It's an old adage that little kids often end up playing more with the present boxes and wrapping paper than the presents themselves. And I think that is true for some very important reasons. First of all, never forget that all children are wired to learn, wired to be curious, and that learning anything in and of itself is a rewarding experience. Kids love to learn! And if they are engaged in play … [Read more...]
Kids Process Newtown Tragedy
December 18, 2012 by 1 Comment
I sat this week in a classroom of 5th grade students, a class I have worked with with my wife many times since they started the 4th grade last school year. We have been helping them learn how to create a caring classroom community, and they are awesome! Monday, they had the Sandy Hook School shooting on their minds, so we opened up the floor for anyone to share how they were feeling about the … [Read more...]
Too Much Noise
October 16, 2012 by 1 Comment
A recent study in the journal Pediatrics links background noise from tv sets and negative outcomes in young children. The 4 hour a day average was found to be linked to lower sustained attention during playtime, lower quality parent-child relationships, and reduced performance on cognitive tests. No surprise here. Kids today are growing up in homes where both parents work, family meals together … [Read more...]
Pearls Before Swine Comic Strip
September 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I have asked the following sequence of questions to over a hundred groups of people, and by people I mean teenagers, parents, and teachers. And their answers are always the same: Q: Why do you want your child to get into a good preschool? A: So they can get into a good grade school. Q: Why do you want your kids to get good grades ie "A's" in grade school? A: So they can get into a good high … [Read more...]
Tabeo tablets a Bad Idea!
September 16, 2012 by 11 Comments
Bad idea! Bad idea! Bad idea! What else can I say about Toys R Us's new entry into the tablet business, the Tabeo. THIS tablet is specifically targeted to young children and at $149.99 a pop. The press release states that there are 50 pre-loaded app's along with full internet access and the availability of 7000 other free app's and 1000's more for kids to purchase. Isn't that just dandy?!? Here is … [Read more...]
