A new study from the University of Pittsburgh, in the US, has concluded that parents and educators need to begin conversations about cultural differences with their children from as young as age 3.
The study, titled Pittsburgh PRIDE (positive racial identity development in early education), concluded that children develop social biases from as early as age 3–5, with 3-year-olds attributing more positive traits to the dominant societal culture and 5-year-olds attributing negative traits to non-dominant cultures.
“When children have questions about race,” the report stated, “they naturally turn to the important adults in their lives – teachers, parents, other family members – for answers. Often, adults are afraid to talk about race, don’t have the right resources, or just don’t know where to start.”
While ‘race’ is a key concern for early learning in the US, in Australia what tends to be more important is cultural and/or linguistic diversity, said Alison Elliot, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Sydney.
“Australia is extremely multicultural in many locations but in some areas it’s mono-cultural,” Elliot said. “We want children to be proud of their cultural and linguistic heritage or whatever their background. Developing cultural and linguistic identity in young children is important; it’s part of our work in early childhood education and is reflected in the Early Years Learning Framework.”
The US study called for more resources to support parents and teachers in helping children build positive cultural identities. The authors also called for more research into how young children view cultural identities, along with cultural awareness training and learning opportunities for teachers and early childhood learning practitioners.Do you have an idea for a story?
Email [email protected]


The famous artist Peter Nikolay Arbo was born in 1831, near the Norwegian town of Drammen, in the family of Christian Frederik, the director of the Arbo public school.
The boy was interested in drawing, but only at the age of 20 in 1851 he began to study at an art school in Copenhagen, where he received an initial art education in two years.
In 1853, Peter Nikolai enters the famous Dusseldorf Academy of Arts. In the 19th century, it was one of the most famous and influential painting schools in Europe. Its creators and directors were such famous painters as Peter von Cornelius, Friedrich Wilhelm Schadov, Andreas Aachenbach, Christian and Paul Raudi, as well as other artists, not only European, but also American and even Australian.
Under the influence of each of the school leaders, the directions of painting also changed:
- academic, far from real life;
- romantic motifs of the German Middle Ages;
- illustrative direction;
- heroic and revolutionary themes;
- historical, biblical, battle plots;
- social and everyday genre.
The artist is interested in history, mythology, illustrations, and is friends with creative people and publishers.
In 1859, the book “Album from Axvalla” was published, which included lithographs from drawings by Peter Nikolai. The main theme for their creation is the Swedish and Norwegian military exercises.
In 1860, illustrations dedicated to medieval Norway were published in a historical book.
Later, after 20 years, in 1879, illustrations by Arbo about Per Gynt, the hero of the play by Ibsen, will be included in the famous edition of Norwegian fairy tales.
Also, several illustrations by Arbo are included in the Illustrations of Nordic Artists of Norwegian History.
Arbo - historical and mythological painter
In 1861-1863, the artist lives in his native Norway, travels around the country a lot and enjoys studying and drawing it. One of his first paintings is Herd of Horses on a Mountain. Arbo loves to return to his works, he has several versions of "Herd ...", "Valkyrie" and his most iconic - "Wild Hunt".
In 1863, Arbo went to Paris, where he lives and works until 1871. He was always interested in myths, fairy tales, and he continues this theme in his works “Valkyrie” (1865), “Night”, “Dawn”, “Ingeborg” (1868), “Death of Hervard”, “Battle of Stamford Bridge”, “King Sverrier’s passage through the mountains in Vosse” and others.
Returning to Norway in 1872, he paints the most important picture of his life, “Wild Hunt”. Currently, it is stored in the city of Oslo, in the National Gallery.
Scandinavian mythology is a “golden thread” in the works of Arbo: “After the Battle”, “Day at Skinfax”, “Liden Gunvar and Triton” and others.
Arbo - a public figure
Peter Nikolay is not only a talented artist, but a successful and active citizen of his country.
In 1882, he marries and writes a beautiful portrait of his wife - "Eliza Arbo in a Spanish hat."
In the year of the creation of the Valkyrie, in 1866, Arbo was awarded the orders of two countries: the Order of the Patron of Norway - St. Olaf and the Order of Vasa - for outstanding achievements in art for the benefit of the Swedish king.
He also actively participates in art exhibitions, is a representative of the art department of the exhibition in Austria, a member of the jury, a member of the Council of the Norwegian National Gallery, and holds the position of Stockholm juror.
Ten years, from 1882 until the end of his life (October 14, 1892), Arbo is the permanent leader of "Christiania", an art society named after the Viking capital - the modern city of Oslo.


Written by McKenzie Hoffman MA, CCC-SLP
The idea of cooking with kids can be a scary thing to imagine. Kids love to make messes! They love to dump, explore, and put everything in their mouth. What could possibly go wrong?! Although it may be scary, kids can get so much out of being in the kitchen! Cooking is a life skill that everyone should have experience with and know how to do. Cooking can teach independence and help children learn in so many ways. As a pediatric speech and language pathologist and feeding specialist, cooking is one of my favorite activities to engage kids and target a variety of skills.
Cooking is a great way to work on skills like following directions, colors, counting, and shapes. It is also a great way to teach science and math skills. Have the child read the recipe, make hypotheses on what will happen once a food is cooked, or add new flavors to experiment with tastes.
It is important for kids to work on increasing attention to tasks. Cooking can teach patience, engagement, and listening. Joint attention is a great skill for a child going into a preschool, school environment, or anywhere kids will be learning with peers and/or adults.
Children of all ages should always be working on speech and language development. Communication reduces frustrations and allows the child to more effectively communicate. Label ingredients and products you are using. Narrate what you are doing and how you are doing it. Share fun memories and facts about the foods. Compare and contrast objects. Ask your child questions. Use prepositions and directives when locating ingredients and supplies. There are always new things happening when you are in the kitchen, so use language to help your child make sense of the new experiences.
Motor Skill Development
Using utensils and helping in the kitchen is a great way to work on motor skills! Target hand-eye coordination through pouring and measuring, work on bilateral coordination by using a rolling pin or crossing midline to reach for ingredients, use cookie cutters to strengthen hands. Stirring, cutting, scooping, and measuring are all great ways to build strength and coordination. These are all also great ways to work on proprioception.
Making a mess is part of the learning experience. Let your little one put hands in the flour before or after scooping, squish the dough, feel the batter, etc. Every touch helps develop your child’s sensory system. Pair the touch with language to teach that the food is wet, dry, sticky, bumpy, etc. Link the texture to other foods that feel similar ways. Child doesn’t like touching the food? Start by touching with one finger or by using a measuring cup or utensil. Model touching the texture yourself, so it doesn’t feel as scary or new. Offer a towel or wet rag to wash hands so the child can have some control over the mess.
Cooking with kids is FUN! Building positive memories with foods can have such a positive impact on the way kids experience foods and mealtimes. Children are less likely to be picky and more likely to be engaged and interested in meals when they spend time in the kitchen, cooking and exploring. Have a picky eater? Use cooking more as an educational and play-based experience, and less like an opportunity to “get” your child to eat. A picky eater usually needs more time to learn and explore and more positive experiences and sensory play. Give them time and focus on making cooking fun and letting the child lead.
McKenzie is a speech pathologist who has always had a passion for feeding. Her role as a feeding therapist is providing NICU follow-up services for babies and their family at her local children’s hospital. She follows babies from the time they leave the NICU until they are eating like their peers. She does a lot of work helping with transitioning off NG and g-tubes as well as starting solids. She also works with children of all ages and abilities, helping them add foods to their diet, build oral motor skills, and anything that will help them eat more like their peers.
McKenzie’s main goal with Playing at Your Plate is to help children of all ages learn to love to eat. The secret to being a good eater is loving what you do and she finds that the earlier this can start, the better! Having children of her own gives McKenzie the perspective she needs to know and understand that feeding kids is not easy. She has had the opportunity to problem solve with so many children, both at home and in my career and she would love to share her knowledge with you!


