14 ways to draw animals from an early hand

Fish

Snail

Butterfly

Butterfly

Nag

Dwarf

Dinosaur

Spider

Rabbit

Camelopard

Kitten

Elephant

Dog

Peacock

Cara Muat Turun Bahan Softcopy

Terima kasih kepada semua yang telah membeli bahan-bahan yang telah saya hasilkan. Bagi anda yang masih baru dalam dunia komputer dan mendapati sukar untuk memuat turun bahan-bahan tersebut, di sini saya akan memberikan panduan bagaimana anda boleh melakukan operasi ini dengan mudah.

Setelah menerima kod untuk memuat turun file, sila klik pautan tersebut. Anda pasti akan menemukan paparan seperti di bawah.

Klik pada ikon Regular Download. Kemudian paparan di tetingkap monitor anda akan menunjukkan paparan seperti di bawah.

Seret paparan anda hingga ke bahagian paling bawah di mana anda akan melihat anak panah berwarna merah yang akan berkelip-kelip. Klik pada bahagian Download dan anda akan ditanya sama ada mahu membuka terus dari program atau menyimpannya ke dalam komputer. Sila pilih untuk menyimpan bahan ke dalam komputer supaya memudahkan anda membuat penambahbaikan pada bahan tersebut.

Selamat mencuba dan berjaya...

Penjagaan Kesihatan

Assalamualaikum

Hari ini saya mengingatkan semula murid-murid tentang kepentingan menjaga kesihatan. Saya telah menayangkan video di bawah ini untuk mereka melihat sendiri betapa teruknya jika tidak menjaga kebersihan diri. Memang agak melucukan bila mereka kelihatan menutup mata dan menunjukkan reaksi geli geleman melihat apa yang ditayangkan. Mudah-mudahan dengan cara ini murid-murid saya akan lebih yakin dengan setiap amaran yang saya berikan tentang keburukan tidak menjaga kebersihan diri.

Bagi anda yang mempunyai anak-anak yang agak liat untuk membersihkan diri, tayangkan video ini. Saya yakin mereka akan berubah ke arah yang baik selepas ini. Maklumlah anak-anak sekarang ini sangat mempercayai fakta yang ditayangkan di media massa. Selamat mencuba.

Mengajar Kanak-kanak Tentang Penjagaan Kesihatan

Assalamualaikum
Menurut pakar dari http://www.hygieneexpert.co.uk/TeachingChildrenAboutHygiene.html:

Teaching correct and acceptable hygiene principles is vital to achieve life long habits in the prevention and spread of illnesses and infections, but also to maintain a suitable appearance and avoid offending others.

Methods of Education for Young Children
Encourage an enjoyable bath time by making it an integral part of every day family life. Singing songs and playing with bath toys will make this duty something to look forward to for the child and will make cleansing a ritual that will become part of life. Teach children about bacteria and fungi using picture books and express that by allowing objects and themselves to become dirty and not getting cleaned will cause bacteria to multiply and cause mould.

Allow children to play outside regularly, but explain why it is important to clean soiled clothes and bodies afterwards. Recent guidelines suggest that the most effective way of preventing and treating head lice is by using everyday conditioner and a fine toothed comb (nit comb) weekly to prevent lice or daily to treat them. This can be achieved more easily than the traditional application of pesticide treatments and children can actually help to apply the conditioner and comb it through themselves.

Allow youngsters to attempt to clean their own teeth even if they need cleaning afterwards, they will enjoy the responsibility. Give children encouragement to maintain their own hygiene; allow them to help with the laundry and the housework, this way they will learn the correct way of doing it and will carry this knowledge with them through life.

Antara cara yang boleh dijalankan di kelas adalah dengan menayangkan tayangan video dari youtube sebagaimana di bawah ini. Agak meloyakan juga untuk menunjukkan video klip ini namun sebenarnya ia banyak membantu kanak-kanak untuk memahami konsep yang betul.

Pancakes & Waffles: Tips And Recipes

Resipi ini sesuai digunakan di kelas prasekolah untuk menarik minat kanak-kanak makan dengan berselera.

The Secret of Tender Pancakes Or Waffles

• Stir the batter with a whisk or fork just until dry ingredients are blended. The batter will be lumpy.
• Overmixing the batter will make the pancakes or waffles tough.
• Use a heavy frying pan or griddle for pancakes.
• Preheat the griddle in advance, the griddle or waffle iron is hot enough when drops of water sprinkled on surface will dance.
• Too cool a griddle produces flat, tough pancakes.
• Too hot a griddle causes outside of pancakes to brown before center is cooked.
• Cook pancakes until top side is full of bubbles; turn to do other side.
• Batter that is too thin will result in flat pancakes.
• Batter that is too thick won’t spread on griddle.
• Turn pancakes only once during cooking.
• Make big batches of pancakes & waffles to freeze the extra for quick & easy breakfasts. Extra batter can also be refrigerated.

Pancake Master Recipe

1 1/3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
3 TBS melted butter or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp vanilla

• Stir flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
• Beat egg thoroughly; add milk.
• Make a well in center of dry ingredients; slowly add the egg-milk mixture.
• Add melted butter and vanilla.
• Stir quickly until ingredients are just mixed and batter is still lumpy in appearance.
• Drop by 1/4 cupfuls on hot pancake griddle.
• Cook the pancakes until they are filled with bubbles and the under-surface is golden brown.
• Turn and brown the other side.
• Serve as hot as possible with syrup, honey, jam or jelly, bacon or sausages.
• Do not turn the pancakes more than once during cooking.

