The use of items in the Crayons Count kit within an Early Childhood setting.

1. The use of items in the Crayons Count kit within an Early Childhood setting. Compiled by: Shaanii-Grace Robinson Early Childhood Development Resource Centre Officer Caenwood Early Childhood Resource Centre

2. The Early Childhood Commission Vision All children having access to high quality early childhood development services enabling the realization of their full potential.

3. Do Good Jamaica and Crayons Count How did Crayons Count Start and why? Crayons Count first started when Deika Morrison, the founder of Do Good Jamaica, heard that Jamaican children didn’t have crayons. She consulted with the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) and was advised that there was a severe shortage of appropriate learning materials in early childhood institutions (more commonly known as basic schools) across Jamaica.

4. Do Good Jamaica and Crayons Count Crayons Countwas established with two objectives: • Objective 1:  To increase awareness of the importance of early childhood education and good early childhood practices. • Objective 2: To provide recommended learning resources to basic schools

5. The Early Childhood Commission andDo Good Jamaica The Early Childhood Commission’s vision fused with Do Good Jamaica’s mission support within the early childhood setting: • The availability of developmentally appropriate and safe teaching/learning material. • The full enjoyment and success of all teaching/ learning experience by both early childhood practitioners and students. • An integrated lesson where students experience holistic development while ‘Learning through Play’. • That early childhood institutions adhere to the standards of operating within a conducive learning environment for all students.

6. Learning through Play Learning Through Play - a Child's Job Play is fun for children. Play is the way children learn. Through play, children learn about themselves, their environment, people and the world around them. As they play, children learn to solve problems and to get along with others. They enhance their creativity and develop leadership skills and healthy personalities. Play develops skills children need to learn to read and write. Play in early childhood is the best foundation for success in school. By Jane K. Frobose, Colorado State University Extension, Family and Consumer Education Denver County, February 2008

7. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit The Crayons Count Kit supplied by Do Good Jamaica includes: • Items of various textures, colours and shapes. • Items that are kid-friendly. • Items that are age and developmentally appropriate for all students/children at the early childhood years.

8. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Wooden Blocks Benefits of wooden blocks to the early childhood student. Promote creativity Encourage cooperative play Develop fine motor skills Foster hand-eye coordination Ensure letter and number recognition Enhance spelling and number skills Provide the opportunity for the development of spatial relationships and problem solving skills Ideas Have students create words and interchange letters to make nonsense words. Ask students to find the matching number for the amount of letters in a word, then use the math symbols on blocks to perform simple mathematics problems.

9. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Assorted Art Supplies Benefits of paint and paint brushes to the early childhood student. Allow the release of stress as art therapy Encourage the identification of colours and designs Develop fine motor skills Enhance imagination Fosters the learning of different painting/art techniques. Ideas Let students paint their interpretation of a story that was read or supply an outline of the characters and let them paint in the colour. Allow students to paint items to represent counters or letters. Let students mix paint colours or melt pieces of crayons together to discover new colours and create new crayons.

10. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Assorted Art Supplies Benefits of crayons to the early childhood student. Foster language and self-expression skills Develop small muscle coordination Promote writing skills, Math skills, Science skills and creative skills Ideas Have students use the crayon as a writing tool. Provide students with two pictures, one that was pre-coloured with more than three (3) hues and the same picture without colours; let students select matching colours to replicate the picture.

11. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Assorted Art Supplies Benefits of pairs of scissors to the early childhood student. Develop fine motor hand skills Develop the use of the index fingers Promote Language development (in and out, open and close) Sequencing Ideas Have students cut along varied types of lines, such as curvy, curly, wavy, straight lines among others eg. Healthy Foods-banana, apple Allow children to cut out objects and make a collage. 3. Invite students to cut along the outlines of numbers, letters and shapes.

12. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Paper Benefits of paper to the early childhood student. Is versatile Increases the imagination Is a medium for self-expression Promotes fine motor skills Enhances creativity skills Ideas Engage students in simple paper folding techniques, such as origami, to make objects such as , birds, rings, boats among others. Allow children colour or design plain papers and tear or cut to make confetti for the desired celebration.

13. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Wood Blocks Benefits of wood blocks to the early childhood student. Build hand-eye coordination Develop fine motor control Support mathematics skills-sorting, counting, adding Assist in the creation of designs Ideas Make an object and allow students to use the blocks to create a design that matches the previously made item. Invite students to create outlines of geometrical shapes using the prescribed pieces or colours.

14. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Shape Sequencing Sorting Set Benefits of shape sequencing sorting set to the early childhood student. Promotes math skills-sorting skills, sequencing Fosters colour identification Develops problem solving skills Ideas Have students trace around the outline of any shapes. 2. Invite students to label items with adjectives such as biggest, smallest.

15. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Tall-Stacker Benefits of tall-stacker to the early childhood student. Builds hand-eye coordination Develops fine motor control Supports mathematics skills-sorting, counting, adding Assists in the creation of designs Ideas Have students create or form a letter from the alphabet. Allow students to create irregular and regular shapes and designs.

16. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Rainbow Stacker Benefits of rainbow stacker to the early childhood student. Builds early shape, colourand size differentiation skills Promotes problem solving Ideas Assist students to roll the parts on the rainbow stacker towards a target. Allow children to thread the open circles to create a design of their choice. Allow children to ‘find the same’ or ‘spot the difference’ among the stackers.

17. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Balls Benefits of balls to the early childhood student. Help to address bilateral skills Develop hand-eye coordination Ensure timing, sequencing skills Encourage motor planning and attention. Support focus and direction Ideas Have students compare the sizes, texture, shapes, colours, design and use of the ball. Pass a ball to a student after he/she has supplied a correct answer and allow them to ‘dunk’ or ‘kick’ or ‘bounce’ in the direction of a target. Have students practice counting skills by ‘dunking’, ‘kicking’ or ‘bouncing’.

18. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Play Dough Benefits of play dough to the early childhood student. helps to strengthen small fingers, hands and wrists. builds imagination. helps children develop self esteem fosters cooperative play. Builds communication skills Teaches dividing, numbering skills Ideas Allow students to twist and mold two different colours of ‘play doh’ to create a new colour. Invite students to make exact models from a given sample. 3. Ask students to make items of various sizes, shapes and depth.

19. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Puzzles Benefits of puzzles to the early childhood student. Build cognitive skills-problem solving skills, critical thinking Develop fine motor skills Promotes hand-eye coordination Encourages good social skills and self-esteem Ideas Use as Flash/Clue Cards for picture and letter identification. Allow students to use only the letters that spell their name or any other word. Letter hunt/matching: pre-place letters at various location within the class, write a word on chart/board. Let students search for letters and place under the given letter.

20. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Hand Puppets Benefits of hand puppets to the early childhood student. Foster creative skills Enhance communication and social skills. Develop oral Language skills Promote the processing of emotions Build imagination skills Ideas Have students use puppets as characters to compliment a read story. Allow students to use puppets in imagined scenario or to express an upsetting situation if unable to ‘voice’ feelings openly.

21. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Lacing Shapes Benefits of lacing shapes to the early childhood student. Develop fine motor skills Supply the support to build muscle strength and flexibility Encourages mastery of learning designs, colours and shapes. Ideas Have the students take turns lacing geometrical shapes during mathematics. Help students to create their own lacing tool by tracing around the supplied shape. Allow students to pair similar colours, shapes.

22. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit What are the benefits of using the items in the Crayons Count kit to the Early Childhood Practitioner The use of the items within the Crayons Count kit by an Early Childhood practitioner can: • Provide instant accessibility to attractive and engaging teaching/learning materials. • Ensure the integration of varied academic disciplines in the early childhood lesson. • Promote sustained focus; students will be less distracted during a lesson as they are more likely to remain on-task. • Encourage the use of simple and direct instruction while minimizing the frequency of commands.

23. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit When should the items in the Crayons Count Kit be used? • The time span for the use of each item in the Crayons Count kit is relative to the desired activity. However, the time may be expanded or reduced to reflect or coincide with the time or period allotted for circle time, guided learning , free play, creative activityandoutdoor play.

24. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit How should the items in the Crayons Count kit be used? • Early Childhood practitioners may choose to restrict the amount of items distributed to the students at any given time or session. For example within the theme ‘Water Transportation’ a practitioner may give a student a set of eight (8) blue, rectangular and triangular wood blocks to create a boat/ship. • Items in the crayons count kit may be used with a set of students or per child. • Ideally the use of the Crayons Count kit should foster within the early childhood classroom students’ maximum enjoyment as they, through play, explore learning opportunities within an atmosphere that is ‘tooled’ for their optimal holistic development.

25. Do Good Jamaica-Crayons Count Kit Conclusion Do Good Jamaica and The Early Childhood Commission support the use of the items within the Crayons Count kit to compliment any early childhood lesson or topic. Both entities endorse the standard that early childhood lessons should promote the holistic development of children within a rich learning environment with accessible teaching/learning materials for the enrichment and enjoyment of the teaching/learning experience.