Diversity and Inclusion
Want to see our approach to diversity and our community programming in action? Follow us on Instagram.
For more information about our approach to diversity and what it looks like in practice, please contact our Director of Community Development, Sahba Rohani.
Community Roots is Committed to Diversity and Inclusion
Since its founding, Community Roots Charter School (CRCS) has been committed to creating a learning environment which is diverse and inclusive. By offering students the opportunity to learn and grow side by side with peers from varied backgrounds and abilities, we believe that graduates will leave our school with a sense of community which transcends the traditional borders of race, culture and socioeconomic status, as well as an ability to challenge the misconceptions around gender and sexuality. Using research and an understanding of our own community, we have developed a comprehensive approach to teaching students how people’s experiences and interactions are shaped by their identity. Through a rich social studies focus and a social-emotional curriculum, we aim to equip all of our students with the skills and perspectives necessary to become fully engaged members of their communities.
Community Roots is located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. As a means of safeguarding the socio-economic diversity of the school in a neighborhood with constantly shifting demographics and intense demand for quality elementary education, the school’s admissions lottery was weighted to ensure that 40% of incoming Kindergartners are from the Ingersoll Houses, Walt Whitman Houses, and Farragut Houses, public housing directly surrounding the school building.
Community Roots Aligns with an Anti-Bias Approach
Community Roots aligns closely to an anti-bias approach, which we believe is critical to the creation and sustainability of an environment where a diverse student population can thrive. This quote from the Anti-Defamation League defines this approach: “Anti-bias education incorporates the philosophy of multicultural education while expanding to include other forms of bias, stereotypes and misinformation. Anti-bias education not only addresses race and ethnicity but also includes gender, language, religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities and economic class. Anti-bias education takes an active, problem solving approach that is integrated into all aspects of an existing curriculum and a school’s environment. An anti-bias curriculum promotes an understanding of social problems and provides students with strategies for improving social conditions.”
By prioritizing issues of identity, discrimination and social justice in our curriculum and our professional development, the school strives to be a brave-space (a space that supports people to take risks) for differences of all kinds, where all staff, students, and families feel supported, empowered and fully engaged.
Through our commitment to an anti-bias curriculum, we strive to create a learning environment where:
Professional Development to Support Our Approach
Professional development is another crucial element in creating a strong infrastructure for diversity and inclusion.
The Diversity Working Group
To help build a sustainable and developmentally appropriate anti-bias curriculum, and to support staff in addressing issues surrounding bias related to race, class, gender, and sexuality, that surface on a day-to-day basis both inside and outside the classroom, a Diversity Working Group (DWG) was created in 2012. Made up of a team of self-selected faculty members from within the school community, the DWG meets regularly to create a social justice scope and sequence to be integrated into existing social studies units and reinforced through read-alouds and community conversations. In addition, the group designs and facilitates staff trainings, coordinates with outside agencies that run workshops on topics related to diversity, and puts together a summer reading list that allows all members of the community to continue to engage with these issues on an on-going basis.
Approaching Our Work with Love
Along with our core values, we see social justice as a cornerstone of our educational community, where honoring one another becomes a key element of academic success. Most importantly, we believe that all of this work is only possible and meaningful if it is approached with love:
The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom. - Bell Hooks in Love as the Practice of Freedom, Outlaw Culture


S1-S3 Course Outline
S1 – one period per week
Stop Frame Animation
Pupils look at storyboarding and using either a digital camera or a stop frame app on their own smartphone they create an animation.
Pupils create both an X Factor styled video and a lip sync video. During the process they learn about transitions, text and audio overlays, trimming and muting. This involves independent and group work.
Scratch block world coding
Pupils are introduced to programming and such structures as sequence, selection and repetition. This is looked at within a gaming environment, where pupils work their way from creating Pong and Pacman to eventually designing their own game.
Internet Safety and Cyber Security
Cyber security is about vulnerabilities in hardware, software and most importantly people. Pupils are introduced to current issues and learn how to become more secure. They are also encouraged to discuss Cyber security issues with parents/carers and their wider family.
S2 – one period per week
This section of the course builds on programming skills gained in S1 and further encourages computational thinking and its impact on problem solving.
Pupils learn the skills necessary to design and create apps. The best apps, chosen by our S6 Advanced Higher pupils, are then hosted on Google Play.
S3 – 5 periods in total
Wordpress – Webpage creation
Using wordpress as a content manager pupils create their own webpages. Pupils work in pairs and the topic of the webpage is chosen by them.
Homework is issued at an appropriate stage in each topic, this may be in the form of written answers, research, or design plans. Homework is issued to enhance or reinforce the teaching taking place in the classroom, and may at times be posted and submitted on Edmodo.
Skills development – learning life and work
Enterprise and Employability are encouraged by participation in BIMA Digital Day and Apps for Good. Both of these involve input from industry experts via live streaming or google hangouts. Pupils gain first hand knowledge of what it is like to work in the Digital Industry.
Resilience, adaptability and determination to succeed are skills learnt through team work and the challenges of producing software to meet specifications.
Literacy is enhanced by the consideration of how best to present information within for example webpages or the design of user manuals. Numeracy skills are used when calculating memory storage requirements for software or files produced and in programming when using repetition constructs. Cyber security, internet safety and appropriate netiquette are all involved in a pupil’s digital wellbeing and the footprint they leave behind for years to come.


Students in the ASU School of Music’s Popular Culture and Music in Music Education course recently created the following xtranormal movies to further dialogue on popular music and relevant pedagogies in music programs. By synthesizing theoretical frameworks and concepts from the first half of the semester that relate to integrating and teaching through popular music and culture, students added nuance, humor, and creative flair to a decades-long debate.
[Disclaimer: Due to the nature of some popular music/culture some words that might not be appropriate in a school setting are present in a one or two of the clips]
Here is the original assignment as posed to the class by Dr. Evan Tobias:
After viewing the following movies consider creating your own Xtranormal movie or comment to continue and forward the dialogue and submit it in the comment section below this post:
Works Cited in the Above Movies
Abramo, J. (2010). Guitar class and the popular music ensemble. In A. C. Clements (Ed.), Alternative approaches in music education: Case studies from the field (pp. 15-27). Lanham, ME: Rowman and Littlefield.
Boardman, E. (Ed.). (2002). Dimensions of musical learning and teaching: A different kind of classroom. Reston, VA: MENC.
Bowman, W. D. (2004). “Pop” goes…? Taking popular music seriously. In C. X. Rodriguez (Ed.), Bridging the gap: Popular music and music education (pp. 29-49). Reston, VA: MENC.
Crow, B. (2006). Musical creativity and the new technology. Music Education Research, 8(1), 121-130.
Deturk, M. S. (2002). Critical and creative thinking. In E. Boardman (Ed.), Dimensions of musical learning and teaching: A different kind of classroom (pp. 39-53). Reston, VA: MENC.
Folkestad, G. (2006). Formal and informal learning situations or practices vs formal and informal ways of learning. British Journal of Music Education, 23(2), 135-145.
Green, L. (2006). Popular music education in and for itself, and for ‘other’ music: Current research in the classroom. International Journal of Music Education, 24(2), 101-118.
Hickey, M. (2009). At-risk teens: Making sense of life through music composition. In J. L. Kerchner & C. R. Abril (Eds.), Musical experience in our lives: Things we learn and meanings we make (pp. 199-215). New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
This content is published under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.


MI-Pro website editor, Laura Barnes, says: “It is time to make music lessons accessible for every child.”
Dr Nina Kraus explains the vital role of music in learning at this ARTSpeaks event in Illinois in 2017.
A useful infographic about the relationship between music education and brain development, thanks to Ward-Brodt Music Store, Wisconsin, USA.
Study after study proves that regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students do better in school than those who have no music involvement. Whether it is improved spatial-temporal reasoning, which is integral to mathematics, or repetition of tunes and melodies, which is integral to verbal memory, learning, playing and creating music benefits children in many ways.
This 4m video by the Children’s Music Workshop in Los Angeles, California, presents a powerful argument for the inclusion of music in the school curriculum of children and young people.
Playing music with toddlers could benefit their development even more than shared reading, according to University of Queensland research.


