Whole Child Development
Playdough is a staple of childhood. It always amazes me how long it can keep a child’s interest, squishing, pounding, rolling, and cutting. I personally prefer homemade Classic Playdough, because it’s cheaper, better smelling, a bit softer and easier for little hands to command, and I have a little less to worry about when my son snitches another pinch to eat. (Should I worry about the fact that he’ll often turn his nose up at the dinners I make, but will gladly eat playdough?) [Read more…]
This past week a friend of mine sent me a disturbing thought-provoking article from the Wall Street Journal. The piece, entitled “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior“ is an excerpt from Amy Chua’s new book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. My friend and I have had several discussions on parenting, and she served as one of my editors as I wrote my ebook, Parenting with Positive Guidance. So naturally, she wondered what I thought about this mother’s take on superior parenting and ultimately superior kids.
It’s January, and in many families that means time to register for preschool. I’ve had several readers email me describing the overwhelming task of selecting a quality preschool, and asking for my suggestions. So I’ve assembled a list here of what I would look for in a quality play-based preschool. This is my dream list, and you have to realize that there are some great programs that won’t have every component I list here. You have to be aware of what your priorities are and what you’re willing to live without or make up for at home.
An argument is brewing in the preschool scene. In one corner, you have those arguing for more academics to give children that head start that might correct the troubles of high-school drop-outs and low test scores. They claim that children rise to the occasion and show that they are capable of more than we’ve been asking.
In the other corner, you’ll find those who say play is disappearing from the cultural landscape of America and that its absence is a contributor to many childhood maladies such as obesity, ADHD, and declining social skills. They say that children “rising to the occasion” are really only performing splinter skills , which are more closely aligned with party tricks than with actual learning.
I get it. It’s hard to shop with kids. I’ll be the first to admit I do a lot of my shopping at night and on weekends because I’ve discovered that taking three little boys with me takes about 30 extra minutes and costs about seven extra dollars. But a trip to the grocery store can be such a rich experience to enjoy with your child.
I get it. It’s hard to shop with kids. I’ll be the first to admit I do a lot of my shopping at night and on weekends because I’ve discovered that taking three little boys with me takes about 30 extra minutes and costs about seven extra dollars. But a trip to the grocery store can be such a rich experience to enjoy with your child.
Numbers can be a pretty abstract concept for a preschooler to wrap her mind around. But just as a storybook turns abstract letters into a meaningful story, the abstract concepts of numeracy, patterning, and comparison find real meaning in the objects they represent. Putting these real objects into the small hands of young children makes the abstract concrete as we connect these math terms and concepts with experiences and understandings they’ve been building over a lifetime.
Numbers can be a pretty abstract concept for a preschooler to wrap her mind around. But just as a storybook turns abstract letters into a meaningful story, the abstract concepts of numeracy, patterning, and comparison find real meaning in the objects they represent. Putting these real objects into the small hands of young children makes the abstract concrete as we connect these math terms and concepts with experiences and understandings they’ve been building over a lifetime.
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