#Kinderchat Archive
#Kinderchat, glue, glitter, gogurt, bringing daily joy to twitter. Find us Mondays, 9 pm EST and 8:30PM London time when we talk all things Early Years!
Monday March 21, 2016
Hello ! Introduce yourself, and what you're watching on TV currently. Binge watching is in full force for Spring Break for some.
Christine from southern Alberta and enjoying Better Call Saul
My Twitterz seems to be running a bit slow tonight, so sorry for any delayed response.
Eliza, K-2 Health and Phys Ed teacher from NJ. Deep into the latest season House of Cards!
Amy here, also in Alberta. Am hooked on The Family, and spring break will feature a lot of X-Files, I think.
I just started Schitt's Creek. It's pretty funny!
We love that show! So great to see Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara together!
Liane from Abby, BC, Canada here! Watching Netflix right now. Needed some happy, so watching The Lego movie then X-Files :)
I also have about half a season of Once Upon a Time to catch up on.
I think Eugene Levy's son is funnier than him though.
Is The Family the one about the missing boy who comes back years later?
I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow similar to Scully season 5 :) I love rewatching X-Files.
YES AND IT IS SOOOOO GOOD.
He's kinda my fave too. I love Alexis though.
I saw the first one and then missed the new one! It looks creepy good.
Hello from chilly windy northern Saskatchewan criminal minds is my tv addiction, just finished Schitts Creek during our break
Tonight's chat is about pre-printing skills, but we are going to start with a question about your beliefs regarding printing...
I am a kindergarten teacher from WV. Not much TV watching my son play baseball
Faige from Ls Angeles. Sad to say good bye to Downton Abby but hooked on Madam Secretary.
Too bad all the pre-service teachers aren't here tonight - our chat is about something we didn't cover in University...
I am a University South Dakota Student studying elementary education. I am just waiting for some great information.
I have to catch up on CM. I need to be in a good head space to watch the latest ones with Derek!
I'm just a few episodes in!
Watch Mr. Selfridge and it'll help with your Downton hangover.
used to love Criminal Minds but it's gotten to creepy scary for me. Actors are wonderful in it.
I LOVE that show but ALWAYS forget when it's on! I need it to be on Netflix!
I agree Criminal Minds is creepier than it used to be.
Q1: Do you believe students should be able to print letters before coming to K? Why or why not?
Lordy. SO MANY IMPORTANT TEACHER THINGS are not covered in university!
A1: At my priv schl, we like students to be able to print their own names before K, but don't expect other letters.
A1. I believe it's important to print their name. It shows them letters have meaning, what's unique about their name. Connection
A1 Love it when they can write and read their own names, but if they don't know all 52 letters, that's okay
A1 it's nice if they can, but not necessary. I do appreciate them coming with some experience with pencils, markers, crayons
Music to my ears. Yay Alberta! https://t.co/TiqYmkkfGl
A1 Love it when they can write and read their own names, but if they don't know all 52 letters, that's okay
I agree with that before K they should be able to write their own names, but they should not have to know all the letters
A1-I think if the child is able and ready to be printing before Kindergarten then they should be given opportunity to print.
A1. Printing names a bonus but no have toos https://t.co/kXpngDcKra
Q1: Do you believe students should be able to print letters before coming to K? Why or why not?
I am more interested in their drawing abilities than in printing abilities, prior to K.
A1: No. Not unless they are developmentally ready for it. I find many littles need more fine motor development first.
A1. It is very helpful to come to K with some printing skills, but not necessary
A1- but some students are not developmentally ready for it and that is ok too.
I will admit that I have become more interested in pencil grip since I started teaching K
A1:I find many can tell me the letters in their name, but are unsure of letter formation.
Lordy. We could/should do a whole separate chat on pencil grip!
From working at a preschool, I see that many kids know the letters in their name, but not many other letters
agree! esp when you may have young 5 year olds w/Sept Oct bdays
Who knew?! As a G1 teacher for 100 years, I sure didn't know all about this!
Those "pencil grips" a bane to this kinder teacher So hard to change
Being on this chat makes me very excited to become a teacher. Never even thought about pencil grip
I have third graders struggling with pencil grip!
I'd like that.I have constant internal debate over pencil grip.I honestly don't know where I stand
How do you have your students hold their pencil?
Ok, folks, I will table "pencil grip" for its own special future chat!
Or my Dec 31 babies :) that are just not developmentally ready.
Learned a TON of stuff from a great OT one year. She helped me understand so much
Q2: What does core strength have to do with printing?
Cutting skills are a big one for me. A lot of kids have never used scissors before school.
This sounds tricky. Strong core means you can lift those giant pencils easily - kidding!
I am with you Liane. I don't know where I stand on pencil grip. My own isn't proper
A1: Kids cannot control small muscles effectively if they cannot hold their trunk stable. Monkey bars before pencils!
Cool. I look forward to that chat.
I DO tend to be snarky. 😉 No trick question here though.
Does anyone look at crossing the midline in drawing and printing readiness?
OTs are wonderful for helping with pencil grip and strengthening printing muscles
Just feeling punchy! Hanging and swinging from monkey bars builds core and arm strength!