M.A. in Elementary Education
Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education
College of Education
First grade (Education); School age (Entrance age)
Elementary Education and Teaching
The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not students who entered first grade at an earlier chronological age could successfully compete with late-entrance students regarding academics and self-concepts. Research suggests that there may be a link between school success and chronological age for elementary students.
A study was constructed that included 18 first grade students of the same class. The 18 students were classified as being either "Early" or "Late" entrants. Late entrants were those students who were born between October, 1987 and March, 1988. Early entrants were those students who were born between April, 1988 and September, 1988.
In order to investigate the hypotheses, two tests were administered. Scores from the April, 1994 Iowa Test of Basic Skills were compared to Spring, 1995 scores of Early and Late Entrants to measure achievement. Differences in self-concept were compared using the students' Behavior Rating Profile-Second Edition (1990). The degree of popularity among the 18 students was measured by using the Sociogram, "My Three Friends." Using a two-tailed t test, the differences between mean scores were compared. Differences were considered significant at the .05 level of confidence.
When the data was analyzed, it was found that statistically there were no significant differences between Early and Late Entrants in terms of achievement and self concept; however, trends were noted.
Wells, Terri J., "The examination of academic achievement and self-concept between early and late entrants of first grade pupils" (1995). Theses and Dissertations. 2297.


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Creative Curriculum® and A Beka for Kindergarten
Today's standards and curriculum for first grader students require an increasing amount of academic work that sometimes challenges children. The latest research in early childhood learning is incorporated into The Creative Curriculum® - a forward-thinking curriculum that honors creativity and makes learning exciting and relevant for every child. Our Kindergarten program incorporates the Loudoun County Standards of Learning. All our Kindergarten programs incorporate weekly music, chapel and library time. Children also enjoy teacher-directed SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) fitness. We help children to engage in a rich array of learning experiences that develop the essential prerequisites for school and academic readiness. We credit the success of our Kindergarten programs to our exceptional teachers, unique curriculum and a nurturing yet challenging environment that helps children feel confident and ready for school.
We offers families three options:
- Full-Day Kindergarten, 5 days a week
- AM Kindergarten Enrichment, 5 days a week
- PM Kindergarten Enrichment, 5 days a week
Our Full-Day Kindergarten program uses the A Beka Book® curriculum. Full-day kindergarten students will learn language arts (phonics, reading, writing and poetry), science, math, social studies, bible and arts & crafts using the A Beka Book K5 Five-Year-Old Kindergarten Program. The A Beka curriculum approach to education keeps learning lively, interesting and memorable. Materials reflect sensible theory that is firmly anchored to practical application. Our students who graduate from this program have a firm foundation in learning and are well prepared for first grade.
Our AM Kindergarten Enrichment program offers children a morning of learning including a combination of language, journaling, math, science, and arts & crafts. Children enjoy a nutritious hot lunch before they go to school. We provide transportation to and from local schools at no additional cost to you. When children arrive back at LOA, they will have an afternoon snack and enjoy play-to-learn activities designed to encourage creativity, exploration, and imagination.
Our PM Kindergarten Enrichment program starts with a nutritious hot lunch, then an afternoon of stimulating learning. Similar to the AM program, the enrichment portion includes a combination of language, journaling, math, science, and arts & crafts. Children will also have a healthy snack in the afternoon
followed by a fun afternoon with developmentally appropriate activities.
We provide bus transportation to and from the following schools:
- Leesburg Elementary
- Catoctin Elementary
- Frederick Douglass Elementary
- Frances Hazel Reid Elementary
- Evergreen Mill Elementary
- Sycolin Creek Elementary
- Tolbert Elementary
- Cool Springs Elementary
- Balls Bluff Elementary
Extra Curricular Opportunities Include:
- Bella Ballerina: Ballerina classes offer a fun experience structured around storybook themes, allowing our little dancers the freedom of expression through imagination, movement and fun.
- Excite Soccer: A fun loving educational soccer program for children ages 3 and up helps in physical and social skills development.
- Summer Camp: Weekly themed programs with play-to-learn activities and field trips for rising first through 5th graders.
A Partnership with Parents
Ongoing communication is key to our trusted partnership. Each week, you'll receive a newsletter from our Director to keep you updated on
important news regarding the school, our programs and classrooms. Also, each teacher will send out a weekly newsletter about their classroom activities.
We always welcome and enjoy conversations with parents about your child's progress at home and keeping you informed of all developmental milestones.


As my student teacher teaches the students about Ludwig Von Beethoven today I reflect on the timelessness of music. Music is an ever changing and evolving medium of expression. That being said there are pieces of music that, thanks to modern media, are interwoven into all of our lives. As a music educator I feel it is important that students understand that songs like the theme from the Hallelujah Chorus did not "come from Spongebob". Students and consumers alike must understand that quality music is enduring. The Hallelujah Chorus was written in 1741 by Handel. I ask my students, 'don't you think that it is a pretty well written piece if people still know it today'? They generally agree. With this realization and the fact that some students will receive no music education after elementary school, I decided to change my focus of music listening. Each week students listen to a piece of music that they will recognize. We always relate the time period of the piece to something they know. For example when people had cars, electricity, or if the United States had become a country yet. Sometimes we dance, sometimes we tap, sometimes we watch a video. Sometimes we listen to an original interpretation and sometimes we compare that one to a modern version. My students often ask if there is a Piano Guys version of the song!! Today they listened to Moonlight Sonata and then to the Piano Guys Version.
Moonlight Sonata on Piano
Piano Guys Moonlight Sonata
I saw several ideas for SQUILT (Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time) on the internets so I took that idea and revised it to be my own. I developed a Powerpoint of all 32 weeks of the school year including songs that the students will recognize from hearing somewhere other than school. For example The 1812 Overture by Tchiakovsky, Stars and Stripes by John Phillip Sousa, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach, Selections from the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg and Star Wars by John Williams.
The slide of my SQUILT program look like this.


How can a teacher foster the love of literacy within a child?
I once had a student who transferred to my classroom from another school within my district. In my first interaction with him, he told me he hated reading and couldn’t read. Smiling, he said both things with a matter-of-fact attitude. This child wasn’t being difficult- he was very innocently trying to help me get to know him. Honestly I can’t remember my exact response, but I’m sure I said something like, “Of course you can read!” (This is what I always say to any student, ever, who tells me that they can’t read! After all, if you put a McDonald’s sign in front of her, won’t she likely say, “McDonald’s”? Is that not reading, in its simplest form?) He then began to learn what we do for literacy instruction in my classroom: balanced literacy centers, explicit phonics instruction, writing workshop, and reading workshop. The keys to these models of instruction which I have chosen to implement in my classroom are independence, choice, and differentiation. One by one he learned each of our independent centers, which in summary reinforces previously taught skills at each child’s level. He began to write during the writing workshop, creating books and projects of his choice with individualized conferences to help him understand his strengths and implement the newly introduced craft or mechanic of writing. He learned spelling patterns for reading and writing, with exposure to “grade level” patterns as well as small group work with phonics at his level. He enjoyed fiction and nonfiction stories with our class, subtly absorbing comprehension and decoding skills through modeling, partnerships, and work with appropriately leveled, self-selected books in his very own book-basket.
And so, at the end of the year, this boy came to me and told me that our school was his favorite school of all. I asked him why he felt that way. His response: “Because we have so many books!” I credit his amazing transformation to the keys of literacy instruction: independence, choice, and differentiation.


Our mission is to inspire the growth of the whole child by providing a safe, secure and loving environment, while upholding the principles and practices set forth by Dr. Maria Montessori and encouraging each child to reach their full potential.
Montessori education provides a guide to cultivate independent thought, self-awareness, as well as foundational skills. The Montessori method teaches children mindfulness of their environment; empathy for others; social ease and confidence.
We wish to guide each child along their unique path of self-discovery, encouraging exploration, self-directed learning, flexible thinking, creative problem solving, curiosity and creativity.
We will empower our students to develop into productive, culturally diverse, successful people. Helping them to continue their growth and love of learning throughout their lives.
“Education must not be the exploitation of a poor mind, which has to memorize boring things. It is not the imitation of study which is important. We discuss how long should be spent on each study, one hour, two hours or twenty minutes. This is not a reform. The reform of education is to give life and to give knowledge in a form which is necessary to life. When this is done, the students can learn much more than they do today without fatigue. We must enlarge the syllabus. We enlarge the mind if we give abundant nourishment.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori and characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development.


