#LoveInclusion2020

Classroom Activities

Infants and Toddlers:

I Spy: As you are feeding or changing infants, play "I Spy" using the infant's name and individual characteristics. Say, "I spy a little boy in a green shirt. Tug has brown hair and brown eyes. I see you, Tug."SED1.0b

Voices All Around:Record a familiar teacher or family member singing a children’s song or reading a favorite book. Play this for the infant at different times of the day as a lullaby for naptime or to introduce story time. APL1.0a

Preschool and Pre-K:

Mirror Play: Have family members of the children or have community volunteers visit the class and share information about their culture. This could be done in large group. Discuss your own classroom community and culture. CD-CR2.1b

Classroom Cultures: Provide individual, unbreakable mirrors. Encourage the children to explore looking into the mirror. Use descriptive words to talk with them about what they see. Discuss different emotion words and practice making feeling faces. CD-SS2.4c

Program and Staff Activity

The Common Book: The Common Book:Make a large, blank journal or scrapbook available in the break room or other common areas. The book may have prompts on each page, asking questions or suggesting things to write or draw. Or, you may have guidelines printed and displayed next to the book. Leave pens, markers, tape, and other items that your team can use to write and draw in the book. Encourage them to write down quotes from things they are reading or from team members, to write about a fun event that happened at work, tape or glue anything that helps record the team’s culture.

Family Engagement Activity

Feeling Faces: Encourage families to look through their favorite book with their child and describe the different feeling faces and how the characters might respond to different situations. Invite families to bring a book and read it with the class. CLL3.4b

#LoveInclusion2020

Classroom Activities

Infants and Toddlers:

This is How I Feel:: Take pictures of the infants in the room showing a variety of emotions. Print the pictures and display them low on a wall for the infants to see. Point to the pictures and describe the emotion: "Marcus is laughing. He looks happy."CLL3.0b

Preschool and Pre-K:

Silly Steps: Make a game of multi-step directions by having partners work together to follow all the silly directions you give such as, “put your arm around your friend’s shoulder,” or “stand on one foot.” This could be done in large group. CLL1.4b

Bright Idea: When developing multi-step directions for the children in your class, provide visual cues and consider using action steps that all the children can do to participate.

Program and Staff Activity

Show and Tell: Get to know each other better by sharing the things you love. Set aside a regular day and place to display staff “show and tell.” Let each staff member bring a picture or item they would like to share. Each staff can share the story of their item and display it for the day, then allow another team member to share their own item for a day.

Family Engagement Activity

Nighttime Routines: Share helpful suggestions to families about activities, sounds or objects that can help their child feel calm and restful during the hour before bedtime. These activities can become a part of their nightly routine! Reading books, listening to soft, calming music, or giving their child their favorite blanket or stuffed animal will all help them to understand that it is time to calm down and prepare for sleep. Taking a few moments every day to bond while bathing, snuggling or reading to children helps them feel safe, secure and loved. SED3.4b

#LoveInclusion2020

Classroom Activities

Infants and Toddlers:

Musical Friends: Play lively music and encourage the children to dance freely. Pause the music and have each child find a partner. Direct the children to greet their partners with a wave, hug, high five, low five, fist bump or other appropriate greeting. PDM3.3a

Preschool and Pre-K:

Friendship Fruit Salad: You will need a large mixing bowl and a spoon. Ask each child to bring his/her favorite fruit to school. Wash and cut fruit into small pieces. In small groups, encourage the children to create their own recipe for a friendship fruit salad by combining the different fruit that each person brought to share: 1 cup of Alex’s pineapple, 1 cup of Maria’s banana. Encourage the children’s language by prompting them to request different fruits to add to the recipe. For example, “Alex can you add your pineapple to our fruit salad?” Write the recipe down and share with families. SED5.3e

Friendship Mural: Tape a large sheet of freezer paper to the table, shiny side up. Provide finger paint. Encourage the children to make a group mural.APL1.4a

Program and Staff Activity

Team Memories: Create a Memory Wall in your center. Add pictures or stories about shared events and special moments. Let your staff add to the wall throughout the year and leave them up to reflect on wonderful moments spent together.

Family Engagement Activity

Magical Moments: Encourage the children to point to the pictures and sing along identifying each person: “Where is Jane? Where is Jane? There she is. There she is...” SED1.0b

#LoveInclusion2020

Classroom Activities

Infants and Toddlers:

Ring around the Hoop: Have four or five children hold a single hula-hoop as they walk in a circle singing “Ring Around the Rosie.” Begin by having the children hold the hoop with both hands, then later with one hand as their motor skills develop. APL5.1a

Preschool and Pre-K:

Sharing Ideas: Providing opportunities for imaginary play is an important activity for practicing many social- emotional skills. Encourage the children to make up stories and songs, draft playmates as characters and turn sticks into magic wands in the dramatic play center. During these activities encourage children to take turns, compromise and share materials. SED3.4c

Simon Says: During outdoor time, on the sidewalk draw large letters, numbers and shapes. Then, play Simon Says by giving the children a sequence of things to do: Stand on number 3, then run to the letter. You can increase the sequence as they improve their listening skills. CD-SS5.4a

Program and Staff Activity

Social Emotional Competence: Identify your strengths in the practice of teaching Social Emotional Skills in the classroom. Uncover your talents by using tools that can empower you in your work. Help coworkers by identifying how those qualities can help them become a "mentor" to new staff members.

Family Engagement Activity

My Turn Please: Encourage families to play games that require turn-taking with their child. Board games are a perfect way to teach older preschool children how to wait for a turn. Outside games, such as basketball or catch, are also ideal games to practice taking turns. For toddlers and twos, use very simple turn-taking games such as rolling a ball or a car back and forth. SED5.1c

#LoveInclusion2020

Classroom Activities

Infants and Toddlers:

Basket Play: Provide baskets of various shapes, colors and sizes. Place items such as textured balls, scarves, water bottle shakers and soft toddler blocks in separate baskets. Model how to pour out and explore the items. Pique the children’s interest by chanting, “A tisket, a tasket, what is in the basket?” As the children pour the items on the floor, describe the items you see. Have the children place the items back in the basket and pour them out again. CD-SC1.1a

Preschool and Pre-K:

Introductions: During circle time, discuss the idea of meeting someone new such as an adult or a teacher. Practice steps on how to introduce yourself and engage in conversation. Practice this skill by role playing as a group with all the children. SED4.3a

Program and Staff Activity

Bucket-filler Bulletin Board: Throughout the week encourage parents to write positive notes to their child’s teacher. This could be via written notes posted on a bulletin board. Add positive statements as often as possible. Post these cards in plain sight to remind yourself of what motivates you to support children and families every day.

Family Engagement Activity

Supporting Children’s Play:Encourage families to talk to their children about emotions and friendship skills. Model the conversations at drop off and pick up. For example: “Molly, you look so happy coming to school today! I can see you smiling!” or “Sam, thank you for waiting your turn, that is so patient!” Remind parents how they can have similar interactions at home or on play dates. They can also read CALi Is a Super Friend with their child at home.