Developing creative and expressive thinking is, I believe, at the heart and soul of music education. These two things, creative thinking and expression, are included in the core arts standards, in most arts curricula, and in most defenses of supporting the arts in education. Yet being creative is often misunderstood, and misleading and even harmful teaching sometimes results when even music teachers don’t fully understand what being creative entails, and how one uses creativeness to be successful.
First and perhaps most importantly, teaching a child to be creative does not involve letting him or her do whatever they want, or placing them in a completely unrestricted environment, free to choose anything that randomly comes to mind. This is because even people would generally consider to be a highly creative idea must be of some benefit to those affected. Scissors with sensors on them so they can remotely move according to my jaw motions would be extremely creative, but highly unusable because they would take the cutting motions away from the object being cut, making it extremely difficult to be accurate. If a person invented such a pair of scissors, they would have done so without a specific need they were trying to fill, or a specific problem they were trying to solve. There is I’m sure a need for scissors that people with a disability in their hands could use by some other method than manipulating them manually, but my jaw controlled scissors aren’t a helpful solution to that problem or contribution to that need. Creative thought must be directed toward a goal if it is to be accepted, beneficial or even just considered a good idea.
With that in mind, let us now consider music. The great musical innovators in Western art music were not all inventors of something totally new. J. S. Bach was an innovator whose influence reaches over the centuries to the present time. His creative thought, or perhaps restlessness, lead him to incorporate into his music rhythms and textures from abroad at time when composers were provincial and not aware of what was going on elsewhere. Bach was also creative in that he did what he was doing at such a high level, that his music has been the prototype for great composers that followed, including Mozart.
Stravinsky caused not only a riot in the concert hall with his premiere of The Rite of Spring, but also introduced a level and use of dissonance not known before, and that would become highly influential, especially to film composers of the 20th century. Jimi Hendrix thought of a way to use feedback, and Louis Armstrong though of using his distinctive voice even though he was known for his trumpet playing. In each case, these creative musicians found new ways to use old forms or instruments to create a new sound, and even a new way of thinking about music.
It wasn’t just the ideas that made these musicians’ innovations influential. Nobody would have cared or taken any of them seriously if they had been just average or just competent musicians. But each of these musicians had his craft down solid. Each had complete command of his art. There are plenty of forgotten musical compositions that use dissonance, plenty of unknown guitarists who use distortion, and plenty of trumpet players that also sing in a jazz band. These things in and of themselves were not what made Stravinsky, Hendrix, and Armstrong great. They could deliver the goods better than most. And because they were so good at what they did, and so respected in their musical genre, people followed them, and recognized that here was something worth noticing.
So what does this mean for music educators? If we are going to train our students to think and make music creatively, first we must develop musicianship to high level. As we have seen, creative ideas aren’t worth much if they can’t be implemented. Teach musicianship first. At every step of the way, allow children to explore and improvise with the ability and skill they have attained so far. Playing one pitch songs comprised entirely of whole notes and whole rests may be efficient for teaching notes, but it is not creative. Let children play other rhythms on that one pitch. It’s not necessary for them to read in notation everything they play. Think of all the great music that has been written by musicians who could not read music and what our culture would be like if we had forbidden them from making music because they couldn’t read notes. This list includes all of the Beatles, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Van Halen. Always let children go as far as they can go with what they have to work with. That said, there must always be a purpose to the creative activity; the activity can never be random. That purpose can be personal satisfaction as when a child is searching for or enjoying rhythms or sounds he or she has discovered, or it can be to write music in a particular form, for a particular occasion, or to express a particular intent. Remember, creativity needs direction.


Charlotte Bronte lived from 1816 to 1855. In 1824 she was sent away to school with her four sisters and they were treated so badly that their father brought them home to Haworth in Yorkshire. The elder two sisters died within a few days and Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne were brought up in the isolated village. They were often lonely and loved to walk on the moors. They were all great readers and soon began to write small pieces of verse and stories.
Once Charlotte's informal education was over she began to work as a governess and teacher in Yorkshire and Belgium so that she could add to the low family income and help to pay for her brother Branwell's art education. Charlotte was a rather nervous young woman and didn't like to be away from home for too long. The sisters began to write more seriously and published poetry in 1846 under male pen names — there was a lot of prejudice against women writers. The book was not a success and the sisters all moved on to write novels. Charlotte's best-known book, Jane Eyre, appeared in 1847 and was soon seen as a work of genius. Charlotte really knew how to make characters and situations come alive.
Charlotte's life was full of tragedy, never more so than when her brother Branwell and sisters Emily and Anne died within a few months in 1848/49. She married her father's curate in 1854 but died in 1855, before her fortieth birthday.
Did you find this review helpful?


Curriculum and Instruction
First Advisor's Name
First Advisor's Committee Title
Second Advisor's Name
Third Advisor's Name
Fourth Advisor's Name
early childhood education, academic success, social development, emotional development, elementary education
Date of Defense
Social and emotional development has been considered an important factor in child development which has been placed at the end of the learning spectrum due to high stakes testing. Social and emotional development consists of the relationships an individual has with others, the level of self-control, and the motivation and perseverance a person has during an activity (Bandura, 1989). This study examined the relationship between Hispanic children’s prekindergarten social and emotional development and their academic success. Hispanic children from a large southeastern city whose parents were receiving subsidized child-care were followed from their prekindergarten year through third grade (N=1,978). Several hierarchical regressions were run to determine the relationship between children’s social and emotional development, during their prekindergarten year using the DECA (Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment), and the their academic success, as measured by kindergarten through third grade end of the year reading and mathematics academic grades, second grade SAT (Stanford Achievement Test) scores, and third grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) and NRT (Norm Referenced Test) scores. Hierarchical regressions were conducted for each grade and subject in order to control for demographics and prior achievement. The results of this study revealed that for Hispanic children from low-income families, the best predictor for academic success was the children’s prior academic achievement. Social and emotional development showed no significant predictive value for the third grade criterion variables as well as end of the year academic grades in second grade and kindergarten reading. Evidence did suggest that for first grade end of the year academic grades and kindergarten math, social and emotional development had a small predictive value. Further research must be conducted as to why social and emotional development, after controlling for demographics and previous academic achievement, bears such a small predictive value when it is clear that many professionals feel it is the most important factor for school readiness.
Muelle, Christina More, "The Relationship Between Prekindergarten Social and Emotional Development and Academic Success among Hispanic Children from Low-Income Families" (2010). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 229.
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).


Science for Kids - Fun Experiments, Cool Facts, Online Games, Activities, Projects, Ideas, Technology. Cool math 4 kids - math games, math puzzles, math lessons - designed for kids and fun! Australian Academy of Science - PrimaryConnections. Victorian Institute of Teaching. Primary Resources - Free teaching resources, lesson plans, teaching ideas & worksheets for primary and elementary teachers. 1000s FREE printable K-3 primary teaching resources - kindergarten, reception, primary school, printables - SparkleBox Australia. Free maths games - Sumdog. Education. Academic Resources. K-3 Teacher Resources - Free Elementary Lesson Plans and Teaching Ideas Page.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Australian Academy of Science - PrimaryConnections. Victorian Essential Learning Standards - VELS. Free education videos and resources for professional development.


Early Years at Keinton Mandeville Primary
Early Years at Keinton Mandeville
The children in their reception year at school will be following the early years curriculum. There are seven areas within this curriculum. Communication and language development is the first and involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
Alongside these seven curriculum areas children are developing the characteristics of effective learning, covering skills in ‘playing and exploring’, ‘active learning’ and in ‘creating and thinking critically’.
Play is at the heart of the Early Years curriculum and much of what the children initially do is play-based. Learning happens both indoors and outdoors and builds towards longer sessions throughout the year in preparation for Year 1. All learning is cross curricular following both topics and children’s interests. There are planned opportunities for both adult led and child initiated play and independent learning is always encouraged.


Create successful practice, explore a composer's historical lifestyle, learn about modern composers, experience local performances - Musical Notes will enhance your music education and capture your imagination. Be Inspired!
These homemade paper plate tambourines are an incredibly versatile craft. You can use plates that already sport a fun design, or plain white plates that can be colored or covered with tissue paper, stickers or sequins.
Here's what you need:
2 Paper Plates (preferably heavy duty)
Beans, Pasta or Rice (something to fill the inside)
Stapler or Glue
String, Yarn or Ribbon
Jingle Bells (optional)
Decorating Items - Crayons, Markers, Tissue Paper, Stickers, Sequins, etc.
Place your filler inside one of the plates, and place the other plate over top - so that the inside of both plates are facing each other. Staple or glue both plates together.
Using your decorations, make your tambourine colorful! If you're using jingle bells, you'll want to use your hole punch to put some holes around the edge, and than use string or ribbon to attach the bells.
For some more fun decorating ideas visit this website.
Put on some upbeat music and dance with your tambourine! How many different sounds can your new instrument make? What does the filling inside sound like? Maybe you'd like to make a couple tambourines with different things inside! Do the beans, rice or pasta all have different sounds? What types of sounds can you make with the jingle bells?
Jessica's Piano Studio
Teacher at Jessica's Piano Studio to many talented students! Here's some helpful tips and interesting information to create a wonderfully educational musical experience!


