written by Lead Teacher Demita Hill What is Pre-literacy? I am taking a literacy course at Penn and recently read an interesting article about pre-literacy skills for infants and toddlers. It took me back to my childhood when my mom used to read to me. Parents and caregivers lay the foundation for...

Taking on a Picky Eater In the Wild Things classroom, children’s eating habits are always a reccurring conversation teachers are having with parents. It seems that we have a lot of picky eaters in our classroom. One day a child will eat all of their lunch, the next day that same child will decide...

On a recent afternoon, when the after schoolers arrived, they immediately noticed that there was something new in the Stucco Building. Next to the computers sat a large cube shaped piece of equipment that none of the children recognized. Conversations started flowing about what it could possibly be...

Dr. Seuss on the Loose! It all began with Green Eggs and Ham! The Grasshoppers have just wrapped up a lively study focusing on the prolific author Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Seuss Geisel. We dove into developing literacy skills as we devoured title after title of the 40+ books written by Dr. Seuss. It...

written by Fatimah Mitchell Study of Space The Starfish are interested in space! After talking together about being able to speed off in a rocket ship, our minds have gone a mile a minute in anticipation to learn even more. Many of our young friends are familiar with Earth. We discussed the special...

The Fireflies recently completed a food drive for Philabundance. While their collection ended, their learning had only just begun. The children's interest in collecting food for those in need gave the teachers an opportunity to explore other ways we express kindness. They read books together about...

After School Engineers Engineering projects of all kinds are a popular pastime in the After School Center. From bridge-building with Legos and K-nex to constructing large sculptures and edifices with cardboard and reused (nontoxic) construction items, from tunnel digging with sticks and bricks to...

Follow Their Lead One of the most important things we do in the Roadrunners classroom is follow our children’s lead. For a child, having an interested and loving adult listen closely to what they are thinking about is so important. As a child sees that an adult values them and their ideas...

Toilet Learning When Ready No matter what we might try, toilet learning only begins when a child is ready. But, how do we know when they are ready? Children will let us know when they are ready by having a dry diaper longer, telling us they are wet or have had a bowel movement, and expressing a...

So Much Sound The Caterpillars loved the study of sound!! Together we explored all types of sounds. We talked about different sounds, what sounds animals make, and what sounds we hear in our environment. On our daily walks we enjoyed stepping on leaves, listening as trucks drove by, and we...