The Preschool of Tomorrow

The Preschool of Tomorrow is located in Clifton Park, New York. These web pages feature one classroom that is a part of this effort; a joint demonstration project of two local schools; Helping Hands School and Shannon's Rainbow Daycare Centers. This is the story about a classroom that invites all children to enjoy active learning in a supportive atmosphere.

Our mission is to establish a learning environment where children, can play, grow, and learn together from each other. We have a diverse population of learners. Some children appear to be developing typically, some may be at risk due to socio-economic factors, and others demonstrate identified special needs.

The staff members in our room wear many hats. Melissa is an early childhood teacher and Joanne is a special education teacher. Tammy is our assistant teacher. They provide instruction from arrival time at 12:30 pm to dismissal time at 3:00pm. Related Service Providers or Therapists are an integral part of our instructional team. They include speech, physical, and occupational therapists. At times they meet with our students individually while at other times they provide therapy in a small group. Some therapy is provided during circle and other large group times.

Our classroom model reflects inclusion; the practice of including children with diverse needs and varying abilities within a community based classroom.

The Preschool of Tomorrow is a work in progress. We began our class adventure in January 1998. Since then we have experienced a number of successes and uncovered a number of challenges. Come join us! Enter our classroom and participate in our day. Discover what the children and adults in an inclusive preschool classroom do!

(Visit during Arrival Time)

(Visit during Circle Time)

(Visit during Planning Time)

(Visit during Play Time)

You have arrived in our classroom at 12:30 pm. There are lots of children entering the room. We are located in a rural setting and our students arrive in different ways. Many of our children with special needs are transported by our county in mini buses. Others arrive with their parent or care givers through private means. All of our typical peers are transported privately by their parents or care givers. Some walk with their teacher from our onsite day care. For all children, arrival time is a time to greet teachers and friends to say goodbye to their parent and care givers. This transition from home to school can be easy for some while difficult for others. To understand the importance of arrival time let's learn about Eric's experience. Eric is one of our students with identified special needs. To learn about Eric let's talk with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.

The Johnson's: "We have had some strong concerns regarding Eric's difficulty adjusting to change. He appears slower than many other children when he needs to adapt to new things. This is due to the fact that although Eric is the same age as many of his friends he is developmentally delayed in many skill areas. He is still very concrete in his understanding of the world. Eric is socially and emotionally less mature and may need more attention during transition times and separations. We have both expressed our concerns to Melissa and Joanne, Eric's teachers. They have designed specific interventions to assist our son with transitions at arrival time. These strategies have helped us support Eric's adjustments at both home and school. They are listed below:

1. Establish a daily routine that is consistent and predictable.

2. Sequence activities in the same order from one day to the next. (Repetition of events helps children remember and anticipate what will happen at school.)

3. Send home a brief description of activities so that parents can review their child's day during night time play. (This strategies can also prepare a child to transition more calmly between activities within the day.)

4. Some children prefer being greeted by one person at arrival time. This consistency seems to decrease the amount of "newness" they have to accommodate. We have chosen Joanne to greet Eric because she was his special education teacher last year. She has a good rapport with both him and his parents.

Group time can occur with children sitting in a circle on the floor or on chairs around a table. Group time can be large (whole class) or small (sub-groups). The challenge of both large and small group learning is choose an activity which meaningfully involves all the children. For the "doers and shakers" in our room, group time can be difficult. Let's talk with Sara, an occupational therapist and evaluator on our team. She will describe some of the challenges we have faced when we have included Paul into circle time.

SARA: "Paul is a child with special needs who has exhibited some challenging behavior during group time. You could describe Paul as a sensory seeker. He needs to feel, hold, rub, shake, and smell all that he sees. Paul still needs to touch and do all the time in order to learn. He is not a child who can sit and watch. He gets easily frustrated during large group play. There are too many children to watch and listen to. Circle time is when Paul engages in behaviors that are impulsive and disrupt the group. At times, he may poke and push other children, run from the circle, or call out. During circle time his teachers have provided him with supports which increase his ability to participate. Joanne is here to tell you what they are......."

