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Providing Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers Information on Early Learning
Children need parents, teachers, and others to prepare them for success in school and in life. Scientific research clearly demonstrates that parents and preschool programs can use specific activities to prepare children for school. But there is a gap between what we know and what we do in early childhood education. In order to close this gap, the Department of Education will establish partnerships with private, public, and civic groups to highlight the importance of early childhood development. These partnerships will provide to a wide audience of parents, pre-school providers, teachers, policy-makers, and the public, information and curriculum to help guide children effectively toward successful vocabulary development, pre-reading, and numeracy skills.
Summary of Initiatives
Highlight Early Childhood Education Research. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development will work with offices in the Department of Education and the Administration for Children and Families within HHS to identify the most effective early pre-reading and language curricula and teaching strategies for early childhood educators and caregivers. This $45 million, five-year research initiative represents the first time in the history of these Departments that the full range of talent and resources within the Federal Government has been marshaled to address a topic of major significance involving our Nations children.
The objective of this initiative is to determine through rigorous experimental methods how best to provide children from birth through age 5 with the interactions essential for developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that lead to a smooth transition to early school achievement. The initiative will answer the following questions:
Researchers will establish partnerships with early childhood program sites supported at Federal, State, and community levels. Sites may include Head Start, Early Head Start, pre-kindergarten programs, center-based child care, and family day care. Researchers will identify curricula that effectively promote language and cognitive development, early literacy, and mathematics concepts and skills, while simultaneously developing childrens self-regulatory and social-emotional competencies, motivation, and positive attitudes toward learning. The findings will help guide the structure of early childhood programs and training for early childhood education teachers and other adults responsible for childrens learning and development.
Provide a Guidebook for Parents and Families. A series of booklets titled "Healthy Start, Grow Smart" will provide helpful information on ways to assure the health, safety, nutrition, and cognitive development of newborns and will be made available to new parents as well as online. Modeled after a similar program that First Lady Laura Bush initiated in Texas, the series will be launched at the national level to provide parents and families with more information on a childs development during the crucial first stages of life.
Provide a Guidebook for Early Childhood Educators and Caregivers. The Early Childhood-Head Start Task Force will make available to educators and caregivers a guidebook on steps they can take with children to ensure strong cognitive development while supporting strong social and emotional development. Teaching Our Youngest acknowledges the important role preschool teachers and child care and family providers play in the lives of young children.
Teaching Our Youngest will provide concrete examples to caregivers for use in their daily interactions with children. Also included are strategies for creating a preschool environment that addresses all of the childrens developmental domains. Early childhood educators may use this guidebook to assist them in designing programs that incorporate cognitive development and early literacy activities into a comprehensive program. Through specific demonstrations, teachers will learn simple strategies to nurture the natural curiosity of children and their zest for learning.
Award "Sunshine" Schools and Initiatives. The Department of Education will highlight exemplary preschool programs and initiatives throughout the country and make available best practices from States, counties, school districts, pre-k programs, Head Start sites and child care centers.


Every year Texas A&M's Department of Chemistry hosts a free, open to the public, Chemistry Open House to celebrate National Chemistry Week. This year's participants include the Departments of Biology and Physics & Astronomy, students from the Dwight Look College of Engineering and SACNAS, and the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History.
The Chemistry Open House features the popular Chemistry Road Show, guided lab tours, hands-on and computer activities, door prizes and science goodie bags. The Chemistry Road Show is recommended for all ages and includes demonstrations of popular science.
|Room||Starts At||Arrive By|
|100||10:00 AM||9:45 AM|
|100||12 NOON||11:45 AM|
|100||2:00 PM||1:45 PM|
The Chemistry Open House takes place in the main Chemistry Building complex (not Heldenfels). Please stop by the welcome tent at the corner of Ross and Spence Streets to pick-up your goodie bag.
The Chemistry Open House held as part of National Chemistry Week, an annual event that promotes public awareness of the importance of chemistry in everyday life. It is coordinated by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
The Department of Chemistry takes an active role in community outreach in an effort to positively affect the future of chemical education. We hope students and families will remember the excitement and surprise they feel during our demonstrations.
NCW encourages chemists and chemistry enthusiasts to build awareness of chemistry at the local level. Local Sections, businesses, schools, and individuals are invited to organize or participate in events in their communities with a common goal: To promote the value of chemistry in everyday life.
Meg A. Mole's adventures are part of the ACS kids portal. Meg A. Mole - Future Chemist visits different chemists to learn about their jobs. She is always amazed at the variety of things that they do. Visit her web site to read about her adventures!
What makes diapers absorbent? Is peanut butter stickier than syrup or jelly? The ACS Science for Kids web site engages students with experiments, quizzes and other hands on activities with subjects ranging from chemical & physical change to characteristics of material.


I saw this some time ago, probably in The Teaching Professor online magazine thingy. The basic idea is to leave your class alone when they are having a discussion. I have done this a couple of times. Yesterday was the first time this semester. Here is the deal. In this class (Physics for Elementary Education Majors), they collect evidence and build models. For that day, the experiments were giving students evidence about what happens to a fan cart when the strength of the fan changes and what happens when the mass of the cart changes.
When it came time to discuss the ideas, I made sure that everyone collected similar evidence and then I told them to discuss these ideas on their own. The primary reason for leaving is that many students want to base their answers on authority (me) rather than evidence. If I am not there, they will have to base their answers on evidence. What do I want to see in a discussion?
- Build ideas based on evidence.
- Critically evaluate other students’ arguments
- Have confidence that their models agree with the evidence.
When I am in the room, I think there are some that think either I won’t let them go wrong or that I will give in and give them the answers. Anyway, after I left them they came to get me after 10 minutes. I am really not sure what went on in the room, but they commented that it went well. It can be scary to let your students alone. I am pretty confident that they can do it on their own.


It s widely believed that creativity is an attribute we are born with. It is a native element of our thinking process but based on different environmental and developmental factors this creativity either thrives or subsides. In his popular book "The Element" Sir Ken Robinson argues that all kids are born creative but as they grow old several of them loose trace of this creativity. Ken attributes this gradual loss of creativity to several reasons one of them is schools. He views the focus of schools on STEM subjects at the expense of art-based subjects ( such as art and music education) as one example of how the educational system backgrounds any creative thinking in kids and relegates it to a by-product, a marginal and adjunct activity that supplements content and fact based instruction.
Nurturing a creative thinking process requires a creative mindset, one that celebrates mistakes and looks at failure as needed attempts for success. Creative thinking is also characterized by a set of features, 7 of these features are included in this wonderful visual created by Sean Junkins ( based on this editorial article from Edutopia). Have a look and share with us what you think of them.


Foundations of Music Education
Foundations of Music Education is part two of Dr. Whitwell’s three-part series, On Education.
This book traces the history of music education from the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome to the modern era. The reader will see the most natural concepts of the ancient music education as it then passes through the Dark Ages when the Church made music a branch of mathematics and then through the Renaissance when formal music education meant only theoretical teaching. The search for how music communicates emotion during the Baroque Period began the path back toward teaching music rather than teaching about music.
Softcover versions are available from Amazon.com.


Here is a place to start to get students to find and put meaning into their
art. Start with their name. What does their name mean?
See if you can come up with a project for each grade level where they all do
something with their name. Maybe save ALL of them - just in case you have
that one child who gets nothing saved back for the art show. You will have
that child's name design to put in the show. Some of you do self portraits
and save all of them - that is a good one too. I know it is a LOT of work -
but every child must have their work in an art show sometime during their
elementary years. I had far too many who didn't coming to me. I had far too
many who never had their work displayed coming to me (At my middle school -
I made it a REQUIREMENT for them to have at least one project displayed - Of
course I displayed more than one of some kids' works. I had six bulletin
boards in the hallways - Two nice show cases in the commons - and two trophy
cases in the hallways to use). When I was in elementary, I kept track of
what project went on display - and could easily see who I still needed to
get up. Then when that child was working on the project I would tell them,
"I want this project from you for display so I want you to be sure it is
your very best"....and If a child showed special interest in the MESSAGES I
was trying to get across I would tell that child "I want this project from
you for the Art Show - so do our very best". That one year, I had every
child displayed at least twice. I only had two bulletin boards assigned to
me so I would glue the work to roll paper and mount that up in their hallway
at times. Occasionally, the fifth grade teachers would let me use the
bulletin board in their hallway. Let me tell you what a joy it was to have
my elementary kids when they came to the middle school. They all behaved for
me. I envy those of you who get to see the students year after year.
I know some of you middle school teachers do portfolios for the student
work - See Bunki's - making their name an interesting part of the design.
Find ways to make their name important and to be proud of their name.
Remember when we had fun talking about names on the Getty list a while back?
There are other ones out there - but I don't have time to evaluate them.
There is one name design project on the Sub Plans ...it is a common one.
Write name on folded 9 x 12 paper - cut out and turn into some kind of inset
or creature...Well, well, well. I just told a fib. I couldn't find it on the
Sub plans page - so it just must be an idea I saved. I will look for
it...Eureka- I found it! From Tami (Tammy? - she didn't sign her work ---
Here's an easy lesson which can fit into the substitute lesson plans
category as well as
elements/principles category (line/shape and balance/symmetry)...
For 3rd grade and above... Fold your paper in half the hot dog way.
Write your first name in cursive along the fold. Keep folded and cut
out. Open and turn it over so you don't see your pencil marks. Look
at the shape you created. Think of how you can turn it into a
creature. Use markers (or colored pencils) and glue to a sheet of
I am not an authority on art education ....and I know that....but maybe I
would have liked myself a whole lot better growing up if I liked my name
(smile). I hated Judith.
I post based on how I learned and what helped me learn.... I post based on
what I tried in the classroom and what worked and didn't work.... I post
based on what I did with my own child - and what worked.... I post based on
what I learned by talking with my students.....I don't read "the
research" -- I read enough of that when I was doing my masters research
project - I read research on all sorts of topics because I couldn't find any
research on what I really wanted to do.... I settled on combining motivation
of students with hypermedia (I used the web).
My maiden name was Richer.....my mother's maiden name was Webb....I am so
much Richer now for what I have learned from using the Web -- so I will
continue to use it (smile folks).