Yield: 10-12 Pancakes

Pancake Recipe Variations

Sour Milk Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter using sour milk or buttermilk.
• Reduce baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Add 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water.

Blueberry Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter, increasing sugar to 1/3 cup.
• Reduce milk to 1 cup.
• Add 1 cup floured blueberries.
• Cook slower than plain pancakes.

Apple Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter.
• Reduce milk to 1 cup.
• Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.
• Add 1 cup grated raw apple.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water.

Ginger ‘n’ Spice Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter.
• To dry ingredients add: 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon allspice.

Banana Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter.
• Reduce sugar to 2 teaspoons and milk to 1 cup.
• Add a few grains black pepper to dry ingredients.
• Fold in 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana at end.

Waffle Master Recipe

1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
4 TBS vegetable oil
2 egg yolks, well-beaten
2 egg whites

• Stir flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
• Combine milk and vegetable oil with beaten egg yolks; add to dry ingredients and stir only until blended.
• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
• Cook on hot waffle iron.
• For crisp waffles, use 2 TBS more fat and cook longer.

Yield: 4 to 6 Servings

Waffle Recipe Variations

Bacon Waffles:

• Sprinkle small bits of bacon, cooked or uncooked over waffle batter after filling waffle iron.

Cheese Waffles:

• Use 3 TBS of vegetable oil instead of 4.
• Add 1/4 cup grated cheese to waffle batter.

Chocolate Waffles:

• Increase sugar to 1/4 cup.
• Add 1/4 cup cocoa with dry ingredients.
• Add 1/4 tsp vanilla to batter.
• This is good as a dessert, served with ice cream.

Corn Waffles:

• Reduce milk from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup.
• Add one 14 oz. can cream style corn to batter.
• Cook until thoroughly dry.

Apple Waffles:

• Add 1 cup sliced and peeled apples to batter.

Blueberry Waffles:

• Add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries to batter.

Banana Waffles:

• Slice 1 or 2 bananas and add to batter.

ECE Links

KinderArt Littles
Hundreds of free activities, recipes and other ideas for your preschooler.

Early Education
This website (owned by the Passamaquoddy Children's Centre), features many tips and activities for preschoolers.

ChildFun
Billed as, "The ultimate education resource center for parents, pregnant women, and child care / daycare providers."

Childcare
Detailed information for daycare providers that includes lesson plans, activity ideas, resources, and numerous links.

Early Childhood.Com
A place for getting advice from experts in the early childhood field, expanding your collection of creative projects, and sharing ideas and questions with the early childhood community.

EdnoLand.com
EdnoLand.com is an extension of the services offered to parents and teachers of preschoolers attending the EdnoLand program (available in many kindergartens in Singapore and Malaysia).

Idea Box
Early childhood education and activity resources. This site features activities, crafts, music, games and more.

Lil Fingers
Lil' Fingers Storybooks is a computer storybook site for toddlers. Parents and children are encouraged to click from page to page reading and looking at colorful drawings (some of them even move!).

Live and Learn
The Live And Learn web site includes The Learning Pages, which has information and resources for teachers, daycare providers and concerned parents.

National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education
The design of the page encourages collaboration at all levels -- families, educators, communities, policy makers -- in an effort to assist all children.

Natural Learning
Early childhood workshops, children concerts, make-it take it sessions, and keynotes. A valuable educational resources for teachers, child care providers, as well as parents.

Perpetual Preschool
This site was created to celebrate the creativity and dedication of all those who contribute to the perpetual education of young children.

Pre-K Smarties
Parents' resource for teaching babies, toddlers and preschoolers at home with tips for early reading and educational toys.

Read With Me
A Guide for Student Volunteers Starting Early Childhood Literacy Programs

Cara Membuka CD Cerlang Minda Prasekolah Diri Saya

Langkah 1: Paparan ini akan kelihatan sebaik sahaja cd dimasukkan ke pemacu cakera padat.

Langkah 2: Di pemacu cakera anda akan melihat keseluruhan file utama yang terdapat di dalam cd.


Langkah 3: Klik pada ikon Main.

Langkah 4: Anda akan melihat paparan file yang ada di dalam file Main. Klik pada ikon "start"

Langkah 5: Paparan berikut akan keluar dan anda akan dapat mendengar lagu tema siri Cerlang Minda Prasekolah. Sekiranya ingin melangkau hanya klik pada ikon "Langkau" di bahagian bawah kanan skrin komputer.

Langkah 6: Paparan utama akan muncul. Klik pada ikon Masuk.

Langkah 7: Klik pada ikon Tidak kerana anda baru sahaja membuka cd ini. Ikon Ya hanya diklik bila anda ingin menyambung aktiviti di mana anda telah membukanya terlebih dahulu.

Langkah 8: Paparan menu utama di mana anda boleh memilih aktiviti yang ingin anda lakukan bersama anak-anak / murid-murid.

Langkah 9: Klik pada ikon Keluar jika anda ingin menamatkan aktiviti.

Langkah 10: Inilah paparan akhir perisian ini. Mereka yang tertera namanya di sini merupakan insan-insan yang telah banyak membantu saya menyiapkan projek ini.

Nota:

Kepada rakan-rakan / ibu bapa yang berminat untuk mendapatkan cd ini yang sesuai dengan umur kanak-kanak seawal 3 hingga 9 tahun bolehlah menghubungi saya:

Telefon: 019 7556032

Email: fauziah.arahim@gmail.com.