Mobile Creches has been running daycare facilities for children of migrant construction workers in Delhi since 1969. The organization cares for roughly 14,000 children from 0-12 years old at a number of construction sites and urban slums. There are currently 53 daycare centers in the Delhi area either run or supervised by Mobile Creches that provide education, nutrition, and healthcare for children from 9 AM to 5 PM, six days a week. Mobile Creches runs training programs for childcare workers at their facilities and at other organizations as well. In addition, the organization also runs community education and advocacy programs on early childhood development (ECD) and lobbies for policy change and legislation at the national and state levels.
Mobile Creches operate three daycare models:
1. Direct delivery: Mobile Creches is responsible for the day-to-day operation of an individual daycare center at a construction site, as well as training staff and monitoring the quality of services delivered.
2. Shared ownership: Mobile Creches identifies NGO service providers and construction companies to implement and finance day-to-day services, while providing technical support in the form of employee training, initial setup, and close monitoring of services to ensure quality.
3. Transfer ownership: Construction companies are fully responsible for the management and financing of the crèche. Mobile Creches provides initial staff training and some ongoing supervision.
The Mobile Creches integrated program covers a variety of services, including:
-Nutrition support: Monitoring children’s growth, providing three hot and nutritious meals each day and a special diet for malnourished children, and helping mothers to take breaks from work to breastfeed their children
-Health and hygiene practices: Providing immunizations and clean drinking water, deworming, encouraging hand washing, and disinfecting toys.
-Education: Children at these centers receive different early education services depending on their age. Children from 0 to 2 years are given individual attention and stimulation by caregivers with singing, dancing and colorful environments. Children from 3 to 5 years learn through play and are helped with sensory motor skill development as well as pre-literacy and numeracy concepts. Children over 6 years are helped with school readiness, literacy and numeracy through tutorial support.
-Community engagement and advocacy: Increasing community awareness around early childhood development through one-on-one meetings with mothers, larger community meetings, street plays, local folk media, and training to build local leadership.
Mobile Creches works with citizens, NGOs, academic institutions, women's organizations, and trade unions to advocate on behalf of India's children. Advocacy focuses on quality Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS); nutritional support for children under three; Pre-School Education (PSE) and hot, cooked meals for all children in the age group of 3-6 years; and Universalized Maternity Entitlements. Policy advocacy is targeted at the Planning Commission, Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD), senior officials overseeing the ICDS and the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). Campaign partners include the India Alliance for Child Rights; Right to Food Campaign; National and Delhi chapters of the Forum for Creche and Childcare Services (FORCES). Advocacy is enacted through research, campaigns, rallies, press meetings, and public hearings.
Click here to see full program profile
CEI approaches in action
Mobile Creches reaches out to poor communities of migrant workers in urban slums and construction sites and offers them free childcare services.
Community engagement programs reached out to over 7,000 families in 2014.
1,347 malnourished children under 6 years old were given extra food in 2014.
4,047 children immunized in 2014.
There were 229 youth group members advocating for ECD in 2014.
Mobile Creches started in 1969 as a single basic shelter in Delhi. It grew over time to negotiate with builders for financial support, lobbying for childcare policy, and community engagement to help parents provide better care for their children. In addition to advocacy and engagement, Mobile Creches has expanded to care for approximately 14,000 children a year, reach out to 5,500 migrant families a year, and train 500 local women in childcare annually.
Mobile Creches is planning to scale up its daycare services by expanding its model of facilitating daycares run by construction companies. The organization will perform the initial setup and training for builder-run daycare centers and provide monitoring, supervision, and community engagement services while builders run the centers' day-to-day operations. Mobile Creches also plans to build awareness of early childhood development issues and change childcare practices at home while linking families to state services. The program is going to expand to invest more in women's groups and youth groups as well.


At Victoria English School, our Key Stage 2 (KS2) children are independent learners with the skills and outlook to succeed in today"s ever changing world. Our KS2 students achieve well and we are proud of their success.
The National Curriculum of England and Wales provides students with an introduction to the essential knowledge and skills they need as they grow up. The focus on the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science together with the wider scope of the whole curriculum, including the foundation subjects below provides each student in KS2 with a rich learning experience.
- Physical Education
We offer the full programme of Ministry of Education approved Arabic for both Arab and Non-Arab students. Islamic Studies is taught for all Muslim students and UAE Social Studies is introduced from Year 4.
The National Curriculum is just one element in the education offered at VES. There is time and space in the school day to move beyond the national curriculum specifications to ensure that our curriculum is adapted to suit the multi-cultural environment and technological world in which our students are growing up. Our curriculum is responsive to change yet still enables teachers to develop and extend student"s understanding of the world as part of the wider school curriculum. This includes learning beyond the classroom; taking learning into the local environment through the use of educational excursions.
In KS2 spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing.
Throughout KS2 children the National Curriculum encourages students to
- Listen and respond to adults and their peers
- Ask questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
- Build their vocabulary
- Articulate and justify their ideas and opinions clearly
- Express their feelings
- Maintain attention and participate actively in conversations, discussions and debates
- Speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of standard English by Year 6
- Consider the different viewpoints of others, and respond appropriately
"A high quality mathematics education provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically and a sense of excitement and curiosity about the subject. It is essential to everyday life"
(National Curriculum Review for Mathematics 2012)
Mathematics teaching at Key Stage 2 in Victoria English School enables each student to develop not only the numeracy skills and understanding required, but also an enthusiasm and fascination for mathematics itself and a solid foundation of skills for life in the future.
Science in Victoria English School provides the foundations for understanding the world. Science has changed lives and is vital to the world around us. All students in Key Stage 2 are taught essential knowledge, methods and uses of science.
Through topics that build on experiences as the students grow older, they will develop a secure understanding of scientific concepts.
At Victoria English School we aim for children to be curious about the world around them and develop strategies for discovering and communicating scienctific ideas and information.


Our mathematics programme, as with other areas of the curriculum, is strongly influenced both by Local and National guidelines.
Activities from a range of commercially produced materials, practical activities and ICT are just some of the approaches used to enrich the depth and breadth of presentation of any given maths topic, as well as the teachers’ own resources.
All pupils will be given the opportunity to meet mathematics in a variety of contexts – real life and everyday problems, imaginary or stimulated contexts and problems and investigations where the structure of mathematics itself provides the setting.
The three main features of our mathematics programme are:
· information handling
· number, money and measurement
· shape, position and movement
Mathematics teaches our pupils to:
- develop a secure understanding of the concepts, principles and processes of mathematics and apply these in different contexts, including the world of work
- engage with more abstract mathematical concepts and develop important new kinds of thinking
- understand the application of mathematics, its impact on our society past and present, and its potential for the future
- develop essential numeracy skills which will allow me to participate fully in society
- establish firm foundations for further specialist learning
- understand that successful independent living requires financial awareness, effective money management, using schedules and other related skills
- interpret numerical information appropriately and use it to draw conclusions, assess risk, and make reasoned evaluations and informed decisions
- apply skills and understanding creatively and logically to solve problems, within a variety of contexts
- appreciate how the imaginative and effective use of technologies can enhance the development of skills and concepts.
SCHEMES OF WORK USED TO SUPPORT MATHEMATICS AT SUNNYBANK
We have a range of resources available to staff and they select the best one to support the class in a particular area of maths. The new Heinemann Active Maths is used in many classes with various other games and resources being available to support staff.
In order to develop the children’s mental maths and number agility, we make use of the Big Maths scheme to ensure consistency and progression throughout the school.
We regularly use Mangahigh in school and for homework, as playing the games allows the children to learn in a fun, engaging and teacher supported environment.


On-The-Go Babies and Toddlers
As the Children's Librarian at the Golden Library, I often have parents approach me at weekly storytimes. Some ask me if it’s okay for their children to walk around during a baby or toddler storytime. Others are concerned that their child is unable to sit quietly and focus on the book that’s being read.
If this has ever happened to you, I want to assure you that it’s normal and natural for your child to want to move around the room at storytime. Sitting still is a learned skill; therefore it is NOT natural for your child to know how to do this right away. It takes practice! Storytime can be a great place to practice sitting still and increasing attention span, but I want to assure you that your child is getting just as much from the storytime experience when they are moving around the room.
The Every Child Ready to Read concept (which JCPL uses as a framework for all its storytime offerings) features five practices that encourage early literacy development: Talking, Singing, Reading, Writing and Playing. The beauty of these five practices is that they can be practiced anytime, anywhere, whether sitting still or on-the-go.
So, though it might not seem like your child is paying attention to what is going on up front at storytime, they are absorbing the benefits of storytime without being still. Try singing some of the songs or doing the rhymes at home with your child. You may be surprised at how well they are able to perform these activities without “paying attention” in the conventional sense!
If you’ve got one of those kids who loves to walk around at storytime, we’ve got a new program starting in January that is sure to be a hit with your little one. The Golden Library will be offering a new program using the Every Child Ready to Read framework: the Toddler Play Program.
This program will use the 5 early literacy practices in a high-energy, movement-based program. We’ll talk and sing and play, practicing pre-reading skills along with gross and fine motor skills. Come have a blast with us! Here’s the schedule for the New Year:
Toddler Play Program
Fridays, 11:15 am
Registration is required. Register one week in advance at the Golden Children’s Information Desk or by phone.


