Lovely Preschool Teachers Podcast

Making Preschool Assessments Engaging   Episode Summary Oh, assessments and data collection.... such a necessary evil for preschool teachers all over the globe. While assessments and evaluation give us teachers the information we need to construct lessons and small groups, they aren't always very much fun for students. I mean lets be honest... there aren't too many kids out there that li...

Do This, Not That - Assessment Edition   Episode Summary Ever feel a little tightness in your chest at the thought of assessments? Giving the assessments is time consuming, collecting data can be messy and using the results is easier said than done. It all can get pretty overwhelming, pretty quickly. So, in this episode I want to share some do’s and don’ts that I may have learned the hard way...

9 Of Our Favorite Spring Activities   Episode Summary Hello Spring! The thought of getting out of the winter slump and into some longer, warmer days is always welcomed when Spring comes. And with Spring comes time to plan some of my favorite preschool spring activities! Want to see what spring themed activities make the cut? That's what this episode of the Lovely Preschool Teachers...

What are Play Schemes and Why are they Important? Episode Summary Have you heard of play schemes before? If you’ve ever wondered why young children play certain ways and repeat those actions over and over again - play schemes might be the culprit. Understanding play schemes not only helps us understand the development of our young children, but it also helps us see why some of those behaviors...

Level Up Your Preschool Science Center   Episode Summary Is planning and changing out your preschool science center hard for you? Do you struggle to find activities and materials that children can use both independently and keep them engaged? If so, then this episode is for you! For many, many years my science center was kinda blah. There weren't many materials to put in the center and c...

Tips for Teaching Name Writing   Episode Summary Helping children to learn to write their names is one of the biggest topics I see questions on. Early Educators want to make sure our students are prepared to enter Kindergarten knowing how to write their name, because let's face it - many kindergarten classrooms don't work on that skill much anymore. And while I am not a firm believer that pre...

Things To Do Before Teaching Name Writing    Episode Summary Teaching children to write their names is such a rewarding process. But, sometimes... we, as teachers, get excited. Too excited. We jump right in to teaching our 3 and 4 year olds how to write their name.   We mean well, but... by jumping right in to name writing, we are making the assumption that the little fing...

A Circle Time Plan for Preschool   Episode Summary If you find circle time to be a challenge to manage and are starting to wonder why you even keep doing it... I'm here to help! Join me as I discuss the problems that can arise during circle time, the plans I use to keep circle time new and exciting for my preschoolers, and the skills that can be added to circle time! Topics Discussed: The Pro...

Process Art Vs. Crafts in Preschool   Episode Summary “Every child is born creative. The challenge is to keep that creativity alive.” That is quote from Kristina Webb. Pretty true right?! Sometimes without intent, our schooling systems try to put that creativity into a box by focusing heavily on product-art, rather than process-art. Topics Discussed: What is Process Art? Why Process Art...

5 Winter Fine Motor Activities Episode Summary With the rise in technology use with our preschoolers, a lot of educators are noting the lack of fine motor skills coming into the classroom.  So, many teachers are looking for new and fun ways to get those fine motor muscles working so that students can be successful when working on writing and large cutting tasks. On today's episode I'd love to...

Supercharge Your Preschool Circle Time Episode Summary Do you struggle when it comes to circle time engagement? Got little rollie pollies on the rug who don't stay engaged for long? Yep, I did too. So, many little bodies and so much movement! Join me, Ashley, as I talk you through what I did to keep the circle time routine...without making it so, well, routine!!  Topics Discuss...

Why Every Preschooler Needs to be Playing Cooperative Games   Episode Summary Game play and young children can be SO much fun! But, if you have some children who struggle with the winning and losing aspect of a game - a cooperative game is just what you need! But, don’t get me wrong - playing cooperative games is important for ALL our little learners. Find out why in this episode of the...