JOANNE: "I realized that sitting in circle time was a real challenge for Paul. I observed that during large group time; music and movement play was a better match for Paul's movement needs. I noticed that during passive activities (calendar, weather, etc. ) Paul had to sit, look, and listen most of the time. To assist him during group time I supplied with a small bean bag pillow; as a seating device. Sitting on the beanbag pillow allows Paul to move but contains his movements to a small area. It provided him with the sensory input he craves while simultaneously assisting him in maintaining his attention. When we were sitting at the table I placed a small carpet square on his chair seat. In addition to enhancing Paul's attending skills, both adaptations facilitated better posture and motor control. When Paul appeared to be having a difficult day I would give him a small sensory based toy to hold (Koosh Ball or vibratory egg). I have also selectively seated him near a child who was mature and well organized; a child who could manage interactions well.

All the events of a child's day require good planning time for the adult's in the room. Communication is the necessity and collaboration the hallmark of the inclusive preschool classroom. Let's listen to Melissa and Joanne discuss how they review the day's events and plan their tomorrow...

MELISSA and JOANNE: "Team teaching is a combination of advantages and responsibilities. Sharing our different teaching perspectives and backgrounds enhances our understanding of our students. We also have a bigger pool of creative ideas to build on. Since we share teaching responsibilities it is important that we communicate and agree regarding strategies and techniques for our ''shared" students. We are finding that with the passage of time we are becoming more in "sync" with each other's teaching styles. We are also becoming more familiar with our students and can anticipate their needs more efficiently. When planning an activity for all students there are some "routine questions" that we ask ourselves and each other:"

1. Is this activity of interest and relevant to all of our students?

2. Are there any physical accommodations or adjustments I need to make (varying chair height or thickening a shovel's handle)?

3. What is the best way to deliver directions; verbally, gesturally, with pictures etc. ? How will we manage behaviors that may arise; who will take the lead?

"There is so much to do! At times we feel that there is not enough time in the day to plan and review . We realize that much of our planning and communication occurs while we are 'doing other things'. Right now it is 12:00 pm and we are setting up play stations in our room . As we move the furniture and set out the toys we are busy discussing our plans for circle time. This is the time when we often relay messages and share observations. As the special educator, Joanne is responsible for ensuring that each student with special needs receives instruction that supports IEP goals. Each student with special needs has an Individualized Education Plan with individual goals and instructional methods. We attempt to share information regarding I.E.P. goals but are careful to respect each child's right to confidentiality.

There are many adults that visit our classroom. We value the visiting teachers and therapists that provide intervention within our classroom. Initially, we attempted to discuss strategies daily. That was unrealistic given all of our responsibilities. We have learned that observing them and modeling what they do is sometimes an efficient short term strategy in between planning meetings. As classroom teachers we have also needed to learn to balance the flow of 'adult traffic' within the room. At first we didn't realize how much of an impact having more than two adults in the room would be. Now we carefully set up a schedule of visits with the itinerant teachers and therapists to minimize the amount of overlapping visits. As the Classroom Organizers we would like to share with you some of our 'Top Five' ingredients needed for our inclusive classroom to function in high gear:"

1. Open Communication - In order for us to work well with each other and with all the varied staff we interact with we need to feel that we can openly discuss concerns as they arise.

2. Focus on the Solution - We attempt to guide the direction and flow of our discussions by focusing on outcomes; what is it we want to achieve for our students. This guiding light helps us stay on track, keep topics child centered, and manage our time efficiently.

3. Supportive Administration - The foundation for a dynamic instructional staff is the responsiveness of our school administrators. Both teachers and therapists feel that our program directors have an "open door" policy towards staff members. When we request their time or attention we feel welcome and our needs or concerns are taken seriously. Our administrators have set the stage for "Agency Team Work".

4. Parents as Partners- All of our professional staff (teachers, therapists, social workers, administrators, etc.) view parents as partners in the educational process of their children. We view parents as equal members of our team. They have meaningful opportunities to participate during decision making activities and their concerns and priorities are valued.

5. Team Work - Staff and parents are members of a team with a common goal: How can we support our children to grow and develop. Our mission is to discover together how to help each one of our students reach their own unique potential. We build our relationships on genuine regard for our students and respect for each other.

