Keyword: IL Early Learning Standards/IELDS
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COVID-19 Parenting Pep Talk: (Re)focus on Positive Guidance
In spring 2020, our world was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Illinois, our stay-at-home order has caused drastic changes in daily routines for everyone. With schools, many childcare centers, and most other places closed to stop the spread of COVID-19, we have found our daily routines profoundly changed.
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Things to Do While You’re Waiting: Math Is Everywhere
Keep children engaged when you have to wait
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Things to Do While You’re Waiting: Music and Movement
Move to the beat. Sing along. Listen. Create sounds.
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Exploring the Sensory Table
In this video, we watch Cameron and Anthony, both age 4.5 years, as they play at the sensory table in their classroom. Children enjoy exploring materials with their senses. A sensory bin or table is a place teachers can set up opportunities for children to do this type of exploration in the classroom while containing…
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The Power of Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions and phrases allow children to provide a full and meaningful answer that conveys their thoughts and feelings.
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Waiting to Paint
When teachers set out activities that are of high interest to children, conflicts can arise. Being prepared with strategies to help children cope with the challenge of waiting for a turn can minimize conflicts.
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The Blue Bowl
In this video, we see a large blue mixing bowl spark children’s interest and lead to this type of complex play. The children work together in a group to reach a common goal of making “soup” in a bowl. They explore the outdoors and find several materials to put in the blue bowl for their…
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Lots of Dandelions
Nature play presents opportunities for teachers to introduce scientific concepts. In this video, we see a teacher join Fawn and Edwin, both age 4, as they blow the seeds from dandelions growing on the playground.
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Are You Being a Monkey?
In this video, we see the beginning stages of a friendship connection as we watch 3-year-old Aaron try to engage his peer, John, age 5. Children begin by observing each other and playing side by side. In time, friendships become more complex. Younger children are often very interested in the activities of older children.
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Maybe We Can Make a Road!
In this video, two children are playing at a sensory table filled with gravel, miniature road signs, and toy cars. The teacher introduces two unique words, terrain and yield, to the children as she plays side by side with them.
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You’ve Got Blue Hands
Visual arts provide opportunities for children to use their fine motor skills to express their creativity. Children are active investigators as they explore color mixing and texture. Visual arts activities spark conversations where children can appreciate the expressions of others.
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Look at It Go!
Messy play is a rich opportunity for conversation with peers and teachers. Exploring open-ended materials invites children to observe, make predictions, and use complex vocabulary to describe their experiences.
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Looks Swampy
In this video, we watch several students conduct an experiment with glue, food coloring, and water. The teacher encourages the children to actively explore the materials, think about what is happening, and describe the experience.
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Pass the Ball Versus Pass the Remote: Supporting Preschoolers’ Physical Activity
Nationally we have witnessed increased rates of childhood obesity and the use of technology by young children, which has resulted in less time engaged in physical activity.
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Get Growing With Your Young Children
Spring is a wonderful time to “get growing” with young children. Children are eager to observe the outdoors during the change from winter to spring. Grass changing from brown to green and the buds appearing on the trees sparks children’s curiosity.
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Explore the Arts with Young Children
This list contains resources to help early childhood educators and caregivers plan high-quality learning experiences in the arts.
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Language and Literacy in Inclusive Early Childhood Programs
In this interview, we speak with Elise Prosser, a speech language pathologist from the Urbana Early Childhood School in Urbana, IL. Ms. Prosser received her bachelor’s degree in speech and hearing science and master’s degree in speech language pathology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has been working in the schools as a…
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Adjusting Pace and Location of Project Work
By adjusting the pace and location of the project work to the developmental levels and experience of the children, teachers can begin to engage them in project work soon after they join the class, even at the beginning of the school year.
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Retelling “Caps for Sale”
Children gain great comprehension and communication skills when they have the opportunity for rich discussion during read-aloud times. Stories read aloud also can provide opportunities for children to use their memory skills and retell stories with their peers and teachers.
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Talking About Numbers and Letters
In this video, 4-year-old Martín plays with letters in a bilingual prekindergarten classroom, where teachers provide instruction in both Spanish and English.
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Busy with Blocks
Children learn many things by playing with blocks. Spatial and mathematical thinking are important understandings that children build through block play.
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The Pizza Project: A Delicious Learning Opportunity
Sarah KuhlemeierRegional Office of Education No. 8 Preschool ProgramStephenson and Jo Daviess counties The Pizza Project was completed in a mixed-age, blended Preschool for All classroom. The classroom was an inclusive classroom with a diverse group of learners, including children with disabilities, English language learners, and children identified as at-risk. Several children had language delays,…
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Mathematics Benchmark 10.B.ECb
This module is a innovative professional development resource for busy early childhood educators. It provides teachers with some suggested ways to help children meet the following benchmark… Mathematics 10.B.ECb: Make predictions about the outcome prior to collecting information, with teacher support and multiple experiences over time.
