The Art Education program at City College of New York prepares students to be reflective artist-educators who can teach in multiple settings, including schools, community centers, museums, and alternative learning sites. Students gain a critical understanding of the social significance of art education as they develop the skills to actively contribute to the field through their creative and academic work.
Art education is contextual: Since art education takes place in multiple settings with diverse learners, we prepare our educators to understand how and when to use different approaches to engage their students.
Teaching is a social, political, and cultural practice: To be an effective teacher requires active reflection and critical engagement with theory and practice. Our educators are prepared to address issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities with their students and colleagues.
Making art is empowering: Art education should encourage learners to actively engage with creating and analyzing works of art in ways that are personally relevant, empowering, and authentic. Our educators design curricula that emphasize ideas in the world, using appropriate art techniques and materials to support those ideas.
Effective educators are compelling advocates: To best serve our students, we must be articulate and informed advocates for the educational benefits of the arts. Our educators are prepared to be effective participants in field-level conversations, conferences, and advocacy in art education.
Note: This website is regularly under construction (1/30/2015).


Over many decades, research studies have shown the value and effectiveness of art education in the lives of schoolchildren, as well as its correlation to their achievement. And yet, increasingly during this same period, education decision makers once had all but removed art education from the curriculum of most elementary schools.
This is what we know about why art education matters: First, being a hands-on activity, the arts increase student engagement, focus on positive achievements and keep kids in school.
Second, the arts (including painting and sculpture, singing in a chorus, dancing and acting) require positive behaviors and attitudes, such as patience, persistence and collaboration, thereby building character.
Third, the arts enhance creativity and critical thinking skills, which are requirements of the 21st-century workforce. The arts provide a fun way to learn math principles, such as creating a work of art using measuring tools.
Fourth, the arts can provide us with a sense of joy and life lessons such as teamwork and developing a passion for learning.
And, finally, a multitude of studies have shown that the arts in the curriculum almost always improve test scores and add in a variety of ways to student success.
Knowing this, schools are changing and once more seeing the importance of the arts and including them in their curricula.
As a funder of arts organizations and art-in-education projects, I have seen firsthand what this lack of art education has created for our arts organizations: dwindling and older audiences and much less financial support.
Since there was almost no art instruction in their schools, most younger people have not been taught the importance of the arts in their lives. This is one reason why so many of our arts organizations are struggling with smaller budgets, small staffs and dwindling numbers of people willing to financially support them.
At the same time, many of these same arts organizations are serving youth in a variety of ways. For instance, The Fresno Art Museum is just one organization which is serving our children, as well as families. Four times a year, the museum is open for Family Day events, which include art demonstrations and making art in the classrooms, performing arts in the auditorium, and the SAM Academy (science, art and music).
The next free Family Day is coming up Dec. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it will include an art treasure hunt with prizes, carolers, drumming, theater and face-painting among the activities.
In April, the museum initiated its first Mini Maker Faire, where nearly 2,000 people participated in creating objects and observing them being made. Probably the most important of its many collaborations involving art education is the current one with the Fresno County Office of Education’s Any Given Child initiative (brought to Fresno by the Kennedy Center), when every third-grader in Fresno Unified School District (and some in Central Unified) will visit the museum to learn about art and how to view it. They also will be given the opportunity to make art.
Another very important cultural arts institution, the Fresno Philharmonic, is providing a music education program called Link Up, in a partnership with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Students in third through fifth grades in both Fresno and Central Unified school districts will have the opportunity to come to the Saroyan Theater and perform on their recorders with the orchestra. This will be an interactive concert experience intended to break down the barrier between audience and performer. They will also be provided a music curriculum.
There are many other fine-arts organizations that are youth-oriented that deserve the support of this community, both monetarily and through attendance.
Here are some supported by the Bonner Family Foundation: Youth Orchestras of Fresno, Children’s Musical Theaterworks, Bach Children’s Choir, Sierra Chamber Opera and Valley Performing Arts Council.
Our children, our financially strapped arts organizations that serve them, the vitality and health of this community require the support of those of us who live and work here. And, I hope that you will conclude, as I have, that the arts in the schools aren’t a luxury, they are a necessity!


“ ‘Good Job’ are the two most harmful words in the English language,” says fictional Jazz conductor Terrence Fletcher in 2014’s Whiplash, an explosive film that portrays the brutal nature of high level musical education. Based on its creator’s own experiences at colleges of music, the film shows the very real, and very demanding, harshest aspects of music education programs. Unlike other secondary schools and graduate programs, musical programs have a unparalleled competitive side to them not present in other, equally tough schools. For instance, if you attend MIT and graduate with a half-decent GPA, it doesn’t matter if you were absolute top of your class or program, you will be able to get a well-paying job at an engineering firm or something similar. Unfortunately for those more disposed to the arts, this is not the case for those graduating with music or art degrees, even from the best institutions in the country. It is a cut throat system, almost similar to professional sports, where scouts objectively weigh out the strengths or weaknesses of college performers in recital and then invite the select few to come play in professional orchestras or ensembles. Other teaching and performing jobs are obviously available, but the pay scale is that of teachers and uncontracted performers, and thus very rarely enough to recoup the enormous costs of any good music school.
This movie is not about student loans, or the professional lives of musicians, but about what I like to call The Beethoven Effect. In music, it could be explained as the pushing past of physical or psychologically healthy limits of practicing, in order to achieve a level of playing that is unparalleled by those not willing to do so. It is named after Ludwig Van Beethoven, who from the age of five was pushed extremely hard by his teachers, starting with his father, until he was one of the greatest composers in history. When your name is spoken with the same breath as Mozart or Stravinsky or Chopin, it is difficult to look at the negative details of your life. However he didn’t have anything close to a normal life, being forced to put on shows as a ‘prodigy’ and practice every day for hours on end, from such a young age. It’s doubtful he was very happy or psychologically very stable after years of brutally strict instruction. This wasn’t uncommon for that time period, but think about if Beethoven had lived today. Who knows if he would have achieved greatness or become one of history’s greatest composers if he had been given a normal childhood, and not forced to practice every single day. In today’s culture of coddling and praising children to supposedly create happy, stable individuals, the parenting and push that Beethoven received would be unthinkable, or at least very, very unlikely.
This is the issue that Whiplash presents. We praise the acts of the past, monolithic monuments and beautiful compositions of art and music that seem unreplicable in the present, but damn the processes that were able to create them. The religious fervor and borderline slavery that built the Pyramids and Colossus and Angkor Wat, and the devotion, self-discipline and child abuse that gave us Michelangelo or Beethoven were extremely ruthless driving forces that are mostly gone today and for good reason. But can we still produce greats without them? It is excruciating watching Miles Teller, who played the protagonist in Whiplash, push his body past the point of pain and bleeding and psychological well-being just to push his career to the next level. However at the end, when he finally gets to bring his hard won talent to the stage and create something completely new and explosive and inspirational, the audience isn’t left feeling sorry for him or with thoughts of how he should’ve taken better care of himself. It makes every person who watched it want to push themselves past their normal limitations to create something great and powerful as well, and make something that will be remembered forever instead of getting a little bit of happiness in this lifetime.
This article was written by Jake Perry, a writer for dusk magazine.


Hard to believe, but the start of the school year is right around the corner. As the final days of summer break slide by, teachers and parents begin to wonder what this year’s classroom will be like. Every year is a different potpourri of personalities and abilities that will mix, mesh or sometimes clash. Teachers want to effectively engage every one of their students, and parents want to ensure their kids will be both accepting and accepted.
Preparing for Your Multicultural & Bilingual Classroom
How can we make our multicultural classrooms welcoming to all students, and instill an appreciation for diversity in our kids? In a previous post, we looked at different multicultural resources that can be woven right into existing lesson plans, and the many benefits they bring to all students. In other posts, we offered achecklist of essential items and tips to help teachers prepare their classrooms for bilingual students.
Culturally Responsive Instruction
In his blog post, author and educator Matthew Lynch discussesculturally responsive instruction in depth. Its aim is “to teach students that differences in viewpoint and culture are to be cherished and appreciated rather than judged and feared.” The primary goal is to demonstrate that all people, regardless how different they may appear on the surface, have so much in common and that every person and culture deserves respect. Lynch discusses the many ways teachers can promote an environment of respect for cultural diversity, in particular the importance of studying multicultural role models in the classroom.
Free Lesson Plan: Understanding & Appreciating Cultural Differences
Teachers are always looking for new ways to bring more multicultural education to the classroom, while meeting Common Core Standards. As part of a project with student teachers in the Elementary Education Teacher Preparation program at West Chester University, the Language Lizard site offers free, creative units of instruction for use in grades K-5. The lesson plan entitled“Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Differences” helps students appreciate how people are different and similar, not just within the classroom, but around the world. They will learn about diverse languages, cultures and traditions in the US and in other countries. This unit of instruction is easily aligned with state and national standards in Social Studies and Language Arts. The main books used in these lessons include: That’s My Mum, Floppy, andFloppy’s Friends written in: Gujarati, Portuguese, Turkish and English. Each of these titles is available in many other languages that can be substituted for, or used in addition to, the dual languages presented here.
Parents and teachers alike are encouraged to download our free multicultural lesson plans to utilize at home and in the classroom. Each unit indicates which books are included, the target grade level(s), the primary languages, and the key topics covered. The units can be implemented as designed or adapted to meet the needs of a particular student body or grade level. Languages introduced in the lessons can be changed to better reflect their own diverse households and communities.
By preparing ahead of time, you will ensure this year will progress more smoothly and comfortably for you and your unique and diverse classroom.
What challenges have you faced in your multicultural classroom, and what solutions have worked for you? Comment below and share your experiences!


