I love diversity. I love that is brings new ways of living and loving into our world, expands our understandings of humanity and provides us with new ways of thinking and being. This is good for everyone. The notion of the “traditional nuclear family” with 2 parents (a mom and a dad) and 2.5 children […]
Music is made up of elements. One of which, rhythm, we have looked at frequently over the past several months. Rhythm is made of time and movement. It is the aspect of music that makes you want to shake your booty. It includes the beat, which is the part that you feel in your bones […]
When I was little I loved to work on puzzles. To this day, puzzles make me happy- I love word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, number puzzles, and any other puzzle you put in front of me. Since we have been thinking about puzzles as a great math manipulative this month, I did a search […]
Did you know that Thursday is “Pi Day”? I did not know that this was a thing, but I guess it is, bigtime. Schools all over the world will celebrate this magical day with mathematical excitement and geometrical good times. According to the Pi Day website Pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference […]
This morning, I received this update from ExchangeEveryday. I guess we are all thinking about puzzles and spatial awareness. Puzzling Results March 11, 2013 You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience. -Stanislaw J. Lec Susan Levine, Ph.D., from the University of Chicago, offered these insights on spatial thinking in […]
After looking at the Jumbo Knobby puzzles designed specifically for very young children last week, I wanted to take a look at the next type of puzzles you might introduce to your kids. Each small step children take with puzzles is a forward developmental movement both cognitively and physically, and oftentimes, socially. Once children have […]
As we move briskly toward a more inclusive world, we are going to encounter more and more children with special needs who are mainstreamed into programs that were originally designed for typically-developing children. Inclusive schools and programs are good for everyone- not just for the children with special needs and their families. The first thing […]
Music is both a social and cultural construct and a mighty powerful force in human lives. Since the beginning of recorded history, there is evidence of music in the everyday lives of people. Imagine the world before IPods, CD’s, record players, and radios, before recorded music and electricity. Music existed inside homes and communities […]
When my children were little the Melissa and Doug company didn’t exist, or if it did, I was not aware of it. My friend Alison (Holla!) in California has young children and when I visit her, I marvel at the beauty of her Melissa and Doug puzzles. To browse through the selection, you can click […]
A friend posted this link on my Facebook page last week, and I LOVED it. This is a really nice and thoughtful blog… These Ten Commandments should be turned into a poster and hung on the walls of all child care facilities.