How do you persuade a nation that basic maths skills are just as important as being able to read and write? You put a price tag on them. This is what the accounting firm KPMG has done in its report The long term costs of numeracy difficulties, which was published last week. The firm estimated that the soaring number of people who leave school without adequate numeracy skills could cost the UK taxpayer up to £2.4 billion every year. The report backs the launch of a £6 million campaign by the Every Child a Chance Trust, which encourages businesses to spend money on helping school children overcome their numeracy problems.
Too many children leave primary school with poor numeracy skills.
According to the report, around 33,000 children (6% of 11-year-olds) leave primary schools each year with poor numeracy skills, which in turn leads to an estimated 7 million innumerate adults with mathematical skills at or below those of a nine-year-old. The resulting long-term cost to the public purse could be as high as £44,000 per individual up to the age of 37.
Behind the stark figures lie the personal hardships facing those affected by poor education. It is well-known that unemployment, poor mental health, drug addiction and criminality often go hand in hand with poor literacy skills, but the report points to evidence that poor numeracy skills have just as important a role to play in the lives of those trapped at the bottom of the social scale. Thus, poor maths skills do not just impact on public spending through the costs associated to education — for example special needs support or truancy prevention — but also through the costs associated to unemployment, health and crime. It is these costs the report attempts to estimate. For example, it puts the price of innumeracy through unemployment at £1.9 billion, through crime at £165 million, and through drug use and teenage pregnancy at £98.9 million.
The Every Child a Chance campaign will encourage local businesses to contribute up to £12,000 a year over three years to an extension of its early intervention programme, Every Child Counts. The government-backed programme provides children aged seven who have the greatest difficulties with numbers with extra tuition for a limited period, and also plans special maths tool kits for children to take home, containing CDs and mathematical games. Local businesses will be encouraged to supply volunteers to become "number partners" to help children with their sums.
According to KPMG, whose chairman John Griffith-Jones is also Chairman of the Every Child a Chance Trust, such early intervention can lift around eight out of ten of the children who receive it out of "numeracy failure". Sticking to the language of cost-effectiveness, the report's authors estimate that every £1 spent on the Every Child Counts programme will save between £12 and £19 later on. Barclays has already signed on to be the first national sponsor, pledging £1.2million to provide a co-ordinating structure for the programme and to establish sponsorship relationships between 20 Barclays branches in England and their local primary schools.
Ironically, the KPMG report was published in the same week as a study by a US jobs website, which deems the job of mathematician to be the "best" occupation out of a list of 200, with other maths-based jobs like statistician, actuary, accountant, computer scientist and economist also making the top twelve. The website CareerCast.com decided that mathematics comes top in terms of five criteria: work environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.
Results like these highlight the image problem of mathematics: the gap between what people think maths is and what it could actually do for them. It is this image problem that the numerous maths initiatives that have been set up over recent years have to tackle, so that eventually innumeracy will become just as unacceptable as illiteracy.


Best Louis Pasteur Biography Video for Kids
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist. He discovered various vaccinations for different diseases and proved that diseases are caused by germs by introducing the Germ Theory. Pasteur also came up with a process of food preparation that is now known as Pasteurization. He also discovered the anaerobic bacteria. He was born on December 27, 1822, in a poor family of Dole, France. Louis Pasteur was a gifted artist. During his school life, he showed considerable talent, especially in his pastel portraits.
Fast Facts: –
- He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1840 from the College Royal de Besancon and then appointed as teaching assistant.
- In 1847, he submitted a thesis in chemistry and then another thesis in physics.
- Pasteur was the person who introduced the term ‘vaccination’.
- He became dean of the faculty of sciences at Lille University in 1854.
- In 1868, he suffered a brain stroke that left him partially paralyzed.
- He found a vaccination for rabies that saved the life of a young boy in 1885. The boy was the first person to receive this treatment.
- He is also credited with the discovery of the molecular basis for the asymmetry of certain crystals.
- Louis Pasteur was made a Grand Croix of the Legion of Honor for his influential contributions. It is a prestigious French order.
- Throughout his life, he was a deeply religious Christian.
- Louis established the Pasteur Institute in the year of 1887 and remained its director until death.
- His paralysis worsened in his last day and he passed away on September 28, 1895.
Cite This Page
You may cut-and-paste the below MLA and APA citation examples:
MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " All Amazing Facts for Kids about Louis Pasteur ." Easy Science for Kids, Aug 2017. Web. 19 Aug 2017. < http://easyscienceforkids.com/best-louis-pasteur-biography-video-for-kids/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2017). All Amazing Facts for Kids about Louis Pasteur. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from http://easyscienceforkids.com/best-louis-pasteur-biography-video-for-kids/
Sponsored Links :


ORIGO Education Launches Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics Program
Mathematics curriculum developer debuts new course materials for young math learners at the 2016 National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference and Expo
CHARLES, Mo. (Nov. 1, 2016) – To address the need for core mathematics instruction and learning materials for early childhood, ORIGO Education, a leading mathematics solution provider for grades Pre-K–6, announces the launch of Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics. The new program provides a variety of developmentally appropriate resources that engage children as they begin to learn mathematics.
“Our play-based, meaningful activities are rich with language experiences to ensure all children are successful and enjoy learning,” said Jessica Bobo, contributing author of Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics and a former educator in large, urban school systems. “We are supporting social-emotional learning as well as mathematical understanding.”
The new program materials help children learn crucial concepts in preparation for the elementary grades which have increasingly rigorous standards. In each learning experience, students interact in an informal environment through play-based, child-initiated explorations and guided instructional activities to build a conceptual foundation which is essential for students to transition to pictorial learning and, later, to abstract learning.
Every core and targeted ORIGO Education curriculum is a strategically planned and carefully sequenced program that promotes the use of language through interactions with other students and adults. Children naturally use language to describe what they learn and are encouraged to talk about and explain their work as they immerse themselves in the program.
“Children have a natural curiosity, are eager to investigate and want to communicate what they learn and see,” said Rosemary Irons, an educational consultant with ORIGO Education. “As early childhood education leaders, we have the responsibility to provide learning environments for children that capitalize on their curiosity and support their development. We’re excited to equip teachers with a curriculum that makes this possible.”
The Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics program will debut at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in Los Angeles from November 2-5, 2016. Educators attending the conference are invited to experience interactive program demonstrations at booth #1114 and attend a featured presentation on the importance of language in the early childhood learning environment.
For more information about Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics, visit www.origoeducation.com/sspre-k.
About ORIGO Education
ORIGO Education covers all facets of elementary mathematics education, from traditional printed products to digital interactive resources and professional learning. ORIGO’s web-based curriculum, Stepping Stones, is an award-winning, comprehensive, core mathematics curriculum for grades Pre-K–6. This comprehensive print and digital elementary core mathematics curriculum is dedicated to making learning meaningful, enjoyable and accessible for all students. Available in English and Spanish, the customizable lessons and balanced instructional design provide educators with a scalable solution for differentiation, developing student confidence, computational strategies, and conceptual mathematics understanding. The technology-rich program blends online resources with printed materials, resulting in classrooms that are engaged and provide differentiated learning. Professional development videos are embedded within the online program, giving teachers the confidence and knowledge they need to be successful. For more information about ORIGO Education, visit http://www.OrigoEducation.com/.


