Recycle
Most elementary school children are quite interested in natural science and the environment.  Be sure that book study is backed up with real life activities.  Bring old newspapers to school, stack them up three feet high, and explain that this many papers equals one mature tree.  Show them that it takes 3 glasses of water to wash a glass which held one glass of drinking water.  Have them pick up litter on the playground and make a "protest collage" with it for the school hall way.  When children draw pictures, have them use both sides of a sheet of paper.  You and the kids can brainstorm and think of many more examples.

3D Junk Sculpture
A good problem solving activity that is also an "art" experience is making "3D junk creations". Collect some good junk, like small plastic cups and lids, paper and cardboard tubes, golf tees, spools, pipe cleaners, drink decorations, plastic packaging, twisties, small paper plates...just about anything in your junk drawer. Let children use a strong plastic tray or plate as a base. Then they can use masking tape to attach junk and build up and outward with it from the base. It will take on a life of its own and look something like a Dr. Seuss illustration. After a suitable time to admire the creation, just take it apart and keep the junk collage items in a bag for another day.

Noisy Workbenches
Why do we believe that children's workbenches should not become dented scratched up and marred.  Any workbench that is truly used will soon look like that.  And since this is true, why not cover the children's workbenches with scrap or remnant carpet...the kind that has a rubber backing.  If you place a piece of carpet under the workbench to absorb the sound, and if you glue carpet to the top surface, you will no longer have noisy workbenches.  Both children and adults will be calmer when the noise has been reduced, and workbench learning through play will be better

Games in the Classroom
Many games help children practice thinking skills.  For example, Scrabble teaches vocabulary and spelling, and Yahtzee and PayDay teach math skills and money management.  Set up a nook in the schoolroom where children who have finished their class work can go to play these games quietly.   The traditional choice of reading books when you work is done is great, but reading does not give children the extra practice in math skills that many of them need.

Healthy Goldfish
Many teachers know that it would enhance the classroom to have plants and fish, but they are afraid the fish will die.  The secret to healthy fish that live for years in the classroom is to keep things simple!  Get plain old goldfish in a bowl, not tropical fish.  Do not overfeed the fish.   MOST important, do not use soap or cleanser of any kind on the glass bowl when you change the fish water.  Let clean water sit out in another pot or bowl (overnight if it is treated water)to reach room temperature.   When you change the water, put the goldfish in the other pot or bowl.  Dump the fish bowl water out carefully and rinse the fishbowl several times.  If you use stones, rinse them too, but not perfectly.  Goldfish need some of the organisms that were in the "old" water.  Last, put both the water and the fish from the pot or bowl into the not-perfectly-clean fish bowl.  

Helpers
One way that children learn to be helpful members of a group is through "helper" jobs in the classroom.  It is best to have many simple jobs, and make a "Helper Chart" showing pictures or actual photos of the chores.  Under each job picture there should be a place to put the child's name.   The names can be printed on tag board cards with velcro for attachment, or they can be attached with masking tape loops or in any other manner.  In addition to jobs like watering plants, feeding animals, leading the group outdoors, signaling the end of free play time, several jobs can be created by having children check each of the learning centers for orderliness after clean up time.  Rotate helpers so that every child gets a fair number of turns.

Classroom Gardens
In states where winter lasts too long and the spring growing season is short, many preschool and early elementary children have no chance to plant a garden and harvest it before summer vacation.  Find a parent who has a small wooden sandbox or plastic swimming pool that the children have outgrown.   In early March, put this in the corner of the classroom, filling it with an inch of sand or gravel and several inches of top soil.  Then plant your seeds in rows, water with a sprinkling can, and enjoy the small miracle.  Things that grow quickly are best, like radishes, green beans, marigolds, etc.

Stone Soup
Read this classic folk tale to your children, and then plan a way to actually act it out.  You can have the children help you find and scrub a stone until it is very clean.  Different children can help you bring the other ingredients you need to make the soup.  Then follow the order of events in the story, adding the ingredients one at a time.  If you do the story early in the day, you can let the soup cook for a couple of hours and than gather the children to see it and then eat it for lunch.  Some young children will understand the peddler's trick, but others will still believe that the stone made the soup.

Paint and Process Thinking
When kids want to paint, try something new instead of using that same old paper.  It will spark more creativity and more divergent, process thinking in kids if you give them a variety of different surfaces on which to paint.  Let them experiment.  Have them try painting on aluminum foil, cardboard, corrugated paper, scrap wall paper, fabric scraps, (lots of textures) stones bricks, scrap wood, tree bark, and old tiles.  Children will find that paint goes on to each surface differently.  Discuss this; it makes children use critical thinking.

