I don’t know what these manipulatives are actually called so I am calling them “Acropeople.” I saw these while visiting a student at her center, and the children were so excited to play with them, I thought they were worth exploring. The Acropeople come in 3 sizes – small, medium and large. They come in […]

I found this list of assumptions about families that I thought was interesting and pertinent. It comes from the Iowa Early ACCESS group. The list helps us know what we actually believe about parents and families. After answering the questions for yourself, you could ask of your staff what they believe about families. This might […]

  You all know I love the Dollar Store. We also have a 99 Cents and Under store in my neighborhood- equally wonderful. You know how if you stop by frequently, you’ll always find new merchandise? Well, the other day as I was browsing my 99 Cents and Under Store I saw plastic/nylon flowers for […]

This blog focuses solely on the business of child care. Tom writes about tax preparation, hiring and firing, the law, advocacy, and a host of other topics that are applicable to our work. What I love about this Blog is that he will write about things that you are thinking about. He responds to all […]

In yesterday’s ECE Policy Matters entry, Susan Ochshorn outlined the new regulatory changes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as they pertain to child care. Although this may be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to Jonathon Cohn’s “The Hell of American Child Care” published last month, I believe that these changes were […]

By now, you have heard people talking about “The Common Core” (often referred to as the “Core”) so I thought it was time for Math at Home to explore The Core and get to the center of it (It’s not often that I can rhyme and use a pun all in one sentence). According to […]

Ooops! I posted this last Wednesday but I neglected to link it to The Abundant Life Children Blog. So, here it is again. My apologies to Emily. I first introduced you to Emily Plank and her Abundant Life Children Blog several weeks ago when I reposted her “Ten Commandments of Play-Based Learning”. I was so […]

This Count and Link manipulative is a fun way for children to work on their counting skills while also providing a visual cue for quantity and comparisons. The links snap onto the trunks of the elephants and the children then add more links until they match the number of links that have put together to […]

Using flowers as the foundation for creative art activities this month is a no-brainer. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen or so ways to incorporate flowers into the art center. What do you think of these windows?Have the children cover their hands with tempera paint and let them […]

This week marks the 8th Tuesday that I am unpacking the mathematics portion of the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards. I can’t believe how long it has taken. Do you think I should explore the Mathematics Core? The Professional Teaching Standards? Is this helpful to you? Goal 10 is the final Goal in the […]