The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Practice
Learning to play a string instrument can be an extremely rewarding experience for a young student. It comes with many exciting events, like recitals, attending concerts, master classes, and private music lessons. These are all essential aspects of the Suzuki experience. Some key milestones in a student’s education, such as winning an audition, giving a particularly memorable performance with a favorite quartet, having a breakthrough lesson, or graduating from a Suzuki book, will be cherished by student, teacher, and parent for years. All of these events are opportunities to not only nurture a child’s love of music, but to build self-confidence, critical thinking and internal motivation. However, these formative and character-building experiences are only available if the student can successfully establish a habit of daily practice at home between music lessons. This important daily work is the engine that makes possible these larger milestones.
Developing a long-term consistent daily practice regimen is not always a straight-forward task. It is critical to work in conjunction with your teacher and allow their expertise to guide you. There are often questions and unknowns concerning how to successfully practice with your child. Here, I share my thought and insights on developing a fun and successful practice routine.
Dr. Suzuki strongly advocated for the parent and young child to practice together. Parental participation is of the utmost importance. Children learn from their parents at all moments, conscious or not. When their parent shows enthusiasm and excitement about practicing, day after day, the child will learn to do the same.
Practice makes permanent, not perfect! Practice has been defined in myriad ways. We could call practice conscious repetition, ability development, myelination, etc. But put simply, all you need to do is isolate a specific task, break down the requisite steps, and then repeat the task successfully. By repeating a task correctly, our bodies build muscle memory, allowing us to perform movements naturally and accurately.
This will vary the most musician to musician, student to student, family to family. And many of our schedules will dictate what is possible. If you are able to choose when to practice, choose the time of day that you have the most focus, when you are freshest, and when you have the least distractions or interruptions. Even better, choose the same time every day, make it part of the rhythm of the day.
Let’s consider our greatest practicing tools: the ears and eyes. Prepare the practicing area by creating the greatest opportunity for visual and auditory focus. To focus the mind, it is best if the practice area is visually simple. Choose solid calming colors over loud posters. Keep this space tidy, and show it great respect. Keep all materials from lessons, and practice aids in this area, and in neat designated spots. Pick a quiet area, turn cell phones on silent, and put noisy pets outside the room. Make an announcement to the rest of the family that during practice, excessive noise and unnecessary interruptions are not welcome.
Closely follow the assigned practice from your teacher. A positive attitude, a curious mind, a sense of humor, and an abundance of patience cannot be overestimated. Have confidence that practicing today, even if mistakes are made, will be better than not practicing today.
This is possibly the biggest question. We practice to make what we are working on easier, creating more and more familiarity, so that we create a sense of ease when the time comes to execute the task at hand under pressure. Other answers to the question of “why?” are to spend more time with your child, provide them with a music education, and to participate in the birthright of sound making, and music making. Why stop there? We practice daily at home to learn about classical music, it’s composers, instruments, and traditions. We practice to provide our children with the learning community of a Suzuki teacher’s studio, and to give the gift of a musical outlet. We practice with our child to create a joyful learning experience for them. The answers are myriad.
Suzuki Music Lessons in Knoxville
We hope you find inspiration and useful advice in our Knoxville Suzuki Academy faculty blog posts. If you are not currently enrolled in Suzuki music lessons with Knoxville Suzuki Academy and would like to learn more about this possibility, please explore our website www.knoxvillesuzukiacademy.com.


It can be quite overwhelming for parents of babies, toddlers and generally young children when it comes to choosing the right sort of class to take them to. There’s music and song themed classes, dance and sport themed classes, swimming classes, relaxation and sign classes and of course craft classes not to mention the soft play centres and baby groups.
So how do you choose? All of these classes will bring some benefits to your child’s development and like anything there will be some classes that you and your child prefer over others. For example, the first type of class we chose for my daughter was swimming because we wanted her to be confident in the water so that if she ever fell into water such as a pool on holiday she would know what to do.
However, in this article I’m going to tell you why I would also choose a craft class.
My experience of working with young children has allowed me to witness the importance of creativity in a child’s development. A child may struggle with the everyday methods used in the class room to teach subjects such as Maths and English however with the use of creative methods, that same child will start to progress in such subjects if taught in a more creative context.
It is suggested that children develop skills in five main areas of development;
Cognitive Development – This is where children learn to solve problems as well as learn new skills and information. Craft classes allow children to exercise and develop these skills by challenging them to create a particular craft. For instance; how do I get the glitter to stick to the paper, how do I make a face using pom-poms.
Social and Emotional Development – Interacting with others, self-control and helping themselves are all social and emotional skills. Craft classes aid the development in these skills as children are encouraged to interact with other people in the class whether it’s just a simple smile or wave or through sharing and taking turns for example, when waiting to use a certain coloured crayon.
Speech and Language Development – Craft classes are a fantastic way for children to practise their understanding and use of language. Children are often sat around a table together and therefore encouraged to communicate with each other, for example; ‘please can you pass the red paint?’ The use of and understanding of different vocabulary will also be developed during a craft class where the children maybe asked to; paint, draw, cut, tear, stick, etc.
Fine Motor Skills Development – This is the use of small muscles, specifically fingers. Craft Classes are a fantastic way to develop these skills as children are encouraged to pick up small objects such as sequins and googly eyes. The use of crayons and pens to draw also boost the development of these skills.
Gross Motor Skill Development – This is the use of larger muscles, for instance learning to skip. Now although this skill isn’t particularly at the forefront of any craft class, Tiny Crafters tries to incorporate the development of these skills within the class theme. For instance; for a pirate themed class we will include action games throughout the class such as ‘Pirate Jack Says’, (similar to Simon says).
So the next time you’re looking for a new toddler class, why not have a go at a craft class.
Also have a look at my website for craft ideas you can do at home.