Play Time: Trying on Play that Fits the Day

As you look around our room you see that our four year old learners are "active"; they are in motion most of the time. They are also "interactive" learners: learning more from touching and doing rather than watching and listening. You notice that the children individually move freely from one play area to another. Joanne and Melissa have discovered that designing the classroom into "Play Stations" allows flexibility for learners to move in and out of play. They have observed that the children attend longer and play better when the children have the freedom to choose between different activities.

Stations also help our children who have processing difficulties stay focused. Each of our students who has an identified need has participated in a multidisciplinary evaluation prior to enrollment in our class. When reading the information discussed within the evaluation report our teaching staff often learn that a child exhibits difficulty processing sensory stimulation. Let's read a section of Jane's report to learn what those sensory difficulties can look like:..

Jane has difficulty processing all the sights and sounds of a large busy room. When she enters a classroom she can get overstimulated. She has not learned to selectively attend and focus on important objects and people while "tuning out" unimportant background stimulation. She appears easily distracted and requires environmental supports to assist her in maintaining attention. Classroom organization should address her need for smaller work stations with clear visual boundaries to increase her attention span.

Let's talk with Melissa to learn more about how are teachers have created a classroom environment that supports Jane's attention needs...

Melissa: "Today Joanne and I have set up four learning stations in different parts of the room. We have a transportation center, a sensory table, a technology station, and a dramatic play station. We have chosen these stations because we feel they reflect the interests of our students. We plan our curriculum and activity selection around our children's interests. When we do this we are acknowledging their individuality and building upon their strengths. We have taken into account the attention needs of Jane when we designed each of the centers. The transportation station is placed on a carpet. We have placed a circle of red tape around the carpet to signal where the play station begins and ends. This visual boundary (tape) paired with the tactile boundary (carpet) helps Jane stay focused. When you look at the sensory table you see that we have placed it against the wall. When Jane stands next to the table we position her so that she faces table towards the wall. This position helps minimize the amount of visual activity Jane has to observe. Computer play in the technology station requires Jane to sit still and coordinate her eye and hand movements. To assist her we have placed the computer in a study corral; a table top with sides that come up. You probably have seen these tables in libraries. They help all of us concentrate.

Providing sensory based experiences facilitates body awareness and motor control. The development of these skills can assist young children in developing increased self control. If you have a child who is very active and difficult to organize, sensory play can assist you in obtaining and maintaining his attention. For a child who appears challenged during directive play, open ended sensory play can modulate his behavior; there is more emphasis on exploration and little emphasis on following

directions.

We rotate materials over time but they often include the following:

• Large sand and water table

• Smaller individual containers; dish pans.

• We fill our tables and pans with materials that have diverse textures and that can be scooped and poured. We use sand, water, rice, macaroni, beans, bird seeds, pebbles, and smooth shells.

• We place cups, spoons, sifters, and water wheels and assorted beach toys. In our tubs.

• In our classroom there is a wide range of skill levels so we try to include some simple materials ( cups) with some more advanced item (dump trucks) so that children with diverse skill levels can play together.

The following activities can be done individually or in small groups.

Sensory Table Station

Simple open ended play: Our children enjoy exploring the properties of our sensory materials through simple scooping, digging, pouring, squeezing, and squirting. They engage in a process of observation and discovery: What happens if I do this or this to the beans? During this play teachers take on the role of facilitator; supporting and extending student's learnings. They encourage our students to engage in a wide variety of self directed experiments which teach important concepts (measuring) while simultaneously developing manipulation skills. The textures and sensations felt during this play can also be soothing and release tension.

Creative Play: We place small toys in the tables to assist children in engaging in creative play. They often act out activities that they observe in the world around them; sailing boats, pushing cars, etc.

Problem Solving Play: When children build sand castles or dump rice from a truck they have to develop a plan of action. Through trial and error children meet challenges and discover solutions. The key to all the above activities is to allow the child to take the lead!

Our children love imitating the activities they observe in the world. This is particularity true of activities that involve motion and sound. All of our students travel from home by car or bus. Transportation is a relevant part of their daily life. They often express interest in their travels by recalling events they saw on the road. What better way to expand their understanding of their transportation world than to provide them with trucks, cars, and busses that they can control!

• We use a carpet that has a road and town design.(You can locate in many preschool catalogues.)

• We use small cars, buses, trucks, and trains.

• Mini size people and house that can be easily manipulated.

• We also rotate landscaping props such as bridges, fences, etc..

