It Starts With Wanting to Know More

“Look at the map. Which is bigger in area, Greenland or Australia? Ah, Greenland you say. I traced the outline of Greenland and Australia and cut them out. Let’s look. How can we compare? Right. One way is to put one country on top of the other. You see Greenland is indeed larger. Now check…

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Curious Like George

    When you were a kid, did you read the stories of Curious George?  This timeless little monkey embodies the curiosity children possess.  You probably know George, but do you know the story of his creators – H.A. and Margaret Rey?   Hans Agusto Rey and Margaret Waldstein worked together on a variety of…

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Wired for Curiosity

  “Being curious is an essential part of human consciousness, a joyful feature of a life well lived.  But as recent research evidence shows, fostering curiosity holds a power that goes beyond merely feeling good. In fact, curiosity may be critical to student success in school.”  – Wendy L. Ostroff Children are hard wired to…

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The Joy of the Positive Word

  The days of summer are filled with joy, but joy can be short-lived when something as simple as a negative word comes your way.  Everything immediately changes because a bomb was dropped on your psyche. It rolls around in your mind like a cyclone destroying the positive thoughts that had once taken center stage.…

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Again

“Again!” He pushes the book back into my hands. “Again, Ms. Sylvan, AGAIN!” We’ve read this one four times already today. “We’ve read this one so many times! Would you like to pick a different one this time?” “NO! THIS ONE! AGAIN!” Again. This one. Nothing else will do.     If you work with…

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Joy-Boosting Self-Talk

You can’t help but smile when you look at these faces filled with genuine joy!             According to the dictionary joy is “a feeling of great pleasure or happiness.”  Children are experts at experiencing joy, but what happens to us as we get older?  We are so filled with self-imposed expectations,…

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How to Deal With Bucket Dipping

What is bucket filling? “It is helpful to think of every person as being born with an invisible bucket. The bucket represents a person’s mental and emotional health. You can’t see the bucket, but it’s there. She said that it is primarily the responsibility of parents and other caregivers to fill a child’s bucket. When…

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The Resilience of Heroes

“Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.”  – Rocky Balboa  I love the old Rocky movies!  I know I am showing my age, but my heart still soars when I hear the theme music and see Rocky Balboa charging up the 72 stone steps leading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Rocky…

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Bend, Baby, Bend

  I have a great love for children’s stories!  They are incredible teaching tools and always speak to my heart.  Since this month’s theme at ERG is resilience, one of Aesop’s fables came to mind: Once upon a time there was a huge oak tree that lived on a river bank.  It was very tall and…

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Bounce Back

  “Blessed are the hearts that can bend, for they can never be broken.”  – Albert Camus Have you ever heard the story about the old donkey and the well? Once an old donkey fell into a well.  He cried and cried until the farmer heard him and came running.  The farmer couldn’t figure out…

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