Q & A
I'm teaching Inclusive Language Arts Methods for Elementary Education majors for the first time this semester. Over the summer, I discovered just how much work it is to create a course from scratch. As I began planning for the course, early on I knew that I wanted some way for my students to create a database of strategies and resources for teaching language arts that they can access when they graduate and get teaching positions in a year. I use my university's learning management system (LMS) to organize resources throughout the semester, but my students won't have access to the LMS next year when they'll need those resources. I also run mostly paperless classes, so I won't be giving them hard copies of resources to file away for later.
So, my question was: What tool can my students use to organize strategies and resources they learn about throughout this semester? My criteria: free; simple user interface; easy to share; and capable of organizing various types of media including documents, videos, and web resources. The answer: LiveBinders.
My students will create a LiveBinder to organize resources and strategies as well as reflect on the potential applications of those strategies and resources in their future classrooms. The faculty who teach the other Elementary methods courses (social studies, science, and math) have agreed to use LiveBinders this semester as well. These methods courses take place during the students' Internship semester, when students spend one full day a week in a local classroom. Students complete their Internship in the classrooms in which they will complete their student teaching in the spring. Building this LiveBinder during their Internship will give them a head start on taking on full responsibility for teaching in the spring.
The Nitty Gritty
- Course syllabus (I want them to have access to the list of additional resources in the future)
- Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and other relevant supporting documents and resources to the CCSS
- Mini-lesson script, reflection, and other artifacts from the lesson
- Small group lesson plan, reflection, and other artifacts from the lesson
- Anecdotal records and audio or video recording from two student conferences
- Read aloud reflection
- Four entries from your writer’s notebook that represent different types of entries and demonstrate who you are as a writer
- Published piece of writing (or a sample of your published piece)
- A minimum of five reading and writing web resources that you plan to use in your classroom, along with a brief reflection on how you plan to use each resource
- A minimum of ten documents that you plan to use in your classroom, along with a brief reflection on how you plan to use each document (i.e. handouts from class, resources from the textbook’s CD, resources from your cooperating teacher, etc.)
Hopefully by the end of the semester I will be able to proclaim how beautifully this LiveBinders assignment worked as a teaching, learning, and reflecting tool for these pre-service teachers. Until the results are in, here are my hopes:
- Consistency across the four methods courses will help our students make connections across content areas and begin to think about teaching in a more connected way
- Students will feel more prepared for student teaching and for their first year as classroom teachers
- Students will become more reflective as they consider potential applications of strategies and resources
- Students will become familiar with a tool they can use to organize resources for their future students and as a learning tool in their future classrooms
Are you searching for a tool that fits a specific purpose in your own classroom? LiveBinders might be the answer. I would love to help you think about the right tool for the job. Feel free to leave a comment below!


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Importance of Literacy Development
It is common knowledge that learning to read in childhood depends on a firm foundation of reading readiness exercises and materials. The importance of this educational aspect is underscored in the training and certification requirements of preschool teachers. As outlined by Bright Hub’s own Susan Carter in her article entitled “Early Childhood Praxis II Study Guide," educators’ literacy testing sections are given the most weight, while math and science come in second and third.
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Understanding Literacy Requirements
To the casual onlooker, there is precious little reading going when s/he observes the preschooler leafing through a picture book or scribbling on a piece of paper. To the trained preschool teacher, this is an example of budding readers taking their first forays in the world of literacy. This process is multifaceted and the more reading prep requirements are successfully provided, the better the chances of children to actually develop into bookworms.
- Literacy development is a team effort. (1) No preschool teacher alone can provide the encouragement, resources and follow up required that will help a young child work toward reading. The reading oriented classroom with its many books and available materials must be complemented by a literacy rich home environment.
- It is a progressive effort. Blessing or curse, but a preschool teacher will not have the satisfaction of looking back onto the school year with the ability to point to a child and noting her/his transition from emergent to conventional literacy. Instead, the actual literacy growth may be as slow or as fast as the child’s ability to process the lessons of literacy activities offered in the classroom and may span a few years.
- It defies streamlining. Part of the fascination early childhood literacy development holds to the educator is its evolutionary process. Children go from picture recognition to word size and symbol identification. This process cannot be hurried but is as individual as the child. Preschool teachers provide ample reading materials that appeal to the visual tastes of young children as well as their needs to assign values to words.
- Storytelling supports literacy development. Taking a page from the public librarian’s playbook (2), preschool children love story time and educators incorporate active storytelling techniques to generate interest, set a mood and also invoke an emotional response to the story.
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Counteracting Successful Forays
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of being an educator dedicated to fostering literacy development in early childhood is the inability to guarantee proper follow up. A home devoid of developmentally appropriate literacy materials is a very real danger to a child’s budding reading awareness. Experts in the field of literacy development also point to the misuse of early literacy assessments when deciding on a child’s reading potential as being a hindrance to the natural evolution of her/his language evolution. (3)
This being said, there is plenty of good news! The overwhelming importance of preschool educator’s training in literacy helps educators to learn how to overcome obstacles that might otherwise have adverse effects on their pupil’s evolving reading abilities.


In “The Making of Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture,” Jane Childs gives the history behind the style of small stone “Shona sculptures” which have become popular on the international art market. She notes, however that the general black public in Zimbabwe do not have any particular interest in or affinity for the sculptures, and that most of their value is as a commodity to be sold to tourists. The phenomenon illustrates an ethnographic power imbalance, one explained by the history of the art form, which dates back to McEwan’s workshop in the 1960s which happened under the white supremacist Rhodesian government. While the workshop did give many artists repute on the international market and sparked a movement within sculpture, one might question how much agency it gave Zimbabwean artists, and how genuinely works reflect Zimbabwean culture or the artists’ identity. Shona sculpture, while drawing on traditional and cosmological concepts, was rooted practice-wise in Western realms of thought—artists were trained on modernist techniques and studied other modernist works, and they were not all of the same ethnic or cultural origins, though the works were marketed as illustrating a common Shona spirit. While the movement was successful in art circles and abroad, many Zimbabweans still feel alienated from the works – perhaps because of a lack of art education, or perhaps because the works don’t really illustrate a common Shona icon that everyone can rally behind.
Questions / things to think about:
Is Shona sculpture ‘traditional’ or ‘modern’ – or some combination of both?
Does Shona sculpture subvert colonialism, or just reinscribe it / make it change forms?
(questions of agency, racial/economic power dynamics)
Post-colonization, can ‘authentic’ Zimbabwean art truly exist?
(how primitivism shapes white supremacist conceptualizations of ‘authenticity’)


Grisaille and Underpainting
In this review, we learn about grisaille and underpainting. We look at how these techniques can be used to give amazing depth and color to your paintings.
These books and tutorials shows the results you can achieve with a grisaille and underpainting techniques. Grisaille and Underpainting are tonal painting techniques for creating dimension. Renaissance artists popularized the neutral, often gray (gris is french for gray) or sepia underpainting style that gave the famous dimensional effect to their paintings. Grisaille and underpainting are known as an oil painting method but can be used with acrylics and watercolors.
A Downloadable Course for 29.97
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- Make paintings to look realistic and alive
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OVER 140 PAGES
WITH 225 PHOTOS
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This course packs in a weekend class worth of information. Go through it at your own speed. Get Started PaintingToday You get instant access to this PDF course and can begin learning right away
The clear demonstrations and explanations will help you achieve that satisfying feeling of adding an effective technique to your skill-set.
These real art lessons take you through the steps to produce realistic and extremely dimensional paintings.
The format allows you to paint along at your own pace and style while you learn the tips and secrets to make the impressive 3D style.
No matter what level of artist you are, you can immediately use this method.
This course would be a great gift idea for an artist. Giving them an impressive skill course that can used right away.
Learn about Grisaille and Underpainting
Learning how to paint in tones and how to develop an underpainting is part of a classic art education. Many artists find this a faster and effective way to paint because it puts your focus on creating clear tones with better control over your lost and found transitions.
Lost is a term for soft blends
Found is a term for a crisp edge
The additional layers of transparent color are easy to control and quickly build to give you an impressive dimensional painting. This underpainting and grisaille technique is great for artists who desire to paint in smooth detailed realistic style. Rendering skin, fabric and reflective surfaces is much easier with this method of painting.
Check out our Pinterest board ‘Grisaille and Underpainting’ below for inspiration and great examples of grisaille and underpainting techniques used in classic and contemporary art.