Harga : RM29 termasuk kos pos

Bank : Maybank 1010 7545 0308

Bukti pembayaran boleh diemail ke alamat email di atas atau menghantar mms ke talian yang tertera. Sila berikan nama dan alamat penuh anda. Terima kasih atas sokongan anda semua.

Ciri-ciri Pemimpin Yang Baik

Assalamualaikum

Kali ini saya ingin mengutarakan entri yang cukup penting bagi menambah pengetahuan kita bersama. Yalah manalah tahu kalau satu hari kelak anda akan dilantik menjadi pemimpin dan semestinya anda ingin menjadi pemimpin yang baik...

Tun Dr. Mahathir menggariskan tujuh kualiti untuk menjadi pemimpin yang baik, iaitu;

• Seorang pemimpin yang baik tidak semestinya merendah diri tapi sekurang2nya tidak bercakap besar.
• Beliau mesti bersedia menerima tanggungjawab tetapi tidak boleh terlalu mendesak dan berkeras dalam memimpin.
• Beliau tidak harus menyalahkan orang lain bagi kegagalan tetapi mengakui kelemahan diri serta tidak harus menuding jari atau mencari seseorang untuk dipersalahkan.
• Beliau harus bersikap luhur dan tidak pentingkan pujian dan kemasyhuran.
• Beliau patut tahu bagaimana mengendalikan pengikutnya begitu juga pihak atasan serta perlu sensitif dengan sensitiviti orang lain.
• Beliau patut bersedia melakukan apa yang diharapkan oleh orang lain untuk beliau laksanakan serta mendukung slogan kepemimpinan melalui teladan.
• Beliau perlu bijak dan lebih pintar sekurang2nya berbanding orang yang berada di bawah pimpinannya.

Mengikut Dr Robiah Sidin (1988), dalam bukunya ‘Asas Pentadbiran Pendidikan’, beliau menegaskan bahawa secara umumnya ada dua jenis kuasa yang boleh dipegang oleh seseorang pemimpin itu. Pertama, kuasa yang datang dengan jawatannya di dalam organisasi itu dan kedua, kuasa yang berpunca daripada keadaan dirinya sendiri atau kuasa individu. Kuasa yang bersangkut paut dengan jawatan adalah penting kerana memberi kepercayaan kepada anggota-anggotanya. Walaubagaimanapun untuk seseorang itu kekal menjadi pemimpin dia mesti juga mempunyai kuasa yang berunsurkan kebolehan tersendirinya. Ini termasuklah:

• 1. Mentaliti

• Kebijaksanaan atau kebolehan membuat perhitungan yang jauh sebelum bertindak dengan menilai antara yang baik dan buruk berdasarkan pertimbangan ilmu dan pengalaman.
• Keberanian atau kesungguhan serta kesanggupan menghadapi cabaran dan masalah serta risiko, baik yang berpunca dari luar diri atau dalam diri sendiri.
• Mempunyai inisiatif atau tindakan yang dimulakan sendiri tanpa menunggu orang lain dating kepadanya minta bertindak.
• Mempunyai kreativiti sendiri, terutamanya dalam menyelesaikan masalah-masalah yang wujud dalam organisasi.

2. Kemasyarakatan

• Kesediaan memberi dan menerima pendapat.
• Sikap positif dan terbuka.
• Daya penggerak dan semangat juang yang kuat.
• Kebolehan berkomunikasi secara berkesan.

3. Moraliti

• Mempunyai disiplin diri yang unggul.
• Kebersihan jiwa terutamanya dari segi keadilah, amanah, ketenangan, kesabaran, keteguhan pendirian dan ketahanan diri.
• Iman yang teguh, terutama orang yang beragama Islam.

Antara ketiga-tiga ciri yang dinyatakan, moraliti adalah yang terpenting untuk menilai seseorang pemimpin sama ada baik atau buruk, berkesan atau tidak, boleh bertahan lama atau tidak.

Pemimpin memerlukan juga sikap tertentu untuk mempengaruhi orang lain. Perkara yang paling penting ialah pemimpin harus mempunyai pengertian dan tanggapan yang tajam terhadap individu-individu yang saling berurusan dengannya. Selain daripada itu seorang pemimpin juga harus mempunyai:

• Empati; iaitu kebolehan untuk memahami perasaan orang lain dan bersimpati.
• Kesedaran; akan kelemahan dan kekuatan dirinya sendiri. Sedar tentang bagaimanakah dirinya dianggap oleh orang lain. Hanya apabila ini berlaku maka barulah kepercayaan kebolehan dirinya akan timbul.
• Kebolehan: untuk melihat secara objektif akan masalah-masalah dan tingkah laku anggota-anggota lain. Pemimpin harus bersikap adil boleh memberi analisa yang adil dan tidak emosional.

Selain itu, sekiranya seseorang itu ingin menjadi pemimpin yang baik, dia hendaklah mengamalkan perkara-perkara yang diketahui, dilihat dan diterima sebagai baik:

