ECE Solutionary Membership Resources for Month 7
This month, I've hand-picked solutions from the categories of quality indicators, professional development, and self-regulation. Each solution is provided to help you go deeper into the "how" behind helping children thrive in school and in life.
Click here to download this month's at-a-glance handout
As always, each solution includes a brief description and hyperlink to a PDF, YouTube video, blog post, podcast, and/or website. For those who end up feeling like the solution was TL;DR (too long; didn't read), I provide an at-a-glance tip you can put into action immediately. Each tip is signified by a purple hashtag (#prektip).
Self-Regulation Solutions
This podcast describes three common situations where we might find ourselves struggling to determine children’s wants vs. needs. [link]- recorded by me
Want even more? Check out this handout with six guiding questions to determine if a child needs something or “just wants” something [pdf]
#prektip: The younger the child, and the more they are exposed to early childhood stressors, the more likely a child’s response is a need vs. a want (click here to tweet this!)
This Power Pack provides directions for what, when, where, what to teach with, and how to teach young children using a tiered instructional approach with the book “Bad Day Go Away”. [link]- developed by me and Dr. Jennifer Grisham-Brown (book written by Sarah Canter- you can purchase it here)
#prektip: Tier instruction by identifying common outcomes for all children and then targeted and/or individualized outcomes related to the common outcome for those children who need it (click here to tweet this!)
This blog describes how to make a Coping Skills Toolbox to help children (or adults) learn to regulate their emotions in the face of anger, impulsiveness, self-destructive behavior, anxiety, or distress. [link]- written by Judith Belmont
#prektip: A Coping Skills Toolbox supports emotional regulation. Get a cheap or used shoebox and fill it with objects that serve to distract or self-soothe, especially items that are personally meaningful to the user (click here to tweet this!)
This audio recording describes tips and strategies for addressing a situation in which a child with autism is eating all the time. [link]- discussion with Barbara Avila and me on the Synergy Autism Podcast (Podcast Episode 8)
#prektip: You don’t always have to make the challenging behavior the issue you address first- sometimes you can use it to engage the child in a more positive behavior (click here to tweet this!)
This video details what the Kindness Curriculum is and how to use it [link]- published by the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison
#prektip: Research shows kindness and mindfulness activities support improved focus, self-regulation, and prosocial behavior in young children (click here to tweet this!)
This short blog links to an article that describes the benefits of Positive Descriptive Acknowledgement (PDA) as well as how to implement it [link]- written by Laura Fish
#prektip: A paradigm shift is needed: see the child behind the behaviors and work to teach rather than punish (click here to tweet this!)
Professional Development Solutions
This free verse poem is based on an article from Young Children along with information from a Pre-K Teach & Play blog on assessment. [link]- poem written by Amy Nalesnik and blog written by me
Want even more? Check out this shareable version of the Early Literacy Moments poem [pdf]
#prektip: Don’t focus on deficits, but rather, their strengths- creativity, comprehension, and attention lengths (click here to tweet this!)
This blog details how the 8-0 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District clarified that under IDEA an IEP, together with the services and supports it outlines, must do more than offer minimal benefit. It further describes what this means for those who write and implement IEPs [link]- written by Ashley Lyons
Consider sharing this blog as a required reading in a college course you teach, a professional development workshop or session you offer, or at a team meeting- it can be used as a discussion prompt to explore how to strengthen IEP development and implementation.
#prektip: To ensure appropriate services and supports are identified in the IEP and implemented during the academic or calendar year, be sure to seek the expertise of the rest of the team (including families) and to share your own with others (click here to tweet this!)
Quality Indicator Solutions
This blog post highlights ten (10) valuable, evidence-based, and life-changing essential things you can do to ensure children are “ready” for Kindergarten. [link]- written by me
Want even more? Check out this shareable 10 K-Readiness Essentials visual [pdf] or this audio recording [link] where I provide a bit of a backstory and unpack the 10 essentials.
#prektip: Intentional teaching is the “how” that supports the “what” (click here to tweet this!)