What Is Dyslexia?
Did you know that 1 in 10 people are affected by dyslexia in the UK?
Dyslexia is a hidden disability thought to affect more than 6 million people in the UK.
It is the most common of the Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs). Dyslexia is usually hereditary.
A person with dyslexia may mix up letters within words and words within sentences while reading. They may also have difficulty with spelling words correctly while writing; letter reversals are common.
Dyslexia is described as a specific learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling (Rose, 1999). This can impact on literacy development, maths, memory, organisation and sequencing skills.
However, Dyslexia is not only about literacy, although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign. Dyslexia affects the way information is processed, stored and retrieved, with problems of memory, speed of processing, time perception, organisation and sequencing. Some may also have difficulty navigating a route, left and right and compass directions.
Support for Your Child, Young People and Families-
If you can’t learn to read, you can’t read to learn.
Two or three children in every classroom struggle to learn to read and write. Many will progress well with good phonics (sound based) teaching but for those with more severe needs it is essential that they have access to specialist teaching. Currently many of these children do not get the help they need due to lack of trained specialist staff and their difficulties can go unnoticed or unexplained.
Without the correct identification and support, dyslexia can be a barrier to learning and can lead to school avoidance, exclusion, anti-social behaviour or depression. For children who struggle to learn, their behaviour and confidence can be badly affected.


Mathematics in Preschool, Kindergarten and Grade One, is all about building strong numeracy understanding and developing foundational skills that will prepare children for more complex math in years to come.
What is numeracy? Alberta Education defines numeracy as the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with quantitative and spatial information, to make informed decisions in all aspects of daily living. Numeracy understanding is strengthened in the early school years by encouraging children to explore, experiment, and play.
We see children naturally learning about numbers, patterns, quantity and space through materials like building blocks. Lining them up, counting them, putting them in pattern sequence, comparing which block is bigger or smaller than the others. They add and subtract without requiring paper and pencil. Teachers and parents can advance this natural discovery in mathematics by asking guiding questions, such as: “You have five blocks, how many will you have if I give you two more?” or, “I see you’ve made a pattern of blue, red, blue, red. What colour will come next?”
Rubber bugs are another one of our young students’ favourite math manipulatives. While they are playing with the toy caterpillars, ants and dragonflies, they are learning to count, sort and create pattern. They count how many legs are on the caterpillars, they tell their teachers “Butterflies are the smallest amount, we only have one!”, or “I need one more caterpillar so that I can have as many as my friend.” Students make a line of toy ants “walking” across the table top, often sorting them into a pattern of alternating colours. A child with more advanced skill in patterning would use the same manipulatives, but create a pattern of: ant, caterpillar, butterfly, ant, caterpillar, butterfly; or more advanced still: blue, blue, green, yellow, blue, blue, green, yellow.
Board games and puzzles are also regularly found in classrooms in the early grades. They are fun hands-on tools used to teach and strengthen numeracy skills. Board games require counting and problem solving and can be used at various skill levels. Rolling the dice in a board game, teaches children instant recognition of a set of numbers without counting. Puzzles teach size and shape as children try to fit pieces together.
At River Valley School, we believe the freedom to explore through hands-on experimentation is key to developing the child’s innate love of learning and strengthening early numeracy.


How can teachers develop best practice in art teaching?
This fully updated third edition of Rob Barnes’ classic text blends practical ideas with sound principles of art education. Teachers and student teachers will find a range of ideas and tried and tested classroom examples; whilst for those looking for firm principles of art teaching and ‘best practice’ this book presents many important issues in art education with clarity and insight.
Based on first-hand experience of teaching children, this text uses many examples from early years and primary school contexts, and tackles essential topics with realism and imagination such as:
- developing skills through using media
- how children draw
- encouraging artistic confidence in children
- producing original artwork and making use of digital imagery
Rob Barnes’ unique approach encourages teachers to develop and think about art as part of a rich curriculum of learning, highlighting how it shouldn’t be taught in isolation but with purposeful links to other areas of the curriculum.
Table of Contents
Foreword Preface 1. Learning through Art 2. The Value of Art 3. Producing Original Artwork 4. How Children Draw 5. Developing Ideas 6. Activities, Curriculum and Progression 7. Classroom Organization 8. More Activities for Young Children 9. Using Paint 10. Sequencing Printmaking 11. Collage as a Medium 12. Design and Problem-Solving 13. Talking with Children 14. Assessment and Evaluation 15. Art and the Digital Image 16. Using Media and Techniques to Build Skills 17. Learning about Artists and Designers 18. The Seeing Eye
Rob Barnesis an artist printmaker who was previously Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.
"Rob Barnes [is one of] the best authors on the subject of art education" – Peter Moore, Associate Lecturer (SL) Liverpool Hope University
"Barnes' own enthusiasm for and belief in his subject, interspersed with teachers' comments, a large number of practical teaching suggestions and well-chosen colour plates of children's work, makes the book an engaging and worthwhile read." - Jane Bower, Early Years
"This is an excellent publication. It addresses the problems of teaching in all the main craft areas and deals with important issues such as why art should be on the curriculum, classroom organisation, talking with children and assessment and evaluation" - International Journal of Early Years Education
"Reaching a third edition is always testament to the value and reception of a book and this is a tried and tested text that teachers have valued. Both practising teachers and student teachers will find the range of ideas will give inspiration for the classroom and the clear presentation will help even the less-artistic to have confidence in their teaching." – Parents in Touch