• Seseorang pemimpin harus bersedia untuk belajar dari siapa sekalipun apa yang dia tidak tahu kerana kepimpinan itu sesuatu yang boleh terus menerus dipelajari dari latihan dan pengalaman.
• Seseorang pemimpin mesti berani memberi jawapan yang tegas kepada sesuatu yang difikirkan baik atau tidak baik kepada organisasinya.
• Seseorang pemimpin yang baik berupaya memudahkan semua kerja, dengan menjadikannya kerja-kerja biasa yang boleh dilakukan oleh kebanyakkan orang bawahannya dan tidak memerlukan pakar khusus.
• Seorang pemimpin yang baik mempunyai perhubungan baik dengan orang-orang bawahannya. Dia mengenali mereka sebagai individu-individu yang mempunyai keistimewaan tersendiri. Pada kebiasaannya, pemimpin yang baik jarang berkasar dengan orang-orang bawahannya.
• Seseorang pemimpin yang baik pandai membahagikan masa. Dia tahu bila masa bertugas dan bila masa di luar tugas dan bertindak bersesuaian dengan keadaan. Pemimpin yang tidak cekap selalu merasa runsing dan bimbang dengan hal-hal tugas di mana juga dia berada.
• Dalam sesebuah organisasi terdapat pelbagai jenis manusia: ada yang malas, ada yang rajin dan ada yang boleh diharap serta ada yang tidak boleh diharap. Seorang pemimpin yang bijak tidak lemah semangat dengan keadaan ini. Dia menerima hakikat sedemikian dan menggunakan sebaik-baiknya apa yang ada.
• Seorang Pemimpin yang baik tahu dan mahu berbincang denganorang-orang bawahannya mengenai sesuatu hal yang dia sendiri tidak pasti. Dia tidak hanya pandai mengeluarkan arahan saja.
• Seorang pemimpin yang baik mempunyai banyak pengetahuan dan pengalaman mengenai tugas dan manusia.
• Seorang pemimpin yang baik pandai memperkembangkan kebolehan bekerja orang bawahannya. Dia tahu mengagihkan tugas kepada mereka.
• Seorang pemimpin yang bijak tidak sekali-kali lemah semangat dan cepat mengaku kalah apabila berdepan dengan sesuatu masalah. Kalau masalah tidak dapat diselesaikan dengan satu cara, dia menggunakan cara lain. Dia sentiasa bersikap positif.

Melalui perbincangan mengenai ciri-ciri pemimpin berkesan di atas, beberapa kesimpulan dapat dibuat. Diantaranya ialah kepimpinan ialah perlakuan seseorang yang boleh menggerakkan orang lain untuk berfikir, merasa, bertindak dengan cara-cara tertentu. Dalam hal ini seorang pemimpin harus mengetahui keperluan dan motif orang-orang yang berkerja dengannya dan harus menitikberatkan pencapaian matlamat kumpulan. Dia juga harus berjaya mengekalkan kekuatan yang ada pada kumpulannya untuk menyelesaikan masalah dan mencapai matlamat masa depan.

Seseorang pemimpin boleh menonjolkan kepimpinannya hanya melalui penglibatannya dalam kumpulan. Dalam kumpulan pula kekerapan interaksi bersama kakitangan membolehkan keberkesanan kepimpinannya. Kalau seorang pemimpin sentiasa “bersembunyi” dalam biliknya dan tidak mempunyai masa untuk berinteraksi dengan kakitangannya, maka kepimpinannya kurang berkesan.

Kepimpinan bukan bergantung sepenuhnya kepada jawatan. Status jawatan yang disandanghanya satu daripada punca potensi kepimpinan. Kejayaan kepimpinan adalah fungsi kedua-dua kuasa formal melalui jawatan dan penerimaan orang-orang bawahan secara tidak formal yang bukan kerana jawatan.

Sumber: http://kulanzsalleh.com/ciri-ciri-pemimpin-yang-baik

Kemahiran Berfikir

Thinking Skills Games for Home, School, and Travel - Teach Your Child Thinking Skills

Thinking games are a great way to build your child's problem-solving, memory, and reasoning skills in a fun, engaging way. These games can be played with as few as two players and as many as a classroom. They are completely portable and limited only by your imagination!

Social and Emotional Skills Grow with Thinking Games

These games can be played with a relaxed, non-competitive pace that naturally teaches children turn taking, listening for detail, cooperation, and valuing contributions of others.

• Thinking games for infants and toddlers.
• The ABC Game stimulates and builds language, thinking, and memory skills - First, the group decides on a theme. Once a theme has been chosen, each person takes turns thinking up related words beginning with letters of the alphabet, in order. For example, if the theme is school, each person must say words related to school. The letter A might be Algebra, a B word might be book. The game continues until Z is reached and can be played again with different themes. Make it more challenging by keeping the same theme and adding a rule of no-repeated words. This adds challenge for older students and encourages attention and memory skills. When someone is stumped on a letter, that player can pass or ask the group to come up with a word that fits.
• Bumble bee, Bumble Bee is a visual guessing game that many of us played in early childhood that can be modified to vary the level of complexity for older children -
  

  Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee is a thinking game many of us played in early childhood. You may have learned it by other names, but the concept is the same.

  The object of Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee for young children is to identify an object in the area that another player is thinking about. One player chooses an object and gives other players a clue about its identity. Players take turns guessing what the object might be, and they continue until it is identified.

  For preschoolers and early primary students, the clue is usually the color of the object. The game can be made more complex by using sizes, shapes, textures, or other ideas you may have in addition to colors.

  How to Play:

• One player chooses an object without telling the others and says, "Bumble bee, bumble bee, I see something that you don't see, and the color of it is (say the color)."

  Another rhyme you may remember is: "Riddle, riddle Marie, I see something that you don't see, and the color of it is (say the color)."

• The other players take turns guessing what the object might be.
• Players are given a yes or no response as appropriate.
• If players are having difficulty, they may be given clues.
• I'm Thinking of an Animal teaches children to think about visual characteristics and mentally classify them based on spoken clues and hints - A family favorite in our house is "I'm thinking of an Animal." This guessing game builds your child's thinking skills, memory, language skills, and ability to think about characteristics and classifications of animals. It can be played by any number of children and adults and can be adapted to teach a range of children from toddlers to primary students.
  