Glad I'm not the only one. Even after all these years, I'm still conflicted.
Yes! Midline is always a must for me!
As my dear OT friend says all the time: Large motor before fine motor before visual-motor.
I have a quad grip. My fave OT had a horrendous grip. We figured it out
We are getting there Faige! 😄 You're a few intersections ahead of us...
Once again: We will discuss pencil grip in a future chat, I promise. Let's give our full attn tonight!
And go roll down some hills, climb trees, and dig in the mud! https://t.co/fbBitjjPjX
A1: Kids cannot control small muscles effectively if they cannot hold their trunk stable. Monkey bars before pencils!
the OT I work with doesn't limit to only one style of grip being ok
We do not have access to OTs anymore, I believe.
A2 as a Kinesiology major I know first hand that core strength and gross motor control is a must before fine motor skills
That core is like rays of sunshine. Strengthen foundation before reaching out
I'm not picky about pencil grip. However the student feels comfortable writing is how we roll!
Kids need to have core before printing letters.
Some colleagues don't understand why I basically have an "almost everything goes" philosophy on the playground. A: pre-printing.
we only get access after filling out 20 p referral & parental consent, come 2x/yr
How might we develop core skills more?
Autocorrect hates me tonight. Keeps saying "kinder chat" or "kinder hat" as the hashtag. Ergo
Kids need core strength to sit in a chair, never mind sit in chair while controlling arm to control fingers to control pencil
Oh my word. Ergh. Not ergo. (Silently beats head against wall)
Speaking of giant pencils...I have found that my students with fie motor skill issues, the shorter the pencil the better.
hmmm that is a really great question. I am not sure.
And we wonder why writing skills are the hardest to teach?
Any ideas on how to strengthen core?
I have a friend who does yoga with her K's to help with core and balance.
In phys ed we work on it daily Quadruped, superman exercises.. not just playing games in there
This sounds like a great idea. Yoga would really get their cores going.
We crab walk, seal walk, and Superman ourselves a lot!
That also founds like a fun activity instead of playing some game.
The scooters in the gym are good for core building, and hula hoops!
Monkey bars. Crab walking. Rolling down hills. Rough & tumble play. Swings. Rock climbing.
I am thinking of using the swings too!
Q3: Name a "must not miss" activity teachers should plan for their students to build their core strength.
All these ideas you are giving me, makes me excited to become a teacher.
I haven't tried it yet, but I will one day! I need a kid friendly yoga video :)
Swinging, superman, push up hold, quadruped, plank, yoga all great core work
I've watched kids sit in chairs, sit on the floor & flop over. Think we need 2strengthen core by gross motor activities
AMEN!!! https://t.co/c92dKaESNM
Monkey bars. Crab walking. Rolling down hills. Rough & tumble play. Swings. Rock climbing.
I always used golf pencils in k - just the right size & no erasers!
We have some exercise ball chairs, great for core, never thought about that helping with printing.
I really do love crab walking! And scooters in the gym really work your core!
have you tried Cosmic Yoga? My ss love it.
A3: Rolling down hills. Many of my Kinders still choose that activity in outdoor exploration time.
A3: I ask my students to try standing up or sitting down without using their hands. Great mini way to squeeze it in!
We love scooter games!! get on one of those and you feel the burn in your whole center!
Q3: Jumping jacks, pushups.. etc. All kinds of fun things to get kids going in the morning.
Scholastics also has some great resources.
when we do have "work", I tell the kids to work where they feel most comfy. Many choose the floor or to stand.
A3 a Climbing one hand over other. Balancing on ant walking board. Running. Joyful play
I've had a little push-back around yoga, so we call it stretching
A3: Yoga sounds the most fun to me to do in the morning!
Ni! Thanks for the suggestion!
I love rolling down hills, totally embarrassed my kids at Mt. Robson park!
Oh no! I bet they will always remember their teacher rolling down a hill haha. Sounds fun!
A3 crab walking is a fun and funny way to build core strength although scooter games are a close 2nd
I saw a great post on Scooter art that I cannot wait to try with this class! I'll try post video :)
I've heard many stories of teachers calling it stretching.
That CD changed my life when I had THE CLASS OF ALL YELLING ALL THE TIME.
My students were SHOCKED when rolled down the hill! I was so dizzy after though!
Q4: What is motor planning and why is it important to our discussion about PRINTING?
That is a high recommendation then!!
you had the class I have now?!?!
I still laugh about them. It was so far beyond ridiculous, I had to surrender and laugh.
yeah, I get a lot dizzied now too, have to be careful, & now that the hill is icy NO ONE CAN ROLL DOWN!
A4: Motor planning affects everything that requires movement.
A4 Motor planning is about sequencing and starting and stopping things. Like writing letters.
BE CAREFUL!! No more slipping!!
A4: Kids learn how to do something in steps, just like when they learn how to print
deep belly breathing is great as well. can be done in the class and also help increase focus
A4:I've not heard the term motor planning before.
A4: Motor planning is about visualizing and following a trajectory. Which is pretty much what we do when we print letters.
