guidance plan lr

8/8/2019 Guidance Plan LR

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Guidance PlanLydia Rose

PAL 2600

July 9, 2010


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Physical Environment

Center and Description Materials Included

Art- this center includes atable and chairs, a two-sided

easel that includes a dryingrack below the easel, and

storage space for art

materials. It is located near

the sinks to allow for easy

clean up and gets plenty of

light from the windows.

~ 2 sides Easel with drying rack

~ smocks

~paint and brushes

~safety scissors

~construction paperall colors including a variety of

sizes

~glue and glue sticks

~tape

~stapler

~a variety of collage materials including, but not

limited to: sequins, feathers, paper scraps, yarn,

googly eyes, buttons, pipe cleaners, pre-cut shapes,colored pasta

~play-dough and play dough toolscookie cutters,

rolling pins, cutting tools

~crayons

~markers

~pencilscolored and regular

~magazines for cutting

~stamps and ink

Blocks- This center has alarge rug on the floor with

roads, streams, and a town.

The center has storage

shelves on 3 sides to allow the

children easy access to blocks

storage and the shelves are

clearly marked with pictures

of where each type of block

and toy goes to help children

learn sorting skills. I allowed

a lot of space for my block

center because this is a

popular center and to allow

for large buildings.

~Wooden Blocks in many sizes and shapes

~Cardboard Blocks

~Foam Blocks

~Cars and trucks

~A variety of animals and peoplefarm animals, jungle

animals, dinosaursthese can be rotated to prevent

the children from getting bored with them.

~parking garage

~farm house~hard hats

~construction vehicles


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Dramatic Play-This area isanother large center to allow

for several children to play

together and to allow for

different types of play.

There is a large colorful rug

on the floor and pictures of

the childrens families hung on

the walls just like they would

find in their own homes. This

center has windows in it so

the children can look outside

just like they would in a real

house.

~stove

~sink

~refrigerator

~baby bed

~doll high chair

~doll stroller

~washer and dryer~table and chairs

~couch

~comfy chair

~pots and pans

~plates, bowls, cutlery, place mats, tables cloth and

other items to set the table with

~aprons

~hot pads~variety of clothes-community helper outfits, fancy

clothes, fantasy items, shoes, hats

~baby dolls

~stuffed animals

~fake food

~boxes and other containers from home for children

to use in the kitchen

**This center will also be changed up to include things

like camping, grocery store, doctors office, as well asseasonally appropriate items.

Reading/Literacy-Thiscenter has a very large run on

the floor. There are a couple

large pillows on the floor to

allow the children to curl up

with a good book.

~books that correlate to what the children are

interested in and what we are discussing and learning

about. Rotating the books at least twice a month to

make sure there are a variety of books available.

~flannel board and pieces

~various literacy activities

~puppet theater and puppets~pillows

~bookshelf


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Cozy Area-This area isadjacent to the

reading/literacy area. It

includes a cube that has round

openings on 3 sides and

contains pillows so a child can

really get away from others if

needed. Outside of the cube

there are a few books or

other activities the child in

this area can do alone if they

need alone time.

~cozy cube

~pillows

~books

~other quiet activity such as puzzles or other

manipulative activity.

Manipulatives- this centeris adjacent to tables and

shelves. This allows thechildren to choose what they

would like to use and bring it

to the table independently

and clean up after themselves

easily.

~a wide variety of manipulatives that get rotated

regularly including, but not limited to the following

things: color cubes, linking cubes, pattern blocks,legos, kid kinex, puzzles, peg boards, stringing beads,

lacing cards, Lincoln logs, nuts and bolts, linking

people, etc.

~table and chairs

~clear storage bins clearly marked for each type of

manipulative

~storage shelves

Computers-This area islocated adjacent to thereading/literacy area. There

are 2 computer stations and

they all have limited,

protected internet access.

~tables and chairs for computers~computers

~age appropriate software such as kid pix, living

books, or other learning software.

Sand/Water-This area isnear the art area and the

sinks to allow for children towash hands before and after

playing in this area.

~1 table for water play or other wet activities

~1 table for sand or other dry sensory activities such

as rice, coffee or other beans, pasta

~toys appropriate for and water

~smocks

~bins to store toy in under the water and sand tables


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Writing- This area allowsfor the children to write or

draw to express themselves.