  How to Play:
  
  1. The object of the game is for players to guess the name of an animal using clues provided.
  2. One player silently thinks of an animal without telling other players. He then says, "I'm thinking of an animal, and it has (say one of it's characteristics)."
  3. Players take turns guessing. After each guess, if incorrect, players get another clue.
  4. The player who guesses the animal gets to make up the next animal for other players to guess. Alternately, children can take turns so each person gets a chance to choose the animal.
  5. This game can be adapted for older children by making the clues more complex. For younger children, clues should be visual concepts such as colors and size, or whether the animal has wings, scales, or fur. For older children, include abstract clues such as where the animal lives, what it eats, or its behavior.
  

Mengatasi Masalah Mengenal Abjad B dan D

Soalan:

shai: a'kumm k.g...nak tanye camne nak memudahkan murid kenal huruf..dah mcm2 care sy buat..baru sebut huruf bile d tanye tkebil2..dah masuk bln 3 huruf a x lepas lg

Jawapan:

Memandangkan saya kurang sihat hari ini, berikut adalah artikel yang saya kira boleh membantu Shai dan rakan-rakan lain untuk mengatasi masalah murid mengenal abjad b dan d. Teknik yang digunakan adalah bed poster.

Rujukan: http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/mag30.html

Studies from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development have shown that for children with difficulties learning to read, a multisensory teaching method is the most effective teaching method.

This is especially crucial for a dyslexic child. But what does it mean?

Using a multisensory teaching approach means helping a child to learn through more than one of the senses. Most teaching in schools is done using either sight or hearing (auditory sensations). The child’s sight is used in reading information, looking at diagrams or pictures, or reading what is on the teacher’s board. The sense of hearing is used in listening to what the teacher says. A dyslexic child may experience difficulties with either or both of these senses. The child’s vision may be affected by difficulties with tracking, visual processing or seeing the words become fuzzy or move around. The child’s hearing may be satisfactory on a hearing test, but auditory memory or auditory processing may be weak.

The answer is to involve the use of more of the child’s senses, especially the use of touch and movement (kinetic). This will give the child’s brain tactile and kinetic memories to hang on to, as well as the visual and auditory ones.

An example

An example will make this clear. The majority of dyslexic children experience confusion over the direction of ‘b’ and ‘d’. They can both be seen as a stick with a circle at its base. But on which side does the circle sit? A teacher might give the child a tactile (touchy/feely) experience of the letter ‘b’ by getting the child to draw the letter really large on the carpet. This will involve the child using their arms, their sense of balance, their whole body. They will remember the day their teacher had them 'writing' on the carpet with their hand making this great big shape, and can use that memory the next time they come to write the letter.

Some teachers purchase letters made out of sandpaper so that the children can run their fingers over the letter ‘b’, giving them a strong tactile memory. The thought of it sends a shiver down my spine!

Writing the letter ‘b’ in cursive handwriting on paper and with a big movement in the air puts a quite different slant on this letter. The letter starts on the line and rises to begin the down-stroke: there is nowhere else to put the circular bit but ahead of the down stroke.

Yet another way to give a strong tactile memory of ‘b’ is to make the letter out of plasticine, play-dough or clay.

A commonly used ‘trick’ to remember the direction of ‘b’ and ‘d’ is to show the child the word ‘bed’ on a card. This word begins with ‘b’ and ends with ‘d’, so that if you draw a bed over the letters, the upright part of ‘b’ will become the head of the bed, and the upright part of the ‘d’ will become the foot. You can draw a child lying on the bed to complete the picture. This gives a strong visual memory for the child to use each time the letter has to be written.

You can also show the child how to hold up their index finger on each hand, with the thumb and second finger touching, making the word ‘bed’, but without the ‘e’. If they learn to do this, they can make this shape discretely with their fingers each time they need a reminder in class.

The net result of these activities will be that a child has a visual memory from seeing the letter, an auditory memory from hearing the sound it makes, a tactile memory from writing the letter in cursive handwriting, in the air, and from touching the sandpaper letter, and a kinetic (body movement) memory from having drawn the letter really large on the carpet. Altogether a multisensory experience!

This tried and tested method has been used successfully for a long time, and its success lies in the fact that the dyslexic child is not limited to visual and auditory experiences but can make use of other areas of the brain in trying to establish clear memories of letters, words and numbers that are difficult to remember.

Lagi...

“b” “d” Confusion

We all know how common it is for children just beginning to read & write to have “b” “d” confusion. Here are a few fun activities to do with the students that will help many of them remember the difference.

Song

“A line and circle is the letter “b”.

A circle and a line is the letter d.”

(PBS, Word World, 9/14/09)

Sing the song as you write each letter on the board.

Then, students sing the song as they write the letters.

After practicing “b” and “d”, as you write the letters make the word “bed”. Explain that the “b” is like a pillow in the bed. (See the word art below of “bed”).

Word World – The PBS Cartoon

Have you ever seen the PBS cartoon, Word World? They have an episode about “b” and “d” confusion entitled, Bed Bugs. If you are able to record Word World and keep it on hand for specific lessons, it can be a fun way to supplement classroom lessons. I really wish they would offer an online archive of these episodes under specific lesson plan categories, such as “b” “d” confusion. They do have an episode about “b” “d” confusion. The characters actually made a bed (out of the letters) and sang the above song. Until an online archive of episodes is offered to teachers, recording episodes and keeping them in your classroom video library is a great idea.

