Teaching Young Children

Back in 1985 when I was in graduate school, there was this "new" theory called Devlopmentally approprite practices. It really was the best way to teach young kids, and eventually it caught on. Now I move to New Jersey have a kid of my own put her in a nursery school that is NAEYC accredited and I assume most schools are doing the right thing. Once I start teaching first grade in 1998, I don't keep up with DAP or NAEYC. Ten years later, I'm working in PreK and I'm noticing that lots of early childhood programs are back to using worksheets and PreK is the new Kindergarten Kindergarten is the new First grade and kids are stressed out. The other night over dinner Felix asked me, "Why don't you just teach the way you know how?" I go to work the next day sit on the floor with my kids and begin to sing The More We Get Together. The kids love it. Next they make their "own" Valentines for their families. The results were priceless, the writing was great and we did it with NO WORKBOOKS. Maybe teaching really is a work of heart. I have to revisit my Early Childhood Roots, maybe take a class at Bank Street and go forward from there.