Whole Child Development
Don’t forget to change your clocks this Sunday! With the time change and the ever shortening days, you’ll have a few extra hours of darkness to work with. Here’s a post I recently wrote for The Organized Parent to give you a few ideas about what to do with them.
Every parent wants their kids to have the best shot at succeeding at whatever their chosen path may be. So we try to give them all of the right opportunities. Some go to tutors, buy complicated programs, or drill through flashcards, but one of the best predictors of success is one that can be regularly built through play.
I attended a staff meeting recently where we discussed the prevalent zero-tolerance policies in schools today, and the trickle down effect it has on preschools. We had read some interesting articles in advance (which you can find here, here, and here) and used those as a springboard to talk about the variety of policies schools implement to address difficult behaviors.
I met with a program director not too long ago who talked with me about the improvements she’d made to her center. Among other changes, she proudly announced that she had “gotten rid of all holidays”.
I just had to share these Kid History videos someone shared with me this week. I laughed so hard I cried. Then I watched a few more episodes and laughed some more. I figured anyone who spends much time with kids would appreciate this take on how kids retell stories. So, enjoy – but maybe have some tissues handy! (I think the one above was my favorite. You can also start with the first episode here.) [Read more…]
Spin art is a childhood favorite. I don’t think I’ve ever met a child who doesn’t want to take a shot at it. I think it’s interesting that even the kids who often don’t want to sit down and work on a static art project, suddenly come alive when you introduce movement art like this.
A reader requested a repost of this “sermon”, originally posted in 2009. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.
As I began writing this post, it became apparent that I was writing a sermon in two parts. (Brevity has never really been my strong suit.) Don’t worry, you don’t need to change into your Sunday best, your pajamas are just fine (you know who you are). Just get comfortable, I’ve got a lot on my mind.
If you want to get preschool teachers all riled up, talk about “push-down curriculum” (pushing academic standards from one grade down to the next- pushing fluent reading skills from first grade to kindergarten, and now to preschool, for example). I read this article the other day, and it really got me thinking about academics and preschoolers.
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