They do offer online Word World Educational Games. I highly recommend saving this link for your students and using it during computer lab. Studying the games and assigning specific games depending on reading and writing assessment results can really help catapult students to the next level of learning. You could even assign specific games for homework! It may be helpful to put this link on your classroom website (if you have one).

Word Art

You can make words into art. For example, the word “cat” can actually become a cat.

Here’s some “b” & “d” word art with sketches of each one:

• dog
• bed
• bee
• bug

When I was a child, I had learned how to make the cat. So, when I saw the Word World cartoon with my daughter it brought back memories of creating “word art”.

It will be fun to see if the kids are able to come up with some of their own words, too.

Feeling the Letters – Kinesthetic Learning

Help students identify lowercase letters and learn to correctly print them with these textured tracing cards. Green dots show where to begin tracing and red dots show where to stop. Directional arrows teach correct letter formation.

Share Your Ideas

If you have an idea about teaching “b” “d” or word art, feel free to share your ideas in the comments section.

Dan lagi...

Resolving b and dConfusion

The first is a strategy forresolving confusion between the letters b and d, a very common problem among both young and disabled readers. This material has been extracted from the full Stevenson Program but can be used separately. Click here.

The Group Game

The second item, the Group Game, is an excellent strategy for making sure that all students in a reading group are paying attention even if only one is reading aloud. Again, this strategy is built into the Stevenson Program, but could be used in any class. These resources will give you a small taste of our teaching techniques. Click here.

Additional Decoding Tests for Progress Monitoring.

These tests are designed to supplement the Mastery/Management Tests. They provide additional opportunities to assess the decoding skill of your Stevenson students. Currently many schools require teachers to monitor the progress of each student frequently to determine if a particular reading intervention is working, and these easy-to-administer tests will significantly increase the frequency with which assessments can be made. They are free, but only teachers who have already acquired the Beginning Green Level or the Basic Blue Level Mastery Management Test Manual and Test Booklet are given permission to use them. They are in PDF format and can be printed and photocopied.

Different ways of making transitions fun

Transition periods are brief but very important since they often represent the moments when children lose their focus, causing the group to scatter here and there. Animating these periods can help avoid many problems. A period can be considered to be a transition only if it does not exceed 15 minutes. Any period of time longer than 15 minutes should be considered an activity. Transitions are periods of time where children must wait, with or without their caregiver if she is busy preparing the next activity.

Although we may not realize it, we spend quite a bit of time in transitions throughout the course of a day. To help you plan these periods more effectively and make them more enjoyable, here are a few suggestions.

Small piece of advice: Regularly change your material or your activities to maintain children's interest level and ensure they remain interested. Use seasons or holidays for inspiration to invent your own small games or new material. Use them only during transition periods.

A few reasons children have to wait:

• Lunch
  
• Between each activity and routine
  
• When everyone is to use the bathroom or get dressed

Here are a few tricks which will help avoid moments of despair and make sure you are ready to keep little ones occupied at all times.

1. Near areas where children are most likely to be during transition periods, display lists of activities. The cloakroom, near the bathroom, near the table... Include songs, game suggestions, and ideas of material which may be used.
   
   
2. Always have a small address book with you. List all the simple games you know. Use the first letter of the name of each game and write it in the section with the corresponding letter. Include a brief description to refresh your memory.

Animation games for transitions

• Use songs and rhymes which involve movement and gestures. Many songs encourage children to move specific parts of their body.
  
  Examples: Head, shoulders, knees and toes, The Hokie Pokie, The wheels on the bus, etc.
  These songs are already available in the educatall club.
  
  
• Invite children to mime various actions or objects with their body or their hands. You may ask them to draw something with their fingers in the air, on the floor, or on a friend's back.
  
  
• The funniest way to make waiting periods go by fast is to have a silly face contest!
  
  
• Tell the beginning of an invented story. Have children take turns continuing it.
  
  
• Sit in a circle, in silence, with your most serious faces. The first one to laugh gets hugs, kisses, and a whole lot of tickles!
  
  
• Have a conversation with the group asking them questions about this and that. Children mustn't answer "yes" or "no".
  
  
• Everyone loves to play "Simon says". Along the same lines, ask children to show you different body parts. Say, "Show me your eyes, show me your forehead, show me your hands..."
  
  
• Imitate animal sounds.
  
  
• Play the mirror game. Children must reproduce their caregiver's movements. Give children a chance to lead the game.
  
  
• Have children repeat a rhythm you create with their hands, feet, or mouth.
  
  
• Play a guessing game..."Which object is red and round in the daycare?" or "Which animal likes to eat bananas?"

Material which may be used for transitions only

Material used for transitions should never be available during other periods. Once a transition period ends, put it away immediately. Otherwise, children will no longer be as attracted by the material. They may be distracted and not pay attention.

• Print several Hunt and Seek games found in the educatall club. Laminate them, display them on the wall, floor, or table.
  
  
• Make your own picture books. Here are a few suggestions of how to make them: tape illustrations to the floor or wall or insert them in "Ziploc" bags and join them together to look like a book. You may also glue illustrations to the table for waiting periods during meals. Use seasons, holidays, and children's interests for inspiration when choosing your illustrations. Try to find illustrations which are as close to real life as possible, children will identify with them more easily.
  
  
• Place a strip of Velcro on the wall. Add a variety of objects to the strip. Children will love to manipulate them while they wait. Mismatched puzzle pieces, illustrations from broken storybooks, felt figurines...
  
  
• Hang a large sheet of paper on the wall. Attach several crayons with string or provide small bins containing objects referring to a specific season or holiday: stickers, stamps, crayons...
  