You know THAT KID, who always walks right thru the middle of 2 ppl talking? Poor motor planning.
Or THAT kid who thinks she can fit in the 2 inch space between the chair and the wall? Poor motor planning.
Totally agree with both of those things.
I had a student at the beg. of tyear that was having lot of trouble printing , his mom started doing Handwriting w/out tears.
Motor planning is exactly what he had trouble with, has gotten so much better
A4 some of my third graders still struggle with this, especially when writing longer pieces, sentence wave like foothills
HWT is a very successful program all K programs use in our school board. I highly recommend it!
Hi just stopping by for the end of the chart.
PoorMotorPlanningKid also bumps the edge of every table he walks by.
A4 It's all about a child's development...lot of fine motor skills activities to help... https://t.co/Afm2EA20Rm
Q4: What is motor planning and why is it important to our discussion about PRINTING?
A4 First we plan then we practice and we hope at one point it becomes 2nd nature.
Use HWT on recommendation from OT. I DO NOT like programs but can live with HWT as it is sensible & takes10 mins
Q5: What kind of evidence should teachers look for when assessing pre-printing skills?
Hope to catch up on tweets later. Thanks and
A4 motor planning includes laying out the steps of a mvmt steps proper spatial awareness
It's important they've mastered motor planning with gross motor skills before moving on to fine motor.
Ahhhh. Thank you. I just called that "I'm 5 and the centre of the universe".
A5: Teachers should look for the capability of how many letters a child can write and if they are written the right way.
This is something parents did on their own with him. Never had tried but from his results would recommend .
It's now the majority of my October and November in K. I love it lots.
goodnight, Faige, enjoy your week
A4 Motor planning involves laying of the steps of a mvmt and proper spatial awareness to complete it
Think pre-printing. What comes BEFORE making letters?
I gave pieces of that program but would love to chat with you one day about it.
We all have days when we are THAT kid...
There are definitely some things we can assess BEFORE printing letters though. What are they?
Mrs. Olsen, former OT, developed the program. We use it in our school from K-3. Cursive too.
Teaching the kids the alphabet before they even print the letters
A5: A big one for me is representational drawing. Can child planfully draw in a way that represents real objects/people.
Agreed! https://t.co/tfjJ0pXwoG
It's important they've mastered motor planning with gross motor skills before moving on to fine motor.
I have made a LOT of my own activities. IMO wooden pieces, chalkboards & cards are all you need.
A5 How do drawings look - spidery lines or heavy lines?
A5: pencil grip and control, fine motor skills such as lacing cards or stringing beads. Knowledge of what a letter is
Even before they can read the letters, there's a few tasks they need to be able to master beforehand.
I love seeing how my students r printing now compared to beginning of year! such a great part of K. Seeing such progress!
A5: I look at their playdoh/clay skills for one. Can they roll, pinch, shape, squeeze the dough?
A5: Drawings show pencil control & fine motor dev, but also capacity for symbolic thought - critical for understanding letters
I love having kids play with play-doh. It is fun for them but also a learning experience.
Yes, because many children think their names are drawings and can't see the abstraction in our alphabet
A5: I look to see if they can draw diagonal lines, squares, and triangles. If you can't do a triangle, you can't write "A"!
just curious , our county lost our Spring Break due to snow days. Anyone else in the same boat?
No snow days here. Ever. Ever. Ever.
I look at their overall ability to scribble and to copy basic lines/shapes along with representational drawings
Have had two in over 25 years of teaching! And we live in Canada!
A5 After we assess gross motor, we look at fine motor skills, pinch, squeeze, digit manipulations https://t.co/1aTkBYdiJj
A5: I look at their playdoh/clay skills for one. Can they roll, pinch, shape, squeeze the dough?
And those same 2 were in my entire 40 years of life in this province.
We add our days into the end.
A5: yes, lots of drawing to see if they are still at the scribbles or if they can represent. I do directed drawing too.
I use the Handwriting Without Tears printing skills assessment. Goes through develop’l phases of shape formation.
A5: Students should also be able to construct letters with a variety of material before picking up that pencil.
Hilarious to think that someone in Virginia is having snow days! I'm sorry!
Again, I say: AMEN!! https://t.co/saM70Z617R
A5: Students should also be able to construct letters with a variety of material before picking up that pencil.
We've closed school for floods though!
I live in South Dakota and the schools around here have a lot of snow days! They add them on at the end of the year
directed drawing is great! I used to worry it would stifle creativity, but it actually supports it
I do guided drawing too and I was worried it was lame. It has helped with drawing and shapes!
Thanks for coming out to tonight! Keep in mind all the scaffolding we need to do BEFORE grabbing that pencil & paper.
I think kids like having tools to draw things well!
Also in SD! I know of one district that has build in snow days.
Hard to move buses in 15 inches in those rural areas
I feel better about my drawings and lots of the kids do as well!
Over & out, friends. Remember: no chat next week due to official spring break. See you in 2 wks!
and confidence! So many kids saying, "I can draw!!"
Have a great couple of weeks, everyone!
One of my favourite pre-writing moments was when a K took the big blocks out and made the alphabet with them with NO PROMPTING!
