Spice things up!

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Home : 2004 : November : 16

Spice things up!
By JAP

I run a mixed age preschool and have for many years. I give you lots of credit for noticing the changes in your children. Children love routine, they need to have it in order to feel safe and secure, however, just like
going to work everyday things do get a little "boring". At first everything is new and exciting and now it is routine, now couple that with the beginning of a stressful time of year for most households. Many children think they may "miss" something happening at home if they are at school. I know that may sound a little silly but believe me it effects 3's more than anyone. To overcome

this I try and make school extra exciting. We plan things together like our Thanksiving feast. The kids get to pick any food item they want to bring to share with the class and we set it up like a buffet for them to serve themselves at the feast. They feel very big putting things on their plate and I always am amazed at how much more they actually eat! One of the great things about preschoolers is that they follow your lead. Get excited and keep building on it. We have been reading books about the first Thanksgiving, Indians & pilgrims. We made placemats and centerpieces for our feast. Each child is going to bring in a piece of fruit to cut up in class (with plastic knives) for a fruit salad....if the kids think they are going to be missing something at school and that is better than anything going on at home, they are usually more willing to stay. I tell my parents to let the child know that they will be "just cleaning the house" or "going to work" while the child is at school. The tears may not go away entirely, but certainly don't last as long when they have something special to look forward to. Hope this helps....FYI After Christmas it gets worse Plan for it!!!