  
• Fill empty medicine bottles with colourful objects or objects which produce various sounds: pebbles, macaroni, rice, tiny bells, etc.
  
  
• Songs are great boredom busters however, in the heat of the moment our repertoire of songs is sometimes limited. Why not create your own song keychain? Choose a few pictures representing each song. Cut them out and glue them on cardboard circles. Punch a hole in each circle and join them together with a small ring. Write key words on the back of each circle to help you remember the song. A small glance at your keychain and you'll be singing away!
  
  
• Create your own tickle box. Place several items you can use to tickle little ones to keep them occupied inside. Examples: feather, tissue, scarf, cotton ball...

You have tried all these suggestions and can't think of anything new? Let children guide you. Observe them when they are playing and listen to what they have to say. You will learn a lot about their interests. Indirectly, they will tell you what kind of activities they would enjoy!

Ages & Stages: Learning to Follow Directions

0 to 2

"I Can Do That!" by Carla Poole

"Wave bye-bye, Kate!" Kate's teacher enthusiastically calls to hey as the nine-month-old leaves the center with her mom. Kate looks pensive for a moment and then smiles proudly as she shakes her dimpled arm. Kate feels good about responding to one of her first direct requests. More importantly, her expectations of the world are beginning to take root. Cooperative and satisfying interactions are an important part of her daily life.

Jacob, a lively 12-month old, is eager for his teacher to continue playing Pat-a-Cake, so he reaches over and pushes her hands back together. Feeling quite masterful, he gurgles with delight as she follows his cue and keeps on clapping. Jacob is experiencing "being heard"-a necessary precursor for following directions from others.

Starting Simple

As the junior toddler turns 18 months, her thinking skills begin to change dramatically. She understands more words and can hold onto a mental image of something even when it is out of sight. Her capacity for deferred imitation, when she remembers how an event happened in the past and purposely repeats it, is growing stronger. As a result of this mental growth spurt, she will soon be able to follow simple directions. Nineteen-month-old Julie, for example, retrieves an object from another room when her teacher asks her to. Her teacher knows not to expect Julie to fetch her coat from the hallway, however, when she's in a rush to go out. Toddlers need to assert themselves while learning to be more independent. It takes time to build partnerships that include give and take.

By 24 months, most toddlers can follow two- and three-step directions. Ellen understands when her teacher says: "Please get the doll and blanket and put them in your cubby." In reality, however, it's best to expect toddlers to respond to your request only 50% of the time at most!

Encouraging Cooperation

Thankfully, toddlers possess some characteristics that encourage cooperation, including an awareness of adult expectations: "Uh-oh!" Julie might say when she spills her juice cup. Toddlers are attracted to the grown-up world and enjoy adult approval. They seek challenges but will nevertheless shy away from doing something that seems too difficult. Sometimes what appears to be unwillingness to comply is just a toddler feeling overwhelmed by a request that is too complicated. Your tone of voice influences how toddlers respond to you. Being enthusiastic and respectful when giving directions usually works best. If an honest explanation doesn't convince Jimmy that your request is important, you may have to gently guide him through certain steps. Then express your approval of his efforts. Taking a playful approach with toddlers will help them learn that doing things with you and for you feels good.

What You Can Do

• Play simple games like How Big Is Baby? So Big! in which a one-year-old lifts her arms up. Such activities help Baby to begin connecting words with actions-the first step toward following directions.
• Give positive feedback. Instead of always saying "No! "-the most common directive that he hears-be sure to let a toddler know what he can do.
• Make directions meaningful. When you ask a toddler to help wash vegetables or set the table for lunch, it allows her to make meaningful contributions to the group-and this will boost her self-esteem.

3 to 4

Learning by Doing by Susan A. Miller, EdD

"Anna, please put your crayons in the box. Then put the box away on the art shelf." Anna's teacher speaks directly to her and makes her directions clear and easy for the three-year-old to understand. As a result, Anna responds by happily putting her materials away. Like Anna, most three-year-olds have no trouble following a two-part direction.

By age three, preschoolers have a receptive or understood vocabulary of a little over 1,000 words, to which they add at least 50 more words each month. But children this age are still learning how to listen and pay attention to what they hear. After Keith's teacher announces to the three-year-old group, "Get your coats and line up at the door," she is surprised when she sees Keith standing at the door-without his coat! Because Keith was not focused when she first started speaking, he didn't hear or understand the complete direction. All he heard was, "Line up at the door," which is exactly what he did!

Offering Choices

Threes respond best to simple choices rather than what they perceive as being commands. Scott likes it when Mrs. Keyes asks him, "Do you want to put the blocks on the cart or place the toy trucks in their garage?" Malin enjoys making a decision when her friend Tess wants to know, "Can you diaper our baby, or are you going to fry the pancakes for the daddy?"

Fours can respond to three-part directions if they are delivered in the proper sequence. Jamal yells excitedly to his firefighter friend Owen: "Quick! Grab a hose, put out the fire, and rescue the dog from the house!" Easily able to follow these instructions, four-year-old Owen eagerly seeks approval from his friend and teacher. "Look what I did! I saved the dog!"

Watching and Doing

Some preschoolers are considered to be "field sensitive." They need directions and like to be told exactly how to do something. For example, Andrea asks: "How do I make Liza a birthday card?" She is happy when her teacher demonstrates how to fold the paper while verbally explaining each step. After observing another friend fold her card, Andrea finally feels comfortable trying it on her own.

Other young children may be more "field independent." Carlos is thrilled when he sees small paper bags, yarn, paper scraps, scissors, and glue on the table. "Puppets," he says excitedly. "I can make lions and tigers for the jungle!" Then he sits down and immediately begins to glue some yarn. Field-independent Carlos doesn't need or want directions as he jumps right into activities and explores things his way.