• Since our children reflect varying levels of development we ensure that all of our manipulative and small toys are safe and due not include detachable pieces. You may want to develop a "safety plan" early in the school year to assess the safety needs of the children in your room regarding the use of small toys and objects. You may also need to set up clear guidelines regarding the use of toys and safe play.

• Set up: We often set up the map rug within a designated area in the middle of the room. We create boundaries by making a circle around it with red masking tape. We place some of the items on the mat and leave others in wide mouth containers at the different corners of the mat. We feel this set up invites children into the play but also communicates where and what is included in the station.

Creative Play: The children often start out by choosing one vehicle and play individually in a simple fashion; pushing the car down the road. As time passes we start to observe children becoming more complex in their play. They begin to add more vehicles or a bridge. They vary their actions and increase their sound production. We notice that two children that have played side by side with little interaction (parallel play) may begin to interact with each other. They begin to cooperatively move through the road together.

Facilitated Play: During station play the children are involved in self directed play. This allows us (teachers) to move around the room observing and expanding our students' play. We often use a questioning techniques to encourage them to use language and experiment with new play repertoires. During this play we may observe and ask Sally the following:

"What are you using the truck for? Is it going very fast? I wonder what else your truck could do?"

By asking questions instead of giving directives we are allowing the children to generate new options for play. This process can also guide them into new areas of conversation and language development.

Dramatic play allows children to "try on" different roles by literally trying on different clothes and playing with real life items as props. This play assists our children in developing important skills in their social-emotional development while also increasing their understanding of events in their world. When Sally dresses up in nurse clothing and examines her baby doll she is imitating the actions and language of the adults she observes during her own health visit. The important difference of this "Pretend Play" is that she is in charge; in control of the events during the visit. This pretend play is a safe way to express feelings and experiment with different ways of behaving. We like to include real life materials as props to assist our student in participating in as imaginative and expansive play as possible.

• Dress up clothes of various sizes. (We find that larger sizes are easier for our students with physical needs to put on)

• An assortment of real life and toy materials; doctors kit, hair dressing items, household utensils, tool kit, etc.

• Non breakable mirror. (It's helpful for our students to see concretely what they look like during this play. It facilitates body awareness and body image)

• Furniture arranged in a manner to create make believe rooms and buildings.

• Dolls and other items to create playmates.

Some examples are:

Housekeeping Area: The everyday rooms in your house are a great way to introduce dramatic play. Set up a pretend kitchen, bathroom, baby room, laundry room etc. We find that these rooms have materials familiar to all of our children, regardless of their developmental range. Encourage the children to cook a meal, wash some clothes, or get dressed for a party. Children with limited play skill benefit from playing along side of or interacting with children who demonstrate more advanced play. John may sit and stir the spoon in a large bowl while observing and being guided by Sam who is directing the meal.

Community Play: Our children travel through the community and observe fire stations, auto-mechanic repair shops, barber shops, restaurants, medical offices, etc. You can rotate these community businesses throughout the year. The important instructional ingredient is to embed these stations within other related activities; read a story about a fire house before or after this station is set up. Model the language used during this business? activities and some of the "safe ways" to interact with materials.

The use of a computer in the classroom has provided our children with a "double bonus" opportunity to learn new skills. In addition to learning the basics of how to use a computer; control the mouse, maneuver the keyboard, etc. they experience increased opportunities to develop language and cause and effect skills. Concurrent with concept development, play at the computer station also facilitates social skills like turn taking skills and communication!.

We use an Apple computer with compatible software.

Some of our favorite software programs include:

• Jacks House ( Kids Count Entertainment)

• Jokus Games (TM software)

• Muppets on Stage (Jim Henson Productions)

• Disney Animated Stories (Disney )

• Thinkin Things (Edmark Corporation)

• Colorforms (Colorforms company)

To assist our young students with keyboard skills we provide them with some enhancements or supports; color coding important key like the return bar. We have placed our computer in a small room we created within our classroom. This location, surrounded with low fabric covered partitions, provides an effective learning environment by minimizing distractions. We found this enclosed area increases learner productivity!

Group Play: Our computer station is most often used during small group time and free play. We have found that children receive the maximum benefit within groups that range from a minimum of two children to a maximum of four children. This group size allows for good peer interaction and minimizes waiting time. Children develop observational skills as they watch and model each other. They also develop the understanding of turn taking.