Tongue-tie, also known as ankyloglossia, is a condition present at birth that limits the tongue’s range of motion. The tongue attaches to the floor of the mouth with a web of tissue called the lingual frenulum. Typically, the lingual frenulum separates before birth, allowing the tongue free range of motion. With tongue-tie, the lingual frenulum remains attached to the bottom of the tongue, so it may interfere with an infant’s ability to effectively latch during breast-feeding. Tongue-tie typically does not cause mechanical difficulties in the child’s oral hygiene, but can affect a child’s speech articulation. The cause of tongue-tie is largely unknown, although some cases of tongue-tie have been associated with certain genetic factors.
Symptoms and signs of tongue-tie include; difficulty with breastfeeding, difficulty lifting the tongue to the upper teeth or moving the tongue from side to side, trouble sticking out the tongue past the lower front teeth or a tongue that appears notched or heart shaped when stuck out.
If a tongue-tie is interfering with feeding, speech or oral hygiene or causing discomfort, then surgical intervention may be necessary and a frenotomy or frenuloplasty may be required.
Let’s look at the 4 ways chiropractic care can help possibly avoid surgery, before or after a tongue-tie surgery or help the baby with feeding dysfunction.
- Reducing Nerve Interference to Tongue Muscles: Tightness in the tongue is not only caused by issues with the lingual frenulum, but can also be created by interference in the transmission of signals from cranial nerve XII (controls the movement of the tongue muscle). Adjustments to the baby’s neck intra-oral cranial bones and soft tissue can improve and clear the signals in order to relax the tongue to allow for proper latching and breastfeeding.
- Aligning Bone and Joint Structures that are Attached to the Tongue: The tongue muscle is attached to the bones of the head and neck and if the structures are not aligned in a functional position, then the soft tissues connected to it can become distorted from proper alignment. This can restrict tongue motion and is known as a “biomechanical tongue-tie”. Proper alignment of the structures via chiropractic adjustments optimizes their function to allow for proper movement.
- Ruling Out the Frenulum as the Culprit: The frenulum is not always the cause of tongue restriction. A tight jaw or misaligned vertebra (subluxation) may be the reason for tongue restriction and may also cause an ineffective latch or milk transfer. Receiving chiropractic care prior to a tongue-tie evaluation or surgery will allow a provider to better assess the tongue’s natural state of being.
- Enhancing Results of Tongue-Tie Surgery: If tongue-tie surgery is necessary, consider “pre-habilitation” to allow the surgeon better tissue to work with during surgery. It’s important to achieve alignment of the head and neck structures prior to surgery in order for the procedure to be best effective and to allow for optimum wound healing. If surgery is required, chiropractic care can help to rehabilitate the head, spine and tongue; correcting motor skill development of the tongue and spine, support and encourage ideal wound healing and optimize the anatomy to accommodate the change created from surgery.
Chiropractic in general promotes support for an infant’s growing spine and optimum healing and adaptation from birth stresses, traumas and strains. Seeing a chiropractor can decrease the chance of surgery or support post-surgery in order for your infant to achieve normal physiological function and performance.


By Charles M. Dorn
This e-book is for the reader who believes that wondering and making paintings is clever habit and that paintings as a subject matter within the K-12 institution curriculum shouldn't be used as an alibi for different curricular ambitions. It examines and makes specific these cognitive behaviors in general linked to so much greater order considering and challenge fixing job and explains how they functionality within the act of artistic forming. Its objective is finally to discover how you can use those behaviors within the building of an clever paintings curriculum for K-12 American faculties. this can be might be the single textual content within the box designed to help lecturers in assembly the demanding situations of educating within the objectives 2000 curriculum and evaluate reform attempt, acquainting them with either the nationwide artwork criteria and with the evaluate strategies wanted to ensure that them to turn into liable. brain in paintings grapples with present and appropriate conception, examine, and unsolved difficulties. it's cohesive because it makes an attempt to collect info that's in basic terms in part identified, even between those who find themselves university professors. And it takes a serious examine the guidelines and issues of view that experience created divisiveness and tacky pondering within the box. during this booklet Charles Dorn considerably advances considering within the box of paintings schooling.
Read or Download Mind in art: cognitive foundations in art education PDF
Best curriculum & instruction books
What will we wish faculties to complete? the one defensible solution, Deanna Kuhn argues, is they should still educate scholars to exploit their minds good, at school and past. Bringing insights from learn in developmental psychology to pedagogy, Kuhn continues that inquiry and argument will be on the middle of a "thinking curriculum"—a curriculum that is smart to scholars in addition to to lecturers and develops the abilities and values wanted for lifelong studying.
Crew activities like soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, and football. person athletic targets, reminiscent of skating, gymnastics, tune, BMX, and skateboarding. those are the actions that carry a robust and common attraction for children. learn and Write activities: Readers Theatre and Writing actions for Grades 3-8 makes scholars fail to remember they are studying through offering the motion and emotion in their favourite ambitions as they perform readers theatre actions and writing routines akin to composing an action-reaction poem for every game.
This publication asserts that efforts to reform colleges, rather city colleges, are occasions that engender a bunch of concerns and conflicts which were interpreted in the course of the conceptual lens of group.
This crucial instructing advisor specializes in an rising physique of literature through U. S. Latina and Latin American ladies writers. it is going to support non-specialist educators in syllabus revision, new direction layout and lecture room presentation. The inclusive concentration of the ebook - that's, combining either US Latina and Latin American girls writers - is important since it introduces a extra worldwide and transnational method of drawing close the literature.
- Necessary Conditions of Learning
- Curriculum Studies in Mexico: Intellectual Histories, Present Circumstances
- Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap
- Inspiring the Secondary Curriculum with Technology: Let the students do the work!
Extra info for Mind in art: cognitive foundations in art education
Plan Of The Book In deciding what course to pursue in this effort, at least two primary considerations were involved. One was to avoid simply repeating or expanding on the ideas already presented in Thinking in Art (Dorn, 1994); the second was to pursue a functional metaphilosophical approach accepting of both the science and art used in studies of human cognition and in thinking about and making art. I briefly address these considerations to provide the reader with an understanding of both the focus and limitations of this effort.
Unfortunately, these have not been widely discussed or debated by the rank and file in the field and are seen, at least by some in the field, as simply an effort to dissuade art teachers of the tired old notion that children learn best through making and doing in the arts. The very notion of having national art education standards, which would have been an abhorrence to most art educators 10 years ago, is now considered by many as merely a matter of compliance and political correctness in the competition along with the other arts disciplines for a piece of the American public school curriculum pie.
The truth of the matter, of course, lies somewhere in between the failure of instruments to measure what some want them to measure and what arts advocates want to prove about the effectiveness of current approaches to art study in improving general cognitive abilities. The problem with such claims begins with the fact, as Efland (1995) noted, that all learning requires strategies where different elements in the knowledge base are assembled to provide new perspectives on the same learning problem.


Kentucky Academic Standards
Reading Foundational Skills—Grade 2
RF.2.4. Read fluently (accuracy, speed and prosody) on grade-level to support comprehension.
RF.2.4.c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
4 Students will use a variety of strategies to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases, consulting reference material when appropriate. Students will acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening in order to be transition ready.
L.2.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
L.2.4.a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.


The Grade 2 classrooms emphasize a level of engagement in the learning process that helps motivate students and encourage learning that extends well beyond the classroom.
Our Grade 2 students broaden their skills and knowledge base in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, foreign language, arts, and physical education through a differentiated curriculum. Students learn to think critically and creatively, solve problems, and engage in hands-on learning.
Reading and writing is promoted through daily phonics instruction, independent reading, and comprehension strategies. Using the Writer's Workshop format, students are able to explore various genres and poetry. Grade 2 students are also developing their mental arithmetic skills by exploring patterns and classifications while studying deduction, reasoning, and other problem solving with math activities. Students use library and classroom technology including coding apps and Chromebooks to access databases and support classwork. Spanish lessons build upon conversational practice and expand students’ sense of vocabulary and culture.
One of my favorite things is seeing the kids that I taught in second grade perform in the Upper School plays- it’s amazing to see their confidence grow over the years.
-Betsy Alvord, Grade 2 Teacher
Grade 2 Highlights
- Original Authors Celebration
- Facetime with Malawi School
- World’s End Trip
- Hingham Historical Walk
- Chocolate Unit
- Writing Celebration
- Clean Water Project
- 5 Week STEM Unit
Art classes delve deeper into art mediums and tools as students expand their understanding of colors, shape, artists, and materials, and music classes introduce musical notation as students develop their music literacy skills and research the history of music and composers. Students learn to listen to music while identifying instruments, tempo, dynamics, and tone color.


Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)
@ New Georgia Encyclopedia
DescriptionEncyclopedia article about Coretta Scott King, a proponent of civil and human rights, who helped her husband, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., lead the modern civil rights movement. During their life together, she was his helpmate, raising their four children while supporting his efforts to promote nonviolent social change in race relations during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in 1927 in Heiberger, Alabama, she graduated from Lincoln Normal School, a private school in Marion, Alabama, supported by the American Missionary Association. She then studied music education and sang with choirs at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, graduating in 1951. Her excellence as a singer earned her a scholarship to New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where she received further music training. She often used her singing talents to raise funds for various civil and human rights causes and activities. She and Martin Luther King, Jr., met in Boston and were married in 1953. After her husband's assassination in 1968, she articulated a vision of his nonviolence expressed internationally through the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change that she founded in Atlanta as a memorial to her slain husband. To foster remembrance of his life and work, she advocated a federal holiday to celebrate his January birthday. She died in January 2006 at a holistic health hospital in Mexico and was both the first woman and the first African American to lie in state at the state capitol rotunda in Atlanta, Georgia. She was buried...


The importance of early childhood development is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4), specifically objective 4.2 that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education. The link between high-quality early childhood education (ECE) and school readiness is significant. UNICEF (2019) reveals that children who have enrolled in at least one year of pre-primary education are twice as likely to be on track in early literacy and numeracy skills, more likely to develop the critical skills they need to succeed in school and less likely to repeat grades or drop out. (UNICEF, A World Ready to Learn: Prioritizing quality early Childhood education, April 2019)
Reach & Match is a multi-award winning holistic learning program that has been designed through focused research and user testing to support early childhood learning outcomes and the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream ECE services and schools. Reach & Match ensures that the most vulnerable children are provided with inclusive quality pre-primary education that will prepare them for school and a successful educational journey, giving them a fairer chance to reach their full potential and for the world to fulfill its commitment to leave no child behind.
Through our partnerships with the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as humanitarian organisations such as Save the Children and Red Cross, Reach & Match program enables children with different abilities the opportunity to play and learn alongside their peers and to build the foundational physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional skills that support a child’s wellbeing and learning journey.
Please contact us should you have any potential partnership opportunities and read below to learn more about our international projects.


When Terry Kammerle, a Grade 2 teacher at Madeira Park Elementary on the Sunshine Coast, first set out to include technology in her classroom she wasn’t so sure how to get started. The school where she taught didn’t have updated technology that her students could readily access. Terry knew that technology could help her students but was hesitant about implementing the technology on her own. When the Special Education Technology Coordinator, Sandy Magnussen, came to Terry with the possibility of implementing technology in the classroom to support her students’ literacy development, Terry jumped at the opportunity to work with Sandy to meet her technology implementation goals.
Throughout the year, Terry worked closely with Sandy and they co-taught the class regularly. The teaching duo explored iOS apps that support literacy – they started with Clicker Sentences and Kids Love Sight Words and had students working on sentence structure. The students loved being able to customize words in the apps. As the year progressed, the team also explored Kurzweil 3000 to access a digital copy of Charlotte’s web making it available to those students who needed an alternative format to the printed book.
Students also really took off using Clicker Books to create digital books to showcase their learning taking advantage of the speech-to-text (dictation) and text-to-speech (read aloud) features in the iOS operating system to help with the writing and reading process. The students were able to publish their work into a web-based portable document format (.pdf) with the teachers creating a QR code for each book so that parents could open a digital copy of the book at home.
Throughout the year, the tudents and teachers developed confidence in using the technology to support reading and writing in the classroom. Many students can now independently type and/or dictate stories copying and pasting pictures from the internet seamlessly to support their writing. They see themselves as readers, writers and creators of digital books.
Terry is glad she took a risk in expanding her teaching approach that included integrating technology tools into her literacy program. She continues to explore ways to support her students in the classroom by providing choice – now one of the choices is the use of technology to complete reading and writing tasks. We congratulate Terry, Sandy and the rest of the team at Madeira Park for implementing technology successfully to support and enhance the learning of students in the classroom.
To learn more about the technology used in this SETstory, search for it by name in learningSET.


|About the Book|
Prisca Martenss most powerful teacher has been her daughter Sarah. When Sarah at age four responded I already know how to read to the suggestion that this was something she would learn in kindergarten, Martens realized childrens perceptions ofMorePrisca Martenss most powerful teacher has been her daughter Sarah. When Sarah at age four responded I already know how to read to the suggestion that this was something she would learn in kindergarten, Martens realized childrens perceptions of literacy and of themselves as learners may differ from those of adults. Over the three years Martens observed and analyzed Sarahs reading and writing (ages two through five), Sarah helped Martens rethink her notions about literacy: what literacy is, how children learn literacy, and as Sarah entered kindergarten, what teachers can do to support and facilitate that learning in school.In I Already Know How to Read Martens documents how Sarah, through meaningful literacy experiences in her social community, understood literacy and invented reading and writing for herself. Numerous reading and writing samples, organized around broad research questions, present Sarah as an inquirer who actively constructs her understanding of literacy and ways to be literate.Martens recognizes that childrens opportunities and experiences with print differ. But by looking closely at one childs literacy development, we learn how to see and understand the literacy development of others. The implications for the classroom are extraordinary-as Sarah taught her mother to see, her story will help practicing and preservice teachers to see as well.


The 20th Century - Elementary Level297094
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.
The 20th Century series presents music by some of the greatest composers of the modern era, composers who wrote a full range of music for orchestra, voices, piano and chamber ensembles, in the great and large forms. But they also valued music education, and composed interesting music to foster a stdent pianist's progress. The pieces by these composers lead a student not only to technical proficiency, but also to become a more fully formed, imaginative musician. When a great talent turns attention to writing a short piece of limited difficulty level for students, it is approached with the same aesthetics, temperament, tastes and creative invention applied when composing a symphony, opera or concerto. These exquisite miniatures are complete works of timeless art. Through them a master musician of the past indirectly teaches a progressing musician of the present and the future.

