Today during my classrooms morning activities, I worked on extending my conversations intentionally! While building with blocks and playing with cars, I sat and fully immersed myself in their play. I first learned that my kids want to engage in the toys more when an adult is around for them to also engage with. I practiced a lot of making statements like "I noticed you stacked 4 blocks together." Rather than asking questions which is what I normally do. It opened up the conversation between my students and I as I wasn't just asking question after question with one word replies. Overall, adding myself into conversations and keeping them flowing made me feel like I was building better relationships with my students. I also noticed how my students then seemed more confident in creating/continuing those conversations with their peers!

@Lisa Fabian-Owen I found at the bottom of each lesson there is a resource guide posted that has all the information covered in the slides!

When I look at the dramatic play area/kitchen, I think this is an area that can be improved! Each item definitely serves a purpose, if not multiple. However, I feel that we sometimes include too many items for the children to access independently. We often include multiple toys that fit the theme of the area. But sometimes I think us having so many items to play with leads to "chaos". The space sometimes seems to overwhelm some of the students as there are too many options to choose from. I think removing a couple items will allow the space to feel less overwhelming and bring the energy of that space to a more calm energy. I also love the idea of switching out what items are there. We switch out themes currently every month. I can see that changing some items in there weekly or every two weeks might spark more interest in the play area! I believe these small differences can make a big difference in the classroom and learning experiences!

In the classroom I am in, I think we could change how our library is set up. Currently our library area is connected to one of our rugs for play. Because these two areas are connected, the children often can get confused on what their behavior should look like in each area. I think if we separated these two areas, maybe with a self or other sort of visual barrier, it will be easier for my students to understand what the expectations are in each area! Loved this weeks video, I definitely will be taking more into consideration and be more intentional how how the classroom gets arranged with the start of the new school year coming up!

In the classroom I am in, I frequently notice that we loose the attention of our kids when transitioning from snack time to outside. We have tried incorporating music/songs during this transition period but it does not always stick. I would like to try doing music and movement during this transition to see if it will gain more attention of the kids. I want to try a music/movement activity that focuses on what items they have on (socks, shoes ,etc.) a what other items they still need to put on like their backpacks for example. I also think trying a chant to something us teachers would already say would be good alternative to try a well!

@Amber Kresl that is a great idea! A visual would definitely help them with remembering what all they need. Maybe putting a visual in each child cubbie might be helpful!

Transitions are definitely something I struggled with in the classroom. I think my biggest need is to have consistency when it comes to transitions. I love the mystery box idea! Any new ways to get the children's attention is always welcome. I also loved what someone else mentioned of doing movement songs. I think these would be amazing in the classroom for my kiddos to get their attention but having to focus on multiple parts (singing and moving their body). These will definitely make a difference after snack before we go outside! Excited to try out these new ideas!

@Julie Nelson love what you said about making sure you as the teacher have planned enough time for transitions. I totally agree that when we aren't stressed it makes it easier to allow for time to transition!