You asked, and we listened! Because of the success customers had with our 3rd & 4th grade STAAR Wars Task Cards, we had multiple 5th grade teachers contact us, asking us to create 5th grade sets, too. So, we’re happy to finally introduce the first set of our new STAAR Wars 5th Grade Reading Task Cards!!
Don’t wait until right before the end-of-year STAAR or other state assessment to get your students ready for the test! Begin preparing them the 1st 6 weeks of school with our 1st set of STAAR Wars 5th Grade Reading Task Cards!
This product includes 24 task cards aligned with 5th grade reading TEKS and common core standards for reading/literature/informational text/foundational skills and are perfect for assessing where your students are and where you need to go for the next 6 weeks of school.
These rigorous, higher-level thinking questions are made in STAAR format, have multiple choice answers, and address these skills:
•Character roles, functions, relationships, & conflicts
•Describing the phenomena explained in origin myths from various cultures
•Determining meaning of English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots & affixes
•Explaining different forms of third-person points-of-view in stories
•Genres – drama, informational, myth, poetry, procedural, realistic fiction
•Making inferences using textual evidence
•Rising action, foreshadowing
•Sensory details, imagery, figurative language
•Sound effects – onomatopoeia
•Story elements (character, plot, point-of-view, problem, solution, theme/lesson/moral)
•Structure & elements of poetry
•Summarize & paraphrase texts
•Using a dictionary/glossary/thesaurus
•Using context to determine or clarify the meaning of unfamiliar or multiple meaning words
•TEKS - 5 Fig. 19A, 5.2A, 5.2B, 5.2E, 5.3 Fig. 19D, 5.3B, 5.4 Fig. 19D, 5.4 Fig. 19E, 5.4A, 5.6A, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.8A
•CCSS - RF.5.4, RI.5.1, RI.5.3, RI.5.4, RI.5.8, RL.5.2, RL.5.3, RL.5.4, RL.5.5, RL.5.6, RL.5.7
Instructions are included for 4 methods of review: task cards review in centers/groups/pairs/individuals, a SCOOT game, Quiz-Quiz-Trade, and a "Be the Teacher" game, but these cards can be used in a variety of other ways to meet your needs.
We hope you enjoy them, and we’d love to hear your feedback! :)
Follow us on TpT, Facebook, Instagram and/or Pinterest to be alerted when the next 6 weeks’ cards are added.
~Heather & Ashley
Watson Works, LLC
*Full preview of the product available by selecting the preview button above.
**You may also be interested in our STAAR WARS 5th Grade Reading GROWING BUNDLE
that includes these task cards, plus 5 more sets that will be available in the future at a special discounted rate!
© 2016 Watson Works, LLC. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or distributed in any form or by any means (mechanically, electronically, recording, etc.) without the prior written consent of Watson Works, LLC. Purchasing this product in digital form from the Watson Works store on TeachersPayTeachers.com licenses one teacher to use this product in his/her classroom or for personal use. Additional licenses must be purchased for additional teachers to use this product. Made in the USA. All rights reserved.


What will the children be learning in N, K1, K2?
The learning themes for the different age groups are as follows:
|Term 1||Term 2||Term 3||Term 4|
|Nursery||Myself||My Senses (Part 1)||Animals||My Senses (Part 2)|
|K1||Myself||My Body||Our classrooms and our homes||Types of food we eat|
|K2||Myself||Our Neighbourhood||Living things and their habitats||Getting ready for school|
Will my child learn spelling and Hanyu Pinyin?
At My First Skool, children learn spelling in context and through games and interactive activities such as crossword puzzles and word scrabble.
We teach children ”语音课程” ie 听准音、说准音。 This programme is taught when children are in K2.
Will my child be ready for Primary School?
We firmly believe in helping your child develop a positive attitude towards learning as this is something they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Our learning programme for four to six year olds provides children with the opportunity to develop a range of crucial skills that will continue to grow as they do. There are 6 domains in which these skills are facilitated:
• Language and Literacy
• Discovery of the World
• Motor Skill Development
• Aesthetics and Creative Expression
• Self and Emotional Development
By the time your child graduates from My First Skool, they would have acquired the skills needed to successfully progress to the primary school stage of their education. In our Primary School Preparatory Programme, developed for Kindergarten 2 children, teachers have regular conversations with the children to address issues such as going-to-school anxieties, making new friends and understanding school rules. This transition is a major one for your child and it is important to help him/her adjust well to a formal school setting, as well as new daily school and home routines.
How can I find out what my child is learning?
Apart from face-to-face interactions and Parent-teacher meeting with your child’s teacher, parents can log in the My First Skool Parent’s Portal to keep track of children's development and learning activities at the centres. It also provides parents with updates on announcements and events. It is an app aims to enhance communication, promoting greater involvement between school and parents.
Are there any spelling quizzes or tests?
At My First Skool, children learn spelling through games, crossword puzzles and word scrabble. This makes the learning process more enjoyable, and helps them develop a long-term love for reading and writing. As part of our Primary School Preparatory Programme, there will be spelling tests during the last term of K2 to provide the experience of the same in a primary school.
Contact us to get more information.


As we explained in the previous post, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - subjects that no one will deny are necessary for success in the global economy. For that reason, these subjects also don't have to stand up to the kind of scrutiny arts and humanities do. However, art education advocates have pointed out that STEM education alone won't solve our economic problems going forward. That includes business executive Harvey White, co-founder of Qualcomm, the largest fabless chip supplier in the world. So it's great news that White has come out as a strong advocate for adding an A to STEM, working with Americans for the Arts, the Conference Board, and others to push this message. White pointed out that countries such as China, recognize the important role of creativity and critical thinking in the innovation process more than we do here in the US of A. This combination of technological know-how and critical thinking skills will help students with a STEAM education succeed in business in the future - locally and globally.
-- from Art Advocado by Alison Wade
-- visit STEAM website
Mr White wrote an extremely interesting article:
Our Education System is not so much "Broken" – as it is Totally Outdated!
"As Ken Robinson illustrates, schools were, and still are structured like the factories they were developed to serve. They treat education like an assembly line – you move from one task (class) to the next – day in and day out. There is little collaboration or interchange between the work done in one department (course) versus the next. The product (students) are processed, as in a factory, in batches (by year of birth). The resultant product (graduates) are therefore all from the same mold. Due to this structure, which has not changed much in the last 100+ years – change is hard to come by."
"Arts use the right side of the brain but have recently been stripped out of the public education system by multiple budget cuts leaving the US with mainly a "half a brain" system. Arts need to be returned to the national curricula where it was for the years leading up to our more prosperous years"
"The new economy requires that we continue to improve and encourage STEM education because mastering existing and new technologies is vital. It also requires that Arts be included in the curricula to capture the full potential of the whole-brain – i.e., a STEAM based one. It is using the combination of all these capabilities that drives creativity and innovation. The future economic cost of not having a whole brain education system that fosters creativity and innovation is immense."
>> READ FULL ARTICLE HERE


How to Close the Education Gap
If education inequality is allowed to continue, there will be a dramatic increase in wage and family income inequality.
Restoring Opportunity outlines some of the pressing problems schools are facing, and some key reforms that can help ensure all students receive the quality education they are entitled to.
Globalization and Technological Advancements
As a result of technological changes and globalization over the past 40 years the literacy and numeracy skills needed for middle-class jobs have increased markedly, and interpersonal skills have become more important as well. Changes in the labor market that favor high-skilled workers have fueled dramatic increases in wage and family income inequality. These issues, plus the rise of single-parent families, have produced
- growing gaps between the abilities of low- and high-income families to nurture these skills in their children.
- growing residential segregation by income and growing isolation of low-income children in some schools and higher-income children in others.
- growing gaps between the skills and years of schooling completed by children from low- and higher-income families.
The Challenge to Retain High-Quality Teachers
Despite more funding, test-based accountability, administrative reforms, and school choice, schools serving low-income children have struggled to deliver the quality education that builds the skills needed for middle-class jobs.
The increasing isolation of low-income students in certain schools makes it harder to attract and retain high-quality teachers. These schools also serve more students with learning and behavior problems as well as students who enter school mid-year.
Lower Graduation Rates
The low skill levels and stagnant school attainments of America’s low-income students have resulted in the U.S. losing its leadership position in high school and college graduation rates, and threatens the American dream of upward intergenerational mobility and our hopes for continued economic prosperity over the next half century.
Better Understanding of Children’s Development
Advances in knowledge about children’s cognitive and socioemotional development and about effective classroom and school reforms have produced striking examples of programs that have improved pre-kindergarten, elementary, and high school education for significant numbers of low-income children and youth. All of the successful reforms featured in Restoring Opportunity include multiple schools or entire school systems and have been proven effective in rigorous evaluations.
Common to all of these reforms are two elements focused on improving the quality of children’s learning experiences:
- strong supports for improving the quality.
- sensible accountability: Teachers are accountable to parents and to each other for promoting the learning of all students.
- The successful school-based initiatives highlight in Restoring Opportunity are far superior to the quality of education low-income children typically receive. Unfortunately, our nation has not developed systems for ensuring that all schools benefit from the critical combination of consistent school supports and sensible accountability.
The United States can regain its preeminence in education by focusing on the following building blocks:
- incorporating advances in knowledge about the proven components of effective pre-K, elementary school, and high school education;
- embracing the Common Core State standards and their implications for instructional methods and content, both within and across grades;
- experimenting with new systems of school supports and accountability that boost student learning and make teaching in high-poverty schools more attractive option for teachers.
- improving support for the efforts of low-income parents to balance the competing demands of work and children.
- Some of these building blocks cost money. Investing in them is essential if we are to achieve meaningful improvement in the education of disadvantaged students.