Contents: Bartók: Peasant Song from Ten Easy Pieces • selections from The First Term at the Piano: Stepping Stones, Invention I, Parallel Lines, Legato and Staccato, Dialogue I, Dialogue II, Dialogue III, Follow the Leader, Short and Long Legato • Kabalevsky: selectionsfrom 24 Pieces for Children, Op. 39: Melody, Polka, Rambling, Cradle Song, Playing, Funny Event, Song, A Little Dance, Scherzo • selections from 35 Easy Pieces, Op. 89: First Piece, First Etude, Quiet Song, At Recess, First Waltz, Light and Shadow, Little Hedgehog, Playful One, Trumpet and Echo, Evening Song, Skipping Rope, Trumpet and Drum • Shostakovich: selections from • Children's Notebook for Piano, Op. 69: March, Waltz.

Schirmer Performance Editions feature composer biographies, historical notes, and practice and performance tips.


Playing an instrument is not a digital experience. It is analog. No screens. No electronics needed.
Several times we have lost power at the house while I’m teaching flute lessons. When this happens during daylight hours, it does not affect my teaching. As long as the student can see the music, we can carry on right where we left off.
Once, we were without power in the evening. There was some light outside as the sun was beginning to set. It was too dark in the house to see the music, so we moved lessons outside to the front porch and carried on.
Fortunately, when the power goes out at night, I have two battery-powered stand lights. For practicing, my kids will use their camping headlamps!
Nonetheless playing the flute, piano, guitar, and singing requires no electricity. Playing an instrument or singing is a delicious escape from the digital world.
Ophthalmologists are concerned that the over-use of screens is causing eye problems in youth and adults. Indeed, there’s even a new diagnosis: Computer Vision Syndrome.
When playing an instrument, the music is in the “middle distance.” (As opposed to “near distance” when reading a book or “far distance” when looking out a window. Using middle distance vision can strengthen the eyes. If you use a computer or look at screens a lot, you may suffer from eye strain. It is important to take breaks from digital media. Playing an instrument is one good way to do this.
One Christmas, my son received “night vision” goggles in a spy kit. For many weeks, he enjoyed playing piano at night, wearing night-vision goggles. I’m a big believer in making practice fun and creative.
Both of my kids have to practice every day. I am thankful for the forced break from screens and electronics. This is another one of the many benefits of music education: teaching kids that there are alternatives to the digital world. Some things, like playing an instrument are still analog.


The most beautiful thing about music is that one doesn’t need to understand it to appreciate it. A stirring melody, a rousing rhythm, a choir in tune, would move just about any living soul.
Not just that, the song of a merry bird, the gush of a shallow cascade, the dance of dandelions have a musicality of their own, one that we find resonance with in our most intimate moments.
We can all feel music.
And if we can feel music, we can certainly make music. Don’t think of an instrument or your voice the moment I mention the act of making music. Your body is a music making machine. The heart keeps perfect time, the feet move with metronomic precision when we walk, we whistle naturally on a good day, and most of us can sing a simple melody, say the ‘happy birthday’ song, in perfect tune.
All that without ever having to take a music lesson!
The point i am trying to make is that each one of us, to varying degrees, is a natural musician.
The best way to learn music is by being in an environment that encourages experimentation, expression, and imagination.
As a music educator, I sincerely live by my music education philosophy based on the following values
A) Eternal Learning:
I strive to be a fellow-learner with all my students. I believe all of us have something to learn from each other.
B) Cultivating Curiosity:
There’s more learning in the spirit of inquiry than in the act of merely delivering information.
C) Fostering Emotional Intuition:
Music invokes emotions. When a conscious mind learns with an ear for the emotions a melody, a rhythm or a chord invokes, it builds a deeper understanding of music. This enables one to develop a meaningful and expressive musical vocabulary.
D) Balancing structure and playfulness
Practicing music and playing music are separate activities. Either is paramount to the development of a musician. Yet, knowing what, why and how to practice is something most players struggle with. After years of study, I’ve had a fair number of insights that have helped me navigate this conundrum. Striving for an ideal balance between practice and playing is something I help fellow learners with.
E) Finding the role of music in your life
Music is beautiful. Yet, we must find how music fits into our lives. If we have unrealistic expectations, we might grow frustrated from something that brings such joy. We must make peace with our karma as a musician.
Finding that for myself and for fellow learners has always been a constant pursuit that I truly enjoy.
6) Cultivating Trust and Empathy
We must trust the process of learning and be kind towards ourselves and our fellow learners. Learning is a lifelong pursuit.
I have been teaching music since I graduated from Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) in 2014. I have had the fortune of being mentored by stellar musicans like Karina Colis (Mexico), Alex Kautz (Brazil), Alex Pinto (USA), Steve Zerlin (USA), Prapancham Ravindran (India), Umayalpuram Mali (India).
I’ve have helped people learn music from across the age demographic. Living by the values of this music education philosophy has helped all my students achieve musical excellence.
If you feel I can help you on your musical journey, feel free to contact me here.


It was 1908 and A.H. Munsell continued to spread the word about his then revolutionary color order system. In addition to his stints abroad, touring with leading physicists and other scientific luminaries to share his new color theory, he was packing in a crowd back home in Boston. His November 14 lecture, “Training of the Color Sense by Measured Intervals” drew an estimated 600 teachers and artists to MIT’s Huntington Hall… that’s a sellout crowd for 1908!
Munsell spoke about the evolution of his color order system, which had been in use as a teaching tool for nearly three years with good results, though it still was not widely adopted. As Munsell himself mentioned, the Munsell Color Order System is “based on the latest knowledge of the action of the eye” rather than “personal bias.” He even went on to criticize color education in most schools. He explained that his system teaches about color with a focus on the harmonious colors as opposed to starting with the extremes.
Color Visualization… Munsell Style
Munsell closed out 1908 with weekly lectures from November 13 until December 18. Offered at the Massachusetts Normal Art School, Munsell was rocking Boston area artists and art education with lectures including, “The Color Sense,” “Color Measures,” Color Balance,” “Color Records,” and “Color Design.” These lectures were repeated in January and February of 1909. Munsell’s diary explains that by using Munsell Color Theory, with its basis in the way the eye sees color, one is able to train one’s mind to visualize color. You’re literally training your memory of color arrangements based on Munsell’s color order system. As Munsell puts it in his diary, [the] “aim of color study [is] to perceive, define, relate, imitate and memorize – later to enjoy and use picturesquely, decoratively.”
By March of 1909, Munsell’s color order system was in use by primary schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut as well as a high school in New York City, a teacher’s college and numerous private schools. With the help of Royal B. Farnum, Munsell’s theory of color and color education tools gained even wider adoption. Farnum, a 1906 graduate of Munsell’s alma mater, Massachusetts Normal Art School, was an art teacher in the Cleveland Public School District and an art department Director of the Cleveland School of Art. While he was preparing to take the exam to become the New York State Inspector of Drawing and Industrial Training, he created the “Southern Summer School”—a six-week, four-season series of courses for educators and artists that was based on Munsell Color Theory.
Learn how you can become a color rock star with Munsell color education products. If you are already using Munsell, we would love to hear about how it has made you a color rock star.
A. H. Munsell Color Diary, 1908-1918, Volume B Part 1 (pp. 241-244) and Volume B Part 2 (pg. 261). Courtesy of Rochester Institute of Technology, Munsell Color Science Laboratory.


