probably heard that a million times by now. But how can you easily incorporate meaningful play into your everyday routine? Through child-led play. As I have previously written about child-led play, I won't go into much detail. In child-led play, the child is the leader of the play and the parent is the follower. Nothing (i.e. instructions, actions, dialogue, etc.) is initiated during the play by the parent. Only your child will lead you through this process and you will gladly follow. Child-led play should be included in your daily routine and it should be no longer than 10-15 minutes.

Here is our play area cabinet that we use for child-led play....

Our toys sorted for easy access & play  
© Everything Family Guide

We also have a tent and play mats in our play area 
© Everything Family Guide

Anyways, play time is essential for a healthy growth of your child. Include it in your daily routine as much as possible.

Annie