Alphabet Money is a FUN way for kids to learn upper and lowercase letters, letter sounds and beginning sounds! Kids will enjoy learning with Alphabet Money!
Each piece of Alphabet Money has an upper and lowercase letter of the Alphabet, which helps with letter recognition. In addition, each Alphabet dollar has two different graphics that help reinforce a specific letter of the alphabet. Kids can use the cute graphics to practice beginning sounds. For example, the letter "A" Alphabet Money has a graphic of an alligator and apple and the word for each picture.
This product meets the following Common Core Standards:
Reading: Foundational Skills
1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
a. Follow words from left to right
d. Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
If you enjoy this letter activity, you may also like some of our other Letter and Letter Sounds activities:
Beginning Sounds (Color, Cut and Paste)ABC Cut and Paste FontsBeginning Sound ScoopsAlphabet Phonics HeadbandsLetter Sounds (Color, Cut and Paste)Phonics WatchesAlphabet Apple Tree Letter Sort NO PREPABC Tic-Tac-Toe
Be sure to visit The Moffatt Girls Facebook Page for exclusive FREEBIES and GIVEAWAYS!


Photo Credit Six El Sid
I was sitting in an IEP meeting this week with our team discussing a young man. Let's call him James. James is a 5th grader reading and performing academically at about a 3rd grade level. He has a pretty positive attitude, but school is definitely a struggle for him all day every day and he's showing signs of frustration and lack of motivation from time to time. In the course of our meeting, we asked the same question we always ask parents, "So, what is James good at? What are his strengths?" Well, it turns out James can fix remote control off-road vehicles. He asks questions from salesman at the store or uses videos on the Internet to figure out what needs to be done to fix these machines. Turns out our 3rd grade reader is great with his hands. What this tells me, is that James can learn! So, how do we capitalize on this fantastic strength of James? Here are a few things that we are planning to try with James to transfer this interest and skill into the classroom.
1. Invite James to bring his car to school and teach his classmates how they work and how he fixes them.
2. Ask James to keep a journal of the modifications that he is making to his cars including explanations of what the problem is, how he found solutions, and what he did to fix the problem.
3. Create a video of his own to upload to YouTube explaining how he fixed problems that he came across.
Shouldn't school support James in this area of high interest and, at the same time, help him see how the world of literacy (digital included) can further help him in all areas of life?
Shouldn't James be acknowledged and recognized for his skill, determination, and ingenuity?
Can't we come up with a way to make sure every student is getting support at school to pursue their areas of interest and connecting those interests to literacy development?
I think we should.


My 3 girls love crafting and came up with this super easy Valentine's craft before school one morning last week.
All you do is cut a heart out of cardboard or paper, cover it in glue then stick paper quills on to it.
To make the paper quills just cut a rectangle from thick paper about the size of a postcard. Lay a pencil along the longest edge then roll up the paper around it.
Pull the pencil out and roll up the paper again as tightly as you can. Cut the rolled up paper into slices. You could cut small, thin spirals from green paper to make leaves if you wanted to.
Cut a heart, or whatever shape you like out of paper or card. Dip the bottom of each paper swirl into glue then press it on to the shape. Alternatively, cover the shape in glue then press the swirls onto it. Keep going until your shape is covered in paper swirls. Attach a ribbon to hang it up or glue it to a card.
This craft is so easy even really little ones can have a go, rolling the paper is fab for fine motor skill development, just make sure the scissors only cut the paper ;o)


Students in a University of Connecticut education curriculum and instruction course showcased their short documentaries in Konover Auditorium Wednesday. The course, titled “Power, Privilege and Public Education,” asked students to analyze how power and privilege play a role in the public education system. Students then took the knowledge they acquired in the course and applied it to their six student made documentaries. For the films, students partnered up with local groups and causes in order to get a deeper understanding of the problems power and privilege present in the American public education system.
Three of the films presented at the event, “Visibly Invisible,” “Mascot Naming Craze” and “Invisible Advocacy,” partnered with the Pequot Museum and Research Center to discuss the prevalence of Native American stereotypes perpetuated by sports teams, school logos, mascots and the media. These groups argued Native American imagery was often present in American society, but it is often an inaccurate and offensive caricature of a rich culture.
Student filmmaker, Daniel Gottlieb, believes creating these films is incredibly important for helping people understand different cultures.
“It gives people a chance to see different problems going on in society, you get a different perspective. I’m from a school that has an Indian as a mascot and I always thought its OK,” said Gottlieb, a second-semester ACES major. “Now, thinking back, it’s incredibly offensive because it doesn’t show the proper rituals and how these tribes are actually represented in their own cultures.”
“Opening the LID to Diversity: Gaining Momentum for the Movement” discussed the idea of “Power, Privilege and Public Education” more directly, as student filmmakers joined forces with Leadership in Diversity (LID), a group dedicated to bringing more diversity to students studying in the field of education. LID also encourages future teachers to promote diversity in their classrooms, as a way to nurture students from all backgrounds.
One of the other films covered Connecticut’s proposed idea of implementing a human rights curriculum in public schools across the state. Filmmakers interviewed high school teachers and students, providing audience members with a unique perspective on what is important in a human rights curriculum.
The last of the UConn student films, titled “The Sheff Movement: A People’s History,” gave a detailed history on the racial integration of schools in Hartford and the greater United States.
The final film of the night was created by high school students at E.O. Smith, and was titled “Between the Divide.” The documentary talked about the racial divide within the United States, and featured interviews with UConn faculty and students, as well as high school teachers.
After each film, there was a short question-and-answer session where attendees asked questions and gave student filmmakers constructive criticism on how they could improve their documentaries.
Marissa Smoller, a sixth-semester elementary education major who had taken the course in a previous semester, thought that most majors would benefit from what was learned in the course.
“I think that a lot people other than (education majors), like diverse majors, would get a lot out of this course as well, just to see the injustices in our education systems,” she said.
Lauren Brown is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at firstname.lastname@example.org.


TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SINGING
The Voices Foundation helps children and young people to learn to sing and develop as musicians.
The Voices Foundation helps children and young people aged 0-18 to learn to sing and develop as musicians.
We want to make sure that no child is left out when it comes to learning to be a musician. It is proven that children who engage in high quality, regular musical learning from an early age gain musical, intellectual, emotional and social advantages. However, many children miss out on these benefits as they do not have access to any form of music education.
We help teachers and schools to ensure that music is an integral part of education from the early years. The Voices Foundation wants to give every child the chance to discover their musical talent so that they are part of the next generation of musicians.
WHAT WE DO
The Voices Foundation is a national music education charity working closely with schools, academies, Music Education Hubs and partners to deliver sustainable solutions for the provision of a rigorous and effective music education through singing.
INVOLVE YOUR SCHOOL
Empower your staff to lead singing activities and music curriculum through our teacher development programmes.
Inspire your pupils with singing projects and sessions led by expert music leaders.
We work with nurseries, primary and secondary schools.
The Voices Foundation has been operating for 24 years. Thanks to the vital support of individual philanthropists, Trusts and Foundations and Corporate sponsorship we have reached:
+ 1000 schools
+ 10,000 teachers
+ 200,000 children
We are delighted to announce that The Voices Foundation has won the music category in the 2017 Early Years Excellence Awards.
“We have seen the Voices programme have a huge impact on pupils’ confidence in all areas of school life, in particular their musicality, concentration, confidence in leading learning, and working within a group and listening.”
Headteacher, St Barnabas' Primary School


It's interesting to compare the learning of programming with the learning of elementary algebra. Both involve abstraction, which I think requires brain re-wiring. And that takes time.
FWIW, programming (coding) is in the process of being introduced into the primary school curriculum in New Zealand, so your concerns about students having to pick up computing from scratch should ease over time. I just hope don't we find ourselves in the same situation as Maths, with many students becoming programming-phobic.
Certainly I think code profile tools like the Python visualizer are attractive. I just don't know how to get students to appreciate their benefits. It seems to me (hypothesis) that the students who don't actually know what their program is doing are the ones least likely to explore the use of extra tools to help them improve their understanding.