Dewey saw how mental life and the physical were mutually constituted. This goes beyond “a sound mind in a sound body”, to say that the aspects of the world that are meaningful to us are those which we construct, while at the same time we are products of the physical and social worlds we inhabit. A word such as “inhabit” is too weak; for Dewey, we are part and parcel of a situation. This descriptive account of human life leads to a conception of learning as a search for meaning; action in the world merges with thought as a process of art:
To feel the meaning of what one is doing, and to rejoice in that meaning; to unite in one concurrent fact the unfolding of the inner life and the ordered development of material conditions-that is art (Dewey, 1906, p. 292).
Bruce, Bertram C. (2001, May). Constructing a once and future history of learning technologies. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 44(8), 730-736. Also in Bertram Bruce (Ed.), Literacy in the Information Age: Inquiries into meaning making with new technologies, pp. 20-28. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Burnaford, G, Aprill, A., & Weiss, C. (2001). Renaissance in the classroom: Arts integration and meaningful learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Corrin, L. (Ed.). (1994). Mining the museum: An installation by Fred Wilson. Baltimore: The Contemporary.
Dewey, John (1977). Essays on the new empiricism 1903-1906. In Jo Ann Boydston (ed.), The Middle Works of John Dewey, Volume 3. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.
Lester, Paul Martin. Urban screens: The beginning of a universal visual culture. FirstMonday.
Langer, Suzanne (1953). Feeling and form. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Vallance, E. (2004). The adventures of Artemus and the llama: A case for imaginary histories in art education. Art Education, 7-12.


On Friday afternoon, 13 grade school-aged children gathered at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts to make flags commemorating lost family members, veterans and even pets. The Memorial Project was meant to get attendees thinking about what Memorial Day means.
Maiku Vang, art education coordinator for Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, led the Memorial Project. She stood in the front of the art room asking the children to think of their loved ones and heroes, and how to draw them. Some children raised their hands asking if they could draw their dogs on the flags.
The students first sketched relatives and heroes, along with symbols such as rainbows and suns, on cloth. They chatted with one another, comparing their designs.
After they finished outlining their flags, the students lined up to put on aprons and get their brightly colored paint.
The Memorial Project was part of the workshop series Afternoons with Art held every Friday afternoon at the center. The classes encourage children to have fun and express themselves through art.


A Montessori education prepares your child to thrive with an exceptional curriculum that prepares them skillfully and meaningfully for our ever-changing world. When your child leaves their elementary school environment, they will be ready for opportunities and challenges awaiting them in high school, college, and life in general.
The Value in a Montessori Elementary School Education
Elementary education in the Montessori school is divided into two parts. Lower Elementary are students in grades 1 through 3. Upper Elementary are students in grade 4 through 6. All grades throughout the two parts are taught subjects in accordance with the Montessori ‘cosmic education’ principle. This principle means your child will be taught to make direct use of their knowledge. They are encouraged to pursue their own interests independently and in depth. Support is provided, so your child doesn’t spend time just memorizing material, but will use their knowledge in real life applications.
Grades 1 through 3
Students in the lower elementary grades begin cultural work to look at their universe from the beginning of time. Timelines are used to organize and explain the formation of the earth and origin of life. Your child will learn about plants and animals and along the way, learn the history of life forms.
Lower elementary students’ curriculum also includes math, language, and practical life studies. When your child learns math skills, they will also develop problem-solving skills and be able to use math skills in their daily lives. Language will give them an understanding and appreciation for reading and literature along with knowledge of all writing and grammar styles.
Practical life studies will prepare your child to perform a series of jobs necessary to their classroom community. They will be asked to take care of a class pet, clean up after a group setting, or prepare and serve a class snack. These studies will show the importance and necessity of group work within a community setting.
Grades 4 through 6
Upper elementary students continue work introduced in the lower elementary. They extend the study on cosmic education with courses on human history. Studies will also include following the sequence of earth science, physical science, and biology. Their math curriculum will provide them a strong foundation in plane figures, area, volume, and formulas along with an introduction to congruence, equivalence, and similarity concepts.
As an upper elementary student, your child will expand their knowledge of grammar, creative writing, and different writing styles. They will be exposed to an in-depth literature curriculum. There are also practical life studies included in the upper grades to help prepare your child for necessary everyday practices.
Enriched Social Development
The Montessori Elementary education provides students in both levels with a well-rounded educational experience. Teachers will incorporate art, music, different languages, and physical education into their time. Students are encouraged to discuss, and problem solve issues that arise among them and speak honestly while feeling safe and included. They are taught to deal with social and emotional issues with empathy and respect.
Montessori education is different from a traditional education, in that students are encouraged to learn at their own pace and work with their peers and older students alike to gain better understanding of the world around them. At Montessori School of Flagstaff Switzer Mesa Campus, we offer a full elementary program for grades 1 through 6. Our elementary program not only inspires academic excellence but also encourages each child’s curiosity, creativity, and imagination. Contact us today to schedule a tour.


Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten
The bar for kindergarten achievement continues to be raised. Today, it is essentially at the level of first-grade achievement from 20 years ago. Additionally, each school follows a unique curriculum or approach and teachers have their own expectations of their students. It can be daunting for a parent to know and understand how to prepare their child for success.
Pre-K Success Products teach essential preschool and kindergarten readiness skills. The products and information helps guide and strengthen targeted developmental skills to ensure children have the greatest opportunity to excel and be successful in kindergarten and later grades.
Here is basic information parents and caregivers need to know. Kindergarten readiness skills can be broken down into three broad areas that include:
- Math and reading skills
- Motor skills
- Social and emotional skills
Math and Reading
Early reading programs teach necessary kindergarten readiness skills necessary for reading success. Three progressive reading programs are offered for literacy development. Level 1 is offered for the beginner, emergent reader, and levels 2 and 3 are for the more proficient early readers.
The stories in the reading programs are fun, easy to follow and colorfully illustrated. All of the story books teach the following skills: beginning sight words, new vocabulary words, word recognition letter recognition, beginning sounds, letter-sound association problem solving rhyming, vocabulary building and comprehension.
Also available are four early MathStart book bundles. MathStart picture books address the educational goals of multiple Standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). After hearing and viewing these math pictures books, your child will have a beginning understanding of the math skills and concepts described in the Common Core State Standards for Kindergarten.
Click here for recommended Math and Reading products.
Social and Emotional Skills
Developing self-control, following directions, and successfully interacting with peers are necessary for children to succeed in kindergarten. Building confidence in children is imperative. The Pre-K Success products aid in developing positive self confidence through accomplishment.
Recommended product includes: Following Directions - A Get Ready Book
Motor skills are motions carried out when the brain, nervous system and muscles work together. Repetition and practice is important in developing strong motor skills. Before a child can write, he or she must develop fine motor skills necessary to use the wrists, fingers and hands properly and effectively.
Large motor skills are developed in children beginning in infancy. They require the use of the large muscles generally found in the arms, legs, back, abdomen, and torso. Large motor skills are deliberate and controlled movements requiring whole body movement related to the skills of sitting, crawling, walking, running, jumping, hopping and skipping.
Recommended products include: Fine Motor Skills Kit, and the Large Motor Skills Kit.


Literacy learning and the changing media world
A recent survey into young children’s media use in the United States found that 20 years after the birth of the World Wide Web and a year or so after the first iPad sale, the media world that children are growing up in is changing at lightning speed.
A survey of 1384 parents of children aged birth to 8 years reported that nine-month-old babies spent nearly an hour a day watching television or DVDs, 42 per cent of children aged 8 and under have a TV in their bedroom and 5-year-olds are begging to use their parents’ iPhones. About half of all 2 to 4 years olds (53 per cent) and 90 per cent of 5 to 8 year olds have used a computer. Half of all children now have access to one of the new mobile devices at home: either a smartphone (41 per cent) a video iPod (21 per cent) or an iPad or other tablet device (8 per cent).
There is, however, a new digital divide with 38 per cent of lower income parents saying they don’t know what an app is. Many families on lower incomes do not have smartphones, iPads or iPods.
For literacy teachers this changing media world is of great interest and many people are exploring ideas in the area. I am working with a teacher education student who is investigating the similarities and differences between children’s comprehension of written texts and multimodal texts. She is inquiring whether the familiar metacognitive comprehension strategies of predicting, questioning, making images, seeking clarification and inferring are necessary for comprehending apps and websites with video and other multimodal ways of representing meaning. Previously authors used words and pictures to convey meanings but now web designers can choose to use audio, movies, written language, icons and various design features. Perhaps the comprehension strategies for written texts and multimodal texts are exactly the same?
As media is changing fast, the teaching of reading comprehension strategies has become more important than ever and so too is helping young children write, design and construct their own multimodal texts.
More information about the US survey:
Zero to Eight: Children’s media use in America (2011) is a nationally representative survey of parents of US children aged zero to eight, conducted to understand the patterns of media use among young American children. Covering TV, other video, reading, music, computers, video games, and mobile digital devices, the study examines time spent and frequency of use; differences in children’s media use by gender, race, or socio-economic status; the home media environment; educational media use; and access to the newest mobile media platforms like smart phones and tablets.