Planning and Choice-making Skills
If you really want to add "planning time" to your daily preschool schedule, but you do not know how to fit it in, try doing the planning discussion as the children eat their breakfast snack at the small tables.  Preparing children to think about their play/work time is a good idea, and helps develop time management and choice making skills.  Tell them about anything special that will be offered in the learning centers, or any visitors/guests who who will be there.  By the same token, you can help children learn memory and evaluation skills by talking about their day at lunch time tables, before they go home.  Ask them what they liked best, or where they played or with whom.  This will also help them anticipate "tomorrow."

Tattling
If you have a "tattler" in your group, try to see this as a positive thing instead of a nuisance.  There are many possibilities for learning going on.  For example, the child may be tattling in order to find out what the appropriate behavior should be.  More likely, the child is actually
practicing language and practicing a very good "science" skill, which is to observe something carefully and tell what you see.   That is what scientists do; it is what reporters do.  The trick is to get children to try to observe the GOOD things they see about someone else and tell about this. Tell the child he/she is a really good observer.  Then ask them to observe 2 or 3 GOOD things about someone and come and tell you.  The next step is having them tell good things to each other.  This is a skill all of us can use.  Try "positive tattling;"  it works.

Scissor Skills
If some of your children are having trouble cutting with scissors, maybe it is because they have not yet mastered all the developmental steps that come BEFORE cutting with scissors.  First, strengthen the hand and finger muscles by using tongs, pinchy clothes pins and play dough or clays.  Then have children do lots of tearing of all sorts of paper at random, and glue the scraps to a background sheet.  Next have them try tearing out shapes, and gluing these to make a collage.  Then it's time to give them a small piece (1/4 size) of construction paper and scissors.  Have the children get the feel of cutting by fringing or snipping all the edges of the construction paper with the scissors.  later, progress to cutting the paper apart.  Then to cutting on a straight line, then a curved line, and then a crooked line. This developmental sequece of the skill of cutting with scissors, as well as over one hundred other developmentally sequenced skills of all kinds, can be found in my book, "A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Planning."

Emergency Lesson Plans
You may think you will never be unexpectedly absent from your job as lead teacher, but that is simiply not true; there are a myriad of things that can happen to keep you home one day.  So...do a special "emergency lesson plan" that would work for ANYONE to follow.  Choose activities that are basic, well-loved, and familiar to children for each of the learning centers, as well as the group times.  List the songs, music and stories to be used....their favorites.  Provide details as needed.  Example:  not "Use art area" but "Art area:  Easel-blue and yellow paint; 2 tables- paper and glue collage and play dough."  Provide any special information needed, such as "Kerry needs to use toilet often, or Bruce gets picked up early."    Then laminate the plan and keep it in the teacher area for those emergency days.

"Take Aparts"
Many "junk" items around the house (or in thrift shops) make excellent activities to foster problem solving (cognitive) skills in young children. Bring old phones, radios or VCR's to school.  Let children take them apart to see what is inside. Put an item such as a VCR on a table with a couple of short, stubby Phillips screwdrivers, and encourage children to take it apart and think about what the parts inside do or were used for.  Children will find many magnets inside, and these can be used for further scientific exploration with things a magnet attracts or does not attract.

The Study of Dust
Don't let your science table become the study of dust, with the same old things on it day after day. Keep it fresh and interesting by changing what is there. Also, add much interest by including a few tiny squeeze type flashlights there with the magnifying glasses. When children light up an item before they look at it with the magnifying glass, it helps them to really focus and see that item much better. This in turn will make them wonder, question and think. A slice of bread on which you have grown green mold, a bit of beach glass, a well soaked lima bean which is sprouting....all will become far more interesting.

Bean Bags
Make your bean bags MUCH more fun and versatile in terms of learning. Make your own bean bags out of scrap materials of different, colors and textures. You can make some ovals, some triangles, squares, and rectangles; make some regular sized or "big" and some small. Add stuffings that make each one smell special....such as cloves and cinnamon sticks, potpourri, and scented cotton. Make some with fake fur, and some with burlap, some with velvet or satin. Put masking tape shapes on the floor and ask children to toss in the big red triangle, or the small yellow oval. With these bean bags you can practice sizes, colors, shapes and sensory perception!

Water Play
Water play does not have to stay in a table. Try putting the water in new places in your room by laying down a few old towels and putting a small amount of water in a dishpan/plastic bin or new kitty litter box. Use the water for blowing bubbles (individual straws) or washing all the doll corner dishes, or giving the dolls a bath. Fill a bucket half full of water, add two children, one wallpaper brush and an old towel. One can "paint" the wall of the room and the other can catch the drips. Then they can switch places. You can do this outdoors too, on the building or sidewalk. Make guess-timates of how long it will take for the water to dry up (evaporate.) Using a bucket of soapy water and all purpose brushes, have children wash the art area or meal area chairs. They will love it.

