I hope you enjoyed reading Mind in the Making.
Now you can take your reading experience a step further and ask your questions of Ellen Galinsky herself! Share your questions here in the comments section or email me directly at amanda {at} notjustcute.com. I’ll be collecting questions until 4/25/12. At that time I’ll be submitting the questions to Ellen Galinsky, who has graciously offered to answer them.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
If you want to learn more about Ellen and her work, here are some links you might enjoy:
Mind in the Making Website (Where you can find a link to this fantastic printable overview sheet, Tips for Promoting Essential Skills)
“Mind in the Making” Q&A with Early Childhood Expert Ellen Galinsky {Journalism Center on Children and Families}
Podcast with Ellen Galinsky {Mojo Mom}
Ellen also writes frequently at the Huffington Post. Find an index of her articles here.
Would it be appropriate to “teach” young children critical thinking or should we let them live in their fantasy world? I mean, is it that bad to allow them to believe a toy hamster can be transformed into a real one when they are age 4-6? Won´t they turn into “real” facts by themselves when they are developmentally ready and mature for it? I´m not questioning the importance of science and experiments in early childhood, though.
I loved participating in this read along. This book IS truly inspiring and a great resource I plan on revisiting in the future.
I was particularly excited skill 3: communication made reference to bilingualism. I am bilingual myself (english/portuguese) and we are raising our son (soon to be sons) trilingual (English/Portuguese/French). While I do consider this an advantage in many senses, I wonder if it can be a hindrance as well and would love tips or further resources for overcoming obstacles. We speak English (me) and Portuguese (my husband, and between my husband and I) at home with our 3yo son and he gets French from the environment and, more recently, from school. I found his adaptation to school to be hard for many reasons, one of which has been the inability to communicate in French associated with his more sensitive temperament. I wonder if there is a way to make this easier and if it will be damaging to him (gosh I hope not) and how great of an influence this has on other skills. Any reading suggestions Ellen would have would be more than welcome!
Also, you refer many times to the contribution a good teacher has to a child’s overall success. What would be more influential in developing a lifelong love of learning, the School environment or the home environment?
I am a student teacher who currently teach preschoolers . You have been a great resource for me. I have purchased this book online recently and I can’t wait to start reading it myself and share it with my colleagues. My question is:
How to teach young children to stand up for themselves without misleading them to show negative emotions toward others? My point is I want my students to speak up when they are treated unfairly(e.g.,being excluded because their age, sex, physical appearances), not to seek revenge. My heart breaks when children take You make me sad when you say I can’t play. I can play anywhere I please. to You are mean! I am not going to be your friend forever! I am going to be mean to you! This is not the kind of result that I desired. I know I can’t make everyone to fall in love with each other, but I want them to at least feel comfortable around their peers.
I know it is late for submitting my question to author Ellen Galinsky, but I am hoping that you could offer me a few advices about this concern. I apologize if my post is not appropriate.
Sincerely,
Chris
You bring up a great question I’ll address for my First Friday video this week!