Responsive teaching is our reaction to the happenings in the classroom. Educators work in an environment of investigation and collaboration. When to step in or out of the children’s work and play is the question we consider each day as an educator.
Read MoreMost of us learned at a young age that the purpose of learning is to collect information to use on a test. Learning has changed. As educators, how can we share the joy of the learning journey with children?
Read MoreDuring a recent professional development day I attended an interesting workshop. The workshop shared a learning story about children of different ages coming together and discovering each other. The presentation provoked and ignited my thinking about how children of different ages work together.
Read MoreToday was National Teacher Appreciation Day. It is a day to say thank you for all of the caring work teachers do for children. The original celebration was in March. Now the celebration is the first Tuesday of the first full week in May. President Obama declared the entire week National Teacher Appreciation Week.
Read MoreThe theme of creativity and play cannot be separated demonstrates the importance of integration of arts and science. We should embrace the concepts of scaffolding our own creativity in the classroom to support children’s engagement in creative thinking.
Read MoreTo scaffold and extend children’s natural abilities as theory builders, we must reflect on our own experiences as builders of our own theory. How do we connect and deepen our own thinking in a world that is often hectic and fast-paced?
Read MoreWe often receive questions about project-based learning. Many of the questions focus on how to do project based learning if you are used to one-time activities. How do you start to build---in a community of learners---structures to extend learning? Often the process starts by rethinking our ideas about how learning is introduced. Take the example of tossing a ball.
Read More“The Camp Model” has been around for years and is the cornerstone of many camps and school age programs, hence the name. It grew out of the recreation movement of the last century. It was a way for organizations and cities to provide leisure services for workers and families during the industrial revolution and beyond.
Read MoreIn school age programs there is a challenge between two worlds, the world of compliance and the world of contentment. Compliance is defined as “the act of conforming, acquiescing, or yielding”. It is also defined as “the tendency to yield readily to others especially in a weak subservient way”. Contentment is defined as “the state of being content, satisfaction, and ease of mind” another term used for this is happiness.
Read MoreOften in early childhood settings, we limit the possibility of what children can accomplish. Our assumptions, our self-imposed regulations, our need for order creates needless limits of what children can accomplish in our care.
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