Editor's note: Tom Livezey has served as superintendent of Oakridge Public Schools since January 2009. He previously was the district's assistant superintendent and director of curriculum. He has been an adjunct professor for the education department at Grand Valley State University, and has served as a teacher, assistant principal and instruction and technology specialist in the Godwin Heights School District in Wyoming. He began his teaching career in Herscher, Ill. He holds a master's degree in educational leadership and administration, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education.
By Tom Livezey
Suppose you are a parent determined to make sure your child gets the best possible education. Instinctively, you know this depends to a large extent on the teacher. You want a great teacher for your child. So, what is a great teacher?
Right now, in the midst of much media attention and legislation, public schools throughout our state are redefining what it means to be a great or “effective” teacher. Hundreds of research studies have shown that having highly knowledgeable and skilled teachers is one of the most influential factors when it comes to student learning. No wonder state governments, like Republican-dominated Michigan, Democrat-dominated Colorado, and our White House, have put such emphasis on teacher quality, growth in student achievement, and accountability. These three areas serve as the basis for Michigan’s recently enacted Public Act 102 of 2011, a new law that addresses teacher performance evaluations. Some highlights of PA 102 include:
• Evaluations shall occur every year.
• Teachers shall receive a rating of highly effective, effective, minimally effective, or ineffective.
• Districts shall adopt a tool that objectively defines what an effective teacher is or adopt the tool and definition designed by the state.
• Evaluations shall be based, in part, on student achievement growth and assessment data (at least 25 percent in 2013-14, 40 percent in 2014-15, and 50 percent in 2015-16).
• Teachers may request to exempt a particular student from the achievement growth data if the lack of growth is not attributed to the teacher.
• Evaluations shall include specific goals, improvement plans, and training designed to assist teachers in improving their effectiveness.
• Ineffective teachers shall have ample opportunity to improve or follow a pathway to exit the profession.
• A district is encouraged to provide a mentor to assist a teacher who is rated as ineffective or minimally effective.
While no law is perfect, these are all fair expectations that can lead to a positive evaluation experience. If implemented with integrity using research-proven methods, the expected results include improved teacher effectiveness, and ultimately, improved student learning. Remember, the primary purpose of performance evaluation is to provide teachers with constructive feedback that expands their expertise. Teachers deserve this quality feedback. They also deserve to be treated as the highly-educated professionals they are. The key is to develop a system that accurately, fairly, reliably, and credibly measures student learning and teacher performance.
However, it would be a shame if this process stopped at the point a teacher is given a rating on their evaluation. This is just the beginning of the process. The highly-effective teacher takes the feedback from their evaluator, and initiates a self-improvement plan that hones their skills and expertise to improve student learning even further. The highly-effective teacher also reviews the data on student learning and develops specialized lessons for students who need extra assistance.
Additionally, highly-effective teachers give back to their profession by mentoring others who are new to the profession or who need to improve in identified areas. Educators call this a “professional learning community.” Others call it “old fashioned teamwork.” With the right support, resources, and opportunities, teachers will become more effective and students will benefit greatly.


Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to universalize elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA program is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.
∑ A programme with a clear time frame of universe elementary education.
∑ A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country.
∑ An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education.
∑ An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum Level Education Committees, Parentsí Teachersí Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass root level structures in the management of elementary schools.
Objectives of SSA:
∑ All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007.
∑ All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010.
∑ Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life.
∑ Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010.
∑ Universal retention by 2010.
SSA in the light of Right To Education Act (RTE)
The RTE Act provides for:
SSA Chandigarh mandated the following provisions in the light of RTE:
Website of Department of Education, Chandigarh Administration


CSI for Kids: Crime Scene Science by Karen Romano Young
PANTS ON FIRE?
Someone who is lying will not touch his chest (where his heart lies).
Someone who is lying will not make eye contact.
When someone is telling a true story, he uses more hand gestures than when he is lying.
When someone is lying, he may touch his face or mouth more often.
Liars blink less often.
Sure, it's a long time until science fair season rolls around. But Karen Young's Science Fair Winners: Crime Scene Science (National Geographic, 2009) makes great summertime reading fare for upper elementary and middle school readers. Divided into "workshops," this intriguing book is divided into action sections where kids can actually learn about crime scene work--such as fingerprinting, photography, and the technology of blood, including spatter patterns--all of which which offer many engaging summertime projects which take from one day to weeks to carry out in full. Kids make their own fingerprint sets, using friends as subjects, and learn how to categorize them and refine their identification techniques. Another workshop teaches CSI apprentices how to make foot- and tire-track casts, both "positive" and "negative" and how to calculate the height and weight and gender of the "suspect" from such prints.
The text lists the branches of science utilized in each workshop, e.g., in the case of footprint analysis (anatomy, physiology, math), how to calculate the ratio between foot length and height, offering a web site (www.mathforum.org) for help. Each workshop offers the steps of crime investigation which conform to the classic steps in the scientific method, with sections arranged under headings: the buzz (the history and theory); the lingo (terminology); You'll need... (the materials and subject skills required); what to do (steps in the experiment/investigation). Materials are mostly inexpensive; most equipment is fairly accessible (video camera, still camera, recording device, television set, ruler); and subjects are friends and classmates.
Other "workshops" include these fascinating areas: the training of K-9 search dogs, with training exercises for your own dog in scent detection; visual memory and face recognition and expression reading (including detecting false testimony as shown above) in witness and suspect evaluation; and blood analysis. Some workshops offer extremely cool skills such as preparing a sample of your own DNA (using GatorAde!) and how to detect biowarfare substances in mail. Special text boxes (Consider This/Present This) offer suggestions for using workshop experiences to formulate a winning science project. Each section offers Workshop Resources which take the reader outside this book to other resources, such as the National Geographic Body Farm video, the invaluable HowStuffWorks.com, and many other online sources to extend the text. The final section, "Present It," provide tips for preparing and presenting a winning crime scene science project. An appendix offers sources for supplies and equipment, web sites, books, magazines, science programs for kids, and a full index.
Everyone loves a mystery, and Science Fair Winners: Crime Scene Science offers a lot of summer fun for young detectives that can actually pay off with a favorable verdict by the science fair jury next year.
Other great books for summer reading and activities include CSI Expert!: Forensic Science for Kids, Science Sleuths: Solving Mysteries Using Scientific Inquiry, and Have You Seen This Face?: The Work of Forensic Artists (24/7: Science Behind the Scenes: Forensic Files). Fans of mystery fiction and young sleuths will also find these nonfiction sources great background reading for those sleuthing novels so popular for free-time reading in the summer.


This past Sunday, the New York Times ran an article about Billy Joel. The article focused on the fact that, despite not making a new recording in 15 years, Billy Joel still manages to sell out Shea Stadium—twice—in less than two hours. It got me thinking about the Billy Joels of art education. You know, the artists that we may admire and respect in one way or another, but have gotten tired of teaching about over and over. Think “Uptown Girl.” A fun song when it came out, but a song that’s been beaten into submission by its radio-friendliness. It got me thinking about the “Stairway to Heavens”of the art classroom and immediately I came up with three: Monet, Dali, and Warhol. These artists now have the unfortunate distinction of often having their names linked with the word “project”. For example, “Oh you tried a Warhol-project with your class.”
I started to think about artists that might offer very different takes on what Monet, Dali and Warhol often help us teach. Here’s are some initial ideas:
- Juxtapose the work of Andy Warhol with Alfredo Jaar. Have students compare how both of these artists explore the idea of becoming desensitized to certain images. Students can create, juxtapose or layer contemporary images and symbols that, from their perspective, the public has become desensitized to.
- Compare the works of Salvador Dali and An-My Lê. How do both artists deal with the the theme of violence in ways that are similar and very different? Students can create a variety of work that explores violence in our society. One approach might ask students to create a surreal illustration or staged photograph based on world news images.
- View and discuss the work of Claude Monet and Robert Adams side by side. How do the landscapes painted by Monet compare with the photo landscapes by Robert Adams? What kinds of things does each artist want the viewer to think about? Students can then create a painting or series of photographs that explore landscapes (both literal and figurative) of personal importance.
Who are the Billy Joels of your own classroom? How can we use and incorporate contemporary art to give these artists a different, and perhaps more meaningful, place in our teaching?


