I love the way visual kids express themselves, learn problem solving, see multiple solutions to problems – and the impact the arts have on developing minds. Meet Terra. She makes me want to be 16 again.
Terra is the head of the Menomonee Falls High School art department and I want to be a student in her classes. Recently I had a tour of the art classrooms, saw student work and enjoyed Terra’s classroom stories and favorite assignments.
Pinterest is a great tool for collecting ideas to someday use. I have made a small collecting of Valentine activities and games to do with children. From classroom activities, to cheap valentine gifts. Take a look at some of my favorite pins!
Brayden has the distinct advantage of having drawing classes at home. As the founder of Young Rembrandts, I’ve taught thousands of preschool kids how to draw, but always enjoy special time with my grandson.
One of my all time favorite things to do is to head into a classroom full of preschool students, sit them around a table and teach them how to draw. That would strike terror into the hearts of most people, but with training and a reasonable expectation of what is possible – it is a most remarkable experience.
Preschoolers doodle and draw as a form of communication and entertainment. While limited to often rainbows, smiley faces and basic shapes, these innate skills are the beginning of their visual and artistic vocabulary. Young children can benefit greatly from time spent learning to draw. Being trained to see and draw will expand the number of things they can draw, which in turn expands their ability to communicate verbally and visually.
The preschool years are ripe with opportunity to discover the world and prepare children as learners.
Along with building certain physical skills, like the pincher grasp used in writing, children also need ways to develop their sequencing abilities, focus and concentration skills. Here are five activities (free downloads) that are easy to implement at home and in the classroom.
While there are a multitude of assessments to gauge preschool development, as an educator, mother of four, and now a grandmother, I would like to share some thoughts. And while it’s enormously tempting to measure, compare, worry and even compete, it’s hugely important to remember that all children develop at their own pace and in their own time.
Preschool Development