~table and chairs

~a variety of paper

~a variety of writing materials including crayons,

pencils, and markers

~alphabet stamps and ink

~samples of things written out such as their names or

other common words

Science-This center islocated in front of the

windows to allow for maximum

natural light for plants

growing in this center

~small table and chairs

~fish and aquarium

~plants

~insect toys

~science related puzzles

~magnifying glasses

~color paddles

~ant farm~sea shells, pinecones, rocks, and other natural

objects

~binoculars

~thermometers

~kaleidoscopes

~magnets

~safety goggles

~balance

Music and Movement-This center is large enough

for children to move and

participate in gross motor

activities.

~CD/tape recorder/Boom Box

~CDs

~scarves

~musical instruments

~bean bag toss game

~hula hoops

~various other gross motor activities rotated

throughout the year


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Wood Working ~ Wood working table high enough to be the correctheight for the children to stand and work

~pieces of wood in various types and sizes

~screwdrivers

~screws

~hammers

~nails~hard hats

~tool belts

~drills

**all tools are child sized**

Entryway/Cubbies-Thisarea is where the parents

and children come in the

morning and sign in.

~Cubbies

~parent sign in sheet

~journals between parents and children

~parent information bulletin board~lunch choice board

**All centers**All centers will contain writing

materials and books related

to that area.

B. Description of atmosphere- Our room has many windows and we attempt to

use as much natural lighting as possible. In addition to natural lighting we use minimal

overhead lighting. We try to keep music playing as much of the time as possible in our

classroom. Early in the morning when the children are arriving, it is upbeat music to help

get everyone moving, during rest time it is more soothing music, and in the afternoon it

is more upbeat. The children can bring in music to share as well. We have several plantsthroughout our classroom. The walls are covered with the childrens art and pictures of

the children. In dramatic play there are pictures of the children and their families on

the wall like you might see in their own homes. In the other areas of the classroom

there are pictures of the children and things they have done at school. The walls are

painted in a soft soothing green color to give a peaceful feeling. I am trying to get away


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from brightly colored furnishing and decorations in this classroom to create a soothing

environment.

C. Daily Schedule Considerations-

7:30-8:40~ Greeting/Arrival/Breakfast/Free Choice Time~ During this time the

children arrive with their parents, get signed in, wash their hands, make their lunchchoices, eat breakfast if they want it, and have free choice of centers when they are

finished with breakfast. I also try to allow for contact talks during this time.

8:40-9:00~ Group/Literacy Time~ This is a whole group activity time. This includes

morning greeting, checking the weather, calendar related activities, a discussion of

activities for the rest of the day, and may include reading books, finger plays, singing,

flannel board stories, or other teacher directed activities. During this time the teacher

will also allow the children to do some planning for the rest of the day, ex. Giving them a

choice of different things to discuss during group time later in the day, or what they

might like to try to create during free choice time in the art centerthese will be

choices the teacher comes up with, but the children will vote on their preference.

9:00-10:00~ Outside time~ As long as the weather is permitting we will be outside

during this time. If the weather does not permit due to extreme heat or cold or

precipitation we will do music and movement activities inside and extend free choice

time.

10:00-10:15 Hand washing/Bathroom/Water/Books~ Once the children have gone to

the bathroom if they need to and gotten water, they may choose a book to look at until

the others are finished.

10:15-10:30~ Group Time~ During this time we have our discussion of what we are

studying that week or day, this is the topic the children decided on in the earlier group

time. This usually includes studying a letter or number of the childrens choice as well.

This time is a combination of discussion, reading books, singing, finger plays, movement

activities, and other teacher directed activities.

10:30-11:30 Free Choice Center time~ During this time the children can choose from

the following centers: art, blocks, dramatic play, reading, music and movement,

manipulatives, computers, sand, water, writing, science, and wood working.


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11:30-11:45~ Clean up/ Bathroom/ Hand Washing~ During this time one teacher is

monitoring the children in the bathroom and the other is monitoring clean up and doing

some songs or other simple activities with the children who are finished with clean up

and the bathroom while they wait to go to lunch.

11:45-12:30~ Lunch

12:30-12:45 ~Story Time/Bathroom~This helps the children settle down before Rest

time and allows for children who need it to go to the bathroom while the others hear a

story.

