Question by ml: New preschool teacher looking for tips for teaching twos?
I am starting a new job as a teacher in the two-year-old classroom at a small preschool. I'm looking for tips from other early educators: do's and don't's, favorite activities/stories/games/songs for this age group, things I should be asking the director/other teachers during my first week, things you wish you had done differently or had known sooner, favorite teacher resources -- any other tips or advice. Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by Jen
I taught the two's last year. Here are things I discovered in the first month or two that I had not anticipated-
1. They don't know what it means to be in "school", or a "class". They think they are visiting you at your house, and they will go home soon. After a week or two of still coming, many of them really started to act up. They wanted it (school) to stop. It took months for them to realize that being in a class meant that they were in a group of people.
2. They don't understand what a "teacher" is, or that you are in authority. They get up and walk away when they feel like it, they don't do what you tell them to.
3. It gets very physical in that you constantly have to physically show them what to do. They do what you do. If you get out the play-dough, they want to play with play-dough. Don't sit in a teacher's chair to read a book. Sit on the rug, just like you want them to do, or you will lose them all to another area of the classroom. Many days I went home with aches and pains from crouching, sitting on tiny kid sized chairs, or having kids crawl all over me.
4. You are teaching the parents as much as you are teaching the kids. For many of the parents, it's their first time leaving their child with a non-relative. You have to gently tell them things- "I'll hold him so you can leave now", etc. I tried to make it very easy on my parents by having a short list of "Things to Do" at the bottom of each parent letter. I kept the list short and used few words, so they could remember it.
5. For September, I had thought I would do Apples and the Color Red. They barely understood apple. Doing colors didn't happen until March or April. I brought in an apple a few times a week, and would cut off tiny pieces so they could taste it. I had 2 or 3 simple books about how apples grew on a tree. That was it for the whole month. It wasn't that I didn't want to do more- it was just that was all they could handle. For October I did pumpkins. They liked that, but I had to add "Farm" to the theme so I didn't lose my mind. On November first (after Halloween), I was able to go to a pumpkin patch and purchase some small pumpkins for really cheap. We painted them with tempera paints. They looked terrible, but the kids liked it.
6. Everything you do in class will be the "first time" for them. You give them paint and a paintbrush, and they don't know what to do. Do you eat it? Do you color your hand? You have to show them every little thing. After Christmas break, though, it improves substantially.
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