Sander DeVries, a masters student in music education at Arizona State, engaged in a project where he learned how to use the iPad app Lemur to design music performing and creating systems by programming graphical user interfaces. Sander developed related projects involving creating and performing music in Garageband with Lemur that he pilot tested with middle school students.
Here are some of Sander’s video tutorials with connections to music teaching and learning:
Using the iPhone/iPad app Lemur to wirelessly control Ableton on a computer
Scripting and Expressions in the Lemur Editor
Creating a simple keyboard interface in the Lemur Editor
Consortium member and doctoral student in music education, Ryan Bledsoe has been using AudioCubes with her sixth graders. She designed a lesson in which students play the role of researchers as they interact with the AudioCubes. Her project led to a deeper understanding of how young people interact with new technologies and offered a fascinating look into young people’s attitudes on research and music.
Consortium member Katie Paetz’s article entitled Ready, Set, Kaoss! was featured in the Fall 2011 issue of The TI:MES: A Publication of Technology for Music Education. Her article describes a grant-funded project in which she used technology including a kaossilator, kaoss pad, and other music technology with kindergarten students. More information, including full text of Katie’s article is available to TI:ME members at the Technology for Music Education website.
Katie found that young people treat the kaossilator as if it were any other type of classroom instrument!


Does Music Make You Smarter?
Parents astonished that music affects school performance
It’s a question that’s been asked in scholarly circles and around the dinner table for decades: Does music make you smarter? An ever-growing body of research suggests that the answer to that question is overwhelmingly yes.
At Bach to Rock we don’t really need stacks of research to show us that music profoundly affects students of all ages — and on many levels.
Our franchisees and investors certainly see the educational benefits of music education because many students who come to Bach to Rock build a strong musical identity, and almost all develop a passionate and informed appreciation for music. Even if they don’t grow up to be professional musicians, the self-confidence and joy that comes from learning to master a set of drums, the mandolin, classical guitar — even their own singing voices — equips them with valuable skills they can tap into over a lifetime.
We see our students’ lives improve on so many levels. In fact, transformations are quite common within the walls of our school, and they take many forms — academic, social, emotional, behavioral and more.
Bach to Rock students blossom
A popular poster sold in music stores says, “Music makes everything better.” It’s hard to argue with that statement. We certainly see it at Bach to Rock. Every child comes to us with a unique story and an individual set of circumstances, yet music has an almost magical ability to seep into each child’s life and improve it — often dramatically.
Here are two scenarios that illustrate how students can grow at Bach to Rock.
A bright sixth-grader does well in school, with mostly A’s and a couple of B’s, but she has yet to find an extracurricular activity that really excites her. She gains confidence and grows as a leader from her experience as a lead singer in a pop-inspired band at Bach to Rock.
A 13-year-old has high scores on IQ tests, but his achievement at school doesn’t always reflect it. Not that he’s a poor student; there’s just a little spark missing from his overall performance. After learning to read tablature — the complex way chords are fingered from fret to fret on a guitar — he gains a quiet confidence, and when it’s time for him to start high school, he’s ready to tackle the social and academic challenges. When he’s a 16-year-old sophomore, he decides to major in music when he goes to college.
Rock-solid evidence that music education improves academics, self-esteem
Even though we don’t need hard data at Bach to Rock to know that music education can have a positive impact on everything from IQ to hand-eye coordination, it’s still illuminating — and a lot of fun — to read what the research says.
There are thousands of pages of research available on the internet and on the shelves of libraries on the benefits of music.
It shows that music and music education improve intelligence, creativity, self-image, ability to set goals, dexterity, listening skills, confidence, work ethic, reading and problem-solving skills, short- and long-term memory, patience and fine-motor skills.
Here are a few relevant findings:
- A study at Mission Viejo High School in Southern California showed the overall grade-point average of music students was 3.59, while the overall grade-point average for non-music students was 2.91.
- Brain scans of 9- to 11-year-old children have revealed that kids who play musical instruments have significantly more gray-matter volume.
- An in-depth Harvard University study found evidence that spatial-temporal reasoning — the ability to solve and put things together into a whole — improves when children learn to make music.
- One study conducted by the Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse found that college-age musicians who took music lessons as children are emotionally healthier than their non-musician counterparts.
- The Associated Press reports that college admissions officers cite participation in music as an important factor in making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time management, creativity, expression and open-mindedness.


NI students 'among poorest skilled' in developed world countries
University students from Northern Ireland have some of the poorest reading, writing and maths skills in the developed world.
Only students from England had worse literacy skills, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The analysis of 23 countries also found that only students in England and the United States of America had worse numeracy skills.
This means that around one in five Northern Irish students struggles with more than basic reading, writing and maths tasks.
The report says this means they can do little more than "read the instructions on a bottle of aspirin, or understand a petrol gauge".
The findings are contained in a detailed analysis of skills in England, which contains comparative data for 23 countries including Northern Ireland.
The report warns that "university teaching gives limited attention to low levels of literacy and numeracy."
"Graduates with low basic skills gain modest returns from their qualifications and will often not be able to repay their student debts."
The report also says that students with poor basic skills should not normally take university degrees, and need to be offered better options in further education.
The OECD also found that, out of the 23 countries, only the Slovak Republic had a higher percentage of 16-29 year olds who were not in education or work than Northern Ireland.
However, Northern Ireland fared better when it came to the percentage of teenagers with poor reading, writing and maths skills.
Around 13% of 16-19 year olds in Northern Ireland had low literacy skills, while around 19% had low numeracy skills.
Countries like France, USA, Italy, England and Ireland had higher numbers of teenagers with low basic skills.
However, better-performing countries like Japan, the Netherlands, Finland and Korea had very low numbers of 16-19 year olds with poor literacy and numeracy skills.
The report calls for stronger basic schooling, and early intervention to ensure more young people have better skills in literacy and numeracy.
It also says young people should be offered "good quality apprenticeships and traineeships", and that more needs to be done to help adult learners.


3 Years Old
Communication is essential. Casual conversation, family engagement in your child's program, monthly newsletters, posted weekly curriculum board, assessment portfolio, anecdotal records, progress reports, and parent teacher conferences keep parents informed of their child's progress and development. Our preschoolers will learn:
- Social and emotional skills are the most important areas in which preschool-aged children develop. Children demonstrate a strong and positive self-concept, appropriate self-control, and growth in their awareness of their responsibilities when interacting with others.
- Language development and communication occurs as the children develop skills in listening and expressing their thoughts and ideas. This is accomplished through verbal and non-verbal conversations, play, and during daily activities. Writing center, stories, finger plays, poems, music, listening center, and puppetry encourage this development.
- Literacy development emerges through a print rich environment. Exploring print in books, poems, songs, and begin to write and recognize letters in their name will help the child to understand that writing carries a message.
- Mathematic development includes an understanding of number concepts, patterns and relationships, geometry and spatial sense, measurement, data collection, organization, and representation. This is accomplished through theme related activates.
- Science development occurs as children engage in play to discover, question, and understand the natural and physical world. Usage of scientific tools, five senses, observations, gathering and recording information, and making predictions based on real life experiences develop an understanding of the scientific method.
- Creative development occurs in individual and small group activities that use a variety of tools, art forms, and media to express their ideas and creativity. Appreciation of the arts is developed through various artist creations, techniques and culture.
- Physical health and development strengthen large and small muscles using sensory experience and practicing healthy behavior. A variety of manipulatives and writing materials promote hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills. Playground equipment, music and movement activities strengthen balance, coordination and large muscle control. Daily routine increases self help skills while promoting personal health and safety.


testing, curriculum, standardized tests, high stakes tests
Since the institution of the common school and the advent of universal education, Americans have placed tremendous faith in public schools. Public education cultivates an informed citizenry, one of the pillars of a liberal democracy. But more importantly, schools are a repository for our common dreams of human potential and individual self-actualization. Because they so thoroughly shape the lives and life-chances of our youth, school issues are freighted with an emotional charge. Education remains the last fully public American institution, one in which millions of students cast their common lot daily and strive to become better readers, better citizens, better people. With these premises as critical background, we have undertaken the project guiding this paper: to invite readers to think deeply about the impact of high-stakes testing on the school-aged citizens of this country especially in light of the core elements of what assessment ought to be about for students. We want to prompt readers to pause, to take note of some of the key threads in the professional conversation about assessment these days, and to then respond accordingly.
Murillo, Enrique and Sullivan, Alayne
"High-stakes Testing and Assessment: One is not the other,"
Wisdom in Education: Vol. 1
, Article 4.
Available at: http://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/wie/vol1/iss1/4
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons


We all know the power music (lessons) has to move us physically. The right beat can make even the most solemn nod their head to the rhythm, and a sweet melody will cause even the most static to sway back and forth in agreement. However, music has an even more potent power to move us – the power to move us emotionally.
Many children are acutely sensitive. A chaotic home life, being teased at school, and even the feeling of not measuring up to other children can have long lasting effects far into adulthood. Parents often wonder how to give their children the tools to deal with these issues without being overbearing and contributing to the problem themselves. I suggest the empowering skill of music. Music education has the ability to improve a child’s self esteem in a multitude of ways.
One way music can help your child’s self esteem is by showing them they have talent. With so much influence at schools being but on academics and athletics over the arts, it’s easy for a creative child to feel stifled and inadequate to their peers. Music lessons, however, give them an outlet for their auditory impulses.
Though initial practice is key, once they familiarize themselves with their instrument they immediately begin to become expressive. Suddenly they are able to translate their emotions into notes and chords. As they improve their enjoyment grows, and pretty soon a simple skill becomes a full blown talent. Musicality becomes something to be proud of. They start to realize if they can be good at music, there’s probably many other things they’d be good at as well. They’ve taken the first step towards better self esteem.
Music also contributes to a child’s self esteem by attracting positive attention. Many children act out in order to receive attention from adults and their classmates. While not always the intention, this behavior is often disruptive and a bright child bored with his studies can quickly be branded a troublemaker.
Music puts this energy into focus. Their hands are comfortably occupied on the keys of a piano instead of places that could get them into trouble. All eyes are on them at recitals and performances for the music they are making, and not for calling out in class. As they grow and meet others with similar skills, opportunities to join bands and jam sessions pop up and they find themselves immersed in the positive and supportive social circle they had always been seeking.
It is one of the great joys of teaching to see shy, depressed, or rambunctious children blossom into well round, free thinking young adults. It is tempting for me to take credit for this change, but I know it is the power of music. Music has an incredible capacity to elevate self esteem and to vastly improve life holistically.


My Little Pony Free Coloring Pages
The people who voiced Minnie and Mickey Mouse were married in real life.
What are coloring books?
A coloring book is a book which has lines, sketches and drawings which readers can paint and colour by using things like coloring sticks, crayons and pens, etc. Coloring books and coloring pages are designed on cardboard sheets or papers. Some of the coloring pages are sold separately or can be ripped off from the coloring books that are made to permit that. Many coloring books have a special theme or tell a story, which means the pages can't be torn out them or the book loses its purpose. Coloring pages very commonly include animation or cartoon characters that kids are very fond of, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coloring pages or Cinderella Coloring pages. These are commonly used as advertising materials for upcoming cartoons or animated films. Other activities available in coloring books and coloring pages are: puzzles, connecting the dots, and mazes and number games. There are also types of coloring books where kids can use stickers to stick on the pages and tell their own stories with them.
Coloring Book- The History
Coloring books first originated in the US. A process called the democratization of art was the reason for the birth of coloring books. The person who influenced this process was an English artist named Josh Reynolds. Friedrich Fröbel from Germany and his Swiss teacher, Johann Pestalozzi assisted in inspiring this process. Different teachers and educators from all over the world knew the necessity of art and the value of teaching art to people, especially youngsters. The development of cognitive abilities, problem solving skills and social skills were all parts of benefit art provided. Art education would prove to be valuable in a person's adult life also as many of the skills he learns might end up supporting him in his future careers. As far as young children were concerned, many educators found that art played a part in a child’s mental and spiritual growth.
Coloring books were the creation of the McLoughlin Brothers. The 'Little Folk's Painting Book was the McLoughlin Brother's first coloring book, and they made it in the 1880's. Kate Greenway helped them with this first coloring book, and the McLoughlin Brothers' coloring book publication continued into the 1920's. That is when Brothers McLoughlin joined up with the Milton Bradley firm. Richard Outcault is another fundamental figure in the history of coloring books. In 1907, Richard created a coloring book called Buster's Paint Book which was based on a character he had created in 1902 named Buster Brown. This book is what started the process of companies using coloring books as a means for advertising their products. The first coloring books were made with the thought that they should be painted and not colored, and despite the growing popularity of crayons in the 1930's, there was no change in this approach.
Educational Uses of Coloring Books
Coloring books are considered great tools for teaching children a lot of things, which is why they can be commonly found in schools and classrooms. The topics for coloring books cover everything under the sun, like flowers, cartoons, alphabets, and even fruits and vegetables. Images are easier to recall for small children, and coloring them is more exciting than other methods of learning, which is why coloring books are an excellent way of learning. It is a known fact that connecting words with images is a quick way of helping people acquire a new language. Not to mention using images to expand people's comprehension of certain topics like geometry, which require graphic assistance to help understand the theories. Coloring books for adults and graduate level students have been created since the 1980’s by big publishers who aimed to target these groups and educate them on physiology and anatomy, as these images with diverse colors facilitated learning and memorizing also.


Check out Richmond Public Library's family literacy resources online. There are some great recommendations for books based on grade. There is also an upcoming series of 8 classes for parents and children aged 3 to 5 which promotes early literacy skills alphabet, numbers, stories and play; registration is required.
Early (emergent) literacy skills form the foundation for later reading and writing. ASHA has some great tips for parents of preschoolers. You may be inspired to try some of these evidence-based strategies at home.
Speech-language pathologists play an important role in literacy development. Ask your SLP for more information on supporting literacy at home or talk to an SLP about any concerns that you may have. We're here to help.


10 Ways to Lead in Art Education
What do leaders in Art Education look like? In such a specific field, often art teachers can feel as though they do not have room, or a place, to grow. It’s very easy to get comfortable with your daily life and teaching. Some teachers thirst for leadership. They call it the “Leadership Itch.” Through personal and professional research, here are some things I recommend, and am working toward myself, to become a better leader and teacher in this field.
First, what do “Teacher Leaders” look like?
- Propel a program and their colleagues forward
- Make their program stand out
- Are courageous and confident
- Involvement in the community
- Help others around them grow
- Rally others to get involved
- Have a vision and have dreams
- Take action steps to get to those dreams
- Decide what is right for them and pursue it with passion
- Stay current with best practice in the field
10 Ways to Lead in Art Education:
- Become a member of a professional organization
- Present at state and national conferences
- Talk to your school board about the arts
- Submit an article to a professional publication
- Professional Development: Take classes or pursue higher degrees
- Social Networking: Make a presence on the web
- Teach classes at a local AEA or Community College
- Apply to coordinate your own district’s art department
- Mentor a new teacher
- Make art yourself!
Now don’t just sit there, go LEAD!
What are other ways you see yourself as a leader in the field of Art Education?


The requirement of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) for unit standards to be written for all fields of learning has given music educators a unique opportunity to identify the needs of the whole community and reassess the priorities of music education in South Africa. The field of African musics poses some special problems because it has been excluded from the curriculum in the past and because the informal learning traditions need careful attention if they are to be adapted to formal learning contexts. A simple substitution of African for Western music theory, history and instrumental practice is not an appropriate course of action, as African musics are rooted in a philosophical framework that is quite different from that of Western music. In order for culturally appropriate unit standards to be written, a philosophical basis of African music-making must first be identified from a study of African music practices. Secondly, an examination of the general principles of the musics of South Africa, with judicious examples taken from other parts of Africa will guide the approach to the writing of unit standards for African musics. Curriculum frameworks from other countries which have developed standards within an outcomes-based education (OBE) context, and the specific outcomes for Arts and Culture, are the third element to inform the writing of unit standards for African musics. The problems of implementation are various, including the shift from informal learning contexts to formal, but in the praxial approach to music education this dilemma can potentially be resolved. Most pressing are the limited resources of provincial education departments, and an emphasis on training to develop the musicianship of educators is of primary importance. African musics in the curriculum will require not only fresh musical material but also a shift in approach, incorporating the community values of the music which affirm the processes of music-making.
Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2006.


