A Typical Day at Southminster Child Care Center
In the Preschool Classroom At Southminster Child Care Center You Can Expect To See:Up to 18 children ranging in age from 3 - 5 years of age. Children can be full or part-time depending on the families' needs. The classroom is staffed with a Head Teacher and two Assistant Teachers. Teacher's schedules vary depending on the needs of the children and the ratios.
The following list is to be used as a guideline in helping you to observe the Preschool Room at Southminster Child Care Center. During your time in the Preschool classroom you may see some or all of these things in addition to other types of interactions. Please note that short-term observations give a "snapshot" of a typical day in a classroom and more lengthy observations help an observer to better understand the consistent programming in the classroom.
Interactions
- Teachers greeting each child and family upon arrival.
- Teachers and families engaged in daily conversations.
- Teachers helping children to separate from their families in the morning and helping them to reunite at the end of the day.
- Teachers and families developing relationships that will enable teachers to provide the best possible care for children.
- Teachers sitting at tables at mealtimes, sitting on the floor and at tables engaged in activities with children, facilitating play, using rich language, extending play, encouraging children to use language, encouraging children to use problem solving skills, negotiating skills and conflict resolution skills in order to work together during group interactions.
- Teachers responding to individual children's needs and abilities, adjusting their expectations based on children's developmental levels and where they are on an individual day-to-day basis.
- Teachers gauging children's abilities to solve conflict on their own, and stepping in when necessary to help resolve the conflict.
- Teachers responding to negative interactions in the classroom using redirection, positive language and empathy. Teachers are always striving to find the reasons for the behavior, thus being able to respond to it better.
- Children spending time involved in one-on-one interactions with teachers, involved in small group and large group activities with teachers and other children.
- Teachers picking up on children's cues and focusing on making daily experiences unique learning opportunities.
- Children involved in different stages of play including solitary, parallel and cooperative play.
- Children involved in play situations in the following area: housekeeping (dramatic play), blocks, manipulative, open ended art, computer, books, science, sensory, writing/language.
- Children engaged in positive exploration in the classroom, making choices about materials they want to use and areas they want to play in.
- Children spending time working on activities of their choice, staying on task, focusing and concentrating for increased periods of time.
- Children and teachers engaged in large group activities that involve language, stories music, singing and discussions.
- Teachers follow a flexible daily schedule that takes into consideration the children's individual schedules.
- Children learn to respond to situations using language and conflict resolution skills.
- Children are encouraged and supported in their development of self-help skills.
- Children given warnings before a transition in the schedule is about to happen.
- Teachers help children to make transitions by explaining ahead of time what will be happening and what is expected of children.
- Children engaged in open-ended art activities, science exploration activities, cooking activities, small and gross motor activities, sensory activities, language and math activities.
- Children using languages from different countries and sign language during circle time and play; and to express feelings and needs.
- Teachers using language that includes a lot of positive reinforcement and positive supportive language ("I like the way you cleaned up the blocks", "That was kind of you to help her with her coat", "Please walk when you go down the hall").