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Mathematics Benchmark 10.B.ECa
This module is a innovative professional development resource for busy early childhood educators. It provides teachers with some suggested ways to help children meet the following benchmark… Mathematics 10.B.ECa: Organize, represent, and analyze information using concrete objects, pictures, and graphs, with teacher support. Related IEL Resources Tip Sheet: Project Approach: Helping Preschoolers Represent What They…
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Helping Young Children Develop Friendships
This list contains a variety of resources associated with helping young children develop friendships.
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Supporting Children’s Social Development: Strategies for Parents and Caregivers
This list contains a variety of resources associated with strategies for parents and caregivers for supporting a child’s social development.
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Imagination and Fantasy in Early Childhood
This list contains a variety of resources associated with imagination and fantasy in early childhood.
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Preschoolers’ Nutrition and Fitness
This list contains a variety of resources associated with nutrition and fitness for preschoolers.
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Music for Preschool Children
This list contains a variety of resources associated with music for preschool children.
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Phonological Awareness in Young Children
This list contains a variety of resources associated with phonological awareness in young children.
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Encouraging Literacy Development in Preschoolers
This list contains a variety of resources associated with literacy development for preschoolers.
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Family Mealtimes: Benefits for Child Well-Being
This list contains a variety of resources associated with how family mealtimes enhance a child’s well-being.
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Supporting Resilience in Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
This list contains a variety of resources associated with supporting resilience in children exposed to domestic violence.
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Supporting the Literacy Development of Diverse Language Learners in Early Childhood Classrooms
This list contains a variety of resources associated with supporting the literacy of development of diverse language learners in early childhood classrooms.
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Reading Partners: Sharing the Lead in Storybook Reading
Bilingual couples often hope that their children will grow up fluent in each of their languages. Reading storybooks in both languages can help support this ability. This clip shows the benefits of repeated readings of a familiar book in both English and Spanish.
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Going Camping
Three-year-old Ellie and her mother are playing with familiar toy family figures, a dollhouse, furniture, and a camper. By listening carefully to what Ellie says as they play, her mother discovers things that she can help Ellie understand in areas such as counting, good manners, and nutrition.
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The Doggie and the Shark
In this clip, 3-year-old Ellie and her mother engage in pretend play with small figures and boats. Joining Ellie in pretend play allows her mother to model play skills, extend pretend play, help build vocabulary, and promote problem solving skills.
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Dual Language Use During Choice Time
This video shows 5-year-old Imelda interacting in English with an adult visitor and singing in Spanish during choice time in her half-day bilingual classroom.
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Where the Chick Came From
This clip suggests some of the benefits of introducing very young children to live animals.
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What’s in the Box
Many young children are not accustomed to forming questions, so the teacher has developed a guessing game in which children use questions to help them guess what is in the box.
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“She Goes First”: Cooperative “Housekeeping” Play
In the clip, Victoria (age 5), Micaela (age 5.7), and Mandi (age 5.8) are engaged in what is sometimes called “housekeeping play.” Speaking in Spanish, they put some of their ideas about family life into action as they pretend to wash dishes, prepare food, and eat together.
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One Morning in the Block Area
Many preschool programs make block play an option during choice time. In this video, three children play in the block area in a prekindergarten classroom.
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One Morning at the Construction Table
When children build something, they often address physics problems related to keeping the structure together.
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Keep It Moving: Playing With Hoops
This video shows children playing with hula-hoops in a large space for motor activities at an early childhood center.
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An Engineer Changes His Mind
Along with another mixed-age classroom, this class has been investigating ways to turn the school playground into an outdoor learning area.
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Bouncing Balls
During circle time, the children played a guessing game about balls.
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Bethany Draws a Wheel
The community college child care center in this video was near the automotive lab, where auto mechanics were trained. The families of the children were students, faculty, and members of the local community. Many of the families qualified for subsidized child care because of their income. Children had many different attendance patterns, due to their…
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IEL Tip Sheets: Family Fun!
The IEL website hosts more than 180 Tip Sheets written for parents, teachers, and caregivers of young children. They present helpful suggestions and information on children’s social and emotional development as well as physical development and health.
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Developmental Milestones, Infant Toddler Guidelines, and Early Learning Standards: Metrics for Young Children
Teachers and parents of young children are likely to encounter different checklists or guidelines to assess the development, knowledge, or skills of the young children in their care.
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Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards: A Guide for Parents
The (IELDS are designed to help teachers and caregivers plan educational experiences for young children that will help them be ready for kindergarten.