Learning Life and School Skills through Games

Curriculum Night was all fun and games for the Tel Aviv parents!  Parents were invited to play and experience  gross motor games that their children play at school.  We played "Switch" and "Popcorn" with Mr. Parachute, enjoyed a game of "Balloon-o" , played Mr. Fox and last but not least, enjoyed "Squirrel in the Tree". 

During the games the parents were asked to notice the skills they are relying on to successfully play the game.
(e.g. motor, eye-hand coordination, spatial awareness, cooperation, self-regulation, following directions, focus, specific muscle groups)

After the game:- Parents turned to their neighbor and together, answer the following questions:

1.What is an essential skill children can develop when playing this game?

2. How do you think this skill will help your child in kindergarten and elementary school?
3.  How have you used this skill in your personal or professional life in just the last week? I think parents would agree that the skills the children are learning through games are central life skills that we use each and everyday at work, home in the car etc. In addition the games are bonding for both teachers and peers. Just look at the photos, their faces, the body language, says it all!

Negotiate!

This week Bruce stopped into the classroom to teach us the 5th problem solving strategy.  Last but not least is NEGOTIATION! 

We asked the children what does negotiate mean?  Their responses, "Thinking, talking and sharing".  Bruce and Sasha took it a step further and modeled how to negotiate the sharing space in the back jack chair.  Bruce and Sasha both wanted to sit in the back jack chair.  First they pushed each other a little and then clearly stated "I want that chair!"   Then Bruce suggested that they share the space and sit in the chair together.  Sasha liked that idea a lot!  They negotiated and worked it out!

 Bruce stayed for a while and demonstrated how to negotiate with foam blocks and encouraged the children to continue to use all the problem solving strategies at home and at school.   We thanked Bruce for coming, and said our goodbyes!  He had a play date with Nemo and Dory of course!

Friendship Skills!

While children might want to work and play with their peers, many of them lack basic friendship skills. Friendship skills are not inborn. The desire to have a friend and be a friend may be inborn, but the skills needed to execute the desire are learned. When children don't know how to take turns, share space and things, or enter or exit play, the result is often chaos.

Children who learn how to share and take turns, who begin to internalize that others have feelings and needs, move more smoothly through their daily lives than children who haven't yet learned these skills. Our job is to help the children by integrating a host of strategies into the daily program that model, coach, and teach culturally appropriate and effective social skills, norms, and customs.

Today at circle time we talked to the children about how we all have "friendly behavior" in our classroom. When we reinforce friendly behavior rather than artificial friendships, children develop skills that will serve them for life. Think about it, so many times we are required to interact with people who we would not choose as friends-maybe on a committee, or as a member of the school council, or at work. Whether we are friends or not we are still expected to maintain a civil and friendly behaviors toward each other.

We discussed with the children that just because we are all members of the Tel Aviv classroom doesn't mean we are all friends. Friendship is something worth working for. If you want to be someones friend acting in a "friendly manner" is a great start. Making friends requires social skills that navigate relationships.

During free play we introduced the children to a "My Turn, Your Turn" game.
Here is how you play:

1.Take a stack of blocks and sit at a table.
2.Invite one child at a time to play with you.
3.Build a tower of blocks by taking turns adding a block to the structure.
4.As you take turns, chant "My turn, your turn," and encourage the children to join the chant. Let the other children observe the play. They will learn by watching, and you will save time teaching the skills to others.

As children become skilled at taking turns in the game, allow two children to do the activity together while you observe and continue to coach the "My Turn, Your Turn" chant. Eventually, children will be able to take turns without direct adult guidance. If problems develop remind children that it is a "My Turn, Your Turn activity.

We will continue to model and teach the language and behaviors of friendship, and make plans to scaffold the children one level to the next by using supportive interactions, an inclusive classroom culture, and special games/activities!

Negotiate!

Negotiating conflict is easier said than done, even for adults! Today we introduced another problem solving strategy...Negotiate. First we showed the children the poster and asked them, "What do you think negotiate means? What are the people in this picture doing?" Their response was, "giving, taking, sharing, talking about it and working it out." They were right on! Then we acted out a few scenarios and talked about how we can negotiate and problem solve in these situations. For example two people arrive at the swing at the time...How could we negotiate in this situation? We "walked through" some options with the children that made sense. The children really seemed to get it!