Block Play
Make the unit blocks area more interesting by adding your own "home made" accessories. Small scraps of lumber or plywood for "roofs", stones, shells or small sticks for "cargo", berry box "cages", carpet samples, Easter grass "hay", home made "Stop" signs, spools, plastic tubing, etc. will make the dramatic play in the blocks area more fun. When a terrific structure is built, take a picture of it, and mount the shot on a large poster board. Then have the children who built it tell you about it. Write down what they say and their names for an interesting literacy activity.

Water Play Tubs

There are water tables or sand tables in most young children's classrooms.  Sometimes there is only one table, so sand and water must be rotated, and cannot both be offered each day.  An alternative is to use the large table for sand, and use plastic dish tubs (or even kitty litter boxes) for water play.  Put old towels under the tubs, and use as many tubs on a table as you wish.  one tub would accommodate two children, etc.  Advantage:  you can easily move this water play system to any part of your room where you want stimulation.  Water play tubs and towels can be placed in the house for washing dolls, or in a corner of your room on the floor.  Since tubs nest, and water toys can be placed inside, this system provides easy storage.  It's also much easier to fill and empty tubs versus big water tables.

Its ok to say "I don't know"
Giving children the answers every time they ask a question cuts off avenues of curiosity and exploration.  Allow yourself and your child to fully experience not knowing the answer; instead, love the question.  Say "I don't know, so let's try to find out." Then use the resources of the library or your PC and the internet to really enjoy the treasure hunt of searching for the answer.  Children should understand that it's okay not to know all the answers, and that search and discovery on the Net with you is a great way to learn.

Trust with Teens
Parents and teens want to trust each other, but just how does trust grow? Trust doesn't just happen when you reach a certain age; trust is earned. You can help teens understand how trust is earned by asking what makes them trust their own friends. Friends who trust each other talk honestly and often. They respect each other and decide things together. Friends don't take advantage, or do things behind the other's back. They're there for you when you need them; friends EARN each other's trust by THE WAY THEY ACT. Trust between parents and teens is also based on actions, not just love. Trust is performance, and its a two way street.

Teens need to Talk
Today's teens are smart. They don't just talk to friends when they want advice. They look for adults who will listen and they select different adults for different reasons. They want someone to hear their feelings and ideas without over reacting, rejecting, or ridiculing. Maybe you're one of those trusted adults. But if your teenager goes to others for support and conversation, don't feel left out! Todays teens need all the adult help they can get! Don't fantasize that your teens trust no one but you, or that they'll talk to you about everything. They won't. What's important is that they keep talking to adults who care about them, and have their best interests at heart.

"That Music!"
Their music is as important to teens as sleeping and eating. Instead of saying "turn off that racket", give it a chance. Music can bring you and your kids closer together, and that's worth the effort! Really listen to the music on the radio stations until you can ask your kids about the lyrics or the groups. When teens get over their shock, your credibility will soar. They may even ask your opinion on some tunes!   They'll believe you when you say you can't stand a certain group because they'll know you're really listening. It won't matter to them if you don't like what they like. At least the communication is there. Be careful of getting TOO involved in "their music" - it may seem you're trying to get into their head at a time when they are molding their own unique identity.

Curfews
During family arguments about cerfews, teens accuse their parents of being suspicious and parents accuse their kids of being desrespectful. With all the arguing, no one says what they really want to say to each other. Parents want to say, "I'm setting a cerfew because I love you and I worry about what could happen." Teens want to say, "I need more chances to decide things; I want to show you I can handle myself." Parents and teens need to sit down and talk about cerfews calmly, hearing out each others ideas and telling each other how they really feel. Remember the WAY you talk about cerfews will have much more impact on your teen's behavior than the exact curfew time you set.

Teen Pregnancy
You may warn your teens that 3000 girls get pregnant each day, but discussing the facts or moral issues is not enough! Parents need to ask question that make kids think about the ways pregnancy too soon would change the things they do right now, every day. Would they still be able to spend money on movies, rock concerts or clothes? Who would baby sit if they wanted to go out? Could they stay up lae and sleep in? Teenagers need to know the specific ways that having children would impact their lives, 24 hours a day, every day.

Drug Abuse Prevention
The best drug abuse prevention parents can do is to try to see teenagers as they really are and hear how they really feel - not just see and hear what we'd like. Many parents never notice that they have incomplete pictures of their teens. They forget that busy teens are not necessarily happy, and that practical kids can still act on impulse. Parents who are pre-occupied with busy agendas may not take time to listen when teens want to share their fears, ideas, and dreams. There are no guarantees that talking with teens will keep them happy and safe, but listening, and learning who THEY REALLY ARE will help them the most.

