VPA Toolbox Routines

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Routines

• Invite participants to read Guiding Principle, Art can nurture the nurturer (PCF, Vol. 2, p. 45.) Ask teachers to brainstorm about times during the program day that are the most stressful for the teacher. Pose the question, “Would it be possible to incorporate an art experience before or during these times that might help nurture the teachers as much as the students?” Using a daily routine handout or the program daily schedule, brainstorm with the teacher. Together decide on at least one stressful time that can have an art experience added and plan what actions need to occur to accomplish this task.

• Ask teachers about the biggest barriers in providing VPA experiences (Time will likely be an answer). Provide Reflective question # 2, PCF, Vol. 2, p 62, How can you ensure that the preschool environment supports focused, uninterrupted work on art projects from time to time? Facilitate conversation around this topic.

• Have participants read the Young Children article “Make a Little Music” by Rae Pica. Focus on the final three paragraphs describing the statue game. Using music with the group, practice the game three times. After moving and laughing with each other, ask teachers which type of transitions this activity might work with best. Thinking about the individual class schedule, which transition would be best for this activity? (Possible answers include: bring children to carpet from clean up time, dismissing children to parents arriving one at a time, bring children inside from outside time.)

• Give teachers the "Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays" handout. Provide a make-and-take session for teachers to make a keyring of bilingual chants to use during transitions or other routine times of the day. Have them identify the related foundations and content areas the chant teachers/reinforces on the back of each chant card.

• Read the vignette and following paragraph on page 30 of the Integrated Nature of Learning together with the teachers.  Reinforce that Ms. Cone used the ritual of dismissal to support language and literacy in the classroom. Ask participant to think about what ritual they could use to support visual art, music . dance or drama in the classroom? One example may be to use the dismissal ritual to include dancing. Perhaps the teachers may invite one child at a time to share a dance move as they are dismissed, and all other children can imitate the dance move. Or another idea may be to include visual art by inviting each child to make their body into a statue as they are dismissed and then sharing the name of their statue with the group as they say goodbye.