Various types of technological gadgets are at the forefront of United States culture. Chances are, you -- and your kids -- use computer devices, such as tablets, e-books, and cell phones, for everyday tasks and duties. Computers serve an important purpose in many aspects of your child's life, such as school, work and play. Rather than pulling your laptop away from your child's inquisitive reach, embrace her curiosity by teaching proper computer use and its benefits.
1. Learning Through Play
An essential aspect of early learning is the use of play to teach children about the world. Digital learning allows children to expand their mind by encouraging exploration through technology. Desktop games, such as Millie's Math House, can teach about shapes, sorting and classification, while Kid Pix can teach them to paint just like Picasso. Visiting zoo webcams can teach your child about animals, and clicking through street view maps transports them to a foreign country. So when your child asks to "play on the computer," have no fear of mindless screen time! The use of the right tools can support learning in a memorable and exciting way.
2. Literacy Development
Electronic books are all the rage nowadays. Using an e-reader in support of literacy development allows your little bookworm access to a full library of classics at the touch of a finger. Since classrooms are leaning towards the integration of technological learning, exposing your child to electronic readers will develop a stronger relationship with books. Curl up for a night of reading and watch the pages of your child's favorite story come to life with bright colors, large font and interactive illustrations. The best part of using an e-reader is the condition of her books will stay pristine and without dog-eared pages -- which means no more disapproving looks from the local librarian.
3. Fine Motor Practice
Fine motor skills are what build the muscles necessary for grasping pencils and crayons. The use of a mouse and keyboard are additional hands-on tools for building dexterity. Using the computer mouse can teach your child to single click, double click, click-and-drag, and control wrist movement through a variety of games and applications. Keyboard use can not only teach your child the ABCs, 123s and punctuation, but also five finger isolation. Keyboarding games for kids, such as "Typing Factory," are the perfect way to teach skills necessary for typing.
Your child may not have an email address quite yet, but speaking with family members and friends through technology is another positive benefit for computer use. Tools like Skype, ooVoo, email and instant message can show your child additional ways to connect with loved ones near and far. So if Aunt Sue and Uncle Jack are unable to come in for the holidays, settle in for a night of chatting through the beauty of screen time.
- Technology in Early Childhood Programs: NAEYC, Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media
- ooVoo: Features
- Smart Kids Software: Millie's Math House
- Kid Pix for Terrified Teachers Grades K-2; Marsha Lifter
- Software Mackiev: Kid Pix 3D
- BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images


NUTS the squirrel is an important character in school. He reminds us of the literacy and numeracy skills we have learned in our Maths and English lessons and encourages us to use them in other activities.
Literacy and numeracy skills are real important life skills. They help to make everything easier. NUTS the squirrel collects nuts and stores them up so he can eat them in the winter when there isn't much food around. We store up literacy and numeracy skills so we can use them when we need them.
NUTS stands for Now Use This Skill.
In every class we have posters showing which numeracy and literacy skills we focus on that year. Have a look at the posters and see how many skills you already have. Why not look at the skills for the year above you if you like a challenge.


Do you read aloud to your child every day? After numerous studies have been conducted to measure the importance of reading aloud to children, The American Academy of Pediatrics announced a new policy in telling parents to read aloud to their children daily.
Reading, singing, and talking to your child starting at birth has a significant impact on your child’s literacy development. During the first three years of a child’s life their brain is like a sponge, soaking up information and growing at a faster rate than any other time in their lives. That is why it is important to begin conversing with your child to enhance that brain development, and to ultimately set your child up for a lifetime of success.
The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to use the five R’s of Early Childhood Education to help boost your child’s development. The five R’s are;
- Read together. Again – read aloud to your child EVERY DAY starting at birth. This will help with your child’s literacy development.
- Rhyming, playing, talking and singing together.
- Routines and regular times for meals, play, and sleep which allows children to know what they can expect and what is expected of them.
- Rewards for everyday successes – praise is a great reward!
- Relationships that are reciprocal, nurturing and enduring.
Reading aloud to your child daily has so many benefits that will help your child enhance their vocabulary and communication skills at a very young age. Use the 5 R’s of Early Childhood Education from The American Academy of Pediatrics to help give you ideas on how to boost your child’s development starting at birth.


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How can early years practitioners help young children to become not only numerate but aspiring mathematicians who love numbers, shapes and mathematical comparisons? The introduction of the Foundation Stage has led to practitioners seeking ways to teach maths which are more in line with the creative and playful ways young children learn other subjects. Linda Pound draws on current thinking about children's mathematical development to show how you can encourage and enhance the numeracy skills of any child in the early years by linking maths to every-day life situations and making it a playful and enjoyable cross-curricular activity. This highly practical and engaging text includes chapters on: why maths is often seen as 'hard' and what practitioners can do to help young children be more successful exploring shapes, space, measures and patterns how to make maths more fun and playful, using games, humour, stories and rhymes using music and dance to enhance mathematical understanding encouraging children to see the connection between maths and everyday experiences through, for example sorting, matching and guessing creating an environment for mathematical development, indoors and out Concluding with a chapter on how practitioners and parents can become more confident in their use of maths, this user-friendly text, packed full of ideas, is essential reading for practitioners in any early years setting. Students on Early Education courses will also find much here to inspire them.
Andre produkter med samme artist(er)/medvirkende


Grade Level: K-2 Art Education Lesson Plan
Art Elements: Color, Line
Art Skills: Fine motor, painting
Making Connections: Art History
* Get more free lessons like this, on our Lessons Page
I love seeing how the fine motor skills develop, and how kids learn to make marks on the paper. The objective of this lesson is that students can MAKE 5 or more line types. I also do want them to know the names of the lines, but it’s more important for me to see how they can use a tool to create these different lines. They can choose to arrange them anywhere on their paper.
One other strategy I use is to relate each line type to something in their everyday life. The dashed like is like the lines in the road. The curved lines are like a curvy road. The dotted lines remind us of how we use the glue in the art room. The zigzag line is like a z on it’s side, getting it’s “zzzzzz’s” and the straight line is like a robot, very rigid. We have fun acting these out drawing them in the air and talking about them.
I also relate the artwork to Jackson Pollack. “Action Jackson” is a fun way for kids to remember Pollack, and the different lines they make relate to his splatter painting. They really do not forget this. I am hoping by connecting the artwork to real life situations, practicing the line types and connecting it to art history, the students will have a deeper understanding of the project instead of “just drawing lines.”
This great Art Ed lesson plan is 100% FREE to download! Use it in your classroom and share with your colleagues. For more free lessons like this one, visit our Lessons Page and download them all!


Hi. My name is Natalie Nieves. I am a graduate student at City College of New York in the Art Education program and an art educator. I’ve been working for the New York City Department of Education as an elementary public school teacher since 2006. I also provide private art lessons and teach art to middle school students in an after school program.
My thesis research is an intervention that entails co-designing arts based learning experiences with two elementary classroom teachers in order to alter the quality of art instruction offered in their classrooms. My experiences and observations of how the visual arts are implemented in the classroom has led me to the question: In what ways can art educators promote more authentic art making in elementary classrooms by supporting teachers? By authentic art I mean art that allows the creator to take risks, explore, make choices, make work personally meaningful, and be unique versus the neatly conformed art products with little room for student interpretation displayed in school hallways. Moving away from this model and toward authentic experiences is important to developing student creativity.
When questioned, many teachers have revealed they have little to no visual arts background and were not required to take a visual arts studio course during their education programs. It comes as no surprise that many hold poor attitudes and little confidence about their own art making abilities. However, with the push to accommodate multiple learning modalities, teachers are expected to incorporate some amount of art making into their curriculums. Classroom teachers are likely to struggle to teach what they are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. Providing visual arts instruction (i.e., skills, authentic creative opportunities) to these teachers is a solid first step in promoting more quality art instruction in the classroom.
I have noted that students adopt many of their teachers’ character traits, behaviors, habits, and attitudes. This may also apply to student perceptions of their art abilities. If teachers feel confidently about their abilities to create, explore and risk take in their own art, they will transfer this to their students through their attitudes and art making opportunities offered in the classroom. This will have a much greater impact combined with their one or two art periods each week. I look forward to seeing the creative growth in my fellow teachers.
Below are a couple of illuminating links that relate to authentic art making in the classroom:


In early 1995, Dr. Ian Gartshore, then Associate Dean of Students in the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC, brought YES Camps to the attention of Christine Yeung, a UBC Mechanical Engineering student. An interest in having a YES camp at UBC was sparked, and Christine and several other students incorporated the planning of camp project ideas into a design project for one of their courses.
During the summer of 1995, a volunteer committee was formed with the intention of designing and implementing a YES camp called Geering Up UBC Engineering for Kids for the summer of 1996. Their goal was to show youth in the community that engineering was not just building bridges and driving trains, but incorporated fun science concepts in order to design and construct structures, chemicals, vehicles, and computers.
From our beginnings in 1995, Geering Up has evolved from an idea to its current form, with in-school workshops in May and June, and Summer Camps in July and August. YES became YES-VACC, which then became Actua, a national network of science, engineering and technology camps. We launched our Aboriginal Outreach and all-girls programs in 2000, which have both become huge successes. In 2002, Geering Up changed the subtitle of its name to UBC Engineering & Science for Kids to reflect the change of focus from engineering to both pure and applied sciences.
With continued support, we will grow to meet the demands for high-quality, educational programs for youth. Over the past several years, we have offered several Girls Only! programs, which were received with great success. In 2004, we were proud to launch our Junior Engineer Leadership Training Volunteer Program. In 2005, we offered a second week of Aboriginal Outreach, provided free workshops to schools in areas with low incomes, and introduced a Special Needs Integration Support Instructor. The summer of 2011, we began offering in-school workshops throughout British Columbia, as far as Prince George. In 2013, our outreach program reached Kelowna, K’omoks, Takla Lake, and Prince George as well as the Greater Vancouver area. In 2014, we expanded nearly every way we could – from increasing the number of Explorers and Imagineers camps available, to opening the new MiniMinds camp for younger kids and introducing our MasterMinds program for high school students, to starting After School Clubs programming in the Fall and Spring.
Each year, Geering Up publishes an Annual Report. These include financial details, community outreach events, statistics and success stories. Here is last year’s report:
The summer of 2016 marked Geering Up’s 22nd year of success engaging youth across the Greater Vancouver area. We have developed the resources and skills necessary to deliver programs that are fun, innovative, and relevant to the formal school curriculum. Geering Up will be bigger and better this summer – with more Imagineers and Inventors, more Kelowna and Surrey outreach, and as always, piles of Science and Engineering fun!