Helpful Websites for Teachers
Common Core Standards
This site provides a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, based on Common Core Standards for teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.
Illinois Learning Standards
The Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) site defines what all students in all Illinois public schools should know and be able to do in the seven core areas as a result of their elementary and secondary schooling.
National Education Technology Standards
The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) site provides teachers with the standards for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age and are widely recognized and adopted worldwide.
This site provides access to a number of projects that focus on educating and raising young children. ECAP hosts research, technical assistance, and service projects.
This site provides access to best practices, hot topics, and news in the world of education.
This site provides teachers with professional development tools, lesson plans, technology, and news.
This site provides teachers with teaching resources, blogs, publications, technology integration & development.
Common Sense Media
This site provides trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.
This site provides teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum.
Read Write Think
This site provides proven instruction and Internet technology to deliver powerful online tools for teaching reading and language arts in grades K-12.
Discovery Education Teachers
This site provides free resources to teachers across grades and curriculum supported by the Discovery Channel.
This site provides access to the best websites for teaching and learning
International Reading Association
This site promotes reading by continuously advancing the quality of literacy instruction and research worldwide.
National Art Education Association
This site provides tools for visual arts teachers from lesson plans to professional development opportunities.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
This site provides support for early childhood programs and professionals working with young children.
National Association of Special Education Teachers
This site provides support to special education teachers and those preparing for the field of special education teaching.
National Council of Teachers of English
This site provides supporting tools to improve teaching and learning English and the language arts at all levels of education.
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
This site provides resources for teachers and those seeking accreditation.
National Council for Teachers of Mathematics
This site provides tools for mathematics teachers to ensure equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students.
National Council for the Social Studies
This site provides resources for social studies teachers including lesson plans, publications, professional development, and grant opportunities.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
This site is a national source of information on disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth.
National Education Association
This site provides teachers with information on current issues, lesson plans, and teaching resources.
National Science Teachers Association
This site provides content on effective teaching strategies including standards for a cohesive approach to k-12 science instruction, best practices as well as professional development opportunities, books, and journals.


Boosting self-esteem has little effect on academic performance or misbehavior (including substance abuse, sex and violence), researchers concluded after a two-year review of studies on the subject. However, people with high self-esteem are significantly happier than others. (scientificamerican.com, 12-20-04)
The First Amendment guarantee of free speech and press is unappreciated by high school students, according to a $1 million survey of 112,003 students last spring. More than a third of respondents believed newspapers need government approval of their stories before they can be published, and only half said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval. The study was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which released the results in January.
Kindergarten teacher censors child reading from Christian book. A Sacramento girl who was invited to bring two of her favorite books to share with the class chose a book containing moral precepts attributed to Jesus. The teacher interrupted the girl and told her she needed to read her other book because pupils weren't allowed to read books about God in class. In another case, a 9th-grade student assigned to write an essay on personal feelings about starting classes wrote of her anxiety and how God helped to calm her down. The instructor told the class she did not want any more "writing about religion." The Pacific Justice Institute assisted families of both students in educating school officials about the legality of religious expression by students.
Phonics helps adults with dyslexia, too. Intensive phonics instruction actually modifies activity in reading-related parts of the brain in a way that fosters improved performance on reading tests, a team of neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC concluded last fall based on a brain-imaging study. Phonics techniques have been found to boost reading skills in children with dyslexia but hadn't previously been studied in adults with the condition. (Science News, 11-6-04)


Drawing is not about making pictures, but it is about learning to see through drawing.
— Ila Crawford
In Art Instruction in Botany Lab, Lyn Baldwin and Ila Crawford investigated how drawing changed the way botany students learned in a traditional botany lab. This year, they are investigating the reverse — how students in a traditional art class will react to the study of botany.
In a recent article, Does the Science of Botany Need Art? Does Art Need the Science of Botany?, Baldwin and Crawford write about how the disciplines of art and botany can benefit from each other. To make their points, Baldwin (a quantitative field botanist) explains why “the science of botany needs the joy of art” and Crawford (a visual art instructor with 20 years experience) explains the reasons why plants have a “legitimate place in art education.” Their article is a must-read if you’re interested in how drawing can be used to encourage an interest in plants.
Written as a backdrop for their current research about incorporating botany into art class, it also serves as an announcement for an exciting new exhibition for which Baldwin and Crawford are the curators. The exhibition they have created explores the idea that “art inhabits the teaching and practice of botany, and conversely botanical subjects and scientific methods have a legitimate place in teaching and practicing art.”
Lyn Baldwin and Ila Crawford have announced the call for entries for this exhibition and they would like to invite you to participate. The wonderful thing about this exhbition is that it is open to not only artists, but to botanists as well!
Here is a summary:
Art and Science: Drawing and Botany
Canadian Botanical Association
June 5-25, 2013
Invited: Artists, botanists, and groups of artists and botanists working on special projects (10 or more individuals)
Submissions: Three maximum for individuals; one per member for group submissions. Only original work will be accepted, no reproductions. Sketchbooks will be accepted. Only digital images will be accepted for the jurying process.
Entry Fee: $10 per registration ($10 covers up to three works)
Deadlines: Individual submissions (March 29, 2013), Project-based submissions (January 15, 2013)
For additional information about digital submissions, artist’s statements, insurance and more, visit Art and Science: Drawing and Botany.
Baldwin, Lyn and Ila Crawford. 2012. Does the science of botany need art? Does art need the science of botany? Canadian Botanical Association / L’Association Botanique du Canada. CBA/ABC Bulletin. 45(1): 10-13. Web. http://www.tru.ca/cba-abc/art.html [accessed 16 August 2012]


I am currently working on source material for a math-related software project with my mother, who has a PhD in Elementary Education and specializes in math education. While she has quite a strong fundamental understanding of the current techniques and topics taught to children at an early grade school level, I am relatively unfamiliar with the subject area. Lately, I've been looking for sources of inspiration and information, such as Conrad Wolfram's TED talk "Teaching kids real math with computers".
Remembering that the Stack Exchange family now has this excellent math site, I figured I would ask this question here:
What are some interesting concepts in math that can be taught to elementary school children, that aren't traditionally taught? This can be because the topics aren't considered suitable, or perhaps because no one's thought to do it yet. For example, at the end of his talk, Wolfram describes a technique to visualize calculus using limits and shapes inscribed in a circle.
(While I realize this question is slightly unusual compared to other questions I see on the front page -- in other words, university-level math questions -- I think it is appropriate given what the FAQ mentions as appropriate topics for this site.)


What's one thing that's going right in Florida?
Science Roadshows! My Science National Honor Society members present Science Roadshows to our local elementary schools. The high school students visit the elementary schools in the evenings and provide four hands-on, inquiry-based science activities to elementary students and their families. The science activities are designed for two groups: K-2 and 3-5. Each of the four activities teach physics, chemistry, environmental science, and biology using household products that can be purchased at local grocery and hardware stores.
The intent of these activities is to motivate young children to enjoy science, to engage parents to offer these science activities at home, and to demonstrate to elementary teachers that science lessons can be integrated into their daily curriculums across various disciplines. The high school students earn community service hours and the elementary students learn science. It's a win-win situation for all!
Science must be taught as early as kindergarden if not earlier. If we look at American colleges and universities and identify who are our science and engineering majors are, unfortunately, they are not Americans. This is a threat to both our national security and democracy. We need to begin early turning youngs minds onto scientific thinking! Waiting until middle school years to introduce daily science lessons is too late. We must re-structure elementary education programs to integrate science vocabulary and curriculum into the daily reading, writing, and math lessons.
As a mother of three, a wife, a science teacher, an administrator, a college professor, a tennis coach, a sponsor of Future Educators of America and Science National Honor Society and Girl Scout leader, 2011 Florida delegate Dr. Marilyn Zaragoza is an achiever, successfully balancing many different hats.


