[Marissa]

make it so they can do it themselves, like paint the paper in their own way or play with the cups in the water, make sure they are hands on activities because kids tend to want to play and be mire hand on learners

[Kaylie]

I would say the best way to do it is to ask them questions about their at home life and relating the lessons to their specific experiences.

[Stephanie]

I think you need to get to know the students first to see what kinds of things they like and then you can incorporate some of those things into the classroom. For example, a child that likes cars might be more receptive to sitting at circle time if there were songs and stories related to cars. Another example is if a child likes to engage in sensory play but has a tendency to put items in their mouth. You can find sensory play alternatives that are safe if ingested such as making your own playdough, using Boba pearls instead of water beads for water play, and creating your own sand/different tactile activities with edible ingredients.

[ruthi mathis]

When children are playing with the blocks building cities, I ask them who are the people that live in their city? What type of helpers are there? What problems do they help solve? There is a school in the city, and we chatted about what type of activities all the children would do in the school. One of the students talked about having ice cream making as a class.

[Eva]

I am the garden educator at our facility. One of the activities I like to do is to have the children help gather seeds (from our garden when we can or from brought in fruits/vegetables/flowers) and then sort them. Some children might use plastic, blunt ended tweezers to pick up the seeds (some fine motor skill work.) We can also use the seeds to practice laying out patterns. Finally, we can create art from the seeds.

[Malivanh Rajsavong]

I think it would be interesting to combine different activities into one. For example, if one child wants to play with play-dough, and one wants to draw with stencils, we could do an activity with cookie cutters and play-dough. Encourage the children to compromise and think about the activity they are doing to better understand it.

[Kyla]

The teachers need to know what makes their students tick and what they are passionate about, in this way the students feel connected to the classroom.

[Kylie Zajdel]

I think it would be fun to ask about activities they like to do at home, their favorite toy or something and try to incorporate the safety aspect of home into learning. Maybe they bring in their favorite toy and that can be used in the lesson plan in some capacity (like maybe the stuffed animal is the teacher).

[Corey]

I think that asking questions is a great way to boost children’s engagement with an activity, as it will encourage them to think about what they’re doing. Additionally, asking questions will help you as the instructor understand how much the child is excited with+ comprehending the activity, and it will let you know if the activity is helping their development or if you should perhaps switch activities

[Chloe]

I think that following children’s interests and building on them really is the key, and it doesn’t necessarily mean just choosing subjects to investigate but also choosing ways to investigate. For example, one of my groups went crazy for beanbag games. We made sure to have a beanbag-related activity for every topic we did: beanbag tosses with letters, beanbag balancing and relay races where we pretended to be different animals carrying beanbags, using beanbags for measuring length etc. The connection between beanbags and the topic weren’t always all that deep, but it got many kids to up their participation.

[Isabella]

Some ways to get children involved are by asking meaningful questions that make the child think. For example, if we are in the reading area, I can ask the child what books they like or what a certain book is about. Another example is if we are in the art area, I could ask what color the child is using or what they are drawing/making. It is also important that you are observing each child and taking into account that some children will not be as engaged as another child might be during one activity.

[Christina]

Always take the time to get to know each of your children in your childcare. See what they are interested in. Something as simple as playing with cars, ask them “Where is your car driving too? Does your car need gas?” Kids love answering those questions and it opens up a full conversation. If you are doing arts and crafts ask them “what are you coloring, or which craft are you doing, did you make that for someone or are you going to hang that in your room?”

[Lia Simkins]

Watch your individual students playa nd track their interests, then develop curriculum around the things that interest them, for example if your students love dress up you could use a pirate dress up ‘walk the plank’ game to help them learn to balance, count, and even graph.

[Karen Henderson]

To engage children in active learning, try using all the 5 senses. If you are working on colors for example, first talk about the color red. What do we see around us that is the color red? Have a red apple and cut slices to taste the red apple. Or the color brown. Look for brown leaves. What sound do they make when we step on brown leaves?

[Habiibo Saneey]

Engaging children in active, meaningful learning can be a wonderfully creative endeavor. Incorporating hands-on activities that allow children to explore and discover, such as science experiments or art projects, can captivate their curiosity and enthusiasm. Storytelling and imaginative play encourage creativity and language development. Utilizing technology in a controlled and educational manner, like interactive apps or virtual field trips, can also make learning exciting. Outdoor activities that involve nature exploration, gardening, or physical games provide a multi-sensory learning experience. Most importantly, fostering a warm and encouraging atmosphere where children are free to ask questions, experiment, and express themselves is crucial for active and meaningful learning.