Diego Rivera: A Mexican Artist of Incredible Talent
Diego Rivera is one of the most respected artists in Latin American art. He came from a prestigious family and was able to travel and get the best art education and exposure possible. He was born on December 8, 1886. Because his father is a part of Spanish nobility, Diego Rivera had lived a fine life. When he was ten, he studied art in Mexico City at the Academy of San Carlos. Because of a generous sponsorship of Teodoro A. Dehesa Mendez, the governor of Veracruz, Diego Rivera had the rare opportunity to study art in Europe in 1907.
During this time, cubism was very big in the world of art and names like Pablo Picasso were all the rage. This trend influenced Rivera’s work before he got involved with Post-Impressionism.
In 1921, Diego Rivera returned to Mexico. This time he turned his attention to murals. A government program by Vasconcelos was among his first mural projects during this time, working alongside other artists like Jean Charlot and David Alfaro Siqueiros. 1922 have witnessed the completion of Diego Rivera’s first mural. This was painted in Bolivar Auditorium located in the National Preparatory School in Mexico City. Aztec influence set the works of Diego Rivera apart from the works of other artists during that time. Bold colors and large figures became his trademark of Mexican oil paintings for sale in these day.
Travelling to different parts of the globe did great in terms of exposure for Diego Rivera. During his younger years, he travelled in Europe’s key cities like Madrid and Paris to further his education. Aside from this, he was able to make a name in Moscow before he was forced to go back to Mexico after a controversial work. To add to this, he also made a name for himself in America where his works are graciously accepted.


recommended by Jen Sper, School Choral Music Specialist
Having a productive rehearsal begins with effective warm-up exercises, so keeping a library of quality resources for this purpose is invaluable! Here are just a few of our favorite choral warm-up resources:
Wander the World with Warm-Ups by Lynn M. Brinckmeyer
The next time you use warm-ups, wander the world with your choir! This collection of forty simple folk songs from twenty different countries is the perfect resource for you. They can be easily memorized for immediate focus and the recommended strategies allow the warm-ups to work for both beginning and advanced singers. Help refine students’ ability to listen to each other, unify vowels and tune chords all while experiencing beautiful and dynamic songs of other cultures.
Warming Up with Rounds by Catherine DeLanoy
Choral rounds have been used for recreational singing for hundreds of years and are effective tools for your students to understand harmony, expand their vocal ranges, and experience a choral sound that is easily accessible to them. By using rounds as warm-ups, you can teach vocal technique, music theory, application, appreciation, and history, as well as increase your singers’ understanding of scales, intervals, modes, dynamics, and terminology. “Warming Up with Rounds” includes both familiar and rare rounds that are easy and challenging, as well as serious and fun. Music teachers and their students will enjoy discovering the secrets that choral rounds offer and ultimately feel a great sense of accomplishment when they make beautiful, harmonious music together.
115 Tang Tungling Tongue Twisters by Greg Gilpin
This collection of enjoyable and challenging tongue twisters using every letter of the alphabet is set to fun music for all ages. Say them! Sing them! Use them to focus your choir’s attention! These tongue twisters are effective tools to improve diction and enunciation, while offering some amusing “icebreaker” moments. Whether used as a warm-up, warm-down or focus moment, they will taunt even the most talented in town with a tang-tungling time! Greg Gilpin has written the piano accompaniment with chord symbols so your choir can move up and down the scale with ease.
About the Author:
Jen Sper has been with Stanton’s since 2006. A former middle school and high school choral director, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music. An active choral singer and accompanist throughout the Central Ohio area, she also enjoys good food, running (to counteract the good food…) and the Muppets.


Becoming Literate by Means of the internet
The positive effects of parent-child book reading on preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills have been recognised for decades. Nowadays, more storybooks are becoming available on the internet in an electronic format. While children need adult support in exploring a printed storybook, electronic storybooks are designed for independent exploration.
Comparable to adult book reading, storybooks on the computer provide pictures accompanied by an oral reading of the story. However, most electronic storybooks contain additional information sources, such as live-action video, animations, sound effects, or even interactive features. Such a synergy of information sources has been shown to positively affect story understanding, vocabulary and syntax, particularly in groups of linguistically disadvantaged children.
The current study examines experimentally whether regularly visiting book-based programs on internet sites supports literacy of kindergarten children (4-6-year-old) just as storybook reading at home or in educational settings and if younger and older children profit equally. Moreover, interactive features in electronic storybooks are evaluated, thus examining whether computers offer an alternative for adult support. This study will inform parents and educators whether these new forms of independent book encounters can add to children’s literacy development.
NWO grant to A. G. Bus for ‘Becoming Literate by Means of the Internet’-project: 411-05-117.


Children are often referred to occupational therapy for handwriting difficulties, especially within the educational model. Yet, you’ll rarely see me doing handwriting within one of my sessions. And this often baffles the minds of the parents and teachers who have brought their child/student to me.
The reason is, as an occupational therapy practitioner, I’ve been trained to look at the whole person and to figure out what underlying skills are needed for tasks like handwriting. I consider handwriting to be a very high-level skill and though some children are able to figure out ways around the roadblocks and succeed with handwriting even with foundational skills missing, it could be even easeir for them if their foundaiton was stronger.
What is needed to be successful at handwriting?
First, I look at the child’s ability to process sensory stimuli and self-regulate. If a child is unable to sit still, be able to listen to the most important information in a sea of auditory stimuli, and not be distracted by visual stimuli they are going to struggle learning. If they struggle with knowing where there body is in space and how they relate to their seat and desk, they’re going to be fidgeting, falling out of their seat, or slouching. If they can’t feel the amount of pressure they are holding a pencil with they will either exert too much pressure and have hand pains or be constantly dropping their pencil.
Next I look at their primitive reflexes. If they have unintegrated reflexes in their hands, they most likely won’t have an appropriate grasp. Spinal reflexes often make it difficult to sit still in a chair as every time their spine touches the back of the chair they’ll involuntarily “wiggle” and those reflexes are often tied in with attention deficits. I’ll look at their ATNR and their STNR as these can effect their posture and how the different parts of their body work together.
Then, I’ll look at their muscle tone. How is their core? Are they able to sit upright in a chair? Are their shoulders, arms, and hands all strong enough to participate in handwriting?
Then there is bilateral coordination- the ability to use both sides of the body at the same time. Such as holding the paper with one hand and writing with the other. Motor planning? Are they able to motor plan big gross motor movements? Generally these movements need to be mastered before children can master the movements our smaller muscles do. Then we can work on the motor planning needed for in-hand manipulation, finger isolation, hand-arch development, and so forth.
And then there is vision work. Can a child’s eyes converge? If not, he’s going to struggle looking at the board and then looking at his paper to write. Can he track? If not he’s going to struggle reading and keeping his place while writing. What about visual perception skills? Things such as visual closure, figure-ground, visual memory, form constancy, visual discrimination, and spatial relations all are so important for children to know which way letters go, how to space, where they go in relation to lines, and so forth.
I could go on and on and on. This isn’t even a definitive list of all the components or foundational skills needed for a child to truly succeed at his very best with handwriting.
When you observe your child or student in OT, that you thought was only there for handwriting, and see them lying on the ground making snow angels, playing in shaving cream, doing army crawls across the floor, throwing a ball back and forth, log rolling, or playing with play-doh…be assured, they are in fact, working on handwriting. And ask! Us occupational therapy practitioners absolutely love to share the “why’s” of what we are doing!


St. Nicholas of Tolentine School
"A Place Where Students Flourish and Talents Flow"
St. Nicholas of Tolentine School develops well rounded children through daily enrichment classes and a wide range of extracurricular activities. We are proud of our heritage and respect all cultures.
Music Education – Students develop poise, self-confidence and a sense of teamwork through participation in many musical groups. Students as young as first grade play musical instrument and participate in the school choir. Music education is an essential part of our curriculum. Research students suggest that students who take music lessons and participate in related activities have higher IQs.
*Primary Chorus *Junior High Chorus *Beginning Violin *String Orchestra *Beginning Band
* Senior Band *Percussion Club *Guitar Classes *Private Lessons
Spanish – Provided to classes in Kindergarten to 8th grade. Spanish lessons allow the children to learn the basics of the language, such as what sounds the letters make. We introduce students to the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures.
Gym – Students meet in the gym and have opportunities to experience exposure to many different sports and fitness. General health concepts are infused through research on personal or classroom topics or interest.
Library – Once a week students visit the library to listen to stories; learn about books, authors, and illustrators; and learn to meet their own information needs through research on personal or classroom topics or interest.
Computer – In a world where skillful technology manipulation is a must, students begin learning how to use computers at an early age. Youngsters play games that enhance and reinforce their literacy levels, while other students are introduced to practical applications and taught best practices for research.
Computers in the Classroom
Whiteboard Technology – Helps teachers bring more collaboration and interactivity into the classroom. Whiteboards are so easy to use, teachers incorporate them into their teaching to transform student learning and increase engagement.
St. Nicholas of Tolentine School © 2013