At the end of the day Hannah and Eliza wanted to use the spray bottle to clean the table. Two children and one spray bottle. Hannah immediately started to negotiate with Eliza. Hannah said, "How about if I spray 5 times and then you spray 5 times Eliza?" Eliza's response, "Yes you spray and then I will have a turn to spray!"

At our second circle I shared with the whole group how Hannah and Eliza used our newest problem solving strategy...Negotiate!

Rebecca sent Sasha and I an email this afternoon. Hannah said, "Mom do you know what agotiating is?" "What?" said Rebecca. "When you share at school. It's one of our very new strategies." It is so nice to hear that the children are talking about and using the problem solving strategies at school and at home too.

Games encourage group cooperation!

Today the Haifa and Tel Aviv children played Squirrels,Change Trees.
Here is how you play...

Set up more chairs than children, and have everybody choose one. Play music. Everyone runs, gallops, hops around the chairs (all of the children move in the same direction of the classroom). When the music stops the children (squirrels) find a seat(tree). Start again and take away one or two chairs until there are more children than chairs. The children are asked to help the children that don't have a chair (tree) to sit in, problem solve and make room for a fellow squirrel.

This organized game encourages group cooperation, problem solving, conflict resolution strategies, and team building. This is a game only preschooler would love!

Problem Solving!

We asked the children to sit down on the rug for a quick meeting before we left for the Fire Station. As I waited for all the children to find a seat, I heard Aden say, "I know Mia you can trade places with Teddy Fox". Mia wanted to sit near Hadley, but Aden was on one side of Hadley and Teddy F was on the other. Aden's suggestion was great, but Teddy did not want to move out of the blue chair. He rarely gets a chance to sit in the blue "back jack" chair. It was a good thing for Mia that Aden had another suggestion..."Mia you can sit were I am sitting, and I can move my chair back!" You could see how happy Aden was to help Mia. I immediatly thanked Aden for helping Mia problem solve, and for moving his chair over so Mia could sit next to Hadley. I pointed to the problem solving strategies posted in the classroom and I asked the children, "Which strategy did Aden use?" Isaiah raised his hand and said, "Negotiate" and everyone ealse agreed. Aden you definitly filled Mia's bucket today!

Esther Was Brave and We Can Be Brave ,Too!

During our morning circle we read Fun With Jewish Holiday Rhymes. After I finished reading the rhyme "Shushan Town", I asked the children, "How did Esther show us she was brave? Aaron said, "Because Esther went to the King and told him of Haman's evil plan. She took a stand like One did when he stood up to Red; when Red was bulling the other colors." I asked the group, "Was Haman a bully too? Mia chimed in with, "Yes he was, and Esther and Mordechai took a stand with Haman, and they saved all the Jews."

Melissa and I went on to talk to the children about how we all have the power to take a stand everyday in our own lives, if we are not happy with the way others are treating us. One person can make a difference! We pointed to the five problem solving strategies we have posted in the classroom and asked the children "Which strategy would you use first if someone is treating you unfairly or disrespectfully?" In unison the children put one hand up and out in front of them, opened their hand, and shouted STOP!"

To Care And Think of Others!

As children mature and function at higher levels of cognitive development, they are able to gain more and more pro-social skills. But how are they to learn them? Modeling by adults and peers is a very effective way for children to learn these skills.

Today at circle time we discussed with the children that a few TBSCC families really needed some help with cooking and baking. We talked briefly about their unfortunate accidents and at this point in time, they do not have the use of their arm/hand as it needs to heal first. The children decided to bake brownies for both families. The Tel Aviv class baked for the Steinberg Family and the All Star Lunch Bunch group baked for the Hart Family.

In both the morning and afternoon programs a few of the children asked if they could have a brownie or two? A very age appropriate question! I explained once again to the children how these families really needed our help, and we baked today to give them a special treat, as they can not bake for themselves right now. It was amazing to me how the children really grasped the concept. A few of them responded by saying, "Yeah we are giving the brownies to Isaiah's family." This is a mitzvah to give, to care and think of others!