In numeracy, children and young people will learn through active learning.
They will develop problem-solving capabilities through:
• calculating mentally
• explaining their thinking
• using relevant contexts and experiences
• using technology in appropriate and effective ways
• collaborating and learning independently.
How can parents/carers help?
Children are learning all the time through what they see, hear and do. Parents are the first teachers in their child’s learning, and have a key role to play in developing skills as children move through their education. They can do this, for example by finding opportunities to practice numeracy skills and by listening and providing feedback as children explain their thinking.
Numeracy Units are available from SQA to support the development of numeracy skills, helping to raise overall standards.
Units provide learners with recognition of their ability to work with numbers and money, to calculate, to measure, to handle graphical information and to make decisions that are relevant for learning, life and work.
These Units form part of the courses in Maths at National 3 Lifeskills and National 4 and Lifeskills Maths courses at National 4 and National 5.
They will also be available as free-standing Units for all learners at Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) levels 3, 4 and 5.
Numeracy skills will are embedded in National 5 Maths courses.


7 March 2011Add to My Folder
Develop children’s communication and numeracy skills with fun activities using familiar farm animals
Activities in this article:
1. Who am I?
Sing ‘Old MacDonald had a farm’ as you enjoy this fun feely bag game
Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Dispositions and Attitudes
Development matters: Display high levels of involvement in activities (40–60+ months).
Early learning goal: Be confident to try new activities, initiate ideas and speak in a familiar group.
What you need
A large feely bag; a selection of plastic farm animals.
What to do
Start by singing the song ‘Old MacDonald had a farm’ together. Include the farm animals that you have in your feely bag in the song. Now ask the children to make a circle and explain that you will pass the bag around the circle as you sing. Choose an animal from the bag, place it in the middle of the circle and use it to start the song (if it is a pig, then the first verse is about a pig). Whoever is holding the bag as you sing the final ‘E-I-E-I-O’ takes a turn to put their hand in the bag and choose an animal. Ask them not to show it to the children, but invite them to describe it and give clues for the other children to guess what it is. Encourage older children to describe the animal and say something about it, such as, It lives on a pond and it has wings and a beak. Younger children might like to imitate the noise it makes. Once you have established which animal is next, continue the singing as you pass the bag again. Continue for several turns or until all the animals have been chosen.
Observation and assessment
Look, listen and note
Are the children eager to take a turn and also able to wait and watch while others enjoy their turns?
Scholastic Resource Bank: Early Years - subscribe today!
- Over 2,000 early years resources, activity ideas and games
- Perfect for anyone working or playing with children from 0 to 5 years old
- Unlimited access – only £15 per year!


Department (Manual Entry)
Dept. of Elementary Education
In the last decade, a wide variety of commercial materials has been published for use in developing the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills of second language learners. This article focuses on the selection of instructional materials for the reading component of an English as a second language (ESL) program.
Journal of Reading, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Dec., 1982), pp. 222-228
Stieglitz, E. L. (1982). A rating scale for evaluating English as a second language reading material. Journal of Reading, 26(3), 222-228.


This product contains 45 word problems that can be used as math warm ups, review, and/or to develop math problem-solving skills. A hyperlinked table of contents is included for your convenience. Skills included line up with the 2nd grade TEKS and include:
*multiplication and division (simple, 2nd grade appropriate)
*money (coins up to $1.00)
*algebra including odd/even and comparing/ordering numbers
*personal financial literacy
These problems can be completed individually, in small groups, or together as a class.
Thank you for visiting my store at Psyched to be in 2nd! You can visit my blog of the same name to see how I use this resource and other classroom activities I love to do.


Information in English about Western songs in Japan
- on the web
Music education in Japan by Kensho Takeshi
Music in Japan Today by Takako Matsuura
The Beginnings of Western Music in Meiji Era Japan by Ury Eppstein
Japanese Children's Folk Songs before and after contact with the West by Elizabeth May
Tokyo Kodomo Club 東京こどもクラブ 1965-80
History of Japanese Music @ Far Side Music site
Irish Music and the Experience of Nostalgia by Sean Williams
Asia Pacific Database on Intangible Cultural Heritage
Common Repertoire - a related article on this blog
- in print
TACHI Mikiko, Representations of American Folk Music in Japan: A Study of Heibon Punch Magazine, 1964-1970:- International Popular Culture Association Conference, Aug. 2005, Swansea, Wales, U.K.
TACHI Mikiko, American Folk Music in Japan: Crossing Cultures and Reconstructing Authenticity, 1960-1970:- American Studies Association Annual Meeting, Nov. 2004, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Misora Hibari - 不死鳥パートＩＩ全曲集ＩＩLabel: Ho Son. Catalog#: J-013. Track 19 Bara-iro No Jinsei is a version of La Vie en Rose made popular by Edith Piaf, with alternate lyrics: Verse 1 of 2 is in Japanese, Verse 2 of 2 in English.
Misora Hibari sings L.O.V.E.


604 страниц. 2012 год. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing This study traces the development of music education in Nigeria from its origins to the present day and clarifies how certain ideas and practices in Nigerian music education have originated. It includes the discussions of the historical roots of modern music studies as based on indigenous African philosophy of education, later influenced by Islam and Islamic philosophy of education and Western systems of music education. It looks historically and analytically at some problems of music education policy implementation and their implications or consequences (intended and unintended). Working from a postcolonial discursive perspective, the study narrates the story of Nigeria’s colonial encounters in a way that gives prominence to issues of educational policies and music curricula content that have, to date, been kept on the periphery of the education debate.


We use math in various different stages in life and it is a very important part of our day to day life. We have to use math when we go out for a meal or if we are going shopping, we calculate various things when we have to plan something like a party or a holiday. Every decision that we take in life involves the weighing of different options that helps us decide which is better, and all of these things needs you to be very analytical and calculative.
By helping improve your child’s abacus math for kindergarten and you are helping them equip themselves with the most important tool, i.e. numeracy, that they need for the rest of their life. There was research done to find out how numeracy or the lack of it can affect life.
It was found that poor numeracy resulted in the higher chances of unemployment in that individual. There was also recent data that showed that there is a direct correlation between the distribution of the wages and the numeracy skills of the individuals. It was also found that there is a correlation between health and numeracy, there is also evidence that links poor numeracy with the development of depression in the individual.
Those children who have social, emotional or behavioral difficulties are those that are more prone to struggling with solving math problems due to the adverse factors that they have to undergo such as the home environment and their general ability to solve problems. It was found that those children who did not have good math skills were prone to be excluded from most groups in secondary school even if they had very good literacy skills. Kids who have a lower ability of solving math problems had a higher risk of playing truant in school.
It was also found that most of the individuals who were responsible for a crime had poor numeracy even lower than what was expected of an 11-year-old.
There are also various problems that are associated with poor numeracy on its own. These people have lower self-esteem and confidence.
In today digital world we find that almost 95% of jobs that are available need the individual to have better math and digital skills.
It is very clear to see that maths learning is very important for kids and will effect the way that they live the rest of their life. Thus, enrolling your child for math class at http://www.cma.edu.sg can be very helpful to them. RSVP now to secure your child’s future.


At Youth Speaks, the voices of young people matter.
Committed to a critical, youth-centered pedagogy, Youth Speaks places young people in control of their intellectual and artistic development. We are urgently driven by the belief that literacy is a need, not a want, and that literacy comes in various forms.
As we move more deeply into the 21st Century, oral poetry is helping to define the new American Voice. By making the connection between poetry, spoken word, youth development and civic engagement, Youth Speaks aims to deconstruct dominant narratives in hopes of achieving a more inclusive, and active, culture. Believing that young people have the tools to take control of their lives through language, Youth Speaks encourages youth to express themselves using their own vernacular.
Youth Speaks believes that having knowledge, practice, and confidence in the written and spoken language is essential to the self-empowerment of an individual. We fill a need for creative approaches to literary arts education and literacy development; we believe it is crucial to provide spaces where youth can undergo a process of personal growth and transformation in a program that enriches their educational, professional, artistic and leadership skills.
Mission & Vision
Youth Speaks creates safe spaces to empower the next generation of leaders, self-defined artists, and visionary activists through written and oral literacies. We challenge youth to find, develop, publicly present, and apply their voices as creators of social change.
Ultimately, we hope to shift the perceptions of youth by combating illiteracy, alienation, and silence, creating a global movement of brave new voices bringing the noise from the margins to the core.
The information above can be found on the official website of Youth Speaks. For more details about the organization and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit their website: http://youthspeaks.org