12:45-2:00~Rest Time~ During this time children are on cots in the classroom. If they

do not sleep they are allowed to choose a quiet activity to do on their cots while the

other children sleep.

2:00-2:30~ Getting up/Hand washing/Bathroom/Snack

2:30-3:30~ Free Choice Center Time~During this time the children can choose from

the following centers: art, blocks, dramatic play, reading, music and movement,

manipulatives, computers, sand, water, writing, science, and wood working.

3:30-3:45~Clean Up/Preparing to go home~ Cleaning up the area they were playing in

and packing their back packs to go home so if parent come to get them while we areoutside everything is ready to go home.

3:45-5:30~ Outside Time~ If the weather does not permit us to go outside during this

time, then we have more free choice time and do some music and movement activities

inside our classroom.

5:30~ Dismissal

***Please note that the children have access to the bathroom at any timethroughout the day if they ask, the times noted on the schedule are just

reminders for those who need it.

D. Description of plan to include children in keeping the space

beautiful~ By arranging the classroom with lots of storage at the childrens level


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and close to the areas they may be working in this encourages the children to

keep their areas neat and clean. By including pictures of the children throughout

the classroom and allowing the children to have choices of activities and other

things in the classroom, children will begin to feel some ownership of the

classroom. By fostering a feeling of ownership in the classroom, the children will

take the initiative to help keep it beautiful. Also establishing set routines helps

the children understand what is expected of them at what times throughout the

day.

E.-Teacher Strategies for sending the message to children that

they are safe and valued in the classroom and outdoor spaces-By

encouraging children when they attempt to try something new, we encourage them

to explore their environment. There will be open-ended activities that encourage

the children to feel free to create and investigate their environment. They will

also be allowed to voice their opinions on things and make choices throughout the

day. This helps them to feel like their opinion is valued and important. By

listening to the children and encouraging them it helps foster a feeling of safety

and security so they can freely explore, create, and investigate their environment.It is also important for the teacher to be involved in exploring, crating, and

investigating the environment to model appropriate behaviors for the children.

This means getting down and playing with them, creating with them, and getting

dirty with them. When you do these things on their level it helps to establish a

stronger relationship with the children and they feel more comfortable as well.

Leadership Communication With a Group

A. Guidelines-To establish the guidelines for our classroom I want to make

sure to include the childrens input on what they feel like some of our guidelines

should be. Once the children have been in school for a few days with a few basic

classroom rules I intend to have a class meeting to talk with the kids about the

things they feel are important guidelines for out classroom behavior. I will make


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additional suggestions of guidelines I feel are appropriate if they do not mention

them. Once we have created a list of them, I will allow the children to pick the 4

or 5 that are the most important positive behaviors to focus on. We can later ad

to the list or subtract from it if needed. These guidelines for behavior will be

modeled by classroom teachers and discussed with the children as needed.

B. Logical Consequences-Logical consequences mean that to a child if there

is a consequence for their action it must make sense based on the action. For

example if a child is throwing a block and the teacher has already spoken to them

about why that is inappropriate or suggested other uses for the block and the

child does it again, a logical consequence would be to have the child leave the block

area for a period of time, not miss outside time. This will be used in my classroom

so the children will remember the outcome of a situation better and think twicebefore they do it again.

C. Encouragement or Praise-I think that both encouragement and praise

are important for children to hear. I will strive to use more encouragement to

help foster a positive sense of support for the children. This encourages them to

try new things and explore the world around them more comfortably. That

doesnt mean that I will not praise them for a job well done because I feel thatthey need to hear praise as well, but if they are not encouraged to try new things

and explore they will not learn as much.

D. Inclusive Discussions and Class Meetings-I will use both class

meetings and inclusive discussions. I plan on using class meetings to make sure

that what we are studying is what they are interested in by allowing them some

say in what I plan for them to learn about. I will present them with options based

on their interests and let them pick the things they are most interested in. I will

also use class meetings as a time when the children are allowed to share things

about home or what they did over the weekend, what they want to do over a break

from school, and everyone will be encouraged to share something, but not forced.

Inclusive discussions will be used as a time for working out problems or


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differences that come up in our classroom. During an inclusive discussion I will

encourage everyone to voice their opinion on the situation.