Manners
As parents we often assume our kids will remember to use good manners, even if we forget to use them ourselves. Think about it. Sometimes we're more courteous to strangers than to our own children. Maybe we should say "Please take out the garbage" instead of "Why did you forget again?" We need to say "Thanks for putting the milk away" instead of thinking, "It's about time that kid remembered something!" We need to say "I appreciated it when you called to say you'd be late." If we want our kids to remember and use the manners of their childhood, we need to keep showing courtesy. We need to say please and thank you, too.

Whining
If your child is a whiner, do not respond by losing your temper (and giving the child lots of attention, even though it's negative).  Instead of reacting, ACT.  When the child starts to whine, say, "Stop.  Listen to your
voice.  I will not listen or talk to you until you talk in your regular voice."   Stick to what you say!!  Tape record the whiney voice and the regular voice for the child to hear if you think he/she does not understand this.  (But they probably do understand very well.)

Lying
Experts say there are three main reasons that children tell likes.  
1.  Fear of punishment.  Example:  such as if the child broke something he/she was not supposed to touch. 
2.  Need for attention.  Example:  the child is jealous of a new baby and acts out or makes up stories to get more attention.  
3. Need for acceptance.  Example:  child is new to a neighborhood and makes up stories to impress and gain new friends.   Try it figure out the reason behind lying and deal with the cause.    There are even some children who are prone to fantasy and exaggeration just for the fun of it.  These should be encouraged to write down and illustrate thier stories.

Sibling Rivalry
There are many lessons children need to learn that they can only learn in the give and take of living with and bickering with siblings.  In the comparatively safe setting of the home, they learn to compromise and negotiate, to win and to lose, and to tolerate and even cooperate with
someone they disagree with.   These are all important life skills that kids need to learn.  So make it easy on yourself.  Stop seeing your home as a battleground for personalities.  Instead see it as a practice ground for life.

Overachievers
Some children who are overachievers live with daily stress that they take on all by themselves.  The measure their self worth by what they do, not who they are inside.  They feel unloveable, so they continually overcompensate by showing how busy and competent they are.  If these kids are stressing out trying to make straight A's in school, tell them that when you say "do your best,"  you are not insisting that they make all A's.  Tell them you love them for who they are not for what they can do.  Tell them you care about their health and well-being, not just achievements.  Help them learn to set simple and reasonable goals.

Late and Disorganized?
Children are not born with organizational skills, nor do they magically become endowed with them when they reach a certain age.  Parents need to teach kids how to organize space, materials and time.  A messy room will be more orderly if shelves and bins are in place.  A child is less likely to be late to school if all the school items and the clothes for the next day are laid out the night before.  A child is more likely to get up on time if
he/she has an alarm clock and knows how to use it.  Praise kids for every
little attempt they make to improve these skills.

Homework
If your child is getting what you think is an overload of homework, it is best to make a date with the teacher to find out what kind of homework the child is getting and why.   Before you discuss it with the teacher and reach
a compromise, you should know that there are three types of homework:  busy work or drill to practice what has already been learned, preparation assignments to learn more about a topic that is coming up, and special
"extra" assignments to motivate bright students.  Busy work is not usually a good idea, as today's children are already burdened with information overload.  Kids usually like homework and will do it if it is not
overwhelmingly busy work, if they know why they are doing it, and if they get feedback after its done.

Making Friends
Sometimes kids make friends with others easily and quickly, but other kids may need a little help from parents when it comes to making friends.  Help
them to know that greeting others by name, and smiling and looking at the people you greet or talk with is very important.  Help them practice giving at least one sincere compliment a day at home, and encourage them to do the same at school.  Teach them that questions are a form of compliment, and that others like it when they are asked questions.  Help them understand that it
is impossible to have everyone like you all of the time.   What's more important is to have a few close friends, be open to making new ones, and to like yourself best.

"No Mess" Spring Planting
When you want to plant small pots of flowers or vegetables, do it the easy way, NOT on newspaper-covered tables.  Empty the sand from the big sandbox (save if desired).  Use the inside of the sandbox for the bag of potting soil, the small pots and spoons or trowels, and even a small watering can.  Let the children come up one or two at a time to do their planting with a helpful adult.  Lot's easier to do, and easy to clean up!

WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY?    This is a very poor question to ask young children, who don't even realize that the activities they do in school are "learning" activities.  To kids, all of these activities are "play."  Instead, ask they what they did today that they liked best, or whether the teacher read a story, or who they played with, or if they used the blocks.   Ask what they plan to do tomorrow