Establishing a Routine

Happy Tuesday Pre-tot fams!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous start to their week. Magdalen, Ashley and I have all been having a wonderful time setting up our classroom and getting our routines down. This week is all about establishing relationships and schedules. We aren't changing the schedule very much; it is mostly about making transitions smoother for everyone. We all know that change can be stressful, only if we allow it to be, so it is important that we all work as a community to make sure that the current changes are being exemplified in a positive manner.

With that said, we had an amazing day. The kiddos are full of energy, and I like to see them put that energy to use. Today we gave a lot of attention to our routine. For instance, we have made an established song list for our circle time that we plan to use every single day. This routine will help them adjust quickly to the new teachers and classroom set up. We also clean up the classroom twice a day. For clean-up, we make sure and sing the “clean up” song to inform them of the transition to another activity. We have also incorporated the wind-chime to let our friends know when it is time to go outside. All of these small details play a big role in transitions. It's important for our friends to know what is happening and when it is going to happen. This helps ease their mind and body.

On a lighter note, we also did some artwork today. We used colored chalk on black construction paper. As a former infant teacher, I was happy to see that the kids weren't eating the chalk (yes it tends to happen from time to time, but not today)! All of our friends really enjoyed drawing with chalk, talking about the color of chalk, and switching to new colors. It was also nice because I split the class into two groups to do art. This allows the kids to get a bit more focused attention, which they enjoy.
Ashley wrote our phone numbers up on the board earlier today, but just in case you didn't see it, or you were not there today here they are once again. Please feel free to contact any one of us if you have any questions or concerns. We are always welcome to communication. Also, I wanted to let everyone know that I will be gone for half of the morning on Thursday. Miss Cate will sub for me. She is a regular. I'm sure most of you already know her, but for those who don't, she is awesome!

Ashley 817-307-8437

Magdalen 512-216-4796

Sandy 361-562-2229

Oh, and if you see this please text us so that we can save your numbers.  I hope everyone has a fabulous rest of the week.
xoxo
sandy