Individual Leadership Communication

A. Contact Talks-By having contact talks with each child one on one,

once or twice a week, this helps establish a clear line of communication

between the children and me. It also shows them I respect them

enough to hear what they have to say and builds on our relationship at

the same time. By doing this regularly it teaches them that if they

have a problem they will be able to come to me with it and that I will

listen and do what I can to help them with their problem.

B. Friendly Humor- I will use friendly humor to help diffuse potentially

problematic situations before they escalate. This will also help to

establish our relationships by showing them that I can be silly and have

fun with them as well as being serious.

C. Listening Strategies- By getting on a childs eye level, it shows them

that I respect them and want to be their equal. Looking them in the

eye when I am talking to them lets them know that I am listening to

what they are saying and that what they are saying is important. This

helps to reassure them that I care about them and I value them and

their opinion. I will also use follow up questions to get more information

about what the child is talking with me about. This shows that I was

listening to what they were saying and am interested in learning more

about it. These listening strategies help foster a mutually respectful

relationship with the children.

D. Greetings-By greeting the children when they arrive in the morning in a

positive and upbeat manner, it shows that I am happy they are at school that


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morning. The enthusiastic tone of my voice helps them feel welcome and

encouraged to be positive about being at school. Smiling at the children show

them that I am friendly toward them and encourages them to interact with me.

These greetings help to continue to establish mutually respectful relationships

between the children and myself or other teachers.

E. Friendly Touch- By using friendly touch, hugging, or patting a child on the

back, I help to establish a bond between the child and myself. This also helps to

let the children know that I care about them and want to be close to them. This

helps build mutually respectful relationships by building on the sense of trust the

children have when then know that they can come to me when they need a gentle

reassuring touch of some sort weather it is a hug, a high five, or a pat on the I

Conflict Management

A. Teacher Guidelines for using conflict management-The teachers in my

classroom should remain calm when using conflict management to encourage the

children to remain calm. It is critical that we listen to all sides of a conflict so

that everyone involved has a voice in the conflict. As teachers we must also try

not to take over a situation or conflict so that they children learn how to resolve

conflicts on their own.

B.Peace Props-In my classroom I will establish an area for sitting down and using

the peace bear to help resolve conflicts. By having the children sit down face to

face, they are encouraged to see how the other child is reacting to the conflict as

well as observing how they are feeling. By using a peace bear and only allowing the

child with the bear to talk, it encourages them to take turns and really listen to

each other as well as having something soft to hang on to when they are upset.

C.Five Finger Formula- In using the five finger formula I will calm the children

down by asking them to join me in sitting down with our peace bear and this will

give them a moment to step away from where the conflict occurred and take a

moment to calm down and refocus. Then I will let each child have a turn with the

peace bear to state what the problem is for them, then restate the problem


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myself to establish that we all agree what the problem is. Then I will allow the

children to take turns passing the peace bear and giving their suggestions on how

to resolve the conflict. Once the children have stated all their suggestions on

how to resolve the conflict, I will allow them to discuss the solutions they have

come up with in hopes of allowing them to reach one solution that they agree on to

resolve the conflict. After they have agreed on a solution I will facilitate the

solution to the conflict if needed. Hopefully the children will be able to facilitate

the solution on their own once they have talked about the conflict and possible

solutions.

D. Teaching conflict management skills- By having the teachers model

appropriate conflict management techniques the children will be able to observe

and learn how to resolve conflicts on their own. It is also important to usereflective listening skills to help children learn how to resolve conflicts. The

teachers must also learn when to intervene and when not to intervene in conflict

resolution. By encouraging children to use the peace props we facilitate the

children learning the necessary skill of taking turns and listening to both sides of

a conflict to help them resolve conflict on their own. These methods will help

teach the children the appropriate skills to resolve conflicts without teacher

intervention.

E. Levels of mediation-

Low level mediation will be used when the children are capable of working

together to use my suggestions and negotiate a solution together.

High level mediation will be used when I have to intervene and suggest

solutions and monitor the facilitation of the solutions to resolve the conflict aswell. This occurs when the children involved in the conflict are not willing or able

to work together to facilitate a solution for their problems.

Child negotiation is the desired conflict management style in my classroom.

This is where the children are able to resolve a conflict with no teacher

involvement. By allowing the children to come up with solutions based on your


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suggestions early on, hopefully children will see my modeled behavior of conflict

resolutions and begin to work together to solve their conflicts.