During this week's Garden Club we explored creatures that are beneficial to a garden environment. The children brainstormed lists of things they knew to be beneficial. Their knowledge was quite extensive. They know that bees and butterflies are pollinators, worms help aerate the soil, ladybugs eat aphids, and birds will eat bugs from the garden. We discussed that besides praying mantis being our state insect, they also will eat harmful insects from the garden.
A lesser known fact among the children was that toads can consume 10,000 insects in a single season. That got them thinking that maybe we should invite some toads to live in our garden. They use recycled flower pots to create "toad houses" in an attempt to invite these fun critters to dine from our ever growing nature habitat. To learn more about toads check out this fun link to the Easy Science for Kids website.
|decorating toad houses.|
Here are some of the beneficial insects taking up residence in our school garden.
|mating praying mantis|
The praying mantis can reach up to 5" in length. Their heads can turn up to 180 degrees and their large eyes are perfect for spotting prey. They are ambush hunters which means they don't actively go looking for food. They will wait somewhere and pounce on prey when it comes near them. They aren't picky about what they eat either. They will eat butterflies and bees as easily as garden pests. They will also eat their own species. Very large mantis have been known to eat small salamanders, frogs, and birds!
Assassin bugs use their long "beak" to pierce prey and inject it with lethal toxins that kill the insect within a few seconds. That same toxin will liquefy the insides of the prey which will then be drunk by the assassin bug.
|ladybug or ladybird beetle|
Ladybugs can complete their life cycle from egg to adult in as little as 4-7 weeks. During that short lifetime a single ladybug can eat as many as 5000 aphids.
|busy pollinating bee|
The key to attracting beneficial insects to your garden is creating a diverse ecosystem and providing plenty of areas for habitats. If you would like to learn more about inviting beneficials to your own garden check out this article from Mother Earth News.
The warm weather we are having is finally making everything pop in the garden. Here are our latest progress shots.
|walking stick kale|
The last Garden Club of the school year will be held June 9. We will be doing some summer session activities but very differently than last year. Follow us on Facebook to find out when we will be hosting summer garden activities. Facebook link


About this book
When it comes to science, many of today's children experience narrow and impoverished learning opportunities, which, as professor Judah Schwartz writes in the preface to this book, lead ulitmately to a mere caricature of science. One source of the problem is the wrong—terribly wrong—belief that science is an inappropriate subject for early elementary education and certainly for kindergarten education.
As a curative to this prevalent and unfortunate situation, this well-written and thought-provoking book presents the state-of-the-art in science education for kindergarten and primary schools. It begins with a thorough theoretical discussion on why it is incumbent on the science educator to teach science already at first stages of childhood. It goes on to analyze and synthesize a broad range of educational approaches and themes such as: inquiry-based teaching; learning through authentic problems; scaffolding; situated learning; learning through projects; non-verbal knowledge; and informal learning. The book also presents fresh novel strategies to science teaching such as learning science through designing, building, evaluating and redesigning simple artifacts; and Inquiry Events. Numerous examples illustrating how the theories presented may be brought into practice are provided.
Editors and affiliations
- DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4674-X
- Copyright Information Springer 2006
- Publisher Name Springer, Dordrecht
- eBook Packages Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
- Print ISBN 978-1-4020-4641-4
- Online ISBN 978-1-4020-4674-2


Today we continue our exploration of natural science experiments with kids. Do you have a lot wind in your area? What makes wind blow? How does wind power energy work? How can we use wind energy? Have you made any wind turbines or pinwheels? While it is not too cold, a fun thing to do is to explore and learn about the wind with fun wind science experiments with kids.
Fun Wind Science Activities for Kids to Explore Wind Power Energy
As usual we listed the activities based on kids age, those preschoolers can do are at the top of the list, and those for older kids are towards the bottom of the list.
Make a pinwheel to watch the wind power: this is a fun activity for young children. They can make the pinwheel themselves, and watch it spin in the wind or when they blow air to it. For old kids, you can explain how wind turbine work, which is essentially the same as this pinwheel.
Another pinwheel made from balloon is also a fun one to watch the power of the air pressure.
This hovercraft is simply smart, and I am sure you want to try it.
Make an anemometer: anemometer is a tool used by meteorologists to measure wind speed. In this activity, you will use a power drill, so parents should stay involved in making it. After it is done, kids can be in charge of of taking data.
Make a wind vane to tell wind direction. Here is an explanation on why wind vane can tell you the wind direction.
Books about wind science for kids
Feel the Wind: for kids age 4 to 8. Have you ever felt the wind tickle your face or heard it whistle through your window? Did you know that some wind travels faster than a car? Read inside to find out more about what causes wind, and learn how to make your own weather vane!
Gusts and Gales: for kids age 4 to 9. Find out about the different types of winds, including global winds, trade winds, local winds, and breezes. Learn about extreme wind weather like hurricanes and tornadoes.
Can you see the wind: for kids age 6 and up. Part of the Rookie Read-About Science series. What is wind? What can we use it for?
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an inspiring story for kids of all ages. When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba’s tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season’s crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, and came up with the idea that would change his family’s life forever. As you guessed, the idea uses the wind.
The Wind at Work: An Activity Guide to Windmills: for kids age 9 and up. The book explains how the wind works, what windmills have contributed to the past, and why they offer environmental promise today as a source of clean, renewable energy. It has 24 wind-related activities.
I hope you like these science experiments. Would you like to have fun Fact Sheet for Wind? It this sheet, kids will find how wind are formed, how is wind measured, and what we are using wind for? To download the sheet, simple enter your email below.
Like to have more natural science experiments with kids? Check out 100+ Natural Science Activities for Kids
(photo credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net)


Cool science for kids! Make magic swirling rainbow milk. Surprisingly easy and it has a big wow factor!
Math/Science: rainbow milk science experiment This experiment uses milk mixed with dish soap as well as food coloring to let kids explore with reactions as well as looking at different rainbows the can create.
How to make rainbow milk. Fun science experiments for kids.
Rainbow Milk Toast Kids Activity - fun spring activity for kids of all ages
Rainbow Milk Experiment with Procedural Text
Rainbow activities: Magic RAINBOW milk- super fun Science for kids! Great for little ones but can be adapted for our older students
How to make Magic Rainbow Milk
Learning Activities by Age and Grade New Posts More posts…
Rainbow Milk Science Experiment - Ingredients Whole milk food coloring dish soap q tips shallow dish light table
This Rainbow milk experiment is a fun way to show interactions between hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules while making fun bursts of rainbow colors.
Kids' Science Experiment: Magic Rainbow Milk - Playdough To Plato
-- The originals many years ago, only had white or green.
A freebie activity page for the perfect St.
30 jaw-dropping science experiments for kids. I love that they all use common household supplies like salt and baking soda. So many fun science projects, STEM centers and science activities for kids!
This awesome rainbow milk science experiment is popular for a reason. Super simple & using materials you already have, it is still the most beautiful!
Kitchen Science: The Rainbow Milk Experiment my son age 7 loved this activity. The colors were really vibrant using milk.


Australian Curriculum Arts – View Year Level Descriptors, Content Elaborations, Achievement Standards, General Capabilities and Cross Curriculum Priorities. Download the entire curriculum or specific aspects of it to suit your needs.
Arts: Live Free and easy, interactive web application to facilitate collaboration and innovation across all five art forms in your classroom. Regardless of your existing skills and knowledge, ARTS:LIVE provides extensive cross-curricular content, with sequential instructions to bring the arts alive. Australian Curriculum linked.
Google Cultural Institute – Discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around the world. Explore cultural treasures in extraordinary detail, from hidden gems to masterpieces.
Home page Arts-POP – There are five art forms specified in the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. They are Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, and Visual Arts. Arts-POP shows how each art form makes a distinct contribution to cognition by drawing on each child’s senses and imagination. Each art form is valued equally within the generic learning area of the arts. Arts-POP website
Australian Curriculum Lessons – A website that provides great free lessons with resources. All lessons are linked with the Australian Curriculum, an excellent resource!
The Artists Toolkit – Visual elements and principles. This site provides information about line, colour, space, shape, balance, movement & rhythm. Watch two videos of professional artists creating original art works using the principles covered in the toolkit section of the site. The site also provides an Encyclopedia, an in-depth guide to learning more about the building blocks of composition. Here you’ll see many examples of works of art that illustrate the visual elements and principles.
Sites2See – A NSW Education Department site with links to primary and secondary websites covering most subject areas.
Art History – an offshoot of the Khan Academy. Great images, video and information about art history.
The Renaissance – An interactive website for middle/senior students (requires Flash player). Includes eploring the arts, innovation, the artists life and teacher lesson plans.
Modern Art – Interactive website for primary/middle years students (requires Flash player). Explore the Modern Art Museum in New York City and the PS1 Contemporary Art Centre.
Sketch Heroes – Learn how to draw a wide range of images from Manga, animals and cartoons to much more. A huge range of images plus students can create and upload their own art work. Will appeal to a wide range of age groups.
Instruments and Listening – This link provides PDF files showing instruments (print as posters), also includes some lesson ideas.
Welcome to Music – Welcome to Music offers award winning original and exciting education resources for teachers and students alike! According to their site they offer the best music education resources in Australia. From music workshops to music classes and shows.
Music Training Games – Requires a free account to be set up. Wide range of games relating to music concepts.
Music Blog ‘Wright Stuff Music’ – Resources and ideas around teaching and learning music.


