Easy Peasy Sensory Bags

Sensory Bags!!!
Our easy to make sensory bags are a BIG HIT!!!!!

Follow up for details and suggestions. Versatile and fun with so many possibilities.

Little Hands, Big Learning

Constructive Learning

Things have been going great at Loorducation. We have been very active. This past week we made many different sensory bags. We also used kinetic sand and cornstarch mixed with water for great sensory fun. These experiences went very well. After all the hand son activities, JJ wanted to play school. Without being prompted, he started to write spelling words and continued to write and draw. This was excellent. The sensory activities calmed him down and worked up his fine motor skills to prepare his hands for writing - willingly. I loved it, we went with it. We played school. He was the teacher. He even had to put his glasses on. He gave me a spelling test and corrected it with a star and happy face. He was so excited. This was great. He was really into it. He loves school and loves to learn. I am very blessed. His writing skills are coming along well. By giving him options and well needed breaks in between homework from the school week, he feels more secure and less pressured. Thus, causing him to be engaged and engrossed in spontaneous learning activities. Which, in turn, will gear him up and ready him for the next week of school academics. When children feel well, they will learn well. That is the bottom line. The well being comes first.



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PLAY

  Who wants to play? Young children want to play. Play is a child’s work. It is what they do. Play is what a child needs and desires for a healthy development. Playing is learning. Children are very tactile, that is how they learn and explore the world around them. Children are movers. They are sponges absorbing information from everyone and everywhere. In order for optimal learning to take place, a child must have the freedom to move about the learning environment using all of their five senses. Young children are very hands on, so giving them opportunities to express themselves in Kindergarten is ideal and beneficial for their growing minds. This is why a curriculum based on constructivism is necessary.

Constructivism is a philosophy of education that is based on experimental learning through real life experiences and hands on activities that will construct and condition knowledge. During the early years of school, children need to play and make sense of the world around them. It is desirable for children to be in an environment where the philosophy of education is aimed at the ultimate benefit of the child. An early math and literacy curriculum for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, where children are free to learn from hands on experiences is beneficial. Children are natural movers and explorers, and therefore it is only natural to prepare a curriculum for them that is based on their needs, desires and interests. The philosophy of constructivism is a solid foundation for productivity and growth in young children. A Constructive-play based curriculum encourages discovery, hands on, experimental and task based learning. A curriculum that is based on constructivism is something that children naturally depend on in order to succeed in their environment.

Across the Web

Hello everyone, thank you for being a part of Loorducation. Lately I have been preparing for my state exams. Got one down : ). As well, I am always working on projects, activities, posts, updates and all things early childhood education. It is my passion. For a while now I have owned www.loorducation.com and have many ideas for the site. I just have to get it all organized. It is very exciting to think of all the wonderful possibilities. For now Loorducation is all across the web, of course in blog form. A big thing for us right now is www.facebook.com/loorducation. That is where I share my ideas, pics, activities and other things education related. I hope you all stop by and give my page a like and follow if you do not do so already and if you do, I ma hoping you can share with some friends. I also do a lot of autism advocacy and awareness/acceptance on my facebook page. What you see on that page is a part of what I intend Loorducation.com to be. A place where ideas can be shared. Facebook is a great tool to "get out there". The community I have continues to grow with more support all the time. I am excited that people are excited about what I have offered this past year on Loorducation, and still there is so much more to do and learn. About this wordpress blog in which I started because of an M.Ed. program requirement has become a forefront to share my son's autism journey and it has opened doors to help others. Yet, this is only the beginning. In order to spread awareness and enlightenment, I started www.loorducation.blogspot.com back in April. For the most part, I just copy and paste what is here, give it a different title or what have you. Sometimes I may add a unique touch. This was to branch out and gain a bigger audience, to spread my messages and share my passion. Loorducation is on www.instagram.com/loorducation where I use it as a virtual photo album to share experiences of teaching, learning and education. I like to call it education in pictures and i hope you can check it out. I take great pride and passion in creating my photos in which I take my self and edit them. They are all so special and mean a lot. They come from the heart and are captured in a natural state, no staging. Seeing my photos will give you a look into what I love to do and the outcomes of my work and journey. I have also used Flipboard to make some flip magazines for Loorducation. It was something fun and I used it as another tool on the web to get the name Loorducation out there and to learn differnt ways in which i may present my craft. Let's not forget about www.twitter.com/loorducation. It is a positive community where you never know who you are going to meet and inspire or who may inspire you. I have www.facebook.com/loorducation posts automatically connected to it, so whatever I post on FB will go right there. A great, faster, effective way to get your message and voice out there. There are many things to learn and a good thing to be a part of too. On www.pinterest.com/loorducation, you can see some things that are of my interest, pics of things I love and care about, arts and crafts, etc. I use it sparingly until I have some created some more products and/or activities to share. For a project, when I was in grad school, I have created www.constructivekinder.weebly.com
I invite you to check it out and take a look around all of the different pages that I have put together. It will give you an idea and show you what my pedagogy is.
I appreciate you for reading and being a part of this wonderful journey. Hope you all keep in touch and spread the word. Bigger things to come in the near future. Thank you for your time and I hope you come back and check out all things that Loorducation has to offer around the web.
www.loorducation.wordpress.com

Yours Truly,
Dany
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Danielle Loor - BSCS M.Ed.

