Arne Duncan said what we wanted to hear as early childhood educators and what we expected to hear last night. Duncan, the first Secretary of Education to ever speak at NAEYC, is definitely behind early education but, with so many other national issues it is easy to [...]
In a surprising turn of events, Susan Linn, a well known early childhood advocate at Harvard's Judge Baker Children's Center, humbled the king of all children's media, The Walt Disney Corporation. Linn's watchdog advocacy group, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood [...]
There is nothing like 16 - 20 preschoolers to scare the heck out of a teacher in their first preschool classroom. Even teachers of older children - in school, church or camp - are rarely prepared for that first day of preschool. Thankfully there are a bunch of [...]
Lisa Guernsey is a writer and researcher who has published articles in Newsweek, The New York Times, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Although she writes on many topics, her true passion is children. As a mom, a writer, and a researcher [...]
Often we have to make decisions in our homes or classrooms about appropriate media for our children. If you're like me you may not have time to sit down with your child and watch an entire Disney movie so you can answer questions and maybe fast forward through scary' [...]
A great deal of research is being done in pre-k classrooms thanks to the Early Reading First, one of the truly important and successful reforms of the past 10 years. It is changing what high quality pre-k looks like. Much of the Early [...]
Thank goodness for friends and Facebook. This past Sunday, I was surprised to find a New York Times article posted "on my wall" from a friend I have had several conversations with about children. We've talked about the complex and interesting lives of our preschoolers. We've discussed how [...]
We reported last week on the Early Learning Challenge fund, a historic bill currently awaiting passage in the House that is intended to increase funding for pre-k across the country. As proposed, the legislation gives preference to states that have already begun to develop infrastructure for high quality pre-k and aims to increase participation [...]
Sometimes when the summer gets really hot and the time starts to pass slower, you just need something new to spur kids' imaginations. PBS has launched a website built specifically for 3-6 year olds that uses their popular characters to teach. I recently went to the website [...]
Last week, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller introduced the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. The good news about this proposal is federal funding to support high quality early childhood education around the country. The summary of the bill includes grants for states that want to build early childhood [...]
My wife told me recently of a friend of hers, a great mom, who complained about her kids playing video games. Her two boys have been playing their Nintendo DS and Wii all day, every day, all summer. She said she couldn't take it away from them because they' [...]
Recently I heard Checker Finn compare
the national pre-k system to the higher education structure in a panel
discussion on universal preschool. His comment brought something new to
the table -- kids! It was great to see them at the forefront of the
discussion (rather than Finn's usual ideology).
It's
an interesting concept' [...]
I find that people outside of education often take for granted the tremendous thought and planning that goes into teaching. First, teachers have to figure out what to teach carefully reviewing curriculum guides and state standards. Then, they have to figure out how to teach. They need to break down those broad skills and [...]
What does it mean to be ready for kindergarten? As a country, we have been trying to define this JELLO-like area of understanding children for a long time. The big question is: Can you be ready for big school if you have never dipped your toe in the water [...]
Guest blogger Libby Doggett, Deputy Director of the Pew Center on the States, reviews "Good Morning, Children" by Sophia E. Pappas
Many people watch 3- and 4-year-olds at home or at school and dismiss what they are doing as "just play." The same folks wrongly believe that anyone can [...]
Reform Movement weatherman Neal McCluskey has announced a change in the description of the pre-k for all movement in the panel discussion of Checker Finn's book Reroute the Preschool Juggernaut. The reform movement, also known as the P-3 movement, the Voluntary Pre-K movement, and the Universal Pre-K' [...]
As our school year draws to a close, I've asked my students to reflect on what they have learned in pre-kindergarten by drawing a picture and commenting on their illustrated accomplishment. Their thoughts, both insightful and accurate, depict the tremendous growth that they have made over the past nine months. ' [...]
Since reading Chester Finn's article in the Washington Post I learned that Dr. Finn will be in Washington on Thursday at a Panel discussion about pre-k with Steven Barnett, the godfather of preschool research at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Also' [...]
How do you know when you are being sold shoddy merchandise? How do you know when what someone is saying doesn't add up? A lot of times it might not be so easy to point out the gaps in logic or the tinny sound of a bald-faced lie when' [...]
Spring has officially sprung here in Washington, DC, and alongside the budding flowers and foliage are my growing pre-kindergarten students. In addition to their newfound passion for gardening brought about by our dramatic play "Garden Shop" and the warmer weather, they're also expressing a keen interest in the lives of' [...]
Math was never a favorite subject of mine. I think it stems back to a difficulty with story problems throughout my elementary school years. I attended a Math Institute this past week put on through the MN Department of Education. I am pleased to say that we are incorporating many [...]
Sometimes I think of the teaching I do as training creative Jedi. Just think of me as Yoda for the pre-k set. "Trust yourself Luke. Use your creativity!" From 3- 5 years old, children experience a burst of creativity. Children are able to move from their imaginations to the real world seamlessly. [...]
I heard an interesting statement today:
“If you have an understanding of where a student is at developmentally, there is no need for patience.”
Typically I would consider patience, or the lack thereof, a primary emotion felt among teachers of young learners. But this statement got me thinking…I wonder if you can understand where a child is at [...]
In 1995, Betty Hart and Todd Risley published Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, a book that closely examines how experiences within children's first few years of life can impact their life trajectories for years to come. Using' [...]
It's the time of year when many parents must make decisions about what preschool or day care setting to choose for their child in the fall. There are a bunch of resources out there including: education.com , babycenter.com, and greatschools.net . Great Schools [...]
This year we were lucky to have two sections of School Readiness in our building. One of the best parts of this was the ability to work cooperatively with the other class and teacher. During our last weeks of school, we decided that once a week we would allow our [...]
Last Wednesday, we had the wonderful opportunity to take a field trip to an indoor playground in a neighboring town. When you live in a place like Minnesota where it seems like spring will never come, you have to do what you can to get moving! Thankfully, our special education [...]
Imagine four state governors standing together in a preschool classroom talking to a group of preschoolers, their parents, and their teachers about the difficulties they are having with their state budgets.
The first one, from, let's say, New Jersey, says, "In these tight economic times it is tough to know where" [...]
Imagine four state governors standing together in a preschool classroom talking to a group of preschoolers, their parents, and their teachers about the difficulties they are having with their state budgets.
The first one, from, let's say, New Jersey, says, "In these tight economic times it is tough to know where'" [...]
Have you ever heard the phrase, "The Bomb"? As in, when you are the bomb you are "All that!"
Well I saw a wonderfully passionate speaker Tuesday night at the No Child Left Inside symposium at [...]
Have you ever heard the phrase, "The Bomb"? As in, when you are the bomb you are "All that!"
Well I saw a wonderfully passionate speaker Tuesday night at the No Child Left Inside symposium at [...]