The competition among states for Race to the Top federal grants of almost 5 billion dollars totally misses the real problem of why one in four students drop out and about 20% of high school graduates in the U.S. read at 5th grade level or below. By requiring states who participate to do performance-based merit pay and link reading test scores to teacher performance, the federal government is not addressing the real problem.
The reason that so many of our students have poor reading skills and can’t read at grade level is due to popular use of the “whole word” language approach which teaches readers to memorize words instead of learning how to sound them out. Most textbooks used for reading instruction in public schools today use this method and do not teach students to read using the phonetic code and phonemes, the sounds that go with the letters. Some students figure out the code on their own but many do not. Research on phonics instruction has proven repeatedly to result in better readers than teaching by the whole word language approach.
I have taught dozens of middle school and high school students in public schools who couldn’t sound out unknown words of three or more syllables because they learned to read by the whole word method. It is hard to have good comprehension of reading material if you can’t read the words in the first place. Imagine what it is like to read a foreign language like Russian when you don’t know all the symbols and sounds. This is what reading is like for students who are reading at their frustration level and are unable to sound out unknown words.
Beginning in fourth grade, when students begin to read silently, a certain percentage of students fall through the cracks. They start reading below grade level because they can’t sound out unknown words and can’t understand the material. They read at the frustration level, get poor grades, and often get placed in a remedial reading class. This starts to effect their self-esteem and causes them to give up or misbehave.
It is totally wrong to give merit pay to teachers based on performance when that performance is tied to test scores. That is a requirement of the Race to the Top grants. Some students have more than one teacher. Others skip school, don’t try, take drugs, or speak another language at home. Why should this be blamed on the teacher? Is it fair to compare test scores of teachers with honor classes with a teacher that has a remedial reading class full of problem kids? Even if the merit pay is based on improvement in scores, it can be difficult to make problem students care enough to try. I’ve seen high school students make a Xmas-tree pattern down the answer sheet and refuse to read the test. Why should this be the teacher’s fault?
There are certainly other factors besides the method used to teach reading that impact reading skills. Early language development, parenting styles, and exposure to books are just a few. But it would benefit the schools if more publishers revised their textbooks and emphasized phonics instruction for beginning readers. We would not have so many students below grade level in reading or placed in an ineffective remedial or intensive reading class where students don’t behave because they don’t care and plan to drop out.


The Role of Fathers in Their Child's Literacy Development: Pre-K
By: Reading Rockets
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Dads play a critical role in their children's literacy development — by modeling reading, sharing stories, exploring the world together, and engaging in meaningful conversations that build critical thinking skills.
What should I read?
Children will respond to your enthusiasm. You can select nonfiction — books about famous people, places, or how things work, or fiction. The important part is that you are enthusiastic about the book. Stop by the children's room at your local library for more ideas.
What if I'm not with my child every day?
If you don't see your child each day, try arranging a regular time to read books over the phone, or create your own podcast! Your child will look forward to this individual time with you, and you will also be modeling behavior that will keep your child on a path toward learning.
What if I don't like reading?
- Tell stories about when you were young
- Recite nursery rhymes or jingles
- Read environmental print (e.g., road signs or brand names on food containers)
- Ask your child about his day. Conversation with adults helps children learn new words and practice creating a narrative — both linked to better reading skills.
- Check out books of photography or art and talk about the pictures
- When you are doing household projects, describe what you are doing to your child
- Involve your child in everyday writing tasks like shopping lists or paying bills
- Create games that use letters, words, or problem solving
Use the language you are most comfortable speaking! Reading skills transfer between languages, and you will be better at playing with words and language in your native tongue.
Walk the walk
Your child learns from what you do. Make sure the messages you are sending about reading reinforce that knowledge and literacy are valuable, achievable, and powerful.
*To view this file, you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader. If it is not already installed on your computer, click here to download.
Reading Rockets (2008)


Getting in Sync: Revamping Licensure and Preparation for Teachers in Pre-K, Kindergarten and the Early Grades
This report highlights problems nationwide with the licensing and preparation of teachers who work with young children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classrooms and shows that today's system is not set up to ensure teachers in pre-kindergarten through the third grades are well-prepared to work with young children.
The quality of the instruction that children receive in pre-kindergarten through the third grade (PreK-3rd) can make a lasting impact on how well they perform throughout their years in school. Because children in these grades are still developing foundational skills, their teachers need preparation that is different from what is required of their late-elementary school counterparts. Teachers at all grade levels, the report says, must be equipped with knowledge and skills that show a deep understanding of how children develop, but this is especially critical for PreK-3rd teachers. These instructors must learn about the science of early-childhood development (including a focus on social-emotional growth) and family engagement, as well as gain experience in how to provide effective instruction in subjects such as early science, early literacy and the building blocks of mathematics.
Click the link below for the full report.


In 1898, Samuel S. Fleisher, a member of the Fleisher family who owned a series of wool mills in Philadelphia, organized free art classes for poor boys at 422 Bainbridge Street. This school soon became known as the Graphic Sketch Club. In 1906 Fleisher moved the night school to 740 Catharine Street. This location was ideal for Fleisher, since many of the workers in his family’s mills lived in this Italian community. All classes were free, except for art materials. If students lacked the means for supplies, Fleisher provided those free as well. Although Fleisher's original plan was to offer art education to poor teenage boys, Fleisher welcomed girls, adults, and people of all races and religions who came to attend classes. To accommodate the ever-increasing enrollment, Fleisher acquired additional buildings on the 700 block of Catherine Street, including two large Romanesque buildings which had formerly housed a home for indigent boys and an Episcopal church. Fleisher was the school’s sole benefactor, and he attended to the school nearly every day.
Fleisher graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1892. Though he became successful in his family’s wool business, his true passion was philanthropy, particularly the promotion of arts education. He retired from the family business in 1919. In addition to his work with the Graphic Sketch Club, Fleisher worked with many other local organizations, such as the Jewish Foster Home and Orphan Asylum, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, and the Philadelphia Playgrounds Association. He was also the founder of the Businessmen’s Art Club.
When Fleisher died in 1944, the Graphic Sketch Club on Catherine Street was renamed the Fleisher Art Memorial in his honor. For a time, the Fleisher was administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It became a non-profit corporation in 1983 and continues to offer art classes and exhibitions for the community.
Fleisher won the Philadelphia Award in 1923, and information on him is available in HSP's collection of Philadelphia Award records (#3081). Additional images of him can be found in the Philadelphia Record photograph morgue (#V07).


I am not aware of any neurolinguist who holds this view. I doubt any have held it in decades. The consensus among scientists is closer to what the well-known cognitive neuroscientist Steven Pinker has written: "Language is a human instinct, but written language is not. Language is found in all societies, present and past. . . . All healthy children master their own language without lessons or corrections. When children are thrown together without a usable language, they invent one of their own. Compare all this with writing. Writing systems have been invented a small number of times in history. . . . Until recently, most children never learned to read or write; even with today's universal education, many children struggle and fail. A group of children is no more likely to invent an alphabet than it is to invent the internal combustion engine. Children are wired for sound, but print is an optional accessory that must be painstakingly bolted on. This basic fact about human nature should be the starting point for any discussion of how to teach our children to read and write."
One wonders what the report would have said had it been written not by a mixed group of educators, teachers, administrators, parents and scientists but instead by a group of neurolinguists. Would it have caviled quite so much on the question of whether phonics or whole language is the correct approach, or whether phonics instruction should be systematic and explicit?
It does seem likely, however, that a pedagogy based on hard science would begin from assumptions far different than those of whole language. It has no doubt been disconcerting for the advocates of whole language instruction to find that over the last decade, the better part of expert and scientific opinion has moved against them.
Partisans of whole language pedagogy, dedicated educators to be sure, have been fighting a rear-guard battle, based upon the view that children are not developmentally equipped for the discipline required by phonics instruction in the first grade and that the far greater risk to children's ultimate ability to read is--in a world in which reading must compete with television, video games and a thousand other entertainments--boredom and the inability to see the point of phonics drills. Typically there is resistance to the mandates to teach phonics issued by state legislatures and state boards of education. Though California is a leader among states in the revival of phonics, the effective consolidation of phonics is still a long way off and requires overcoming both the genuine difficulties in promulgating a new and demanding curriculum and the passive resistance of many educators. The easiest path is to teach whole language and call it phonics. Meanwhile some voices have emerged to defend whole language pedagogy publicly and unapologetically; one of the most well-known is the educational psychologist Gerald Coles.
"Defender of whole language pedagogy" is not a characterization Coles would always have accepted. In a 1998 book, "Reading Lessons," Coles rejected as inadequate the battle between phonics and whole language. Instead, he argued, the real issues in teaching reading transcend the mere pedagogy used in the classroom and are best understood in terms of race, equality and inequality of income and political economy and political power. As a consequence, "Reading Lessons" gives brief histories of the phonics and whole language pedagogy only to dismiss them both in favor of a broad discussion about poverty and money in education. As "Reading Lessons" says, drawing on the work of Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky and his followers:
"[The] conception of 'interactivity' emphasizes the importance of societal organization and power for classroom teaching and learning, even when the influences of that organization and power are not readily apparent. This does not mean that societal influences determine smaller units of teaching and learning literacy. Rather, they contribute mightily to, and therefore are inseparable from, the interactivity that comprises literacy teaching and learning."


