Originally Posted by Heidi:
I think my Niche' is primarily infant and toddler care. My favorite age is probably 7 or 8 months (sitting up, crawling), to 3. If they've been with me all along, I can usually tolerate them for another year, but otherwise, those pesky preschoolers sort of drive me bonkers.
JK-but while I can teach and plan a curriculum, it's really not my favorite thing in the world. I prefer the days when theres some order to the day, some activities to liven things up, but not this huge expectation that we just have to learn x,y, and z today. It feels more natural to me that way.
So, this morning it occurred to me what my "style" is. I teach under the "If you give a mouse a cookie" principle...
AKA, expanding the children's interests.
This morning, dcb (2 1/2) was the first to arrive. Just then, I found some play money that had fallen on the floor. I said "here..have a dollar". He took it and seemed interested. So, I found more in my "money" in my coat pocket. Then he tried to find a pocket to put it in, so naturally, I found a purse for him (had to dig in the overflow closet).
He brought me the money once he had it all packed up, and took out dollars. We counted, we talked about the guy on the front...George Washington. If I had one that worked (on my list) it would have been a great time to get out my cash register. If he stays interested, I will find other ways to expand that play.
That, to me, is a natural way to teach infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers, even older children, if one's ready to be creative!