The Back from Break Struggles   Episode Summary The 'Back from Holiday Break' struggles are REAL - am I right? To be honest I kinda dread it each year. Am I super excited to see those faces I've missed over break? Yes. Do I want to go back and have to re-teach procedures and expectations? No, not particularly.   But....truth is, after several weeks off from school, sometim...

Free Play + Playful Learning = Engaged Centers Episode Summary Creating centers that draw children in and keep them engaged - as well as help them learn important skills isn’t as easy as it sounds.  > Do you spend WAY too much time searching and scrolling for fresh new center ideas? > Feel like if you added one more thing to do onto your plate that your brain might turn to mush? > Go...

Benefits of Free Choice Play   Episode Summary Are you a free-choice centers classroom or do you run assigned centers? If you are running assigned centers in your classroom you might be wondering what the big appeal is to allow free choice. After all, free choice can get more chaotic and loud. Not to mention that all children may not visit all centers, so how can you be sure they are lea...

How to Teach Social Emotional Skills   Episode Summary In this episode, learn how I teach social emotional skills in a whole group approach. Adding in a whole group social emotional lesson to my week was actually quite game changing, in ways I didn't suspect. Topics Discussed: Benefits of teaching social emotional skills in a whole group Components of a social emotional lesson The lesson...

Which Social Emotional Skills to Teach Episode Summary Have you ever wondered... which social emotional skills should I be guiding and teaching my preschoolers? The basic ones are pretty obvious - we don't want them to hurt others, we want them to name their emotions and communicate their needs... but what other skills could we be teaching? Topics Discussed: When and in what setting to teach socia...

Why You Should be Teaching Social Emotional Skills Episode Summary I have tried every behavior management system known to man. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. But, I've tried a ton and chances are ... if you've been in the teaching world for a while, you've tried a lot of them too. But, here is the thing.... We want children to do the right thing because they know it's the right thing to do....

STEM and Preschoolers- The WHY   Episode Summary Do you do STEM Challenges with your preschoolers? Some wonder if STEM is too complicated for young children… But, when it comes down to it- STEM promotes out of the box thinking - which we want even our youngest of children to be able to do. In this episode, join host Ashley Rives as she walks you through why you should consider incor...

10 Ways to Boost Attention Spans   Episode Summary Have you ever been here…. you get out a floor puzzle for a child that requests it and as you and the child are working together to assemble the puzzle, the child abruptly leaves, moving onto to something else. The child lost interest in putting together the puzzle, their attention was up! It happens quite often in preschool classrooms because...

Leveling Up your Centers with Tray Tasking Episode Summary Tray Tasking -have you heard of it? Trust me when I tell you - it’s not as fancy as it sounds, but it does hold some magic when paired with centers! While others may do it differently, for me - tray tasking is placing an activity on a tray and placing it in the corresponding center. Sounds simple, right? That is because...

Should Preschoolers be doing Worksheets? Episode Summary Putting the words preschooler and worksheet in the same sentence can sometimes bring up some big feelings from educators. It seems that there are many views on the worksheets or no worksheets stance in preschool. Some educators think they are helpful, some use worksheets sparingly and some use no worksheets at all. In this episode join host...

Simple Ways to Build Positive Student Connections     Episode Summary When you think back to your time in school, what stands out to you? You may say a certain class or a certain subject, but many times it comes back to a teacher (or more than one!). A teacher who saw you, made you feel special or taught you in a unique way. Teachers are generally what we remember most when we think...

A Simple Classroom Management Trick that Works Every Time!   Episode Summary: Putting lots of young children who are new to the school setting in a room can be a challenge. It isn’t called herding cats for nothing! We have lots of directions to give to keep our classrooms running smoothly. And listening and immediately following directions isn’t always easy for young learners. Topics Dis...

What Play-Based Learning Means in a Preschool Classroom Episode Summary Have you ever wondered… what exactly is play-based learning? Most would say that play-based learning is children learning through playing. But, when you really stop and think about it and dig a little deeper, we start to question… well, which activities are considered play-based learning and how does play-based learning relate...