a plea to preschool teachers--

↑ amother ↓

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 6:17 pm

uh, is there anyone that has PRAISE for their morahs?? I don't know how many people really realize how much work preschool morahs put into your kinderlach, besides for art projects. I have 20 students, each with different needs. one tantrums, another one is whiny, yet another bites, etc. I don't sit down even once during the day, as I'm constantly guiding my students every step of the way, in their midos, socializing, skills...so that these kids leave my class at the end of the year better than they entered.
Look at the whole picture, mothers! Sorry for venting; I just feel like preschool teachers are often under- appreciated!
YOu are definitely right about certain items that make a mess and are not fair to use.I also would never send home a project that shows off my talent rather than your child's. But that means way more effort on my part! I could give my students simple crayons and color pencils every day-they'd be just as satisfied. But do you realize what sensory activities does for every child? The finger paint, sand,.... it can bring out the quietest kids! and any sensory activity will make a mess!...... PSHEW! it was good to let off all that steam after a long, exhausting yet satisfying day teaching your precious kids.

↑ mummiedearest ↓

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 6:55 pm

amother wrote:

dear amother,

I do appreciate my child's teacher, and I tell her that whenever I talk to her. I think she does a phenomenal job. my point in this thread was not to insult morahs, rather to open their eyes to certain issues. in many yeshivas, morahs are ordered by the administration to do parsha projects with the kids each week because "the parents expect it." in my experience, these administrations have little if any communication with the parents. they do not know how parents feel about these things. the staple issue is a big one; ALL preschools use staples to finish projects, and they SHOULDN'T. glitter is apparently not across the board, but I'm pretty sure huge projects are. I wanted to notify morahs that these things are a big problem. I'd much rather my kids get messy making projects than have them come home clean but dust the house with glitter because the morah wouldn't let them touch glue.

as for the bolded, I do realize. I wish my kids did that every day. as I said, that's why we send in smocks. we expect them to be well-used by the end of the year. my four-year-old paints every couple of weeks, but they're more likely to use dot paint. my three-year-old painted once this year, and it's obvious to me that she's not allowed to use glue on her own. my kids paint and glue more often at home than in school. I LOVE when they do those things. if my kids came home coated in googly-eyes, I'd be happy. so if you do that on a regular basis and you're in brooklyn, tell me where you teach. a lot of us appreciate a program that involves serious art education.

I was the art morah for a preschool daycamp one summer, and I was an assistant in a special ed classroom for two years. everything we did was sensory. I definitely appreciate the importance of it, and the creative energy involved. but as a special ed assistant, I was more likely to think of what the parents really wanted than as a regular ed art morah. there are different standards. the standards have been made by people who are out of touch with the parents as a group. so I would like to encourage parents to start speaking up. even if the staples get banned but the glitter doesn't, I'll feel heard.

de_goldy

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 7:21 pm

I am a preschool teacher and most of this sounds so foreign to me. I wonder if I teach in a different universe??

In my school messy is the name of the game. We have 2 painting easels per classroom which are open most mornings during free play. The kids use glue and shaving cream and paint. They paint with their hands, with brushes, with q-tips, with legos.

We do use glitter sometimes but not often. Can't think what we would use staples for... unless something was stapled to the bulletin board and then sent home without all the staples removed.

The teachers do not and are not allowed to do artwork for children. the children cut and glue and squeeze themselves. At certain times of the year when we actually do want the project to resemble something (eg. menorah, pesach stuff and that's about it), it is still the child's work but we will do it one on one with each child instead of in a group.

Can't think of anything I would call "big" art projects except for the pre-k class who do wood-working once a week. their projects can be big sometimes.

↑ amother ↓

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 7:25 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

amother wrote:

yes, I am in brooklyn, and besides for arts and crafts, our plansheet must include a free art project, such as collages, paint, chalk, etc. during centers every day. Maybe that's part of the reason this school has a great name; it's really all about the kids.
About the staples, I honestly never thought of that! You may have a point. But what about all the other art things, such as beads, foamies, etc. Aren't they dangerous just as much? Or is it just because it's so sharp?

↑ mummiedearest ↓

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 7:30 pm

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

amother wrote:

I find the beads and foamies come off less frequently than the staples. the beads and foamies are likely to fall off in the knapsack if they fall off at all. the staples are usually done very quickly, and the morah doesn't check to see that they all went through fully. my kids like to pull at the ones that are sticking out, and they like to play with their projects. the staples are usually enough just to hold it together, not to stand up to abuse. so the staples come out. sometimes I find them on my floor during playdates on shabbos. imo, if it needs to be sealed with staples, my kid didn't do a large portion of the project anyway. why bother?