Description and Strategies Related to Interventions

A. When to Intervene- I feel like it is important to intervene as little as

possible so the children learn the necessary skills to resolve conflicts on their

own. However, when a child is putting themselves or others in danger, it is

necessary to intervene. It is also necessary to intervene when the situation is

deteriorating because the children do not appear to be able to resolve the

situation on their own. When a child is disruptive to all of those around them and

this behavior continues I feel it is also necessary to intervene.

B. Intervention Strategies:

Be direct with the children-describe the problem as you see it so they

understand why you are intervening, let them know that this situation is upsetting

to you, let them know what they can do instead of what they have done,.

Commanding a Choice-Depending on what level the crisis is, allowing the

children to make appropriate choices to help resolve the conflict.

Calming and Teaching-This is used when the conflict has escalated and the

children need to calm down before the conflict can be resolved. This is where the

teacher will have the children involved come sit with them to separate them from

the situation long enough to get themselves together and calm down. Then the

teacher can begin the process of resolving the situation.

C. Brevity- It is important that interventions be short. This prevents a situation

from becoming an even larger problem in the childrens mind, it also help then

refocus on other more positive things and not dwell on conflicts in their day.

Brief interventions are also necessary because children move on to other things

quickly and have short attention spans so if the intervention gets dragged out too

long they have already lost focus and moved on to something totally different.


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D. Non-verbal strategies- The way the teacher interacts with the children

involved in the conflict says a lot to the children. The teacher needs to get down

on their level and make eye contact with them. This helps the children know that

the teacher is engaged and listening to them when they speak. It is also

important that the teachers facial expressions remain neutral so the children

dont feel like the teacher is taking sides.

E. Child Reporting- I feel that child reporting does have its place in a classroom

as long as the children learn some guidelines for what they report. It can be

helpful to have a few extra pairs of eyes and ears in the classroom as long as they

are telling you the important things such as if someone is hurt, hurting someone

else, in danger of getting hurt, or in danger of hurting someone else.

F. Intervention Follow Up- I dont believe in forced apologies. To follow up

with an intervention with the children I think it is important to ask them what

they could do to make the other child involved feel better rather than making

them apologize if they do not feel like they need to. I think it is also important to

monitor the situation to make sure that it doesnt occur again and let the children

know that you are proud of how they resolved the conflict and worked out a

solution.

G. Reflective Listening-By using reflective listening it shows the children that

you understand the problem because you are restating it back to them. This helps

them to understand that you want to help them resolve whatever the conflict may

be and that you value their thoughts and feelings. It also helps the children to

understand each others point of view if you can get them to restate what the

other child said about how they are feeling or what occurred.

H. Including Childrens Ideas-By including childrens ideas in conflict

resolution they begin to take ownership of the situation. It helps to foster their

sense of self-esteem when they realize that their ideas are important. They also

realize that the teacher is listening to them when you help them to implement the

solution that they came up with to a conflict.


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I. Reconciliation- It is important that children reconcile after a conflict to

make sure that their feelings have all been worked out. We want to make sure

that a child doesnt hold a grudge about something that happened once they have

come to a solution to the conflict. This can be done by having the children

suggest ways they could make the other one feel better. This is also something

that cant be forced. If a child isnt ready to reconcile with the other child

involved in a conflict, the situation needs to be monitored and revisited in a little

while. The child may need more time to cool down or may just not be ready to

forgive the other child just yet. Either way it is important to come back to these

children later in the day to try to reconcile the situation then.

J. Building Cooperation with families- Cooperation with the families is critical

for maintaining positive relationships with the children in my classroom. This can

be done in many ways. Having a board in the classroom where there are notes

about what the children have been doing that day so the parents can read it when

they pick up their children helps parents feel involved even when they are not

there. Having a journal that both the teachers and the parents can write and

problems, concerns, or positive things in is a great way to build cooperation with

families. By greeting parents in the morning warmly and talking with them briefly

it fosters a positive relationship between parents and teachers, so that parents

feel comfortable discussing things with the teachers if and when they do arrive at

home or in the classroom. This cooperation between the families and teachers is

critical because what happens at home directly affect what goes on at school and

the same is true the other way around that what happens at school can directly

affect what happens at home. By having cooperation between home and school the

lines of communication are open and families and teachers can be on the same

page with the things going on with the children.

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