New research shows the value of pupil support staff in schools - particularly for pupils with low attainment levels or from disadvantaged groups.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), a UK charity set up in partnership with the Sutton Trust has published the first of six reports funded by the English department of education. Another 66 studies involving 450,000 children are ongoing at one in ten schools in England. The studies – based on trials with 6,800 pupils at 238 schools – focused on programmes to help children at risk of arriving at secondary school without the level of literacy and numeracy expected of them. Some of the programmes were seen to be more effective than others.
One report called Catch-up Numeracy, an intervention in which pupils struggling with maths had two 15-minute sessions a week for 30 weeks, found that the one-to-one time with teaching assistants led to a significant gain in numeracy skills.
The research shows that Teaching assistants can help children improve literacy and numeracy skills if they work in small groups with specific pupils known to have low attainment levels. The findings appear to contradict previous research on teaching assistants, which had suggested that they did little to help struggling children.


Research continues to show that reading is heavily dependent on a brain’s ability to process small and quick changes in sound.
So what happens when a child enters the school system with a weakness in this area? Or with poor vocabulary or from an impoverished home? Schools start building on top of a weak foundation. Letter names, letter sounds, phonics, etc., are layered on top of a poor sound system and weak oral language, and it catches up with us.
Up to 40% of kids fail to learn to read effectively despite quality phonics and reading instruction.
Many of these kids need something that takes them back to the beginning, back to the foundational skills that allow them to develop literacy with ease. They need something unique, powerful, targeted and just for them that can address their memory, attention, processing and language skills simultaneously. With the right processing and language foundation, success in all areas is possible.
Fast ForWord addresses the core causes of student learning difficulties by targeting foundational auditory processing, phonemic awareness, language, memory and attention skills. It is one of the most powerful and unique reading interventions ever created. Proven effective for:
- Struggling readers
- English language learners
- Students with learning disabilities: specific learning disability, language impairment, dyslexia, auditory processing disorders
- Students on the autism spectrum
See more results by student population


New grammar, punctuation and spelling test will raise children’s literacy standards
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said the rigorous new spelling, grammar and punctuation test would raise standards for all children.
The new test – made up of a 45-minute grammar test and a separate 15-minute spelling test of 20 words – will be taken for the first time this week, by around 600,000 11-year-olds.
An evaluation by the Standards and Testing Agency in March found that the tests “are rigorous, are in line with international best practice, and ask pupils the appropriate questions needed to assess their grammar, punctuation and spelling”.
Children will be tested on whether they can:
- spell some of the most commonly misspelt words – including separate, preferred and necessary
- punctuate sentences properly – including the use of colons, ellipses and apostrophes
- use grammar correctly – including the use of subordinate clauses and a range of connectives
It will mean that primary schools will once again place a strong focus on the teaching of key writing techniques and ensure that children leave primary school confident in these skills.
Statistics for writing in 2012 showed that:
- almost 100,000 7-year-olds were below the expected level (17%)
- about 125,000 11-year-olds were below the expected level (23%)
In the CBI’s 2011 skills survey, more than 40% of employers said they were not satisfied with the basic literacy of school and college leavers.
Grammar, punctuation and spelling are also prioritised in the draft primary school English curriculum that will be introduced from September 2014, putting it in line with the level of demand of the curricula in some of the world’s leading education jurisdictions:
- the Massachusetts curriculum sets out the expectations of grammatical and spelling knowledge in detail, and is more challenging than the existing national curriculum for England
- Alberta’s curriculum also has a separate section on grammar and spelling
- the Singapore curriculum has a very detailed grammar and spelling strand which has a greater level of specificity and challenge than other curricula analysed
Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said:
Many children struggle with the basics of the English language at primary school, then don’t catch up at secondary school.
That is why employers bemoan the poor literacy of so many school and college leavers.
This new test will mean that children are again taught the skills they need to understand our language, and to use it properly, creatively and effectively.
The Department for Education has already made changes so that from this summer there will be marks awarded for spelling, punctuation and grammar in key subjects at GCSE.
The Bew Review
In 2011 Lord Bew reviewed the testing and assessment system for 11-year-olds. The government agreed with the recommendation of the independent Bew Review panel – made up of headteachers, teachers and assessment experts – to develop a test for spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary.
Lord Bew’s review highlighted significant issues with the existing writing national curriculum test. These issues were most apparent in writing composition, where marking can be affected by a professional’s judgement of a piece of written work, rather than there being a clear “right” or “wrong” answer.
In 2011 primary schools asked for 29,926 writing tests to be reviewed, compared to just 7,176 reading test papers sent for review. In recognition of this issue, the government accepted Lord Bew’s recommendation that writing composition should be subject to teacher assessment only. This allows pupils’ writing to be assessed by their teachers in a broad range of genres during year 6. However, the more technical aspects of English – such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary – were viewed differently in that they can be assessed effectively via an externally marked test.
Further information on the Bew Review can be found on the department’s website.
The proposed primary school curriculum for English
- a particular focus on spelling. For instance, there will be a list of words that all children should be able to spell by the end of primary school. There is currently no such list in the national curriculum
- a focus on grammar and punctuation. Children will be expected to understand how to use the subjunctive, and how to use the apostrophe correctly – for example, not using an apostrophe to indicate plurals such as “I went to buy some apple’s” nor using “it’s” as a possessive
Sample questions for the test
The sample tests are available on the department’s website.
Central newsdesk 020 7783 8300
General enquiries 0370 000 2288


What is the most useless problem solving strategy?Posted: July 20, 2017
Problem-solving is one of those twentieth century skills that schools are supposed to be teaching in order to prepare students for jobs that haven’t been invented yet. It is a key component of the ‘critical and creative thinking’ general capability of the Australian Curriculum. Yet problem-solving is a tricky concept. I certainly don’t believe it is a discrete skill like a golf-swing that can be developed through teaching and practice.
David Geary’s distinction between biologically primary and biologically secondary knowledge perhaps offers a useful way of thinking about problem-solving. General problem-solving skills are biologically primary because they have evolved alongside the human mind: we have always had to solve problems in a general sense. Tricot and Sweller suggest that mean-ends analysis is a good example of such a strategy. This is essentially the tactic of working backwards from the goal in order to assess your progress towards it. We all possess this strategy already and so there is no need to teach it to children.
Biologically secondary knowledge builds upon primary knowledge. Means-end analysis is at the root of maths problem-solving (unless we engineer its absence) but we then complement this by teaching a series of domain specific strategies. For instance, knowing how to factorise a quadratic is really useful if you need to solve a problem involving quadratic equations, yet it’s not much help in solving other kinds of maths problems, let alone the problem of a blocked drain.
One of the difficulties that maths teachers encounter is in enabling students to transfer problem solving procedures from one context to another. For instance, a student may be able to factorise a quadratic equation but may not realise that this is what is required in a particular problem. My approach to this is an explicit one where students begin work on problems that look very similar to each other but then gradually work through problems with varying contexts. At a later stage, different problem types need to be interleaved so that students may learn to spot the deep structure and therefore the type of solution required. All of this proceeds with lots of teacher guidance and demonstration and plenty of formative assessment to keep the trains on the track.
However, what if we could develop more general problem-solving strategies that could shortcut this process? These may be completely general skills like means-end analysis that can be applied to any problem or they may be intermediate strategies that apply to a broad range of problems within a particular domain. There is little evidence available that we can learn general problem-solving strategies but what of these more middling kinds of strategies?
For instance, ‘draw a diagram’ is a reasonably useful strategy to help solve a very broad class of physics problems. It might not help much in other kinds of problems but it has a general applicability in physics. Nevertheless, it is nowhere near as useful as a specific strategy for solving a particular problem. It works as a cognitive aid to enable us focus on the deep structure.
Some intermediate strategies have potential and they seem similar in nature to reading comprehension strategies. Research suggests that reading comprehension strategies produce a quick boost in reading performance but that they don’t really function as a skill in the sense that repeated practice of these strategies increases their effect. Perhaps ‘draw a diagram’ is a useful heuristic that operates in a similar way.
I can’t see any value in some intermediate strategies. For instance, ‘solve a simpler problem’ only works if you already know the deep structure of the problem because the two problems need to share structure for the simpler one to be useful. Yet if you already knew the deep structure then you would not need a more general problem-solving strategy.