↑ amother

Wed, Apr 06 2011, 4:42 am

pobody's nerfect wrote:

for any teachers out there who do feel that candy is occasionally okay, but don't feel comfortable giving taffy---
my 2nd grade students get ONE of those tiny pacifier candies as a reward. I used to give out single m&m's when I was allowed to give cholov stam. some teachers give out single chocolate chips.
the kids are HAPPY with this- mostly because it's something they're getting from a teacher, and they know that if they complain they'll stop getting it.
big taffies are totally unnecessary.

And thats second graders- Preschool kids are even easier to please, anything can be made exciting. The only time I "bribe" is b4 pesach . It is very difficult to teach such little ones the mah nishtanah and they really gotta know it. Noe, boy do my students know their part, all because of a little chocolate chip, winky(one piece, not a pack!!), etc. every day.
We also deal with a lot of very cranky students these days; kids bring in the tension they feel at home Wink

oranges

Wed, Apr 06 2011, 5:49 am

I am so shocked at this thread.
I have been a pre school teacher for years. I never cut out the children's work.
Parsha picture is a plain white paper that the children are given and they draw, design, decorate however they please. (no glitter!!! yuck!!! you think it makes a mess in your house, can you imagine what it's like working with it in the class?!?)
If their parsha picture is a scribble across the page and the child tells me "that is moshe rabeinu on the akeida" I will write down EXACTLY what the child described on the paper and send it home.
I don't care if he got the details wrong, although I will make sure to revise the parsha with the class again!
So the parents get one paper, with the childs work, and my comment written on the bottom of the page, but exactly word for word what the child said. I just ask the child, "tell me about your picture" and whatever he says I write on the page.

I have never heard of such madness of teachers cutting out work. It's crazy, and if my child came home with stuff like that I would really complain. What is your child learning? that his imperfect work isn't good enough? How will he ever learn to cut?!?
isn't preschool about teaching children these skills? how are they supposed to learn them if the teacher does it????????

I HATE pre drawn parsha pictures. let the children draw what they remember from their imagination. But it is guided somewhat. We will discuss ideas of what we can draw, kids giving different ideas of different parts of the parsha. So one kid will take home a mizbayach with a korbon on, another will take home a table with people sitting around eating and he told me (and I wrote it on his paper) that it's a seudas ho'doah (both concepts in the parsha).
With a pre drawn picture or a craft, what imagination are the children using? the teachers. not the kids!

My children don't go to the same school where I teach BUT I get the same sort of crafts, totally child made, glitter and nonsense free and so messy and beautiful and perfect. Suffice it to say they are displayed for a long time.

I have never rewarded with sweets ever. IF I ever do reward it's with a fancy rubber or keyring or something else tiny.

goodness gracious what an eye opener this thread is.

↑ gryp ↓

Wed, Apr 06 2011, 5:57 am

CH"V would I ever be only complaining about teachers.

Teachers and parents are working together for the children, not against each other. What's the big deal if parents are requesting no staples in the arts & crafts projects, or whatever? Teachers should be happy to hear this feedback just like parents should be happy to hear feedback, such as their child is tired during the day and needs to go to sleep earlier.

Can I just say something about staples? Unfortunately I've seen too many times that teachers force a stapler through a material which is not meant for staples. Popsicle sticks, binders, too many papers in a booklet, etc. I've learned my lesson- any popsicle stick that has staples jammed through goes straight in the garbage the day it comes home. Once I opened up a binder that was sent home to be my kids' haggadah and got four fingers slashed from the staples poking out. I sat down and had to take out every single staple, not what I thought I'd be busy with Erev Pesach.

↑ AlwaysGrateful

Wed, Apr 06 2011, 6:45 am

amother wrote:

uh, is there anyone that has PRAISE for their morahs?? I don't know how many people really realize how much work preschool morahs put into your kinderlach, besides for art projects. I have 20 students, each with different needs. one tantrums, another one is whiny, yet another bites, etc. I don't sit down even once during the day, as I'm constantly guiding my students every step of the way, in their midos, socializing, skills...so that these kids leave my class at the end of the year better than they entered.

...I could give my students simple crayons and color pencils every day-they'd be just as satisfied. But do you realize what sensory activities does for every child? The finger paint, sand,.... it can bring out the quietest kids! and any sensory activity will make a mess!...... PSHEW! it was good to let off all that steam after a long, exhausting yet satisfying day teaching your precious kids.

YES! I have plenty of praise for my kids' morahs. And even if they did use glitter or staples or whatever - I appreciate the fact that they have really brought out the best in my kid. I love my ds, and again, I wish I could be with him all day. But I can't imagine being with THAT many kids his age all day and juggling all of their needs. I'm in awe of morahs that do it successfully and really help the kids learn how to take turns, share, care about each other, listen nicely, and feel confident in themselves.

(I don't think that was the point of this thread, though. The OP had a valid complaint - a very specific one, that did not reflect on what she thinks of her kids' morahs in general - and she voiced it. That's all.)