All Things CLASS

 I try to give praise to each student everyday for somethingthey are proud of accomplisging. I make it a priority every morning to go to each child, look them in the eye and tell them I'm glad they're here and give a hug. I want each student to feel comfortable in the class knowing they can share feelings and feel loved and accepted. 

I work in the infant room and when I am with them I try to give each of them their own time with me and I enjoy rocking them to sleep and making them feel safe and loved every day

Hi, one thing we always try to do in my SpEd Pre-K class before the student begins, we send home a flower on their first walk through. Their family then covers the flower with pictures of them, their animals, grandparents, anything or anyone they might miss from home. On the back of the flower they write what some of their favorite things to do together as a family, so when they come in for their first day they have the flower in their backpacks for us to get out together, discuss with them who is on their flower, and some of the favorite things listed on the back. All before we go and put the flower in our Family Garden, where all our other flowers are so any student at any time is able to go and look at their family whenever they miss them.

I love this. We do an all about me page and show and tell in our first two weeks. We also have a family board. The kids love to see their family picture and show their family to their peers.

The strategies I use to connect with my prek students is one on one time. This is because with a child being in a new environment and not knowing anyone with their parents and guardians leaving them it can definitely leave the child confused. Also with most children it takes time for them to realize that their parents will be coming back for them. That one on one with a child helps a lot because that's the start of a bond with you and them. They're starting to learn who you are as well as your learning them. With some children it does take a little longer to get comfortable in their environment because sometimes being with their parents is all the know. Some kids didn't go to day care, they've always been with people they know.

We also do a staggered start with our VPK program. Ours is for two weeks, with 3 to 4 groups. Emotions are very high at the beginning of the year. This a great time to build trust and have that one on one time with each of these children.  This is also the perfect time to set standards and get the children familiar with the schedule and the procedures.

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Laniece Tosh
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This is my second year working in a VPK room and I like to engage with all student by playing with them during center time. We start the year with a staggered start, so it is easier to get one on one time with each child. They pick their center and I make my rounds playing with them and talking about the center they chose and then we talk about things they like to do at home and their family. I also talk about my family and things I like. I give them a compliment about something positive that happened that day and let them know that I am so happy to have them in the class. 

I try to compliment the kids when we start the day. Anything from what they are wearing, their hair, a new cup, etc. I want them to know that I notice something that they too can see physically. This helps them, I think to take pride in themselves.

The first few weeks are very important so I like to make sure we do a lot of one on one as well as getting to know each other , we take this time to tell our peers about us maybe who's in our family or maybe what's our favorite foods. We like to do a worksheet all about me and that's one on one so we can ask each child what they like what they don't and what are some things they look forward to learning this year.