As we mentioned in the last blog post, appropriate play skills are the foundation for socializing and language. Children learn how to pay attention, problem solve, complete activities, try
new things, plan, and remember through play. These skills form your child's cognition (thinking skills that develop how they translate and relate to the world around them). That means that when you are playing with your child you are not only bonding with them, but you are building up their foundational skills for life. What a great thing!
There are certain play skills children must develop before they can have the cognitive capacity to learn language. These include shifting attention between things and people, taking turns, playing with toys appropriately (stacking blocks or running a car on the ground), following directions with toys, etc. There is actually a sequence of pre-requisite cognitive skills that most children develop before words emerge (exceptions for select disorders where there is a difference in developmental progression, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder).
This sequence is below:
1. Reacts to environment - turns to loud sound or someone speaking
2. Responds to people when they talk to or play with her - looks when name is called, enjoys interactions with others
3. Takes turns with another person during interactions - takes turns stacking toys, banging drum, etc.
4. Develops an attention span - stays with an activity for at least 5 minutes alone and even longer with adults
5. Shifts and shares joint attention with others - looks at you, then at an object, then back to you to share attention
6. Plays with a variety of toys appropriately - plays well with toys and uses familiar objects in routines
7. Understands early words and follows simple directions - follows many different 1-step directions (i.e., "take your shoes off" or "get the cup")
8. Vocalizes or makes sounds purposefully - babbles, uses his voice to get your attention
9. Imitates actions, gestures, sounds, and words - copies clapping, giggling, blowing raspberries, hiding her face, etc.
10. Uses early gestures like waving and pointing - communicates non-verbally
11. Initiates interactions with others to get needs met or to engage in play - works to get your attention for wants/needs (ex., pulls on your pants to get you to follow him to the pantry and reaches/vocalizes "eh-eh" for desired food)
(This list is from Laura Mize, MS CCC-SLP, at teachmetotalk.com, with examples added)
These all occur before children even start to talk! And they are taught through PLAY and joint interaction with a caregiver or another little person. For instance, you teach turn-taking when playing "Peek-a-Boo," "Hide-n-Seek," and passing a ball. You teach imitation of actions with "Patty Cake." How amazing that children's little brains are hard-wired to pick up these thinking skills in their first year of life!
We take these skills for granted, especially when children don't start talking. We immediately think they need to be using their words. However, if a child past the age of 1 is not yet talking, we need to look at this list of skills and see what they have and have not mastered. If they are not yet gesturing, they can't learn words. Children learn how to refer to a specific item and use communication to get wants/needs met with gesturing. Additionally, if they are not yet babbling or imitating sounds, they can't use words one their own. They have to learn how to produce the sounds first before putting them together to make a word. Once children have mastered these pre-requisite skills, they can understand how to use language for themselves (e.g. Saying 'up' to get lifted up or 'more' to get more of their desired food).
If you want more in-depth information on how play skills lead to language or have specific questions about the pre-requisites for words, feel free to email firstname.lastname@example.org.
#speechlanguagepathology, #speechlanguagepathologist, #speechtherapy, #speechpathologist, #speechsisters, #speechlanguagetherapy, #SLPblog, #speechies, #speechcoaches, #sparkspeech, #tandytherapy, #laurentandy, #mariellemckean, #whatisanslp, #SLP


Brain research confirms that ART education strengthens student problem-solving and critical thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement, school success, and preparation for the work world.
ART classes provide students a chance to develop cognitive and creative skills, and to develop their imaginations. For some students, ART is their motivation for coming to school and an area where they have success or excel, providing an important balance in their total educational experience.
ART teaches our students to be more tolerant and open through multicultural and historical perspectives and engaged with their involvement in the creative process itself.
Provided are the ART benchmarks, processes, and skills that are incorporated at each grade level and classes in ART.


Music learning has been found to significantly improve hearing in children. And when we say hearing we mean not just the detection of sound but the processing of sound for meaning. If we spend a great deal of time in our childhood actively processing sound (not just hearing a lot of consistent sounds from a TV or traffic sounds) then our auditory processing is in great shape and will continue to be as we age.
Get access to materials that will help you advocate for music education! Become a BBB member today!
Does this impact on hearing loss? It seems that it does as this study showed that 40 percent of the middle-aged musicians that were tested had better speech-in-noise processing. The article suggests that “The take-home message: If you’re an older musician, don’t stop playing. And if you gave it up, it may be time to dust off the old violin.”
As well as music learning, could it also be that musicians, who may be more aware of the importance of their auditory processing and hearing, engage in safer behaviours when it comes to noise and their hearing? What do you think?
Check out the article here.


A Zimbabwean couple based in South Africa has set up a non-governmental organisation, Isibanesethu community learning group, meant to promote early literacy development and community health education in rural and marginalised communities.
Isibanesethu Community Learning group aims to change community behaviour and attitude towards education to reduce premature school dropouts, unplanned immigration to neighbouring countries, crime and early marriages.
Speaking to CITE the founder, Sibhekaphi Sibanda who is a former student from Ntulula Primary School in Tsholotsho said they also empower parents and guardians with literacy skills.
“We have facilitated community literacy awareness workshops where mothers and caregivers were empowered in imparting basic literacy skills to their children and be able to do early detection of barriers to learning in early child development,” said Sibanda.
“We train and give continuous support to literacy coaches who work with the community to sustain the program.
Sibanda said they have established a community library to promote the culture of reading.
“We have established community libraries in the same community to promote the culture of reading and ensure that communities have access to reading resources. We are currently working on a project to source a solar system to power the Library and Information Centre as the use of diesel has proved to be financially unsustainable,” she said.
In addition, Sibanda said their projects also cater for school dropouts to motivate them to go back to school.
“Poverty and lack of positive role models in the Tsholotsho district has historically led to early dropout from school and premature migration to neighbouring South Africa where youths engage in criminal activities to achieve their dreams hence youth skills development is important to us,” she said.
She said they also managed to organise Grade 7 online lessons during the induced Covid-19 lockdown.
“Due to Covid-19, we managed to offer virtual lessons to rural learners using smartphones where they connect via Whatsapp. Our learners could not access the ZBC radio lessons because in Tsholotsho we do not have radio coverage,” said Sibanda.
She added: “ We also promote community health education by hosting monthly health-themed checkups where community members have workshops on selected health topics with the view of promoting a healthy lifestyle and dispelling myths about certain diseases, That also promotes early access to screening and early detection of possible killer diseases like diabetes, BP, dementia and others”.
Contacted for a comment, Lead facilitator in Tsholotsho, Beauty Ncube said the youths have welcomed the initiative.
“Our youths are very excited about the program and they have shown interest in learning we hope that this will help them improve their academic results. Some learners have been coming for evening classes doing computers, our challenge has been issues of fuel to power our generator but all the processes have been going well,” said Ncube.


