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Kids Love Art!

One of the things that I have discovered that children really love and that is …Art! In fact, in my childcare center, the most popular center is the Art Center.

At the Art Center, children can be creative with the paint and all the other materials that are provided. Moreover, providing children with a variety of art materials, encourages children to be creative and it also allows them to express their feelings.

Furthermore, art is a great form of therapy for kids. In fact, I strongly believe that this is why behavior therapist use art to discover what is going on inside of a child’s mind.

Check out some of the open-ended Creations that I have discovered at my childcare center.

 

Drawn by a School-Age Child

In fact, art in my facility is strictly open- ended and we focus on the process not the end product. More over, art is an everyday experience in my childcare center and the art experiences includes free choice opportunities for children to do the following:

  • Paint
  • Cut paper
  • Color with crayons or colored pencils
  • Draw pictures
  • Glue/Paste
  • Exploring play doh or modeling clay
  • Experimenting with scraps of materials

I want to challenge you to visit the art center/area in your program. Observe the materials that that are provided to  encourage the children to be creative, because Kids love Art!

Need ideas for organizing an Art Center? Check out the photos below:

 

 

 

What has been your observation of children and Art in your program? What would a child find in your art center/areas? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Kids Love to be,

Where they can be Creative;

Art Encourages Creativity!

Shiketa Morgan

Category:

Child Care Center, Curriculum, Family Child Care

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Kids Love Singing Songs

When parents walk into your childcare business, they are listening to what is going on. One of the most joy-able sounds to hear in a childcare program is the sound of children singing. In fact, I have not seen one child yet that does not like to sing.

Singing songs seem to bring a spirit of cooperation in a classroom or in your home, relaxes everyone, including you and it is great to do throughout the day.

One of the things that I have discovered about singing songs is the simple fact that you can get kids to cooperate better when you are singing songs. Today I am going to share with you how you can incorporate more songs into your program, because after all….Kids love a place where they can sing!

Moreover, when the kids are happy…the parents are happy too!

Singing Songs during Transition Times

Transition times can be chaotic. In fact, anytime that you make a change throughout the day, it interrupts the kids play and some kids may even resist the change. However, incorporating songs as kids transition from activity to another is a great way to add some joy to your transition time.

Before you or your staff tell children to clean-up, it is a great idea to give children a five-minute warning. Ex, You all have five more minutes to play and then we are going to clean-up to go outdoors, prepare for lunch, read a story, set-up cots, go potty, etc. Giving a warning, prepares the child for the change and it gives them enough time finish up their play/projects.

Here are three song ideas for busy times of the day:

1. During hand washing time.  “ This is the way we wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands, this is the way we wash our hands….. all day long.” Repeat it as many times as the child desires.

2. Singing as the kids are waiting to eat lunch. ” I smell lunch, I smell lunch, um um good, um um good.  I can smell the (name food)  I can smell the (name food) then have the kids to rub their tummies as they say, um um good. Repeat the songs until all food is named and served.

3. Transitioning to line-up. We’re going out to play, we’re going out to play, hi ho the Derry-o, we’re going out to play..hey! Repeat the song, as children line-up and begin to march outside.

This is was just a few songs that I have sung with children in my childcare program to make transition time much smoother and to assure that children have an enjoyable experience while they are in my program. In fact, many of the songs, I simply make-up as I go and the kids, seem to catch on as I song the song with them.

I hope that you are  inspired to incorporate more songs into your program. If I were to walk in your program, what songs will I hear? Feel free to share the songs that the kids in your program love to sing and what you think about the songs in this post.

Check out this Website that is full of children songs: http://www.theteachersguide.com/ChildrensSongs.htm

Thanks for Creating a Child Care Business that kids Love!

Shiketa

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Category:

Child Care Center, Curriculum, Family Child Care, Home Daycare, Lesson Planning, Music, preschool

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