If you watch the news or read up on current events, you know there are several studies out there that discuss the benefits of music education. Learning to play an instrument or how to read music at an early age can help boost intelligence, confidence, and maturity levels in children and adolescents. True, not all children are interested in music, but what do you do when your little one mentions they’d like to learn to play the flute, drums, or piano? Don’t stress out. The folks at wikiHow have put together a list of steps for you to follow should your child want to become a music maker.
- Set an example and motivate your child – If you have musical talent, play in front of your child and answer their questions. Talk about your days in the school band or let your child experiment with your instrument.
- Expose your child to music – Play quiet music for your children while they are very young or let them fall asleep to the sounds of classical music. As they get older, listen to music together or take them to a concert. Teach them to “feel” the music and to take note of the many things going on at once.
- Talk to them about music lessons – Don’t force your child to learn an instrument or take lessons. If you had any success in the first two steps, they probably are eager to start. Ask if there is a particular instrument they would like to learn to play. If not, move to Step 4.
- Look into options – If your child is in elementary school, see if they offer a music program in an older grade. If they are in middle school, look into band or orchestra programs. If there is nothing available at the school, research music instructors in your area.
- Help your child choose an instrument – Taking into consideration your child’s commitment to music, size, and maturity level, take them to a music store or set up a meeting with a band director to try a starter instrument such as a clarinet, piano, or guitar.
- Buy, borrow, or rent an instrument once a decision has been made – Look into rent-to-own programs which may be the best bet until you know your child is completely committed to one instrument. If you must buy early on, buy cheap.
- Encourage your child to practice – Again, it’s not a good idea to force the child to practice but try to encourage and motivate them to practice at least half an hour every day and congratulate them when they do something exceptionally well.
Find instrument rentals in your area with RIT
Has your little one decided to take up the guitar, trumpet, drums or another instrument but you’d rather they try it before you buy it? Or are you in a band and need some equipment to take on the road? Thompson Music Rental can help!
Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Thompson Music rental offers professional quality musical instruments, backline and studio gear, small sound systems, and DJ equipment for rent. From guitars and amplifiers to drums and keyboards, Thompson Music Rental has the instruments and equipment you need to put on one heck of a show whether you are playing in the garage or on the big stage.
Since the company’s launch, Thompson Music Rental has worked with clients ranging from the biggest stars on the planet to other individuals who take their music just as seriously. For those acts in need, Thompson Music Rental also offers delivery services as well as backline tech assistance.


The PRAXIS II tests are subject-knowledge teacher certification exams given by ETS and recognized by 30 states for licensure for public school teachers at all levels - elementary school, middle school, and high school.
The Praxis II: Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades K-6 exam (0622) is a two-hour, paper-based exam with 70 multiple choice questions and 4 constructed-response questions. The PLT exam is directed towards new elementary school teachers to assess their knowledge of key educational concepts and foundations as they enter the teaching profession.
The topics on the PLT K-6 exam are:
Check out DynamicPath.com for 50 more free Praxis II PLT K-6 practice test questions and to study hundreds more on the go with the Dynamic Path app.
Going into elementary school education? Check out our Praxis II Elementary Education Content Knowledge Exam Prep set with dozens of free practice test questions.
We also highly recommend the CliffsNotes Praxis II: Principles of Learning and Teaching, Second Edition.
Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only. It has not been edited, fact checked or updated. This content is neither affiliated nor endorsed by the Educational Testing Service, or any other official agency. These questions were written by a third party test prep company and licensed by Practice Quiz for use on this site. Please use at your own discretion.


1912. Volume 5 of 10. Stories that Never Grow Old. The purpose of
The Junior Classics is to provide in ten volumes containing about
five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories and
poems, both ancient and modern, suitable for children from six to
sixteen years of age. This collection, carefully used by parents
and teachers with due reference to individual tastes and needs,
will make many children enjoy good literature. It will inspire them
with a love of good reading, which is the best possible result of
any elementary education. The Junior Classics constitute a set of
books whose contents will delight children and at the same time
satisfy the legitimate ethical requirements of those who have the
children's best interests at heart. Beautifully illustrated.
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!


In order to create a more positive and respectful learning environment at Ebner Elementary School, the following Dress Guidelines for students have been developed:
1. Hair – must be clean, neat and cared for. Color and style must not create a distraction to student learning as determined by the principal.
2. Clothing – halters, tank, muscle and midriff shirts may not be warn in school. No clothing with patches or printed phrases depicting vulgarity may be worn in school.
3. No flip-flops, clogs, sandals or shoes with wheels will be worn to school for safety reasons. The wearing of socks is highly recommended for health and safety reasons.
4. Excessive make-up is discouraged as it may create a distraction to student learning.
The complete dress guidelines may be found in the AASD Student Code of Conduct for Elementary Education


Title I and CategoricalWelcome!
The office of Elementary Education and Categorical Programs oversees the compliance of State and Federal money that comes into the district. The money is distributed to the school sites to supplement the core educational practices already in place. Its purpose is to increase student achievement.
California provides a “per pupil” amount of money to fund comprehensive education of all students, ages 5-17. For many reasons, some learners have difficulty mastering academic state and local content standards and may be at risk for not meeting graduation requirements. To help school districts meet the identified needs of students, state and federal governments have provided additional supplemental educational dollars. These funds, known as categorical program funds, may be used to buy additional personnel time, staff development opportunities, student materials, and other specialized items or services to augment the core instructional program and increase academic success for all students.
State and Federal supplementary funds for public education are governed by numerous rules and regulations. Their common goal is to provide access to mastery of district and state standards for ALL learners, including the special needs of English learners, educationally disadvantaged pupils, gifted and talented pupils, and pupils with exceptional needs.
A quality educational program is based on an improvement process that results in a Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) in which all members of the school community contribute, including the principal, teachers, support staff, parents, and students (at secondary level). The mechanism by which the school fulfills its responsibility for developing and coordinating programs is the School Site Council (SSC). The SSC is delegated the responsibility for developing a comprehensive SPSA based on assessments and self study.
To ensure that all of the resources available to the school, including the base programs and the supplemental resources, are coordinated and focused on providing a high-quality education program in which students of all ranges of ability and background can learn and succeed, a careful analysis of student assessment and performance data is conducted. Principals routinely conduct classroom walk-throughs to further identify student and staff strengths and needs. Using this information, the site’s staff then identifies the areas of need in reading/language arts and math in relation to significant, disaggregated groups, total school population, and grade level groups. The administration, school staff, School Site Council, and Leadership Team, write action plans in reading/language arts and math. Staff development materials, resources (including personnel), curricular instructional strategies, and monitoring and evaluation components complete the action plan elements. These action plans become part of the site’s SPSA.
The categorical budgets must support the implementation of these action plans. The staff and SSC review the assessment data and SPSA each year, update the plan, and align the new budget expenditures to these revisions. The SPSA and budgets must have School Site Council approval.
For more information contact me at (760) 244-4411 x7235 or by email at email@example.com.
Parent programs/support – Encourage and support parent involvement; provide opportunities for continued learning at the district Family Resource and Parent Center.


Teaching Recorder in the Music Classroom
Published by MENC:
(The National Assocation for Music Education )
A practical 119 page text, with a major chapter on using the Recorder in the Orff Classroom by Konnie Saliba, nationally and internationally known Orff clinician. Musical examples and songs of a multicultural nature are included, as are exercises and techniques for working with the Orff approach.This book is developed as a quickly accessible "guide to use" that provides the busy teacher, in an interesting and highly readable manner, with aspects of recorder playing /teaching that are not covered in presently available methods. A few of the myriad topics include:
Availability:Order through: MENC at
1806 Robert Fulton Drive, Reston VA 20191. Telephone orders: 800-828-0229.
http://www.menc.org/ Price: $12.00-
Fred Kersten's articles on Recorder have been featured in American Recorder Teaching Music, PMEAnews , and General Music Today. His study of recorder has been at Indiana University and Long Island Recorder Festival. He has Orff training and is a veteran of many years of successful public school K-12 vocal music teaching. He wrote this practical book based on many years of teaching recorder to children and college students with an intense desire to help music teachers raise the quality of teaching and performance of recorder in the public schools.
Fred will be happy to answer questions via email about the book, or provide any recorder information that would be helpful for teaching your students. His web page is devoted to the recorder. Stop by and visit!


99% of my lessons have been production based so far. I think this is because I am such a hands-on and kinesthetic person. But, in order to have a well-rounded art education, it is important to include aspects of art criticism and art history. I wanted to play “Token Response” with 5th graders so I could incorporate more aspects of art and practice critical thinking with them. This is a game I played in a college class and it lead to a truly meaningful discussion about art that really got everyone to think about their opinions.
I set out 7 reproductions around the room and we talked about the title, medium, artist, and when the piece was made. We talked about opinions and how there is no right or wrong answer and it is important to respect what someone else thinks about something. I told the kids that when you look at artwork you automatically think “I like it” or “I don’t like it” but it is important to realize why you feel this way.
Each student received a set of tokens (you can buy a pre-made set here but it was just as easy to make my own using construction paper):
So what do they mean?
The HAND: which artwork has the best craftsmanship?
The LIGHT BULB: which artwork is the most original/unique?
The HEART: which artwork do you like the best?
The “X”: which artwork do you like the least?
The MONEY: which artwork is worth the most money?
The CLOCK: which artwork took the most time to make?
The HOUSE: which artwork would people hang up in their house?
With a variety of reproductions including examples of realism, formalism, expressionism, and instrumentalism, there were many diverse opinions. Students walked around the gallery and placed their tokens on the artworks.
The most popular pieces were sculptures and the least popular were the realistic or abstract pieces. Students expressed their opinions and shared with each other why they chose to put their tokens where they did.
This activity was just as meaningful for 5th graders as it was for me in college — they got a chance to form and argue their opinions, interpret art, compare and contrast artworks, and develop and evaluate ideas.