[natja7]

Hi everyone, I just found this site and am quite excited about it! I am an American with a background in education that moved to Oslo, Norway kind of on a whim. I got a job here teaching in a private "kindergarten" as we call it here but is more of a cross between daycare and preschool. At first I was unsure about working in early childhood as it was new for me, but I am very happy I did. After being there for 3 months I was just honored with being promoted from staff teacher to department head. This is really exciting but also kind of scary for me. We have 17 kids between 2 and 4 and there are 4 adults around most of the time. We are very concerned that the focus is play and learning through play, but that they are definitely learning. We are focused on outdoor life and in true Norwegian fashion spending large amounts of time hiking in the woods (which is very doable with youngins!). Overall it is a very great place to be. I was just wondering if there is anyone out there who had any great ideas for behavior/group management in relatively unstructured situations I would be happy to hear it. This is one of the challenges I face, along of course with the language/culture gap in that I don't know the songs they sing and the books they read from a young age, and they don't use any of the traditional "preschool" learning materials we have in the states like centers and big books and felt boards. Thanks and hello from the other side of the pond!

[happytosub]

I'm jealous of you! My family lived in Stavanger while I was in college in the U.S. I got to visit them there twice a year. What a beautiful country!

Do you read English books to the kids or are you able to speak Norwegian? What kind of supplies do they have in the classroom?

[newatprek]

I am the owner/director/teacher of a private preschool. We have a total of 36 kids--3 groups of 12--ages 3-6. The best job in the world!

I don't have any advice for you...just wanted to welcome you.

[natja7]

Hey everyone thanks for welcoming me! I should have mentioned I do speak fluent Norwegian so I have no problem communicating with them, it's just that as I didn't grow up there I don't know their songs and their classic children's authors. As far as materials we have lots of toys: all sorts of building toys (duplos, jovos, thomas the tank engine rail set), a kitchen area, dolls and stroller, cars and trucks, etc. We also have lots of craft materials for activities like clay, construction paper, feathers, glue, paint (but not watercolor), glitter, a lamination machine, and much more. We do have some books but I haven't had a chance to go through them yet. We have one large central room and three smaller rooms that branch off it. I was thinking of turning the third room into a quiet reading/calm down area. Our learning themes this year are the four seasons, and we have just switched from fall to winter. We do have this really cool material set which has all sorts of little models of things that we use to visually tell stories when we tell them, which the kids love. I was wondering if anyone could explain felt boards to me, as I don't remember much about them. I'm hoping to give the kids a little bit better routine in their day and keep them better occupied to cut down on the hitting and other issues we have, but I'm open to any other suggestions! Thanks again!

[happytosub]

I use felt boards when telling a story like 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the bed, because it is fun for the kids to see the piece literally jump of the bed and 4 monkeys remaining. I sometimes pass out one flannel board piece to each child during circle and have them pay attention for that item to be mentioned in the story, then they get to come and put the piece on the board (If you give a mouse a cookie...). I glued a piece of blue felt to the back of a small bookcase in my room. The kids have access to it at center time. I usually leave the pieces up for about a week. I can't say it is the most popular center, but some like it. You can print lots of things at www.kizclub.com and www.makinglearningfun.com. If you print on cardstock, laminate, cut out, and then attach a piece of velcro to the back you will have durable sets forever. You can do the same thing with magnetic tape and use the pieces on cookie sheets.

For calm and quiet I suggest playdough. They love it with rolling pins, cookie cutters, etc. and it is great for developing fine motor skills.

[teach2read10]

Thanks for sharing those sites.