Foundations of Reading Test for Wisconsin (FORT)
The computer-based test assesses proficiency in and understanding of reading and writing content knowledge, literacy development and instruction.
Who Needs to take the test?
Students wishing to gain licensure in the following areas are required to take this test:
- Early Childhood-Middle Childhood Majors – Regular Education and Dual Education
- Middle Childhood-Early Adolescence Majors – Regular Education and Dual Education
- Special Education Majors
- Reading Teacher (316) and Reading Specialist (17) Licensures
When to take the FORT
|If you plan to student teach during a fall semester ...
||If you plan to student teach during a spring semester ...
|You need to be able to post a passing score on your student teaching application before March 1 during the spring semester before your student teaching.
||You need to be able to post a passing score on your student teaching application before October 1 during the fall semester before your student teaching.
|February 1 is probably the last chance to take your test and still get your scores back in time.
||September 1 is probably the last chance to take your test and still get your scores back in time.
|The winter break before the spring semester might be the best time to take the test.
||The summer break before the fall semester might be the best time to take the test.
Passing Score Information
Initial Passing Score:
Applicants who apply for Wisconsin Licensure are required to earn a passing score of 240.
How much will it cost?
FORT Test Objectives
Foundations of Reading Development
Development of Reading Comprehension
- Understand phonological and phonemic awareness.
- Understand concepts about print and the alphabetic principle.
- Understand the role of phonics in promoting reading development.
- Understand word analysis skills and strategies.
Reading Assessment and Instruction
- Understand vocabulary development.
- Understand how to apply reading comprehension skills and strategies to imaginative/literacy texts.
- Understand to apply reading comprehension skills and strategies to informational/expository text.
- Understand formal and informal methods for assessing reading development.
Integration of Knowledge and Understanding
- Understand multiple approaches to reading instruction
- Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to one or more of the following: foundations for reading development; development of reading comprehension; reading assessment and instruction.


Lesson 12: Instruction for Struggling Reader
The ideas and activities presented in this lesson are designed to familiarize you with strategies that support literacy learning for readers who struggle with reading. These students do not apply or have not learned those reading strategies which allow full engagement in the reading task. These readers who struggle with extracting meaning from text are found in all grades, at all ages and in all content areas. The literature supports that, though these struggling readers are lacking knowledge and practice, they can be taught to be successful when reading. Florida's Formula for effective reading instruction certainly applies to struggling readers in terms of areas of instruction, assessment, initial instruction, and immediate intensive intervention for students who have severe difficulties in reading. The strategies, practices, procedures, and information represented in this lesson are just a few of those strategies for success. They are appropriate for teachers of both elementary and secondary students and for teachers of both content and literature-based lessons. It is important for teachers to be familiar with the fundamentals of reading, which impact all levels of instruction and apply to lessons in all areas of content. Both general and specific procedures and processes for teaching the struggling reader are presented here. You can apply these strategies and processes as they appear here or view them as adaptations for strategies and lessons presented in other lessons in this course.
Finally, remember that technology is important for all students but may be particularly critical to students who learn through visual, audio, kinesthetic or other modalities. Technology can help many students, especially (some) struggling students, learn to read.
How do I help the struggling readers in my classroom? Lesson 12 will provide strategies for enhancing the decoding ability, vocabulary, and comprehension of struggling readers. Also included in this lesson are specific applications for assisting struggling readers in the content area classroom. In this video, Dr. Vicky Zygouris-Coe provides an overview of the key ideas presented in Lesson 12. PC - Windows Media Video (3.15MB)
Mac - QuickTime Video (9.49MB)
After this lesson you should be able to:
- Explain the process of reading and relate that process to the challenges students face as they construct meaning from print.
- Apply knowledge of literacy learning to support literacy development in struggling readers.
- Locate and use resources which support reading strategies for struggling readers.
- Identify some software titles and technology tools that can help students learn to read and comprehend text.
- Plan for the implementation of strategies designed to support the struggling readers in your classroom.
- Teach strategies that allow students to become independent readers and learners.
Wondering what you must accomplish in this lesson? A task list has been provided that outlines the required readings, actions, and assignments for Lesson 12. The task list is a learning aid to help you monitor the completion of this lesson. Other links, resources, and/or videos are optional. You will find a task list in each lesson. The task list can be accessed using the table of contents or by navigating to the end of this lecture


The very earliest photo-synthesizing plants on Earth, about 3 billion years ago, had only one cell, and they reproduced the way most one-celled creatures do, by mitosis: splitting themselves in half. By about two billion years ago, some of these cells began to split themselves in a more sophisticated way, called meiosis.
When cells use meiosis to reproduce, there's a daddy cell and a mommy cell. Each parent cell makes a new cell with a copy of half of its DNA, and then the daddy's half cell mixes with the mommy's half cell to make a new baby cell. That's how you were made, and that's how baby plants are made too.
A cell that reproduces using meiosis has two possible forms: the kind with only half the DNA, or haploid cells, and the kind with all the DNA, or diploid cells. Some cells spent most of their time as haploid cells, only becoming diploid for a short time just to mix the DNA up. Other cells spent most of their time as diploid cells, only becoming haploid for a short time to mix the DNA up. (You spend most of your time as diploid cells, and only a short time as a haploid cell (the sperm and the egg)). This alternation of generations meant that plants came in two forms, a haploid form and a diploid form.
Meiosis and the alternation of generations allowed for much faster evolution, with all this mixing up of DNA, and so plants began to change much faster than they had before. Soon there were plants with more than one cell, like seaweed. When these plants grew bigger, they did that by dividing their cells using mitosis, as usual (that's how you get bigger too). But if they wanted to make a whole new baby plant, they needed a way to reproduce the whole plant, not just one cell at a time.
When all the plants still lived in the ocean, they could exchange sperm and eggs just by letting them loose into the water and hoping they would bump into each other as they floated around. But when the first plants like moss began to live on land, about 540 million years ago, they developed a way to reproduce using spores instead.
Spores worked well for the moss, and also for the ferns that evolved later on, about 400 million years ago. But these spores counted on falling on to wet ground; if they didn't find wet ground they just died. When plants began to spread on far from the edges of streams, they needed a way to protect baby cells that fell on dry land. That's when the earliest plants gradually evolved hard covers for their baby cells, or seeds. The first seed plants appeared around the end of the Devonian period, about 360 million years ago, and during the Permian period there were lots of seed plants, mainly pine trees, all over the land.
To find out more about plants, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Science for Kids home page
History for Kids home page


Welcome to Music
We want children to experience learning through their entire body. Teaching to all seven intelligences, children will come to fully understand both musical as well as academic concepts. The students will participate in music through many facets: movement, voice, playing instruments, reading and creating to name a few. Children will feel welcome and comfortable to share their thoughts and ideas. We strive to give every child an overall appreciation of a variety of musical styles.
Students in grades 1-5 have music twice a week for 30 minutes in the music room. Our program follows the Loudoun County Elementary Music Curriculum, which is aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL’s) and the National Standards for Music Education.


What students are really motivated by are opportunities to be social — to interact around challenging concepts in powerful conversations with their peers. They are motivated by issues connected to fairness and justice. They are motivated by the important people in their lives, by the opportunity to wrestle with the big ideas rolling around in their minds, and by the often-troubling changes they see happening in the world around them.
Technology’s role in today’s classroom, then, isn’t to motivate. It’s to give students opportunities to efficiently and effectively participate in motivating activities built around the individuals and ideas that matter to them.
Basically what I’m arguing is that finding ways to motivate students in our classrooms shouldn’t start with conversations about technology. Instead, it should start with conversations about our kids. What are they deeply moved by? What are they most interested in? What would surprise them? Challenge them? Leave them wondering? Once you have the answers to these questions — only after you have the answers to these questions — are you ready to make choices about the kinds of digital tools that are worth embracing.
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Recently, in Australia both the National Review of School Music Education and The Australian Curriculum identify the importance of technology in school music education. However, the understanding of music technology, as demonstrated by state and territory curricular guidelines, is limited with technology mostly recognised as a tool. In comparison, contemporary Australian information and computer technology (ICT) curricula appear to have a very different understanding of how technology can enhance learning in the arts, specifically music. Through a comparison of the Australian States and Territories Years 7-10 curricular guidelines this article compares understandings in the two domains - ICT and the arts (particularly music). The different perspectives on the use of technology in music education can be seen as either using technology as a tool to support instruction in drill-like programs or as a platform for collaborative and creative learning that resonates with students in Australian music classrooms.
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CM . . .
. Volume VIII Number 15 . . . . March 29, 2002
River of Hands: Deaf Heritage Stories is an anthology of four stories created by young Deaf authors and illustrators through a project of the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf. The purposes of this project were to increase the small amount of Canadian children's literature reflecting the Deaf experience and to provide an opportunity for new Deaf authors, storytellers, and illustrators to emerge. This book is the first of its kind for Canadian children's literature. The stories, "But" and "Zzzzzz" are traditional Deaf folktales passed down through generations of Deaf people in American Sign Language, but this is the first time they have been recorded in print. "A Fishy Story" and "Unlucky Charm"are original stories created by the authors. The authors' ages range between 12 and 17 years.
The primary goal of the stories is not to educate or inform others about being Deaf, but rather to introduce interesting characters, who happen to be Deaf, and show how they respond to funny events and challenging situations. In the process of the stories' doing this, the reader learns about features of American Sign Language, technical devices that Deaf people use, and differences between visual and auditory information. This awareness is facilitated by including explanatory notes following each story and "Did you ever wonder?" sections that describe historical facts about how Deaf people managed before devices were invented to provide visual access to doorbells, alarm clocks, and telephones.
Although each story is introduced with an illustration, the pages that follow are straight text. I feel that the stories would be better presented in picture book form with a mixture of pictures and text on each page. The actions and funny situations presented in the stories would be enhanced through illustrations, and this format would be more engaging for the age of the intended audience/reader. In several stories, the influence of American Sign Language (ASL) on the writing can be noted. For example, verbs are repeated in ASL to provide emphasis and in one story the character is "thinking and thinking and thinking." Other examples include the use of words to represent mouth movements that accompany signs, such as "CHA CHA" to indicate "huge," or "PAH" to mean "finally." I understand that the purpose of writing this way may facilitate comprehension by Deaf readers who use ASL or may introduce features of ASL to readers who are not familiar with this language; however, I do believe this may be confusing to readers who don't know ASL.
I would highly recommend this book both for Deaf and hearing children. The stories allow Deaf children to see the characters as role models and validate their own experiences through situations and events to which they can relate. The book also reinforces the notion that Deaf people can be authors and teaches them about their history and heritage. The value of these stories for hearing children is to increase their awareness of Deaf people, American Sign Language, and the role that vision and hearing play in our lives. These features would make River of Hands an appropriate resource for studies involving the senses as well as different cultures and languages.
The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf is to be congratulated for instigating this project and making such a positive and needed contribution to children's literature.
Dr. Charlotte Evans teaches in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and conducts research on the literacy development of Deaf children.
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Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.


