Posts Tagged ‘child-development’
Make 'em Behave
From the desk of Carol C… “Don’t kick that wall again!” “Why can’t you walk in a line without talking?” “What is it about ‘clean up your room’ that you don’t understand?” “You don’t even try.” Anybody who has dealt with children of any age will recognize the statements above or something like them. …
Read MoreWhere Did You Get Your Eyes?
From the desk of Hope… I was in a kindergarten classroom last week and a student came up to me and asked, “Where did you get your eyes?” Hmmm. I wasn’t quite sure how to answer but it didn’t matter because she was quickly shooed off to do her seat work. She promptly got busy…
Read MoreLearning Experiences
From the desk of Carol C… Maybe it was because I didn’t have younger siblings to show me the way. Maybe it was because I was shortsighted. Maybe…well the maybes don’t matter. The bottom line is that when I first started teaching, I didn’t understand what went on in the minds of children. One of…
Read MoreParent Involvement in the Middle School
From the desk of Carol C… Have you ever had a conversation with your teenager that went something like this? What did you do at school today? Nothing. You must have done something. We did a bunch of stuff. It was boring. I gotta big history test tomorrow. Have you studied? Yeah, some. I’ll study…
Read MoreLet Them Believe
From the desk of Kris… A picture is worth a thousand words…..well, okay, for a kindergartener maybe it’s not a thousand words…but it certainly can be worth many words. If you ask any kindergartener about his picture, he is sure to tell you a lengthy story! But does drawing a picture and telling a story…
Read MoreCrawling Comes First!
From the desk of Kris… The Common Core Standards have set the bar pretty high for Kindergarten. We know that at the beginning of the year, many Kindergartners cannot read. While that may be true, it does not mean that they can’t understand text or are unable to answer questions about text. As teachers, we…
Read MoreIs there such a thing as Bad Praise?
From the desk of Carol C…. Have you ever caught yourself telling your child or a student “You’re so smart”? I know I have. Many times I say it almost absentmindedly. “I finished the puzzle.” “You’re so smart.” “I finished my homework.” “You’re so smart.” “I didn’t hit my brother when he stole my Legos.”…
Read MoreLiteracy Lessons from the List
From the desk of Christie… I am fortunate to have a little one that is bursting with eagerness to learn to read. Although like his mother, he is not so eager when it comes to cleaning. We have found that lists work beautifully for this chore. For a while I have welcomed his help in…
Read More5 Ways Middle Schoolers are Just Like Preschoolers
As parents, we are prepared for the terrible twos, the fearsome fours, and the possible trauma of starting kindergarten. We talk about our youngest kids incessently, read books and articles and painstakingly get advice from others. We calm our parenting fears and we catch our breath when they are well into elementary school. Then one…
Read MoreThe Power Struggle
For anyone who has spent an extended amount of time with a child aged 1-18, you are most likely familiar with struggling for power. “The Power Struggle” as I call it usually starts with a simple request from the adult and much to our chagrin, the child refuses. As soon as the child refuses, the…
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