This time of year is filled with all the goodness that a bountiful harvest can bring. In nearly every country/community in the world, harvest time is one that is celebrated with food and festivity. Of course, Americans often celebrate Thanksgiving as a time to be grateful for what we have. Not all people celebrate holidays […]
When I arrived at my office this morning, I had a wonderful surprise in my mailbox. The NAEYC special edition of Young Children called Spotlight on Young Children – Exploring Math had arrived. Now, I get pretty excited when I get the regular edition of Young Children as it is always a great read, it […]
So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, you may have heard about this big ol’ storm that hit the east coast yesterday and is making itself known right here in Illinois. They called her Sandy. This is a great opportunity to talk to the children about “How Fast is […]
According to the National Research Council’s newest publication Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood: Paths Toward Excellence and Equity there are only a few studies that look specifically at parent beliefs and behaviors related to early mathematics. However, a study conducted in 2008 by Oscar Barbarin entitled Parental Conceptions of School Readiness: Relation to Ethnicity, Socioeconomic […]
As a culminating project for your study of leaves this October, I would like to suggest an exploration of the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This was one of my favorite books as a child and remains a favorite to this day. If you don’t have a copy, I bet you can find […]
we can’t all help but stop and think about dressing up and becoming someone different, even if only for a day. For young children, fantasy play/dress-up is a crucial part of development. It provides personal expression and allows children to try out different roles. It helps the child distinguish between reality and fantasy; provides for […]
Did you know that Eric Carle has his own website? I have been thinking about how I can incorporate my love of Eric Carle books into this blog and sure enough, I saw a bit about him on TV the other day, and the newscaster was talking about his website. I know that at some […]
Leaf prints are another way that children can explore leaves and the Autumn months. Remember the leaves that the children have been collecting? You can now use those as a tool to make prints. Start with one good leaf. Make sure that it is fresh enough that it won’t crumble when touched. Each child should […]
Lots of programs have children working with journals to document their learning around words and language. Have you ever considered creating math binders for the children? I would use 3-ringed binders with pockets so the children can keep all of their “math” work together in once place. These would be terrific to use when it […]
This morning I read this article Starting Well: Benchmarking Early Education Across the World. Fascinating stuff. The Lien Foundation, out of Singapore was commissioned by the Economist Magazine to create a wellness index to rank preschool environments across the world. Where does the US rank? You might be thinking, “Somewhere in the top 10?” Well, […]