Antique Alive presents the art history of Korea including antique treasures, works of art, and handicrafts in various art forms. The site offers art essays to provide resources and in-depth information about diverse Korean arts and crafts.
Childhood in Art
Depiction of child in art history. Painting. Photography. Sculpture.
CONTEMPORARY SPANISH PAINTERS.
Contemporary Spanish Painters. Spanish Contemporary Art. The great and wonderful works by Spanish painters from its beginnings until today form one of the most colossal and reasonable artistic creations in history. Personages of the World and of The History.
About.com: Art History
Online community and resource guide for the artists and art periods of the past.
Andres Blaisten Museum
Masterpieces of Mexican Art from the XIX and XX Centuries from private collections.
Art Cellar Exchange: Millenium Archive
The Art Cellar Exchange's alterego, Arty, looks back at some of the most significant art work produced in modern history and their impact on life today and in the coming millennium.
Art Historians' Guide to the Movies
Record of appearances of and references to famous works of art and architecture in the movies.
Art History at Loggia
Explores the history of art with information about artists, styles, and periods. Includes resources and reference materials about art history, searchable database, and forums.
Art History with Michelli
The Art Browser divides categories of resources by time period and their movements.
ArtLex - Art Dictionary
Reference material in art, art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art education. Definitions of thousands of terms, illustrations, quotations, and links to other resources.
Results: 1 2 3 4 Next


Music can bring a smile to your face. It can calm you down or
lift you up. It makes you move, makes you think. So it's no
surprise that music has a proven, positive effect on learning.
Since music integrates the mind and the body-such as when a
child dances to the beat of a drum or taps a tune on a piano-it
helps strengthen sensory integration, a critical factor when it
comes to reading and math readiness and achievement.
Music does more than soothe the soul. It helps
with sensory integration, creative development, and confidence. So
crank it up!
Here are some ideas for bringing the magic of music into the
life of your family:
Turn up the volume (not too loud). Play some
Motown tunes while folding the laundry, introduce your child to
your '80s dance faves while cooking dinner, calm a cranky toddler
(and yourself!) by live streaming some classical tranquilizers
online (try tuning in to Boston Public Radio's classical outpost,
wgbh.org). All types of music have a positive effect on learning,
so turn up Dolly Parton or grab your fake microphone and air guitar
and morph into the newest member of the Rolling Stones.
Dance! Dance! Dance! There is nothing quite
like moving to the beat of an African drum or stepping to the
rhythm of salsa. Grab your husband, grab your kids and dance!
dance! dance! in the kitchen, in the living room, it doesn't matter
where. As the old Japanese proverb goes, "We're fools whether we
dance or not, so we might as well dance."
Encourage your child to study dance or a musical
instrument. The Old Town School of Folk Music, with two
locations in Chicago (Lincoln Square and Lincoln Park), offers an
amazing array of dance classes for both children and adults, from
West African to Mexican Folkloric, classical ballet to hip-hop.
Music class offerings are extremely varied as well. From guitar and
ukulele to fiddle and percussion, there's an instrument to fit
every child (or adult-go ahead and take those guitar lessons you've
always dreamed about). Piano instruction is offered for children as
young as 3½ via the school's Little Red Piano program.
Attend musical performances. Not to be missed
is the world-class Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Kraft Foods Family
Matinee Series, a kid-friendly introduction to the world's finest
composers. Arrive early for pre-concert activities, including arts
and crafts, instrument petting zoos, composers' workshops and
performances by young musicians.
Support music education. Sadly, many schools
have cut their music education programs due to budget constraints.
The VH1 Save The Music Foundation wants to reverse this trend.
Dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American
public schools, it works to raise awareness about the importance of
music as part of each child's complete education. Since 1997, the
foundation has provided $45 million worth of new musical
instruments to more than 1,700 public schools in more than 100
cities around the country, impacting the lives of more than 1.4
million public school students. Check out the website,
vh1savethemusic.com, where you can learn more about the importance
of music in education, donate or, better yet, download the Music
Advocacy Toolkit and learn how to take steps to encourage music
education in your local schools and community.
Amy Bizzarri is a mom of two living in Logan Square. She also blogs at tiramisumom.com.
See more of Amy's stories here.
What to do with your weekend, delivered every Thursday.
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Exclusive offers from our partners,usually delivered twice a week.
Resources for parents of children with special needs,delivered the second Tuesday each month.


The nation seems enamored with the acronym STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.
However, according to the National Math and Science Initiative, the lack of STEM proficiency is a crisis for U.S. educators, with students finishing 25th in math and 17th in science in the ranking of 31 countries by the Organization for Economic Coordination and Development (OECD). These findings are of significant concern, of course, because essential elements of a STEM education are absolutely necessary for youth to find future employment that is enriching, rewarding, relevant and of importance in the world.
Microsoft reported in 2011 that it had engaged Harris Interactive to conduct research to determine the STEM perceptions of parents and students, and found that 49 percent of K-12 parents see STEM as a top priority, but only 24 percent would be willing to spend extra money for STEM education. The divide between the survey group's knowledge and its participants' willingness to act on that knowledge is disconcerting, especially in light of the accepted value of STEM in providing competitive advantages in life.
STEM should not be treated as a separate domain in education, but rather treated as a cross-domain strategy. In fact, the 21st century skills of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication must be infused with STEM education to provide students with the thinking skills inherently needed in STEM careers. In addition, art education should be integral, which may change the acronym to STEAM. The Harris Interactive survey actually found that parents were more willing to spend extra money on art education, and that students favored art careers over STEM, which presents a strategy for fostering STEM interest through art courses.
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) has a mandate to educate the whole child, and this mandate is shared by the American Association of School Administrators. This compact emphasizes that our students must not only learn knowledge, they should also learn strategies that foster emotional intelligence, civic awareness, accountability, and empathy for others. The Destination Imagination programming accentuates these skills, and includes perseverance strategies that teach risk taking, resilience, mindfulness, and self-determination.
As mentioned above, STEM education is not a single-domain strategy and should be integrated across all curricula to enable children to construct meaning across disciplines. STEM education can be taught through stories, pictures, sound, videos, and hands-on activities. The opportunity for educators is to use inquiry-guided learning (questioning) strategies to engage children to use their imaginations for creativity, and then use the same teaching methodology for critical thinking. This engagement could invoke emotion in the form of excitement and passion, which is a brain-based teaching strategy. A goal of STEM education should be to foster higher-order thinking skills, such as goal setting, planning/budgeting, organizing, prioritizing, memorizing, initiating/risk-taking, shifting, and self-monitoring.
Bottom line is that educators need to recognize that STEM is not a stand-alone educational strategy. STEM knowledge should be integrated across the curriculum, and schools should use after-school programs, such as the ones offered by Destination Imagination, to develop practical skills -- collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication -- while fostering a sense of wonderment, which is needed for passion, perseverance, and innovation.
Chuck Cadle, M.Ed., is a licensed teacher and educational leader. He is CEO of Destination Imagination, Inc., a NJ-based educational non-profit, which has been teaching STEM education through its after-school Challenge-based distance learning program since its inception in 1999.
Follow Chuck Cadle on Twitter: www.twitter.com/crcadle