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Come connect with us on Facebook. Share the page and spread the word. Many exciting things are coming up. Quality, Differentiated Early Childhood Education is vital for a solid foundation of a child's learning. ECE is the building block in which a child stands on and the commitment to keep it firm and stable is within. Loorducation is dedicated to making learning exciting and fun. Every child is unique and the way that they are taught depends on their needs.

Dany, B.S. Child Studies / M.Ed. candidate

P.S. remember that PLAY is Essential- it is a child's Work.

Hmm...

I can not believe it is already week 6 of this module. Time is flying by. Counting this week, there are 3 left until the module ends. Then onto 2 more MEd core classes until December. May..I see you...after that 3 more classes to go. Not so bad. So basically if you are counting in semesters, I have 1 more to go. At Post University, I am in the Accelerated degree program which is half the time..and yeah so what are you majoring in?

Hey..do I get some of my student loans lowered if I mention my school again? Just taking a little break here then it is back to work and by work I mean..studying, planning, teaching, caring for my family, LEARNING, tweeting -@Loorducation www.twitter.com/loorducation, developing my brand- www.facebook.com/loorducation and more. It is all worth it. At this point I think they should just skip the Masters Degree and give me my Ed.D or PhD- I will take either one.

Open Education

When you hear or see the words "open education" what do you think?

Let's see open = not closed off/free..hmmm free education?? Excuse me, I will take that!!!



Open Education is something so vital. We all must take a look into. Imagine a world where knowledge is free to those who pursue it. Let's remember that knowledge is power. With that said we can change the world for the better. Early Childhood Education is the foundation for success. Let us work on young children being able to attend school where their parents who are making minimum wage, would not even have to pay. Quality education can be free. With hard work, passion and determination- its feasible!! Let's go!!!



What would you set forth to accomplish if open education was available for all as of today??

Some Helpful Links

http://www.openeducation.net/

http://whyopenedmatters.org/

http://youtu.be/dTNnxPcY49Q

Open education is a trend. It is a movement. Like many other trends, the positive aspects are presented first off. Just by the term open education alone brings a sense of peace and fascination. How can we pull off open education? After the initial learning of open education, the real concerns and questions arise.

Open education means to be free and available. How great would this be if everyone can get a free readily available education. Education should be a right and if it was truly open, how many people would exercise that right. Open education means eliminating barriers in education (McNally 2012). Just the term, open education alone seems promising. It is exciting to think that people can have an open education. But like with all great promising notions, especially that have to do with education, there are some big challenges that are to be faced along with it.

It is exciting to think of open education and to know that people who never even thought they had a chance at getting educated can have a chance to learn, thrive and succeed in this world.

It is free. Who wouldn't go for it. Open education is available and out there ready for the whole world- the resources, information - all for everyone located in every part of the world (McNally 2012).

Without even having to pay to learn about information from authors, colleges and universities there is information ready to be soaked up by eager learners. Open education is an exciting trend. A while ago I came across a site from Yale which offered the syllabus, course content and all things pertaining to those certain subjects online. If one wanted to learn about it, the information from actual Yale professors were there. Of course in that situation, the only thing is you do not get a college credit for it but it was great to see that available.

Open education is a new idea but seems to be becoming quite popular now a days. We do not know everything about open education and as much as we know we will still need to find out so much more like how will open education survive? Where will the money come from? things of that nature.

It is so true that we want to learn. For the most part people want to learn and many obstacles, especially financial are hindering their desires. Knowing that people all over the world despite culture, ethnicity background and creed, poor etc. can receive a higher education is remarkable. It brings hope and promise to our world as a whole. So many people would like a higher education but money seems to always be like the first negative factor on why they are unable to further their education. Open education can rid this. “People want to learn. By providing free and open access to education and knowledge, we help create a world where people can fulfil this desire” according to article on openeducatioweek.com (Admin 2013). This access will be amazing but I can not help to keep thinking of the money issue and how we will truly reach the time where open education is available for all, used by many, taught by many. I love teaching. It is my passion but how will educators survive with open education? The student in me of course loves this idea greatly. As I wish our MEd courses were free ; ).

McNally, Michael. (2012, March 22). Democratizing access to knowledge: find out what open educational resources (OER) have to offer.  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2IPOgl0ZE8

Admin. (February 26,2013). About open education. Retrieved from http://www.openeducationweek.org/about-open-education/

Digital Mediated Learning Activities

Great for my pre kindergärtners and those in all grade levels and beyond

Education is crucial. It is vital for our

Education is crucial. It is vital for our children to not only learn to love but LOVE to LEARN. I love teaching children and little do they know they teach me more than can be imagined. I not only teach what I love but I LOVE what I TEACH.