Basic Skills: We utilize software programs that teach our students the mechanics of operating a computer. We often spend an initial period of time teaching skills related to the use of the mouse and keyboard. Some of our students require extra guidance on holding and controlling these items due to their motor skills and coordination.

Interactive Learning: The creative elements of preschool software provides a motivating learning environment for exploring pre-academic skills such as counting, colors, shapes, and size. All of our programs are interactive; they require the child to participate. This interaction enhances a child's long and short term memory as well as their sequencing skills.

We have found that the use of the computer station supports inclusion. Activities within this station address the developmental needs of all our children but also provide unique ways to facilitate peer acceptance. Students can learn to be each others "buddies" in regards to helping each other maneuver computer hardware!

Helping Hands School relied on several funding sources for the Preschool of Tomorrow project. Scholarships for economically disadvantaged students were funded by a special legislative grant sponsored by New York State Senator Joe Bruno. Tuition for special needs students is paid by the county of each child's residence under provisions of New York State Education Law PL 94-142. Additional funding was provided through fund raising events including "Bowling for a Great Bunch of Kids," sponsored by De Crescente Distributors and Applebee's Restaurant, the Beanie Baby Raffle courtesy of Kids Stuff and the WGY Christmas Wish. Donations of computers and adaptive toys were received from the Elfun Society and General Electric.

The Preschool of Tomorrow is attended by 16 four year old learners. Eight of our students are children enrolled in Helping Hands and exhibit identified special needs significant enough to qualify for special education and related therapy services. These children were referred to our class from the Committee on Preschool special education in our local school district. The eight children who appear to be developing typically, were enrolled in our classroom from our community. Several of our community based students were on the waiting list for a Head Start program prior to joining our class. There are scholarships available to fund the tuition for some of our eight typical peers whose family income level deems them eligible. We are discovering that all of our students are benefiting from our inclusive early childhood education experience.

Therapists visit our room on a daily basis. These therapists provide support services for our students with special needs. Let us tell you about each one:

Speech Therapist: addresses our student's communication needs. They help develop our students' pronunciation (articulation) and vocabulary (language).

Physical Therapy: addresses our students' gross motor needs. They help develop our student's ability to move around, maintain balance, and build muscle strength.

Occupational Therapy: addresses our student's ability to make smaller

movements using their hands and fingers (fine motor), process sensations (sensory stimulation), coordinate their eye and hand movements (perceptual motor), and achieve common activities of daily living (dressing, eating, etc.)

Inclusion refers to the recent trend on both a federal and state level to include all children regardless of there levels of ability or the extent of their special needs in community classrooms. Inclusion is a favored practice which starts with servicing infants with special needs in community child care centers to students of higher education attending the university of their choose.

An IEP is a written plan which specifies the appropriate level of special

education services and related services that a individual child with an identified special need requires. An IEP often includes:

• Present levels of a child's performance and a description of his educational needs.

• Annual goals and short term objectives

• Description of recommended services and specialized equipment.

A multidisciplinary evaluation was administered to students identified with special needs prior to enrollment in our program. As part of the evaluation process several important components are completed. They are as follows:

Social History: Background information regarding a child's birth, medical history and significant milestones in a child's life are described. Pertinent family information is also provided

Psychological Testing: The use of a standardized psychological test and its findings are included. Emphasis of this information should focus on a child's learning styles and instructional needs.

Educational Assessment: Assessments to measure what skills a child demonstrates and what skills a child has yet to achieve (level of performance) should be described. Instructional supports should be identified

Related Service Tests and Assessments: Speech, occupational, and Physical therapy evaluations should occur to determine any therapeutic intervention a child would need within an educational setting. A determination of which related services assessment should be administered is made at the point of referral of a child to the school district for evaluation.

Classroom Observation: If a child is attending a preschool, an observation of the child in the classroom should occur.

Functional Behavior Analysis: If a child exhibits behaviors that impede is learning, an analysis of what behavior management techniques a child needs should be described.

Assistive Technology: If a child needs technology in order to function in the classroom; for example, communication boards etc., an assistive technology assessment should be included

The results of this evaluation are reviewed by a child's school district to determine eligibility of special education services.