As an early childhood professional I think we all ask ourselves: what do children really need at school?  What do children really want at school?  Some would argue with need and want, saying they can’t be the same thing, but really they are the same thing. As I was teaching and saw different teaching styles and the way classrooms were ran, I learned a lot about what I wanted and needed to do because of what my students needed and wanted:

Children need/want:

In this article we will reflect on popular interest areas and or centers in the early childhood classroom.  It is important to do this, because often times teachers are accused of only having children play.  We must ensure that parents understand that play is a child’s vehicle for learning.   I had documentation ready for each center that included: what the center...

When you walk into an early childhood classroom what do you expect to see?  Teachers, administrators, staff and educational expects probably expect to see something different than parents, children or community members.  Teachers are usually taught in school what is appropriate and needed, to have a warm, welcoming and appropriate environment for each age level.  Therefore, hours of thought are put into how their classroom will be set up and ran.   1. There is the HOW to set...

When I started teaching I knew centers were an important part of an early childhood classroom.  I knew we learned about them in college and I had seen them set up in different environments that I had observed in. I didn’t fully understand centers and why they were important until the second week of school my very first year.

To be honest, the centers in my classroom my first year, that first...