Lead Teacher: Ms. Kaesha
Class Age: 12-29 months
Class Ratio: 1 Teacher to 7 Toddlers
Hi! My name is Kaesha and I am so
excited to be working with the toddler classroom. I have been married for
almost two years and have an adorable 7 month old baby son (Carter) who likes to
think he’s older than he is! He will be joining the center when he turns a year
old in October. I attended school at Bellevue Community College where I earned
my early childhood certificate and was almost done with my AA degree when I
decided to transfer to a four year school. I didn’t get to quite attain my goal
there because while living in Hawaii I met my husband and we decided to move back to Seattle. I am looking forward to finishing my degree in the near future
however. I love working with children and I have two step-children that keep me
busy on the weekends. There is never a dull moment!
Ms. Kaesha
Toddlers work hard at "school" everyday. Play is how children learn and learning is hard work. Along with the activities you see on the calendar in our room, we do lots of other learning activities. Our room is divided into sections and each section is a designed to practice and learn specific skills and concepts.
Housekeeping:
The play kitchen is where we pretend to cook, do dishes, be grown ups and dress up in funny clothes and shoes. We practice a lot of social skills in the area.
Block Area:
The block area is great for working on hand eye coordination and cause and affect (such as what will happen if you stack up blocks and then knock them down). We practice lots of sharing in this area.
Sensory Area:
Sensory is a big favorite with the toddlers. We learn how different materials feel and move. Some of the materials we use in our sensory tray are flax seeds, macaroni, split peas, water, cornmeal etc. We practice working our small muscles in this area to give us strong hand muscles for writing when we are bigger. We are also learning to quantify materials and textures just like we will in science class when we are older.
Reading Area:
In the library is where we practice pre-reading skills like page turning and looking at picture and words. But reading isn't all we do in the library, it is also a place to relax and have a quiet moment. We practice self control in this area because toddlers are just learning how to be still and quiet and this is a great place for them to practice.
Art Projects:
Art projects are a favorite of the toddlers and we try to get to them everyday. We use many different materials for our projects and they love experimenting with objects other than just a paintbrush to create their masterpieces.
Circle Time:
During circle time, all of the toddlers get a chance to participate in story time and songs. We start circle time each day with some stretches followed by roll call and counting. Toddlers love listening for their names and learning their friends’ names at the same time.
Outside Playground:
The playground is not in our room but it is a very important area that we work in everyday. We run, jump, climb, and finally get to use our big outside voices. Outside is where we really learn how our bodies and muscles work and move. We can be loud and fast outside and this where we get to see how the bigger kids play.
Each day we are also practicing:
õ Self Help Skills: Hand washing, hanging up our coats, cleaning up our toys, table manners
õ Colors: Each week we will focus on a different color with lots of review because toddlers love repetition.
õ Numbers: We work on counting everyday in our class.
õ Music: We sing, listen to music, use instruments and dance
õ Social Skills: Everyday skills like sharing, treating our friends nicely, communication (using our words) and listening are fostered in our toddlers everyday.
So you see, we may look like we are only playing but your children are hard at work learning the things that need to know to be just like you.
Toddlers are very messy people, as I am sure you already know. We do lots of messy (fun) work. Potty training is also unfortunately a very messy venture. Each toddler has a cubby equipped with a hook to hang up coats and a plastic bin to store extra clothes, mittens, hats etc. Here is a list of the things that you are required to have here for your child at all times (meaning that if something is sent home messy you bring in new items to replace them in your child's cubby).
þ Two complete changes of clothes
þ A sweatshirt (sometimes it's just a little chilly)
þ A coat (we go outside everyday)
þ Shoes or boots
þ Mittens and a hat (during the winter months)
þ Pull-ups or diapers
þ Underwear (lots please if potty training)
