Whole Child Development
Is it just me, or did January fly by? (I have to confess, I still have a few Christmas decorations I missed that are waiting to join their friends in the storage box!) Today is the last day of the month, and that means it’s the last day to use the code “NewYear” to get a discount on my ebook, “Parenting with Positive Guidance: Building Discipline from the Inside Out“.
I observed at a wonderful preschool this week where they were using this (it smelled fabulous):
I’ve got dinosaurs on the brain again, so I thought I’d repost this dinosaur unit from July of 2009. What are some of your favorite dinosaur activities?
I wasn’t the only one responding to Amy Chua’s essay in the Wall Street Journal. The blogosphere was ablaze! I loved this piece by Jim Taylor PhD:
I was just re-reading this old article from a 2005 issue NAEYC’s Young Child magazine, written by Susan Neuman and Kathleen Roskos, leading researchers in the field of early literacy. The emphasis of the article was on the importance of creating meaningful experiences through which children can truly engage in the process of acquiring early literacy skills. In reference to the 1998 joint position statement created by NAEYC and the International Reading Association outlining developmentally appropriate practice in literacy instruction, the authors write:
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.
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