Preschoolers' individual learning styles also influence how they receive, understand, and follow directions. Analytic children enjoy having directions broken down into small parts step-by-step; global learners need to see or understand the whole picture. A child who learns best visually says, "Let me see how to do it," while the auditory child says, "Tell me the way to do it," and the tactile child states, "Let me do it."

It's important to give children directions that relate to their learning styles and involve open-ended questions and two-way communication.

What You Can Do

• Give positive, concrete suggestions. Let children know what to do rather than telling them what not to do. For example, instead of directing, "Don't run," state, "Walk."
• Make sure directions are easy to understand. Repeat them slowly or rephrase them in new ways. Remove distractions such as background noise so children can focus their listening skills.
• Model good listening skills. Spend time with individual children tuning in to what they have to say and talking about their ideas. Good listening is crucial to processing and following directions.
• Share control. Ask children to help think of different ways to clean up or make transitions. They might come up with creative and unique directions for unexciting but necessary tasks.
• Make following directions fun. Play games like Giant Steps to sharpen listening skills. Make transitions to new activities interesting by galloping like horses or picking up Legos with lobster claws.
• Share books with predictable sequences. Stories like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (HarperCollins, 1985; paper: HarperTrophy, 1997) can help children learn to anticipate the next suggestion in a sequence.

5 to 6

Practice, Practice, Practice! by Ellen Booth Church

"Can you touch your nose, stick out your tongue, and turn around?" Ever playful Debbie is getting her friends to try different funny movements while they wait for the bus. As her teacher observes this spontaneous interplay, she notices the children who can do all three parts of Debbie's direction and those who get stuck on the first or second action. She notices, too, that some children can follow the directions after repeat tries. Best yet, they are all laughing and having fun-always good ingredients when learning new skills.

One Stop at a Time

Have you ever tried to sub your head and pat your stomach at the same time? That feeling of frustration that many of us get is akin to the experience young children have when they are learning to listen to, understand, and follow directions. It's almost as though there's a short circuit in the process that keeps them from absorbing all the information.

Happily, just like the Head-and-Stomach game, it is a skill that can be learned through conscious step-by-step practice. (Some children learn best through repetition.) And for fives and sixes, practicing steps for a new skill is fun. Children this age have learned the value of listening in life and are becoming good at it-even though it might not appear that way at times!

Learning to Listen

Gideon is calling over the immense block building he is creating with his friend Joya, who is looking slightly puzzled. "Didn't you hear what I just said?" Gideon asks. "Put the top block to the right of the cylinder and above the arch."

Listening is the core ingredient in a child's ability to follow directions. However there are many parts to the listening process. In this situation, Joya not only has to hear what is being said (auditory acuity and perception), she also has to understand the meaning of the sounds and words (auditory comprehension) and interpret them into a sequence of events she must then actuate. When looked at in this detail, it's no wonder that we have such a hard time getting children to follow our directions!

First Things First

"Don't forget to park the wagon after you pick up the toys and close the gate!" the teacher says to Matthew-who responds with a quizzical look. What do I do first? he wonders. Even though fives and sixes have developed a more sophisticated vocabulary and expanded listening skills, they still need to have the steps of a direction stated in a natural order. We cannot assume that children can transpose a direction into chronological order.

One way to be sure that children understand a direction is to ask them to recite the steps back to you in order. This not only helps them to hear the direction again, but it utilizes the skill of speaking to reinforce the process of listening and doing.

What You Can Do

• Give directions in context. Directions are more meaningful when they're given while a child is trying to accomplish a task or learn a new skill. Offer instructions when he's climbing across a horizontal ladder or learning a new dance step.
• Draw your directions. Instructions can be delivered visually as well as verbally. Create simple picture recipes by illustrating the steps for making butter or peanut butter "play dough" and have children follow them.
• Offer movement games. Silly activities such as clothing relay games, clean-up time assembly lines, or silly songs with movements, such as "This Old Man," can make following directions fun. So can other movement games like Simon Says, Follow the Leader, and the ever popular Twister. Invite children to make up their own games using their suggestions for directions and rules.

Source: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3745711

Best Time of Day to Learn

Aug 5, 2006 Barbara Pytel

Dunn and Dunn research has found the best time of day for learning. The results are surprising. Prime time for learning in our population is not 8:30-3:30 p.m.

Dunn and Dunn has learned that optimal times for learning fall into four categories.

• 30% of the population learn best in the morning hours. These people are the ones that wake up and are ready to absorb new information.
• 30% of the population learns best in the afternoon. They come to life after lunch.
• 30% of the population learns best in the evening. We refer to them as "night owls."
• 10% show no preference. They seem to learn whenever it is necessary to learn.

So, in the morning there is a possibility of 40% of the students at their peak. In the afternoon, 40%. That leaves a possibility of 40% of students learning best when school is no longer in session. So, the long standing opinion that reading and math must be taught in the morning may not be valid.

Student Energy vs. Teacher Energy

Dunn and Dunn also learned that student energy is highest right after lunch. Good to know. However, teacher energy is lowest after lunch. This combination results in active students with tired teachers. Statistics show that discipline problems are the greatest immediately after lunch.

As students learn which time is best for them, they can utilize that time for optimal gain. Students that know they are night owls, may do the bulk of homework at that time. Afternoon students should probably study when they get home from school. Morning students are the ones that can get up an hour early and review information one more time before a test.

Source: http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/best_time_of_day_to_learn