Barbie Printable Coloring Book
Coloring helps a child practice holding a writing tool the correct way and aids in developing those tiny muscles in their hands, fingers, and wrist.
The meaning of Coloring Books as well as their Uses
These coloring books, and coloring pages and sheets are ordinarily printed out on paper or cardboard, and some books are fashioned so that each page can be detached from the book once it is completed and used as a stand-alone coloring page. Some coloring books may include a storyline that little children could follow, therefore the pages can’t be torn out of books. These days, it's very common to find coloring books of really popular cartoon characters or stories, such as The Little Mermaid Coloring Pages or My Little Pony Coloring Pages. These are commonly used as advertising materials for upcoming cartoons or animated films. Other activities available in coloring books and coloring pages are: puzzles, connecting the dots, and mazes and number games. Another type of activity includes coloring books that come with stickers that can be attached on certain pages on these books.
Coloring Book- The History
The USA is the origin and birthplace of coloring books. This emergence was part of a process called the democratization of art. Josh Reynolds, an English artist was the person responsible for this process. The artistic works of Johann Pestalozzi who was an educator from Switzerland and Friedrich Fröbel who was a German student of his, also inspired this process. Educators from different backgrounds were in agreement that artistic education was beneficial to all because it developed cognitive abilities, and improved peoples’ perception of tangible things. Art education would prove to be valuable in a person's adult life also as many of the skills he learns might end up supporting him in his future careers. As far as little children were concerned, many educators found that art played a part in a child’s mental and spiritual growth.
The McLoughlin brothers are the two people who invented the coloring book. The 'Little Folk's Painting Book was the McLoughlin Brother's first coloring book, and they made it in the 1880's. They collaborated with Kate Greenway on this project and the continued to publish coloring books well into the 1920’s. That is when Brothers McLoughlin joined the Milton Bradley firm. Another man credited for the progress of coloring books is Richard Outcault. In 1907, Richard created a coloring book called Buster's Paint Book which was based on a character he had created in 1902 named Buster Brown. This book is what started the process of companies using coloring books as a means for advertising their products. These books were initially made to be painted instead of being colored, and despite the emergence and popularity of crayons in the 1930’s, this did not change.
Educational Uses of Coloring Books
Almost every classroom for small children and preschoolers has a coloring book available somewhere, as these books are used to educate children on a number of topics. From alphabets to numbers you can find coloring books pertaining to every topic. Images are easier to recall for youngsters, and coloring them is more exciting than other methods of learning, which is why coloring books are an excellent way of learning. Images are also a great way of teaching groups and individual a new language. Images are also an excellent way to enhance and improve memory, and to assist in the understanding of certain subject areas like geometry and astronomy. Since the 1980's, coloring books have been produced for adults. These books were made by publishers who were hoping to facilitate the process of acquiring knowledge on the topics of physiology or anatomy for students on a graduate level. As mentioned before, these images made memorizing and recalling the information easier.


Webster's likes to define a standard as "an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations" Another definition is "a level of quality or attainment." In education we talk about and hear about them all the time. ALL THE TIME. FOR THE LOVE THEY HAVE TAKEN OVER OUR LIVES. Broken record. If you are an educator in Oklahoma you know the fight. You know the battle. PASS Skills, Common Core, OAS...the list goes on and on. Teach these standards. These are the ones that you will need to use. Oh wait....never mind, use these. Yeah, those right there, teach those. Nope, sorry don't teach those teach these. HOLY COW. Please don't get me wrong, we need standards. Standards hold us accountable. Standards help us understand what students need to know and how we need to get them there. It is a blueprint. So as a music educator my standards are pretty murky. While there are national standards for Music Education, I have found in my own little world and in my own little classroom I need three. We call CPR in my classroom.
CREATE music of high quality.
PERFORM music with excellence.
REFLECT on the work I am doing.
Now yes I teach all of the musical terms and ideas that they need to know but these three things are the most important things that I want my students to know and understand. I want them to create, perform, and reflect. I want them to create amazing, beautiful, and exciting music. I want them to perform that music with excellence. I want them to reflect on how they are working and take ownership for the work and music they are creating. So simple but yet so powerful.
Have we made things too complicated? I understand that my subject area is very different. I understand that what I do in my classroom doesn't translate over into others. But all I am asking is there a happy medium? A place were we can challenge students, prepare them for the future, and not completely overwhelm the teachers? I think we can, how do we get there?
Just Love Them
I say this a lot, but this is a blog were the underlying message is about love and loving the world around us, but love your students. Love them. Know them. Try to understand them. Let them know that you love them. That you know them. That you try to understand them. How do we teach in a world obsessed with ever changing standards? We love. We do what is best for them on a daily basis. We seek to make ourselves better. We seek to become better teachers. We seek to have fun in our jobs. We see the best in every kid, even the ones that you got to search real hard to find. We just teach. We do what we love. We share it with others. We understand that standards are important, but developing young men and women of character is equally if even more important. We do what is best for kids every single day. Things that we are already doing! Just remember you have the chance to impact so many lives. To change the life of a child. Isn't that the best and most beautiful thing in the world?
Educators you inspire me. Thank you for all that you do. For the love, you people are the best.


A post-secondary degree in history is normally deemed restricted in career possibilities. The full post-secondary preparation for teachers of technology education consists of the equivalent of five academic years (150-152 credits) of liberal, technical, and pedagogical courses and school experiences. Proper just after primary college, a kid has to pass onto secondary education, which is one particular of the essential aspects of education, following which college education will stick to.
In 2012, about 75 percent of postsecondary teachers worked for colleges, universities, and experienced schools and about 21 % worked for junior colleges. Employment for higher school teachers seems steady, and the demand for teachers, in common, is stronger than for lots of other professions. If governments invest far more on funding greater education and study, additional postsecondary teachers could be hired. Some college systems call for K-six teachers to main in a content area such as math or science. Patience will support teachers deal with students who act out or have trouble following the material. Kindergarten and elementary school teachers have to hold a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
Postsecondary teachers have much more flexibility more than the format of their instructional solutions than their counterparts in K-12 teaching. Discussing such matters will enable teachers to realise their blunders or deficiencies in a classroom. The National Research Council’s How Students Learn History in the Classroom (Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2005) is a beneficial location to start off in gauging the dimensions of this literature. Principles and theories in early childhood education and improvement are emphasized, providing students the expertise the have to have to work particularly with children. Classes are typically held during the day, while some are presented in the evenings and weekends to accommodate students who have jobs or family members obligations.
One particular of the first items we do when we have a student who is transitioning to post-secondary is make certain that they are conscious of the Disability Services department at the university or college. Right here are 4 important points that students need to think about when deciding on an on-line teaching degree. Wellness specialty teachers and graduate assistants made up the largest segment of college employment.
Based on state laws, preschool teachers could only need to have a high college diploma and certification or a college degree. These careers are normally a logical subsequent step for teachers who want to move out of the classroom, improve their résumé or take on much more administrative responsibilities. Some states demand teachers to have a degree in a specific region, such as english or history. Some states require a master’s degree for middle and high college teachers and most postsecondary schools call for at least a master’s degree in order to teach history.


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what mandatory education is provided to armed forces personnel aged 16 or 17-years old who are not undertaking an apprenticeship in order to ensure that they complete 280 guided learning hours per year towards accredited qualifications.
All Armed Forces recruits under the age of 18 are enrolled on an apprenticeship. They also receive education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it. The Armed Forces remain the UK's largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. OFSTED regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve. All apprenticeships require a minimum of 280 Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) within a 12-month period.
Over 95% of all recruits, no matter what their age or prior qualifications, enrol in an Apprenticeship Programme each year. Apprenticeships ensure that Service personnel will gain a Level 2 qualification in literacy and numeracy, which is the equivalent to GCSE (Grade A-C).
Since September 2012, the Department has adopted Functional Skills qualifications (FS (English) and FS (mathematics)) as the accredited measures of literacy and numeracy skills for all Service personnel accessing in-Service literacy and numeracy provision. Defence FS provision will be a blend of in-house and external provision.


