What's the secret today? A Strategy from Hope Dillon

I have borrowed an idea from Sesame Street for my preschool classroom. Instead of "What's the Word on the Street?"' or the "Letter of the Day", we have a "What's the secret today?" I have a file folder with this title on my door, folded part on top. When the children come in, they lift up the file folder flap to see what's posted. It may be a letter, a color, a simple drawing (mitten, cup), shape, number, or word (melt, stretch, wonderful). What's posted is something that we will be talking about during the day. For instance, I put the number 3 for Monday's secret because we will be reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The secret serves as an anticipatory set, a way to get parents involved and sometimes a quick way to assess knowledge. The parents are often just as excited to see what the new "secret" is that day.

Thanks, Sesame Street, for starting a fun tradition in our classroom!

A New Spin On A Favorite Song... or two... or more

Sesame Street has long been on the cutting edge for children's television. Weren't they really the first when it comes to educational television? They are well researched and continue to be the longest running children's series. They also seem to have continued their cutting edge trends. You can find other famous people you enjoy teaching standards-required content to our littlest people on their site.

One thing Sesame Street is doing that we didn't have a chance to showcase in the ASSET Stakeholder Meeting Friday were the podcasts they are producing now. Take a moment to explore how you can subscribe to the RSS feed or download these free through iTunes!


Word on the Street

These podcasts are just one way we as adults can turn any time in to learning time with the children we love in our lives. It is a great way to engage our digital natives and put great learning content into their hands using the fun technology tools they love.

I'll leave you with "Don't Know Why" by Nora Jones, enjoying a moment with Elmo. Please remember to contact the ASSET Professional Development Team for workshops on these kinds of resources and embedding them in classrooms and in-home care. We would love a chance to work with you (anywhere throughout the state!).