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Chiming fork science experiment
Science for kids is always fun and the chiming fork brings sound science experiments to a new level. Kids enjoy science and sounds, so combine the two in this fun activity and see if they can record what happens without you letting them know what will happen.
Number of Players:1+
What You Need:
- piece of thread
Step 1. Cut a piece of thread that is about as long as your arm.
Step 2. Tie the middle of the thread to the bottom end of the fork.
Step 3. Wind the ends of the thread around your index fingers.
Step 4. Using your fingers, swing the fork so that it knocks against the edge of the table. Notice the sound you hear.
Step 5. Now touch the flaps just in front of your ear holes with your index fingers and repeat Step 3.
What did you notice?
The sound of the clunk should sound different. Why? Because when your fingers near your ears, you bring the thread closer to your sounds sensors which allows you to hear the vibrations much more clearly.
Find more paper craft ideas:
- Easy origami for kids
- Video tutorials on how to make paper planes
- Make your own Christmas cards
- 5 adorable Mother's Day cards to make
- 5 fun things to print and make
- 5 ways to display kids' art
Find more inspiring kids' craft ideas
- How-to videos for kids' crafts
- Make a melted crayon masterpiece
- Easter crafts
- Christmas crafts
- Fun kids craft ideas
- 30 fun things to do with kids (including craft)
- Dress up ideas kids can make
- Crafts to make from the recycling bin
- Fairy-inspired craft ideas
- Great ideas for paper crafts
Find more party ideas:
- Party projects anyone can make
- Classic party games
- How to throw a perfect slumber party
- Birthday party ideas for under 3's
- Birthday party ideas for 3-5 year olds
- Birthday party ideas for 6-8 year olds
- How to entertain kids on a budget
- Party themes and ideas
- 8 fantastic fancy dress party ideas
- Best birthday party games
- Best birthday party venues for kids


Language Lessons is finest implementation of the Charlotte Mason method of language arts I have ever seen. If you are new to homeschooling, the Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) name may not be familiar to you. Charlotte Mason was a British educator who devoted her life to improving the quality of children's education. To her, language arts skills consisted of narration, the child telling back a story; copywork, the transcribing of a well-written piece of literature as handwriting practice; and dictation, which is spelling and grammar taught within the context of rich language instead of static lists. Sandi Queen has done an excellent job of combining those lesson essentials and picture studies with full-color paintings, basic phonics instruction, poetry appreciation and writing, creative writing, and much more.
Character Quality Language Arts
Language Lessons (see above) sounds wonderful, and it is. But it may not be for every family. If God has blessed you with a quiverful of children, thank Him and then consider Character Quality Language Arts. Uniquely designed for the parent who is teaching a roomful of multi-grade levels, Character Quality Language Arts is suitable for second- through twelfthg rade students and teaches vocabulary, spelling, grammar, composition, creative writing, poetry, and dictation.
As you can imagine, multilevel, all-in-one programs are easier to implement and tend to be more cost-effective. Written by home educators for home educators, Character Quality Language Arts has teacher helps, lesson plans, and answer keys -- all the grunt work has been done for you.
Most children dread grammar study because it is too complex. But Easy Grammar is just that, easy. What sets Easy Grammar apart from other grammar programs is the key role prepositions play. Once your child can identify and eliminate the prepositional phrases in a sentence, determining the subject, verb and other parts of speech is much easier. If you lack an adequate grammar background and find even the preceding sentence to be intimidating, relax. The hardest part will be memorizing the prepositions. After that, everything falls into place.


Using Art to Reinforce Math, Science and More
Elementary art lesson plans are usually not a stand-alone item for a classroom teacher. Instead, art is infused into other subject areas.
Incorporating art into your lesson plans can take a little creativity to ensure a good fit with your curriculum. It’s usually easy to come up with art projects for reading or writing. However, to instill a true appreciation for art education in the classroom, it’s ideal to incorporate art into math and science as well.
Elementary art lesson plans involving math
I have used the creation of “giants” to illustrate concepts of measurement and multiplying measurements. This project was extremely engaging to children as they drew and painted their creations.
A little creative searching will yield many ways that you can incorporate art into your mathematics units. Just be certain that they become part of your lesson plan and not a lesson in themselves…that’s what art class is for. Here’s what I mean by that…
These illustrations of geometric shapes utilized the work of Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky as inspiration. After watching a slide show about his life and art, each student created a painting – but that painting had to include certain standards-based math concepts.
The first item below is a Kandinsky piece and the other two are student samples. Do you see the geometric shapes and lines?
Elementary art lesson plans for science
As with math, we use art as a reinforcement…another way of examining concepts so they stick in the minds of our children, as these illustration opportunities from the field of science demonstrate:
- Erosion, deposition and weathering
- Life cycle of a butterfly
- Stages of growth of a plant
You get the picture. Writing down a scientific process reinforces the concept once. Following that with an illustration (or combining the two with captioned illustrations) reinforces it a second time. Taken together, the two methods multiply the student’s ability to understand and recall a scientific process.
Grading Student Art
Elementary art lesson plans that are part of a non-art subject must include a scoring rubric for the work that is completed. I never grade the art itself because it’s a personal expression and childrens’ motor skills and developmental levels will often determine how their creation looks.
However, I do grade the application of the content in the art project. For example, in the Kandinsky lesson, each drawing had to include the following items:
- Four different lines
- Four different geometric shapes
- Two shapes had to be overlapping
I also give a “neatness” grade. When working with paints, for example, it is very easy for a student to create a mess of their painting by over-mixing colors. Careful attention to my instructions yields a much better project and this needs to be reinforced.
Whether we are discussing math, science, reading, writing or social studies, the curriculum standard comes first when lesson planning. Art is then wrapped around the standard as reinforcement rather than being the reason for the lesson.
Illustration as Part of a Lesson Plan
Story illustration has its place if it is part of a grade-level standard…part of publishing writing, for example, or as a teaching method to reinforce the concept of “setting” where the illustration produces a physical representation of the vision in a reader’s mind.
However, simply illustrating a story often doesn’t meet the test of supporting the topic of a writing lesson. I have seen teachers give students a half hour to illustrate a narrative when a picture has nothing to do with the point of the lesson.
Stay creative but focused with your elementary art lesson plans and watch the impact of your teaching increase with each swipe of the marker and stroke of the brush.


The Rostrum of African Music was created in 1975 to support and highlight the music of the African continent through radio broadcasts, taking into account not only the diverse and rich music traditions of the continent but also the various popular and art music styles which were inspired by these traditions.
- To promote, via broadcasting stations and similar organizations, authentic and valuable examples of different styles of traditional and contemporary music of Africa
- To promote the production, dissemination and exchange of musics from the region through radio stations and other media such as television and the internet, but also through live performances
- To establish and develop better cooperation among African broadcasters in order to achieve a broader dissemination of African music.
- To facilitate music education in the region by providing specific examples of African music, as an educational tool to learn about the musics in the region
- To contribute to a greater valorization of the rich heritage and musical traditions by raising awareness and building knowledge among the public, especially youth
- To develop new strategies for the programming and dissemination of African music
- To recognize and encourage young talents.
The following Rostra were held over the years:
|1||1970||May 25 - 27||Paris|
|2||1972||July 5 - 7||Venice, Italy|
|3||1975||October 21 - 25||Accra, Ghana|
|4||1979||February 3 - 5||Dakar, Senegal|
|5||1981||Jan 31 - Feb 1||Tunis, Tunisia|
|6||1983||January 21 - 23||Algiers, Algeria|
|7||1985||January 26 - 27||Brazzaville, Congo|
|8||1997||February 2 - 7||Dakar, Senegal and Nairobi, Kenya|
|9||1990||February 19 - 21||Dakar, Senegal|
|10||2010||November 17-20||Douala, Cameroon|
|11||2014||August 2-8||Brazzaville, Congo|
Since 2010, IMC has been working on the revitalisation of this regional Rostrum, in close cooperation with its regional group, the African Music Council. The 10th African Music Rostrum under a new formula was held in Douala, Cameroon, on November 17-20, 2010.
In the framework of the African Music Development Programme, the 11th edition of the African Music Rostrum was held in Brazzaville, Congo, on August 2-8, 2014.


PNC Grow Up Great is a $350 million, multi-year, bilingual initiative that began in 2004 to help prepare children from birth to age five for success in school and life. So that future generations won't just grow up...but grow up great! Grow Up Great with Science aims to foster a foundation in science for area preschoolers at a time when many educators have sought increased emphasis on the discipline. A study by the National Research Council recognized that providing young children with research-based mathematics and science learning is likely to pay off with increased achievement, literacy, and work skills in these critical areas.
The Franklin Institute is working with 20 early childhood learning centers in the greater Philadelphia area to show teachers, students, and their families that science is a part of everyday life. Highlights of the program include professional development for teachers, classroom visits from The Franklin Institute's Traveling Science Show, hands-on learning experiences at the museum, and special participation in The Franklin Institute's Community Nights program.
Recommended Children's Literature
Books about Water
- Cobb, Vicki (2002). I Get Wet. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-688017839-1.
- Edom, Helen (1992). Science with Water. London: Usborne. ISBN 0-7460-1261-6.
- Madgwick, Wendy (1998). Water Play. Austin: Raintree Steck-Vaughn. ISBN 0-8172-5326-2.
- Simon, Seymour and Nicole Fauteux (2001). Let's Try it Out in the Water. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-689-82919-1.
- Cotten, Cynthia (2008). Rain Play. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-6795-8.
- De Seve, Randall (2007). Toy Boat. New York: Philomel Books. ISBN 978-0-399-24374-5.
- Greenfield, Eloise (1999). Water, Water. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-694-01247-5.
- Miller, Shannon and Timothy Warner (2002). Tub Toys. Berkeley: Tricycle Press. ISBN 1-58246-066-3.
Books about Force and Motion
- Dahl, Michael (2006). Roll, Slope, and Slide. Minneapolis: Picture Window Books. ISBN: 978-1-4048-1304-5.
- Jones, Melanie Davis (2002). Balls. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0-516-22596-0.
- Smith, Sian (2009). Making Things Move. Chicago: Heinemann Library. ISBN-13: 978-4329-2696-0.
- Baron, Alan (1996). Little Pig's Bouncy Ball. Cambridge: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 1-56402-805-4.
- George, Lindsey Barrett (2010). Maggie's Ball. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 978-0-06-172166-3.
- Mayer, Lynne (2010). Newton and Me. Mt. Pleasant: Sylvan Dell. ISBN: 978-1-60718-067-8.
- McClintock, Mike (1959). Stop That Ball! New York: Random House. ISBN: 0-394-90010-3.
Use these simple suggestions from our Community Night programs. Find lesson plans, songs, books, art projects, and more!
Grow Up Great With Science is made possible with the generous support of PNC Bank.


