Tapping the matching letters. Swiping rhyming words together.
This isn’t preschool. [Read more…]
Can the Wrong Metrics Kill Learning?
This year didn’t quite start out the way I had hoped. BUT, I did manage to cross off a goal millions of people set at the beginning of the year, and after only a few weeks in.
Kids Deserve More than an Internet Connection
The headlines have actually been coming for years, but a new round has been catching everyone’s attention the past few weeks.
“Old-fashioned toys, not video games, best for kids, pediatricians say.”
“So-called ‘educational’ toys rarely really are.”
“Old-fashioned toys better for development than high-tech gadgets, study finds.”
“The best toys are those that support play, new report says.”
Just in time for the biggest gift-giving season of the year, the American Academy of Pediatrics released toy guidelines that suggest that high-tech trends are promoting toys for children that are over-stimulating, ineffective when it comes to development, and in some cases, actually lead to skill delays.
Is Child Development Spiritually Empty?
In her book, “The Soul of Education”, Rachael Kessler wrote: [Read more…]
A Patchwork Philosophy
Discovering the Culture of Childhood
We each view the world through our own unique lenses. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just the product of who we are, where we’ve been, and what we experience. Through all of that, we then filter how we perceive the world.
Recess Responses: Challenging 5 Common Excuses for the Removal of Playtime
Resources for Defending Childhood
My voice is nearly gone.
The combination of a cold I picked up snuggling my sniffling 5 year old earlier in the week, together with three 1 1/2 hour presentations given in less than 24 hours time, has dropped my voice several decibels and quite likely a full octave.
The Disembodied Mind
Enjoy this popular post from last year!
I am a nerd. (It’s OK. While the term might have made me cringe in high school, I have since learned to embrace my nerdiness.) I recently found myself on a short trip with some down time for a little reading, and as any good nerd would, I packed along one of my favorite textbooks from grad school. (I know, I just confessed to having a favorite textbook.)
Intention Deficit Disorder
While ADD, or attention deficit disorder, is a term frequently referred to in educational and developmental settings (an intriguing article on which can be found here), I’d like to introduce another term, one directed at us as adults. IDD, or Intention Deficit Disorder is not a disorder you’ll find the DSM-IV diagnostic manual, but it’s one I see in frequently in adults working with children, and even in myself from time to time.