Become a Better Arranger with Berklee
Gain the vital tools needed to become an accomplished arranger, across a variety of genres, instruments, and styles.
Courses are best for students who are looking to meet a specific need, or simply want to get started with Berklee Online. No application necessary.
Essential learning for anyone interested in arranging music for a band, Arranging 1: Rhythm Section explores all aspects of writing and arranging for the rhythm section.
In this music arrangement course, you'll learn to create your own original grooves by analyzing, writing, sequencing, and recording the rhythms and styles that have influenced western contemporary music.
In this music arrangement course, gain a practical, real-world understanding of the sound and personality of woodwind and string instruments, and learn how to properly apply them to songs, arrangements, and compositions.
Gain a broad overview of counterpoint and the art of writing lines that support both the melody and the overall structure of a composition - essential information for singers, songwriters, composers, guitarists and musicians from all backgrounds.
In this music composition course, you'll learn effective techniques that will help you compose jazz tunes that have a balance of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic appeal.
Create great-looking music quickly and easily with the powerful Finale music notation software, and learn techniques to maximize speed, control, and accuracy.
Learn to create lead sheets, choral and instrumental scores, drum maps and guitar notation, and explore many other ways to use Sibelius for your own personal and professional needs.
Add depth and flavor to compositions in any genre by studying the characteristics of a wide array of world music compositional techniques.
In this music composition course, you'll learn how to develop upon virtually any kernel of an idea, from a melodic fragment to a catchy rhythm or phrase, or a nice chord. Explore a variety of approaches to composing and how they work, complete with examples, composer perspectives, and more.
Learn how to construct your own melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic language through the study of modern twentieth century compositional techniques. In this music composition course you'll develop your unique, compositional voice to write music for visual media, concerts, recitals, or personal enjoyment.
Gain a solid knowledge of modern instrumental writing and competence using twentieth century techniques in composition. In addition, you will gain enhanced listening skills to identify and appreciate new musical styles, and be capable of implementing these skills in your writing, enriching your capacity to express yourself in this intellectually stimulating musical idiom.
Certificate programs are 3-18 months in duration and are designed for students who want to gain a deeper proficiency in a chosen area. No application necessary.
Master Certificates (8-12 Courses)
In this program, you’ll learn to create dynamic arrangements for rhythm section, horns, small ensembles, sequenced/sampled sounds, strings, and woodwinds, and you'll apply this knowledge to your genre(s) of interest and to a variety of commercial settings, such as television and film.
Professional Certificates (4-6 Courses)
Specialist Certificates (3 Courses)
Degree programs are the most affordable and flexible option for earning your music degree from Berklee College of Music. They are the best option for students who want a music education degree and the full Berklee experience.
“Build your own” music major by selecting coursework from a number of disciplines that align with your personal career goals.
This major is geared specifically for new and entering students who are not yet ready to declare their major.
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- slide 1 of 4
Limitations of the Ideal Gas Law
Real gases approximate ideal gas behavior at relatively low densities and atmospheric pressure. But for deviations outside of these ranges, near condensation, the ideal gas law is no longer accurate enough. A more precise representation had to be found. The problem was eventually solved by a physics grad student who later on became a Nobel prize winner.
- slide 2 of 4
J. D. van der Waals
The grad student in question was J. D. (Johannes Diderik) van der Waals (1837 - 1923), a Dutch physicis t. Van der Waals became inspired to study thermodynamics by reading a treatise by Clausius. Despite van der Waals' being a self-taught school teacher armed with only an elementary education, he was allowed to enter the University of Leyden. A lack of knowledge of classical languages prevented him from enrolling as a regular student to obtain degrees, but he took courses. He was also able to earn teaching certificates in math and physics by studying in his spare time. Afterwards, he became a secondary school director. New regulations finally let science students be exempted from the classical language requirements, and he was allowed to take doctoral qualifying exams, which he passed with flying colors. At the age of 35 and with a wife and kids, van der Waals earned his doctorate in physics. For his dissertation, he derived his eponymous equation of state.
Van der Waals arrived at the equation by considering the kinetic theory of gases, but with some important differences.
- slide 3 of 4
Differences From the Basic Postulates
Van der Waals modified the basic postulates of kinetic energy in two significant ways.
Volume: In our previous examination of the basic postulates, we ignored the volume of the molecules themselves, focusing on the total volume of the container. This allowed us to assume that all of the molecules were point masses, and that they were evenly distributed throughout the container. Van der Waals decided that the space or volume occupied by individual gas molecules should be taken into account. Thus the assumption of the uniform distribution of the molecules throughout the entire container no longer holds true.
Intermolecular Forces: These were neglected, as we considered them to be too small compared with the kinetic energy generated by molecular collisions. Only direct contact between the molecules was allowed into our calculations. Van der Waals assumed that these forces are actually quite large, being greater than the size of the molecules themselves, and hence must be taken into consideration. Therefore, there is indeed an action at a distance, albeit quite small and weak.
These two changes transformed the basic postulates into something more fitting for real gases, and allowed the derivation of van der Waals' formula. As before, assume the molecules are spherical with a radius of r, and that they collide with each other but bounce back. These collisions will occur when the distance between their centers become small, as shown in figure 2.
In the next article, we will use the ideal gas law and van der Waals' postulates to derive the equation of state for a real gas.
Stamp from Physics Related Stamps
- slide 4 of 4
Introduction to Real Gases
A basic introduction to van der Waal's equation of state for real gases.


1. Partner up!
2. Change Your Topic Mid-StreamAgree on a topic (inventing musical instruments). Argue endlessly on how many each of you will invent. Start making musical instruments during your playdates. Then announce about 2 weeks prior to science fair that you changed your mind and you want to make a catapult.
3. Don't Ever Look Things Up
Why research your topic? Research is what they "make you do" in school and "it's boring". You want your project to be yours, so what's the point of reading about your topic or watching videos about it?
4. Give Up When Things Don't Work
Surprise! Your catapult fell apart the first time you tried to launch something with it. Never mind investigating the root cause. It's time to go home anyway, and perhaps you will have a better idea about that tomorrow..
5. Change Your Topic Again
You did have a better idea. Instead of building a catapult, now you want to build an "earthquake safe structure". Your friend also had a better idea - he wants to build a coin sorter. Don't compromise. Argue in ever louder voices until your parent steps in. Then come up with yet another brilliant idea - building a busy board for babies.
Grab random things around the house and use lots of duct tape to tape them to the board, because duct tape is "cool". Spend absolutely no time thinking whether the location of these objects make sense - the important part is to use as many objects as possible. Apparently, you envision very tall babies who can't wait to learn their alphabet.
7. Let the Dog Eat It
No, of course, you did not mean this. But if you bring your busy board for babies with all these tempting dangling objects into the house with a big curious dog and leave your project unattended, what do you expect to happen to those soft toys and fluffy boas?
8. Do Not Turn Your Project In
This is the most critical part of failing at your science project. Whatever else you do, do not turn it in. Granted, you, my dear daughter, had nothing to do with not turning this project in, since you were traveling and trusted your partner with that part. He confidently rose to the challenge of failing the project and hammered the final nail into its coffin.
What Did You Learn?
Every failure is valuable even though this particular failure carried no consequences. Participation in science fair was optional for 4th graders and down, I actually think that despite lack of a polished project to be shown in the fair, you learned quite a bit this year about how not to do a science fair project. There is always next year. and I want to hope that you will remember to plan your project, do all the parts, and turn it in!
Did your kids get a chance to participate in a science fair yet? How much help did you have to give?
More Science for Kids
From my blog:
- Watch Molecules Attract
- Discover Chemistry: Explore an Unknown Liquid
- Open-Ended Summer Science
- What Failed Experiments Can Teach Us?
Follow my Science Pinterest board


Psychology major Marcela Ramos may have found a way to encourage more women to work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and it could lead to more effective training techniques for women and men.
Previous studies showed that 3D rotation tests are useful in determining a person’s success in STEM fields. Men routinely outperform women on these tests, but Ramos’ study showed that by adding color to the tests, men and women scored identically.
Ramos was one of more than 70 student researchers from 10 South Florida colleges and universities who presented their findings at the 2014 Life Sciences South Florida STEM Undergraduate Research Symposium recently. Topics ranged from restoring coral reef ecosystems and finding more effective HIV treatments to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and autism.
The symposium’s main goal was to encourage more students to join STEM fields by allowing them to display their research to their peers and learn from mentors like FIU professor and Medal of Freedom recipient Dr. Pedro Jose “Joe” Greer, Jr., who asked students to find their big question in life.
“It was definitely inspiring hearing [Dr. Greer] tell us to find our big question,” Ramos said. “And I think so far my big question is how women can be more represented in the STEM disciplines.”
Dr. Greer was adamant about bringing greater diversity to STEM careers regardless of gender, race or socioeconomic class.
“It is a privilege to be educated and it is something that everyone should have the opportunity to do in our state, in our country and in the world,” he said. “You have an obligation to make sure that what you do is an answer to a question that is pending in society.”
Another goal: to increase the success rate of minorities who do not typically enter STEM disciplines.
“Minority students are woefully underrepresented in STEM fields,” said Vice President for Engagement Irma Becerra-Fernandez, who oversees LSSF at FIU and is the first woman to receive a doctorate from FIU’s engineering program.
She said FIU is tackling this “topic of national concern” by answering two questions: “How do we make STEM more interesting?” and “How do we get students to persist in their studies?”
“What we are striving for is a balance,” she said. “We want more male nurses as much as we want more female engineers.”
Biological Sciences major Leidy Gonzales is proof of that balance. She took third place and won an iPad mini for her poster presentation. She hopes her research into the symbiotic relationship between bacteria and the reef-building coral species they live within will lead to a restoration of coral reef systems throughout the world.
“The whole symposium was very impressive,” she said. “It is always rewarding to see other students, faculty, and scientists interested in the research that I have put so much effort into, and now I see that all that work paid off.”
Psychology major Daniela Salazar studied the relationship between spatial and numeracy skills in pre-kindergarten-aged children and how different teaching methods might encourage them to enter STEM fields. Her hope is that changing the way teachers instruct will improve the chances of children entering STEM fields.
”We’ve worked so hard on this project,” she said, elated to display her research. “So it’s nice to see it finally come to life.”
Even though female presenters outnumbered males at the symposium, gender disparity is still present in many of the STEM fields; according to the US Department of Commerce women held only 24 percent of STEM positions in 2009.
“I think that from the moment a girl enters the education system, she should be given awareness about making a career in any of the STEM subjects,” Gonzales said. “In my opinion we need to put more emphasis on how exciting the world of scientific research can be for both boys and girls, but women in particular.”