The Sloth Sanctuary, in Costa Rica, is currently home to 24 orphaned baby sloths.
‘Issy’, an orphaned Choloepus Sloth, was recently photographed during her daily weigh-in. With those who are not gaining weight properly, daily monitoring is essential to the special care they receive. As they grow and prosper, the weight checks are scaled back.
Due to the increasing number of orphans arriving at the Sloth Sanctuary, there was a need to relocate and expand their juvenile nursery. Their improved, larger installation features a new exercise area and more dedicated space for daily weighing, cleaning and feeding routine. The babies are taken to the new area daily for climbing practice, which is an essential lesson that aids their motor skill development. Agility allows them to forage more effectively, and, if they are released, it helps provide the skills needed to avoid hazards, such as dogs and workers clearing the forest.


Want to learn about Kentucky history? Head to a Kentucky state park.
More than a dozen state parks feature museums interpreting the history
and culture of the regions in which they are located.
The crown jewel of these museums is located in Henderson at John James Audubon State Park
Audubon, the first artist or ornithologist to depict life-size birds
and animals in their natural surroundings, lived in Henderson in the
early 19th century. The museum houses the world’s largest gathering of
Audubon memorabilia and an extensive collection of his original
watercolors, oils and engravings.
The Audubon Museum’s Learning Center offers year-round art and
environmental programs under the direction of a naturalist and art
educator. The museum store features gifts that explore the wonders of
nature. The museum and store are closed Monday through Wednesday from
January to March 15.
Among this winter’s activities at the museum is a Kentucky Guild of
Artists and Craftsmen exhibition, a mixed media showcase highlighting 2D
and 3D work created by guild members throughout the state. Exhibit
dates are January 20-March 11. Many art education programs for adults
and children are also on tap. For more information, contact Kim
McGrew-Liggett at 270-827-1893 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Explore 18,000 years of history at the museum at Big Bone Lick State Park
at Union in northern Kentucky. Indoor and outdoor sections display
fossilized bones and models of mammoths, mastodons, scavengers and other
creatures that roamed the region. The outdoor museum features a
boardwalk around a marsh bog diorama, and a small bison herd is on site.
Inside, a wide-ranging collection of art and artifacts from various
epochs reveal this area’s evolution.
Big Bone Lick is a National Natural Landmark and on the National
Register of Historic Places. Obtain more information at 859-384-3522 or email@example.com
Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park
at Carlisle features the newly renovated Pioneer Museum, which retells
the story of the Blue Licks area from prehistoric times to the park’s
dedication in 1928. View a short video presentation and examine mastodon
bones, Native American and Kentucky pioneer artifacts. The area was
also the site of a Revolutionary War battle, and memorabilia from this
period is on view. Learn about the “healing waters” of the local spring
through the story of Blue Licks’ early years as a travel destination.
Obtain more information at 800-443-7008 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Other state parks and historic sites with museums or historic homes include Fort Boonesborough
, Richmond; General Butler
, Carrollton; Lincoln Homestead
, Springfield; My Old Kentucky Home
, Bardstown; Old Fort Harrod
, Harrodsburg; Perryville Battlefield
, Perryville; Waveland
, Lexington; White Hall
, Richmond; William Whitley House
, Stanford; Levi Jackson Wilderness Road
, London; Columbus-Belmont
, Columbus; Jefferson Davis
, Fairview; and Wickliffe Mounds
To learn more about all the museums in the Kentucky state park system, log on to parks.ky.gov
, click on “Things to Do” and select “Museum.”


Culture is created by human life. Cultures can be defined as " the set of attitudes, values, and behaviour shared by a group of people, communicated from one generation to the next". Cultures plays huge role in how children make meaning of the world.
Most child development theories are based on westernized countries but the majority of children are not from westernized countries, therefore; child development theories require special attention to the influence of cross-cultural research on child development.
We should keep in mind that any behaviour that are appropriate within a culture will be encouraged by significant adult in children's lives and any behaviour that is not appropriate will be discouraged. These adaptive and maladaptive behaviour varies from one culture to another culture; behaviour that are adaptive in one culture could be maladaptive in another culture.
within any culture, children are shaped by the physical and social settings within which they live; culturally customs and child rearing practices; and culturally based belief systems. That means that the psychological of any social behavior is based on what culture and where those children are being exposed to those belief and system, therefore; child development theories and child development truths can not be applied for all children in different culture since all of those child development truths are based on the westernized "norms".
Early childhood educators, teachers, social workers and... must understand that normalcy is culturally defined and also the practitioners, psychologist should consider children's cultural values before giving diagnose .
Culture is consists of the historically accumulated knowledge, tools, and attitudes that pervade the child's proximal ecology, including the cultural "practices" of nuclear family members and other kin. These enculturated members of society are themselves subject to a variety of forces in both the natural ecology and society as they carry out their roles, such as care giving and earning a living.
Culture is created by human in their social life. Through participation in social life of culture, children develop.
'Culture is part of our world. It is developed through human life in the "natural" world and is nature that is formed. It consists of material products characterized by meaning and function. And it encompasses immaterial products: language, idea, conception, meaning, value, the knowledge and skill that are created and from part of human life. It comprises the activities that reproduce these products as well as create new. And it comprises the relation formed between humans and through which the social life and its products come into being'.
Rubin, H.K & Menzer, M. (2010). Culture and social development. Retrieved on October 20, 2010 from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/en-ca/culture/according-to-experts.html.
Cole, M. & Hkkarainen, P. & Bredikyte, M. (2010). Culture and Early childhood Learning. Retrieved on October 20, 2010 from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/en-ca/culture/according-to-experts.html.
Thyssen, S. Child Culture. (2003) Play and Child Development. Early Child Development and Care, 173(6), 589-612


THREE QUARTERS OF all deaths occurring in Ireland in 2011 were caused by either circulatory or respiratory diseases, or cancer.
150 years ago, the picture was quite different —20 per cent of all fatalities recorded came about as a result of the likes of Croup, Scarlatina, Whooping Cough, Fever, Smallpox, Measles and Dysentery.
The Central Statistics Office has just placed a series of annual reports on deaths, births and marriages online — dating back to 1864. The records run from 1864 to 86, and again from 1922 to 2000. Reports from 2001 to 2011 were already available on the web.
Scholars and statisticians will no doubt be poring over the details for years to come: the records provide some compelling insights into Irish life over the last century-and-a-half…
There were 93,144 deaths registered in 1864 — a death rate of 16.4 per 1,000 of the population. This had fallen to a rate of 14.1 per cent by 1922 due to medical advancements and improved lifestyle conditions. By 2011, the rate was at 6.2 per 1,000.
Of the 44,547 deaths in 1922, some 4,614 people died from TB, over 3,000 from Bronchitis, nearly 2,800 from Pneumonia and 1,812 from Influenza. By 1964 diseases of the heart were cited as the underlying cause of death in 10,303 cases: 401 people also died from TB that year and a further 316 died from flu.
Deaths of children aged under 12 months accounted for 13,425 deaths in 1864. By 2011 there were 262 cases of infant mortality.
3.8 per cent of all births recorded in 1864 were stated as being “illegitimate”. The term was still in use in 1922 when 2.6 per cent fell into the category. By 1964 the figure decreased again to 2 per cent. By 2011 the number of births outside of marriage/civil partnerships represented over one-third or 33.9 per cent (25,091) of all live births.
The ratio of boys to girls has remained more-or-less stable over time. While it was 105.6 boys to 100 girls in 1864, it was 106.5 boys to 100 girls in 1922 and 104.6 boys to 100 girls in 1964. In 2011 it had risen slightly to 104.9 boys for every 100 girls.
1,032 men were aged under 21 years when they married in 1864 — but almost 5 times as many females (4,976) were 20 or younger when they wed.
Of the 54,812 people married that year, almost half signed the register simply with with marks, suggesting the absence of an elementary education. By 1922 some 97.3 per cent of husbands and 98.3 per cent of wives signed the marriage register or certificate — the remainder making a mark. In 10 per cent of marriages that year, one or both of the parties had been married previously.
Finally — the overall marriage rate (measured per 1,000 of the population) has remained remarkably consistent since 1864, when it was 4.8. The rate was also 4.8 in 1922, rising to 5.7 in 1964 and decreasing to 4.3 in 2011.