Recipes, cooking, and food experiences are the focus of Thursday’s Themes for December 2013. I think this is a good follow-up to November’s Theme of Weighing and Balancing since we definitely don’t want to weigh anything (especially ourselves) during this month of festivity. I recently spent some time observing 2 groups of young children as […]
The Illinois Early Learning Project has just published the Illinois Prevention Initiative Manual for 2013. This was developed for directors and administrators in the continuous improvement of their birth – 3 programs. Take a look!
The 4th and final chapter of Kamii’s Number in Preschool and Kindergarten book looks at specific situations in the daily life of a classroom that she sees as opportunities to teach number. The chapter is divided into 2 halves: we will look at the first half this week and the second will be explored next […]
This article popped up on my newsfeed Saturday and I was immediately excited about reading more research that supports a topic that I am passionate about – Pretend Play. Take a look at the article (it is short, about a page) and see what you think. The writers indicate that children not only need time […]
This set of pretend food reminded me of how much I love beautifully made, well-built, multi-purpose toys. Investing in these sorts of materials for your program makes so much more sense than buying toys that don’t last and are designed for one sole purpose. There are many varieties of this sort of toy set. If […]
The very last bit of Chapter 3 – The Principles of Teaching in Kamii’s book Number in Preschool and Kindergarten explores the teacher’s role as an investigator into the child’s mind to determine what the child was thinking when he performed a mathematical operation. Figure out how the child is thinking, and intervene according to […]
As Thanksgiving and the other winter holidays are coming up right around the corner, food and food preparation become the center of our homes and the focus of our kitchens. Years ago I saw a film about child development (black and white, reel to reel) and in it was a teacher who said something that […]
Finding a balance between one’s work life, one’s home life, one’s role as a parent, one’s role as a partner, and one’s role as a family member is really hard to do even in the absolute best circumstances. Parents of young children often find that they are compromising on everything that is important to them, […]
I don’t know why but I love the word “cornucopia.” According to Merriam-Webster’s on-line dictionary, a cornucopia is, 1. a container that is shaped like a horn and is full of fruits and flowers 2. a great amount or source of something 3. an inexhaustible store: abundance When I hear the word, I think of […]
Kamii argues that since logic-mathematical knowledge is not socially constructed but internally constructed, children can construct number understanding via ongoing and frequent exchanges with the other children. Rather than spending your time reinforcing correct answers and correcting wrong answers, time is better spent allowing children to exchange ideas with their peers so they can discover […]