Are you needing a way to differentiate your phonics instruction? Do you want something that is fun for all your students? Welcome to my u_e game and word sort pack. The 4 levels of differentiation include:
Level 1: simple u_e words
Level 2: u_e words with blends and digraphs
Level 3: u_e words with suffixes
Level 4: 2 or more syllable words with u_e
I have also added spelling assessments, student self- assessments, a naturally differentiating fluency page, and a comprehension component. For more information about how I use these games, check out my blog:Differentiate and Stay Sane!
Note: These games are made so that you can print them in color OR black and white. They look great both ways. I have tried to use just pops of color, so you won't use all your colored ink if you choose to print it in color. You can also choose between colored games pieces or black and white.
You might also be interested in:
-A_E, Ai, Ay Game
Level Up by Christine Cullen
All Rights Reserved


Art Matthews teaches piano, keyboard and music theory in the ZOEN. He enjoys jazz, pop, blues, rock and classical music and is always thinking of new ways to have fun with his students!
After teaching music for 42 years I've found that nearly all of my students, regardless of their age, learn and perform much better when they're having fun. I feel that since it is fun to listen to music and it's fun to play music, it should be fun to learn it too! Here are 7 tips to help you make your lessons fun and enjoyable. They're presented in the order of notes 1 through 7 of the C major scale:
C - Create and Compose
Create some new melodies to existing well known songs and Compose some songs of your own. In creating new melodies for existing songs, you might keep the existing chord progression intact, strip away the original melody and replace it with your own. Share your creations with your teacher. Compose something of your own from scratch - a melody only, or a chord progression only, or a song with both. Don't be shy! Teachers love creativity.
D - Duets
Duets are lots of fun and they can be done with your teacher, a friend, or your computer. I remember having fun playing "Heart and Soul" as a duet with my friends when I was a kid. I still play it with some of my current students too! In the video clip below, I've simulated a duet between a beginner student and teacher (both played by me) playing "Down at Papa Joe's".
E - Ear
Playing by Ear is learning and playing songs by listening to them only. No sheet music. What do you do if you don't have the sheet music for a song you want to learn? You get an audio file or a YouTube link for it, then learn to play it by ear! This is a huge source of fun when you learn how to do it. Ask your music teacher to include some type of organized ear training studies in your music lessons.
F - Fake Books
G - Games
Games by definition almost guarantee that some fun is going to be had. I love it when my students bring a game to class or give me a link to a cool game they've found. Here are some links to a few games and activities I enjoy: Piano Pooch / Frere Jacques / Rhythms in the House / Don't Worry, Be Happy / Just Enough. A Google search string like "online music education games" will return so many results that you won't be able to play them all. It would be great if you'd come back and share some of your game discoveries with us here in the ZOEN community.
A - Apps and Applets
Applets are great learning tools that combine learning and fun in very innovative ways. Just like games, applets will bring fun to your class and at-home study too! Here are some direct links to three of my favorite applet pages Music Theory / Teoria / E Music Theory.
B - B.Y.O.S.
Bring your own songs - Ask your teacher to help you play your favorite songs. It's always fun to work on and learn songs you know and like. You might consider focusing on learning the melody of only one song at a time before you move on to adding things like the bass and harmony.
Now at this point, you have 7 tips on how to make music lessons fun but I can't stop there - I feel compelled to resolve the B to a C and include one more tip:
C - Clapping Rhythms
Clapping rhythms is a fun way to work on your music reading skills. I teach a class that I call "Rhythm-a-ning" - clapping and tapping rhythms is the only thing we do in that class. Many of my students say they love that class because it's so effective and fun! Try it!
If you've got more ideas to make music lessons fun, I'd love to hear them. Please post your ideas in the comments below!


Researchers are helping neurologically impaired children overcome their mobility challenges and explore their environments by providing them with specially designed toy cars according to a National Science Foundation (NSF) newsletter article.
The NSF team outfitted low tech ride on cars with high tech mechanisms inspired by power wheelchairs and robotic technologies. Children’s use of the cars shortened developmental delays and reduced other disability-related problems associated with lack of age typical motor skill development.
Children with down syndrome, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, or autism often suffer limited mobility from birth. Power wheelchairs may become available to them when they reach the age of four or give but until then many children can be nearly immobile which can result in adverse effects on brain development.
In 2007, professors at the University of Delaware developed a robotic car that incorporated a joystick and smart technology and also has software to detect obstacles and help the user learn to navigate around them. Users showed an increase in cognitive language and motor skills. In 2010, the prototype was converted into a dual power chair and walker.
At first, high end robotic cars were available to only a few children at the university’s Early Learning Center while parents of other special needs children anxiously awaited the technology.
In response to the parent’s interest, the team transferred some of the electrical and mechanical modifications to a low tech commercially available race car. Even with the less sophisticated cars, children with special needs still enjoyed some developmental benefits from enhanced mobility.
The researchers plan to introduce a prototype in 2020 that will feature smart technology and a more efficient body structure. They are also testing a dynamic harness to allow children to experience safe walking and falling.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A. Making maths part of everyday life is one of the best ways for children to feel confident in using and working with numbers and shapes.
For example, look out for sequences in patterns on curtains, fabrics and wallpapers. Being able to predict when the pattern next occurs helps mathematical thinking.
Practise matching objects and getting over the concept ‘same as’: Please fetch me a spoon the same as this. Use words which communicate comparisons: Which is the tallest / shortest tree?
For older children, shopping gives many opportunities for practising numeracy skills. Look out for offers: Buy two get the third free. Work out with them how much each item costs, and how much has been saved.
A. Firstly let me say, it comes as a surprise to many parents to realise that there are many valid ways of carrying out a calculation.
In fact, there are two main ways of carrying out a ‘pencil and paper’ method of subtraction: Equal Addition and Decomposition. The two methods have both been taught in schools for years. However, very few people apart from specialist maths teachers seem to know about this.
Decomposition is the method that tends to be taught in schools today, but it is not new: my father was taught it in the 1920s, and my husband was taught it in the
I have discussed subtraction very fully in my book, Help Your Child With Numeracy: Age 7-11 years (Continuum, 2009). Complete our simple Questionnaire and find out how you do subtraction.
What can I do?
A. This is a very typical response; you are not alone in experiencing this.
There are many reasons why parents today find it difficult to help their children with their maths homework. Hopefully as I discuss some, it will help you recognise what
One main reason is that parents are not familiar with methods used in schools, so try and find out about these. It is best to try and work alongside school so as not to confuse your child.
The books Help Your Child With Numeracy: Ages 3-7, and Help Your Child With Numeracy: Ages 7-11 aim to help parents by explaining the methods used in schools today to teach key areas of maths. Do take advantage of and go to any parent events that are aimed at helping parents at your daughter’s school. In many areas there are Local Adult Education classes to help parents help their children with maths. Do attend these if you can; these are normally free of charge. See also the list of useful contacts for help too. Many give good and useful information on their websites.
Importantly, remember to be gentle when offering help, and try and avoid just saying ‘You’ve got that wrong, this is how to do it’. Try asking your daughter to explain how she got her answer. Often you will find she will self-correct her work anyway, and come out with the right answer! You may find as she explains, you might understand a bit more of how she works out a calculation.


Written by Alex Okello Ouma
At Okol primary school in Omot sub-county in Pader, studying under the tree is all but normal to an estimated 300 pupils. According to the head teacher, Mr. Omech Ben Robert, some pupils walk for over 5 kilometers to and fro school every day because of their desire and willingness to learn but quite often get scared away for the harsh and unfriendly school environment. Okol primary school has no class room structure except a tent that was supplied by Unicef. He added that since the start of the first term of 2010, his school has registered an increase in enrolment from 150 to close to 300 children but expressed a big worry over the retention of such children in school.
The case of Okol primary school is but one out of the many schools in northern Uganda that have harsh or hostile learning environments. A recent survey with over 400 children in Kitgum and Pader revealed that corporal punishment in schools, lack of seating facilities, inadequate class rooms, limited playing facilities and lack of lunch at among others largely contribute to pupil drop out from school. Studying under tree exposes the children to several risks and interrupts learning. This typical condition partly justifies the difference in performance between a child who studies at Chadwick Namate in Entebbe, Kampala parents or Bat Valley primary schools in Kampala and a pupil who studies at Okol or Latebe primary schools in Pader and Kitgum respectively.
The inequality in performance between town and village schools, northern and southern schools and the eastern and western schools in the recently released PLE, UCE and UACE results for 2009 only emphasizes the fact that government needs to do a lot to improve performance and attainment of quality and regional education equality.
Uganda is one of the countries that made a pledge in the year 2000 to achieve universal primary education; ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary education. Reports by the government of Uganda and other international development agencies indicate that the country’s education system has been effective and successful over the last five years and that it is serving as a model for many African countries. However, Education practitioners have cited the question of quality and regional inequalities in education as real obstacles that need to be addressed.
The government of Uganda now widely believes that primary education can eradicate poverty, and develop and stabilize the economic positions of Uganda in the long run. However, economist and development experts still strongly disagree citing lack of enough evidence to show case for instance that a UPE graduate can develop sustainable livelihood means and escape poverty and hunger. Secondly, they believe that government has not made enough commitment to uplift the status of rural schools in order to improve performance and quality.
According to The Millennium Development Goals report 2008, achieving Universal Primary Education means more than full enrolment. It also encompasses quality education, meaning that all children who attend school regularly learn basic literacy and numeracy skills and complete primary education on time, the report says. Government should focus on addressing UPE policy gaps; namely on infrastructural development, particularly in conflict or disaster affected regions, lifting of staff ceiling and recruitment of more teachers, capacity building for local authorities, equipping schools with sitting facilities, erecting teacher houses and offering more funding for running school programs.
Published in the Daily Monitor, March 8th, 2010


