Mindfulness and Purpose in Early Childhood Education

  CREATE A COLLECTION OF AT HOME LEARNING ACTIVITIES DECIDE ON A SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES AND STAY WITH IT: ·          Newsletter out every Monday morning before noon. ·          Storytime, every day at 10am.   ·          Post a list of weekend activities on Fridays by 9am. ·          Post and interact on social media between 3-5 daily. Be visible and consistent so the children and families can tune it and stay in touch.   Remember the silent or quiet majority.   Children or parents who will watch or read whatever you post but not comment or reply.   They are out there and quietly waiting and following everything you do. CREATE A LIST WAYS FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN THROUGH PLAY AT HOME Parents are most likely juggling working from home and child care at the same time. Prepare play boxes for ch...

1.     MAKE A LIST of all the children with the parent's name beside child.   We usually get to know the children’s names very quickly so it’s easier to associate the parent with the child.   Keep the list handy; on your sign in/out attendance so you can refer to it during drop-off and pick-up times when you can use the parents' names in greeting the most. 2.     SMILE at parents when they arrive, even if you are engaged in another activity, make eye contact and smile.   Always acknowledge each child when they arrive and greet both the drop off person and child.   You can draw the child and the parent into the program by telling them what they'll be doing during the day, for example, "Good morning, Jamal. Come and see our water table.   We're going to be racing boats today." 3.     SET ASIDE TIME, EVERY DAY to speak to a parent about something positive that has happened with their child.   ...