For universalization of elementary education across the country the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments. The Central and the State Governments have the concurrent responsibility to implement this Scheme. The existing fund sharing pattern between the Central and the State Government is in the ratio of 60:40 except for the 8 North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim & Tripura and 3 Himalayan States viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Uttrakhand where the ratio is 90:10. The Central Government funds 100% in case of Union Territories for implementation of the Scheme with effect from 2015-16. The Central share is released in two or more installments to the State Governments/UT Administrations as per the prevalent criteria laid down in the Scheme.
Apart from the financial assistance provided to State Governments, various initiatives have been taken up by the Central Government to meet the objectives of SSA scheme in accordance with the legal framework of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Some of these are:-
- Since the inception of SSA in 2001 till 31.3.2016, 3.64 lakh new elementary schools, construction of 3.11 lakh school buildings, and 18.61 lakh additional classrooms, 2.38 lakh drinking water facilities, 10.14 lakh school toilets and 19.48 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned to States and UTs.
- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been opened in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where the female rural literacy is below the national average to provide for residential upper primary schools for girls. 3609 KGBVs have been sanctioned till 31.3.2016, out of which 3599 KGBVs are operational in the country enrolling 3.64 lakh girls.
- Under Swachh Vidyalaya initiative, 4,17,796 toilets were constructed in 2,61,400 elementary and secondary government schools in a period of one year from 15.8.2014 to 15.8.2015, thus ensuring that every government school has separate functional toilets for girls and boys. The initiative was made successful in partnership with all State Governments, 64 Public Sector Undertakings, and 12 Private Corporates. With this, about 13.58 crore children in 11.08 lakh government schools have access to gender segregated toilets.
- The number of children with special needs that have been brought into the fold of education (through enrolment in formal schools, school readiness programme and through home-based education) is 23.18 lakh as per the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2014-15.
- The State Governments and UT Administrations are supported on several interventions to improve teaching standards, including regular in-service teachers' training, induction training for newly recruited teachers, training of all untrained teachers to acquire professional qualifications through Open Distance Learning (ODL) mode, recruitment of additional teachers for improving pupil-teacher ratios, academic support for teachers through block and cluster resource centres, continuous and comprehensive evaluation system to equip the teacher to measure pupil performance and provide remedial action wherever required, and teacher and school grants for development of appropriate teaching-learning materials, etc.
The implementation of SSA is reviewed twice every year by a Joint Review Mission comprising independent experts and external funding agencies covering States. The Ministry of Human Resource Development convenes periodic meetings with State Education Ministers and Secretaries to review the programme implementation. Educational data on outcomes is collected through a Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) every year. The status of these evaluations and monitoring is placed in the public domain on the Ministry's website. National Achievement Surveys (NAS) are conducted to check the health of the educational system and to provide information about the learning achievement of students. In this sample surveys, standardized tests and questionnaires are used to get learning achievement data and background information.
This information was given by the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Sh. Prakash Javadekar today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question


by Jenna Pirrie, business manager
Surviving winter in Chicago is one giant game, and the only prize for winning is retaining your sanity (and fingers and toes). There are plenty of rules and essential strategies, most of which are fairly simple if you have played the game your whole life. But for students from warmer climates, winter survival strategies sometimes feel as complex as learning Greek.
The first roadblock for Rebecca Arliskas, junior TESOL major from Arizona, was buying a coat. “My roommate makes fun of me because I ordered it online. It was a foreign concept to me to be able to go to a store and buy an appropriate coat for Chicago.”
Peter Cooper, sophomore youth ministry major from San Diego, California, said layering was the first thing he had to learn when he transferred last winter. “I did not understand the importance of [it] … it is not about having one big winter coat, but it is about having a few layers and the air trapped between them.”
Unlike newcomers to the game, Megan Gillespie, sophomore applied linguistics major, has been surviving Indiana winters since birth. She said, “If your hands are cold, do not blow on them … the moisture in your breath makes them colder in the long run.”
Personal strategies are equally important in this game: find out what helps you the most. For Cooper, gloves are essential, while Arliskas, who says she is miserable as soon as her ears get cold, gives a hat a higher priority. Others would emphasize the importance of wearing leggings or long johns under jeans, keeping your neck warm at all times or taking advantage of wool socks.
But staying warm and dealing with the physical effects are only half the game. The psychological effects of the lack of sun, especially for students raised in the South, can be a surprise. Consider taking vitamin D or getting a full spectrum sun lamp, and research Seasonal Affective Disorder if the winter doldrums seem worse than usual. Sometimes simply being aware of the psychological effects that can come with a cold and dark winter can help you get through it.
Being active and finding joy in the season is also an important strategy. Arliskas recommends bundling up and spending some time outside at least every few days. “If you stay inside for three months, you just aren’t going to feel good about yourself.”
“Do not isolate yourself,” advised Melissa Mancari, senior elementary education major from Clearwater, Florida. “If you are surrounded by people going through the same thing together, it makes it more fun than depressing.”


- Tools of the Mind
- Chants & Fingerplay
The Infant Room collaborates with the Preschool in our thematic studies and incorporates art, literature, math, science, Spanish, and American Sign Language (ASL) throughout the day. We believe strongly in encouraging your young child to experiment, get messy, and have fun!
Tools of the Mind
The emphasis for infants and toddlers is to give them the tools and techniques to communicate effectively (i.e. get what they want) and how to control their bodies. By incorporating the latest brain research on language development, plus tried and true fine/gross motor development activities we assist your young child in reaching their full potential.
What we do:
- Wait for a response.
- Accept the fact that Baby decides whether to respond or not; it is her choice.
- Respond to what she says.
- Welcome enthusiastically every effort she makes to talk with voice, facial expression, and touch.
- Assign meanings to the specific sounds that she says repeatedly.
- Separate children in conflict and give attention to the victim.
- Use real words when talking to babies and toddlers.
What we don't do:
- Use "baby talk".
- Ignore Baby.
- Ask a question and leave no time for Baby to answer.
- Neglect to answer her.
- Imitate or make fun of the sounds she makes.
- Correct her pronunciation.
- Try to force her to answer or respond.
- Use "time-outs"
American Sign Language (ASL)
Research has shown that ASL connects to a completely different part of the brain as opposed to just visual or auditory learning. We teach (and use) approxiamately five new ASL signs per thematic unit. We see an increase in comprehension, memory, and fine motor skills by using ASL. We are huge fans of the Signing Times video series.
Chants & Fingerplay
There is a reason that "patty-cake" has been around since the 1600's. Simple, repetetive rhymes engage a young childs mind through music and movement - two keys to long term memory and comprehension. Papoose staff loves to sing songs, old & new, while encouraging fine motor skill development through finger/hand movements. When a two year old masters the "Where is Thumbkin?" chant and can manipulate her fingers with amazing dexterity - it is truly amazing!
"Learning is an inverse function of age. The younger the baby is, the faster he will learn. If the baby is provided with visual, auditory and tactile stimulation with increased frequency, intensity and duration and given enhanced mobility, language and manual competence opportunity, he will develop more rapidly in all areas. This will increase his overall understanding of the world around him and greatly increase his interaction with his family. His happiness, health and general well-being are also significantly improved by stimulation and opportunity." - Janet Doman is a specialist in child brain development and infant stimulation and the author of How Smart Is Your Baby? Develop and Nurture Your Newborn's Full Potential (Square One Publishing, 2006).