David Spencer's Education Paragon is a free educational resource portal helping David Spencer's secondary school students, their parents and teaching colleagues with understanding, designing, applying and delivering assessment, curriculum, educational resources, evaluation and literacy skills accurately and effectively. This wiki features educational resources for Indigenous Aboriginal education, field trips for educators, Davids Music Jam, law and justice education, music education and outdoor, environmental and experiential education. Since our web site launch 10.5 years ago on September 27, 2006, online site statistics and web rankings indicate there are currently 1,868 pages and 11,682,604 page views using 7.85 Gig of bandwidth per month. Pages are written, edited, published and hosted by Brampton, Ontario, Canada based educator David Spencer. On social media, you may find David as @DavidSpencerEdu on Twitter, as DavidSpencerdotca on Linkedin.com and DavidSpencer on Prezi. Please send your accolades, feedback and resource suggestions to David Spencer. Share on social media with the hashtag #EducationParagon
Parliament Hill (colloquially The Hill, French Colline du Parlement) is a scenic location on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings – the Parliament Buildings – serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada; the best known of these buildings is the Centre Block, with its prominent Peace Tower, a national symbol. Parliament Hill attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year. (source: "Parliament Hill." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 Feb 2008, 19:04 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 Feb 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parliament_Hill&oldid=192857535>.


All for Strings: Viola
By Gerald Anderson and Robert S. Frost
Series: All for Strings
Category: String Orchestra Method/Supplement
Publisher: Neil A. Kjos Music Company
All for strings is a comprehensive three-volume method surrounded by a wealth of supplementary materials for teaching and performance. This complete curriculum covers virtually every aspect of beginning through intermediate string study, emphasizing technical skills, rhythmic understanding, and quality musical experiences. Many of the National Standards for Music Education can be easily implemented into the classroom setting with the varied components All for Strings has to offer. Book 1 provides a well-rounded course of study for all beginning string students. It begins with "Starting by Rote" and "Starting by Note" approaches to music reading. Photos, diagrams, and logos integrated throughout the book reinforce all new concepts introduced. Carefully selected and composed technical materials and musical selections provide excellent opportunities for learning and growth. Rhythm exercises and theory games are also provided, as well as duets, trios, and ensembles.


Philosophy & Values
KiddyKeys Character: Skip
KiddyKeys Character: Melody
KiddyKeys mission is to introduce music appreciation and understanding to preschool children using an interactive group learning environment that helps each child develop, value, and experience basic music skills. KiddyKeys teachers have a profound committment to the music education of preschool-age children and making music available to children everywhere.
The value of each child's self-worth is at the core of our organization. We believe every child is a star who will thrive in a teaching environment geared to their individual needs. We recognize each child's personal value.
We value each child's ability to grasp basic music principles. We teach music knowing that the ability to learn and understand lies within each child. We are facilitators who lead children on the path of music discovery and knowledge - a path that will forever benefit them as they further develop math, reading, spatial reasoning, and social skills.
The KiddyKeys® program was designed to develop not only a child's music appreciation skills but also their life skills. We summarize our classroom philosophy this way:
- Be respectful to all children. Through our actions, we convey our belief that each child is special.
- We take the time to make one-on-one contact with each child during class and speak to children using their names.
- Follow their lead! Children are highly resourceful and each child sees things in their own way. To foster critical thinking, we ask the children what they think about each concept.
- Offer positive reinforcement. Music is a unique experience and we encourage self-expression.
- Have fun! Since learning and music go hand-in-hand, you never know when a "teachable moment" will occur, so we enjoy every moment.


If you want to sure up your child's communication and problem-solving skills, chatting to it while you're working on other things can be even more important than reading to them, new research suggests.
Chatting to your baby about nothing in particular while you’re getting ready or doing work around the house can be better for their communication skills than sitting down and reading to them.
That’s what a new study by researchers from the UK Economic and Social Research Institute and the University of Limerick in Ireland found when they investigated the effects of various language-based interactions between parents and their infants.
The team, led by psychologist Suzanne Egan from the University of Limerick, interviewed the parents of 7,845 nine-month-old babies about the kinds of activities they do to educate and communicate with them, including reading books together, showing them pictures, and talking to them. Measures were then taken of the infants’ communication and problem-solving skills by asking the parents if their children had reached certain milestones as determined by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, a standarised screening test used by organisations such as the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society.
Looking at previous research on the benefits of reading, the team expected that it would be significantly more beneficial than the other, less structured, activities.
"Reading to young children has long been recognised as an important precursor to language and literacy development,” the researchers report in the journal Child Language Teaching and Therapy, “It encourages vocabulary development, positive attitudes towards reading, as well as strengthening emotional ties between the child and parent. Reading to pre-school age children can make starting school easier for them as well as providing a head-start in literacy.
Previous studies have shown that, unlike solo activities such as building blocks or figuring out basic puzzles, it also gives the children the opportunity for joint attention, which facilitates the rapid development of skills related to long-term memory processing, word-object mapping, and problem-solving.
So reading is great for young kids, but what Egan and her team discovered was that, on its own, it’s not enough to sure up their cognitive development.
The team found that showing pictures to the child was the most popular activity of the three - 94 percent of infants in the study had someone do this for them - followed by reading, which was done with 80.5 percent of the kids, and 65.9 percent of the mothers reported that they “always” talked to their child while busy.
Using a model that predicted cognitive development based on where each infant was at at nine months, the team found that reading and talking to them both independently contribute to an increase in communication and problem-solving scores, and that showing pictures has a significant effect on communication but not on problem-solving.
In a result that surprised even the team, their model showed that reading adds 1.35 points to a child's problem-solving score and 0.84 to communication, whereas ‘always’ talking to them adds 4.11 points to the problem-solving score, and 3.66 to communication. Showing pictures adds 2.23 points to the communication score. The results were the same regardless of factors such as maternal education, gestational age, non-parental care, breastfeeding, attachment and presence of siblings.
"Reading to them and also talking to them at nine months led to higher vocabulary skills at three years. Also at three years of age, the more days of the week they were read to, the higher their problem solving skills and the higher their vocabulary,” Egan told The Sunday Times.
"We would have thought that there might have been a good effect of reading, perhaps more so than talking. But then we were a little surprised that it was having a bit more of an impact.”
Source: The Sunday Times


Psychologist Diana Deutsch has researched human perceptions and recollections of sounds. What we hear may not be what was actually said or sung, she writes, but, in fact, "The sounds as they appear to you are not only different from those that are really present, but they sometimes behave so strangely as to seem quite impossible."
Read this sentence out loud a few times. Five or six times should do it:
Did you hear anything unusual? If not, try reading it a few more times, this time with a few words omitted:
Although not frequently taught in the twenty-first century, one fascinating component of music education is the Solfege hand signs. The "Manual Signs of Tone in Key" was developed by John Curwen in the mid-nineteeth century.
In the Curwen model, each note has a specific hand shape. Each note also has a specific tone. In the PDF below, check out "doh," the strong or firm tone. Picture Homer Simpson singing the scale.
These manual signs are not to be confused with shape-note singing. Shape-note singing is a form of musical notation, while the Curwen hand signs are a form of musical instruction.
In this clip from the World Science Festival 2009, Bobby McFerrin leads the audience in melody. No sheet music, no pitch pipe.
In this clip, fifth graders from Atwater School in Shorewood, Wisconsin listen to Diana Deutsch speaking.
keep an ear out for the hidden musicality of day-to-day communications.


Three weeks of summer camp pumped up math, science and computer basics for middle school students and gave a fresh perspective to the university students helping out as their teachers.
The 26th session of the Pre-Freshman Enrichment Program, called PREP 2014, wound up Thursday at California State University, Stanislaus. This year’s class included 88 kids, most of them foster youth or from farmworker families that follow the crops – traditionally among the groups that struggle most in school.
“The take-home moment for me was getting to see students get interested in science,” said Stanislaus State chemistry major Robert Baughn. “It’s good to see it come alive for them.”
Baughn was among some 30 science students and teachers in training tapped to help with the three-week intensive program. All-day classes were divided into two math sessions, two science sessions, one technology period and a time for yoga and meditation, said student coordinator Maria Newsome.
“For the two-period blocks, the first one they were learning fundamentals and the second were hands-on activities. For example, in one they were learning about shapes and in the second one they were making their golf courses. When they learned about intersecting lines, that became making kites,” she said.
The real-world applications used successfully for 25 years in the summer academy are good examples of Common Core teaching strategies, said Newsome, who will be teaching science at Turlock Junior High when the school year starts.
Technology time focused on free-to-all Google applications, including its ubiquitous search engine. Students were encouraged to research their favorite soccer players, their hometowns or other topics.
“Many of these kids have never been on a computer before,” she said. “These are foundational skills.”
Yoga and breathing exercises fit into a session called “mind and body.” A poster noted it was “very fun because you get to take off your shoes.” Dream time while stretching was popular, as was a modified “warrior” pose while yelling. The session let the preteens step away from sometimes stressful lives and learn ways to release tension, Newsome said.
“It is inspiring and invigorating to see these kids’ desire to learn,” said program leader Viji Sundar, a math professor at the university.
The program got its start in 1989, when Sundar despaired that her sixth-grader had learned little that school year. “I realized my child was not prepared for junior high,” she said. Hearing other parents in the class had similar concerns, Sundar said, “I told them, ‘Don’t worry. Give me your kids for four weeks.’ ”
The first year, there were 16 incoming seventh-graders taught by Sundar in classes organized by Rita Glyn, a math department secretary. Glyn stayed with the program through last year.
“Students seem to be telling us that this program made a difference,” Glyn said. “It changed their perception of themselves and helped them become better students. And that’s what it’s all about.”


Topics: Immersive Learning, Teachers College
March 29, 2007
The average Ball State student knows little about poverty. Many of them come from middle-class families and don't ever realize that they are attending school in the second poorest city in Indiana, according to the most recent census.
Ten students studying at the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, however, are seeing the devastating impact of poverty firsthand. Rather than attending traditional classes, they've spent an entire semester listening to and learning from individuals who have had experience with economic disadvantage. Exams and term papers have been replaced by in-depth conversations, preparing meals and opportunities to build relationships with a community working to eliminate poverty in Delaware County.
The students are participants in "Voice and Vision: Poverty from the Inside Out," a seminar being led by Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk, assistant professor of elementary education. Working with Indiana Public Radio and Muncie's TEAMwork for Quality Living, the students are developing a radio series featuring the voices of individuals and families living at the low end of the economic spectrum.
Throughout the semester, they have immersed themselves in the subject, researching and studying the people who are often overlooked by society. They are learning about the challenges and barriers that contribute to poverty, as well as the strength and fortitude of a community rallying to affect change, Zygmunt-Fillwalk says.
On one recent "plunge" the students visited the cold and blustery streets of Chicago to examine the issues from a large, urban perspective. They interacted with people who were awaiting treatment in the emergency room at Cook County Hospital, people who were missing entire days of work to see a doctor. In their backyard of Muncie, they rode buses — some with broken heaters and doors that didn't close — that serve the city's poorer communities.
"These experiences were emotionally draining," Zygmunt-Fillwalk says. "All of the students came back to campus off-balance, wondering what to do with this new perspective."
For example, one student from northern Indiana thought she knew Chicago pretty well. Her view, however, was forever changed after seeing a different side of the City of Broad Shoulders for the first time. "It was absolutely frigid yet we walked past blocks and blocks of people sleeping outside, homeless," says Jennifer Strempka, from Crown Point.
The students returned realizing that even in the world's richest industrialized country, all is not well. "It really pushed all of us out of our comfort zones and changed how we see the world," Strempka adds.
That change in outlook will be captured in a series of radio programs, which are designed to raise awareness and solicit increased community commitment toward eliminating poverty — one individual, one family at a time. "This semester will make me re-evaluate what I think about so many things, and I love that," says student Adam Clark. "I don't want my life to continue in the same direction without being affected by the things I experience and people I meet. I want the people's stories that I have the privilege of telling to affect the programs' listeners in the same way."
The air dates have yet to be announced, but they will be previewed during a special showcase at 6 p.m. April 26 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts, 520 E. Main St., Muncie. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. For reservations, call (765) 287-0117.


- Series: Oxford Handbooks
- Hardcover: 696 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (January 2, 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0190244704
- ISBN-13: 978-0190244705
- Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 2.1 x 7.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,359,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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The Oxford Handbook of Music Making and Leisure (Oxford Handbooks) 1st Edition
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"The Oxford Handbook of Music Making and Leisure contributes to interdisciplinary, global conversations about music making as an intrinsic part of human existence. Throughout the chapters, one is reminded of the nuances and complexity of leisure and the variegated roles and meanings that music plays within it. The frame of 'music making and leisure' presents and permits possibilities, provocation, and other potentialities, both explicit and implied. The book may inspire readers to think differently and to encourage the same in others and perhaps help to effect positive change in the world." -- SirReadaLot
"Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; professionals; general readers."--CHOICE
About the Author
Roger Mantie (PhD, University of Toronoto; MM, Brandon University) is Associate Professor at Arizona State University. His teaching and scholarship are informed by his fourteen years as a school music educator. His work emphasizes connections between schooling and society, with a focus on lifelong engagement in and with music and the arts. A widely published author, he is coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education (2017).
Gareth Dylan Smith is an independent scholar based in London. He is at the forefront of research in popular music education, serving as editor for the Journal of Popular Music Education and The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education (2016), with numerous journal articles and book chapters published in the field. Gareth is a drummer and a longtime musical collaborator with other rockers, punks, theater musicians, and songwriters, playing on various recordings and performing in bars, clubs, festivals and theaters. His next commercial musical release will be a concept album entitled Tinker Tailor Soldier Rock. Following his cultural-psychological study of drum-kit players I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer (2013), his current research includes a phenomenological study of embodiment in drum-kit performance. His life in music, leisure, and academia is comically chronicled at drdrumsblog.com.
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A quick and easy way
Sent to This Week in Poverty, the Nation Magazine, comment on “This Week in Poverty: Time to Take On Concentrated Poverty and Education”
Original article: http://www.thenation.com/blog/172589/week-poverty-time-take-concentrated-poverty-and-education#
Missing from This Week in Poverty’s list of projects designed to alleviate the effects of poverty are projects aimed at providing more access to books. There is very consistent evidence showing that
1. children of poverty living in high-poverty areas have little access to books at home, at school, or in their communities
2. more access to interesting, comprehensible reading material means better development of literacy
3. providing access to books increases literacy development.
The major source of books for children of poverty is the library. Studies done in the US and internationally show that library quality (more books, more staffing, presence of a credentialed librarian) is associated with reading proficiency.
Recent results strongly suggest that the presence of a library can cancel the negative effect of poverty on reading achievement.
Improving school and public libraries and supporting librarians, in high poverty areas is a quick and easy way to improve the quality of life and school performance. For a fraction of what we are paying for tougher standards and massive testing, every child in the US could have access to an excellent supply of books and other reading material.
University of Southern California
Lance, K. C. The Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement. http://www.lrs.org/impact.php
Krashen, S. 2012. The Spectacular Role of Libraries in Protecting Students from the Effects of Poverty: iLeader: Journal of The School Library Association of New South Wales 1(4): 3-6. Available at www.sdkrashen.com.


Did you know there is an actual school for babies?
Meet “Shichida Education”, where babies as young as five-months old can go to learn mathematics and foreign languages while others are still playing with rattles.
Pioneered in Japan, Shichida Education’s Australian branches are located throughout Sydney, occupying offices in Doncaster, Canterbury, Elsternwick and Chatswood.
The program is primarily aimed at cultivating the child’s early learning experience so that they can settle into the world more quickly.
The organisation’s website elaborates further:
“The main aim of the Shichida method is not just to give children knowledge but to cultivate their heart and soul. We don’t just give knowledge and skills, but we also teach how to live as a human.”
“The main characteristic of the Shichida method for early childhood learning is the fact that we are taking up sensibility education besides logical education.”
While the program might sound like a helpful learning tool for children, just how young is too young to begin schooling our youth?
Surveys by the South Australian Primary Principals Association
(APPA) and the Australian Education Union (AEU) last year suggested that even four-year-olds lack basic school-ready skills.
Others have cited anecdotal evidence that has shown schooling five-year-olds is detrimental to their mental development.
Dr David Whitebread, Cambridge University expert in the cognitive development of young children, said ''the overwhelming evidence suggests that five is simply too young to start formal learning''.
Whitebread added that “children should be engaged in informal play-based learning until the age of about seven.”
Still, parents who have enrolled their babies at Shichida Education are seeing noticeable improvements to their child’s abilities to learn.
Melita Young said her child’s learning experience at Shichida is paying off.
"After 12 months of coming to classes, I've definitely noticed his verbal skills have increased significantly," Young said.
HAVE YOUR SAY
: Is schooling children too early depriving them of a proper childhood?