Free educational games
For apple/iPad/iPhone users: Pay for app based on Piaget’s research on cognitive development, and it begins with cause-and-effect play that evolves into an exercise in problem-solving and tool use. The game also helps children improve their fine motor skills through a series of puzzles in an exploratory and evolving playground.
For apple/iPad/iPhone users: Pay for a skill-based math drills app that students tend to love, as they can compete against themselves to increase their speed and accuracy. It includes basic math operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and also features advanced options in the settings so that teachers and students can create personalized environments, and track scores and test history
A series of math apps using a step-by-step approach whereby students learn Montessori math by manipulating various objects that appear on the screen. It also helps boost motor skill development
helps students master essential skills at their own pace through fun and interactive questions, built in support and motivating awards
Maths worksheets that can be downloaded on a range of topics


Date of Award
Master of Science in Education (MSEd)
Education and Human Development
Lee Ann Townsend
With increased standards in today’s school’s teachers are taking away play time and focusing on more specific literacy instruction. The opportunities to learn through play and exploration is a thing of the past. Although research states play is a natural part of a child’s development (Wong, Wang, & Cheng, 2011) the research focused on what reading and writing activities are embedded in play and how play can help develop emergent literacy in young children. A qualitative study was conducted with a 5-year-old male, at the emergent literacy state of development. The current study observed the research participant playing within his home environment over a span of 6 weeks to determine if play helps advance a child’ emergent literacy development. Results suggest specific types of play a child engages in, and particular literacy learning opportunities through play. Implication and results are discussed.
Gazza, Ashley, "The Impact of Play on Emergent Literacy Development" (2016). Education and Human Development Master's Theses. 728.


In northeast Nigeria, the humanitarian crisis has been detrimental to children’s access to education. The Addressing Education in Northeast Nigeria (AENN) project is responding to the immediate educational needs of 302,500 children and youth through safe nonformal and formal education, while laying a foundation for the sustainable improvement of education systems at the community and government levels.
The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and is working with Save the Children, Viamo, the Nigerian government and local nongovernmental organizations. Activities include:
- Improving the capacity of local governments to plan, manage and oversee education services that are responsive to evolving needs by working with key stakeholders, conducting rapid education risk analyses and improving education monitoring and policies
- Revitalizing and establishing nonformal learning centers and supporting formal schools
- Supporting communities and school personnel to develop safety plans and establish early warning systems
- Developing learning materials by enhancing existing curricula to emphasize age-appropriate, foundational skills in literacy, numeracy and social-emotional learning
- Training teachers and instructors to deliver conflict-sensitive instruction and providing ongoing support through in-service training, teacher learning circles and classroom observations and mentoring
- Training local partners in the community action cycle, a method that community members use to identify barriers to accessing education and address them through activities such as the implementation of school safety plans


Engage your students in phonics practice with a fun and interactive spelling bingo game that your students will LOVE. This Phonics BINGO resource is a great way to use spelling games to help your students master their phonics sounds and spelling words. This interactive spelling game includes resources for bingo for the following phonics skills: short vowel CVC words, double letters at the end of the word, VCC words, CVCC words, CCVCC words, CVCCC words, CCCVC words, and Digraphs (sh, ch, ck, th, wh, ng, qu). There are a total of 16 sets – each focusing on different phonemes. These Ready to Play bingo games have everything you need: Bingo cards for each set, word and picture cards for each set, and “What am I? Riddle cards for each set.
These spelling words and spelling games are perfect for whole-class spelling practice, small group spelling instruction, independent word work centers, dyslexia/dysgraphia intervention, and more.
Phonics bingo games include
- Word Lists and Bingo Cards for 16 Different Phonics BINGO games
- 16 sets divided by phoneme or word pattern
- Variety of words at varying difficulties
- Teacher and Game Instructions
These spelling BINGO games are perfect for
- Small-Group Phonics Instruction
- Spelling Test Alternative
- Fun Friday Activity
- Targeted Phonics Practice
- Independent Centers
Download your copy now, click the button below to Buy Now!
A sneak peek inside the phonics bingo pack
What do you receive after your purchase?
Once you have completed your purchase you will receive an email with your receipt and a link to download the item.
Click on the link in the email to open the resource as a PDF. You are then able to save the resource to your computer.
If you don’t see the email in your inbox check your spam or promotions folder.
Download your copy now
Pick this pack up today for an investment of only $8.00USD. Click the button below to Buy Now!
You must log in and be a buyer of this download to submit a review.
Leave a reply Cancel reply
You may also like
Looking for skills-based phonics activities that are fun and engaging? Then you need this Phonics Homework Bundle. You'll get 100 weeks of phonics activities.
These Phonics Cootie Catchers and Fortune Tellers are a great way to get your students reviewing important phonics skills and are loved by kids of all ages!
Teaching phonics doesn’t need to be stressful or time-consuming! With this bundle, you’ll get NO PREP phonics worksheets to make your phonics teaching easy.


The Jeffrey M. Edgmond Resource Center is located in CI 118. Students are encouraged to listen to recordings, view scores and DVD’s, and use the CD sheet music files. The library is circulating and resources may be removed from the library for studying purposes. Listening stations and computers are available for student use during regular office hours for studying purposes.
Scores use the Library of Congress Classification (LC) rather than Dewey Decimal Classification and the numbers will start with either "M", "ML" or "MT". Once you become familiar with the system, you'll find it very helpful to revisit sections to browse. For a helpful guide to browsing scores by LC call numbers click on the link below:
This link will take you to UNLV Music Library's Guide to the Library of Congress Music Scores Classification. This is a pretty comprehensive guide on how these materials are organized.
Here are a few simple tips on LC call numbers for music:
* M = scores (sheet music); so, "M" is for music.
* ML = books about music,music history, or literature about music.
* MT = books about music theory, music education, instrumental or vocal techniques or methods.
Please be sure to verify the copyright status of the works you wish to use. Information about Copyright and Creative Commons Licenses are available on the lower left side of this page.


Azerbaijan Quiz – Fun FREE Interactive General Knowledge Quiz with Answers
Enjoy this Easy Science for Kids Azerbaijan Quiz – you’ll get your quiz score after completing this FREE online interactive quiz on Azerbaijan. You need to answer all the questions to be able to get your score. You can do this fun quiz about Azerbaijan again, till you get the perfect score and become a quiz champion!
Tip: To get it right the first time, read the page with fun facts about Azerbaijan.
About the Azerbaijan Quiz & FREE Geography Quiz
Our easy earth science quizzes are a free online quiz resource for teachers and educators of kids in elementary school, grammar school and preschool. This fun Azerbaijan Geography quiz helps your kids learn fun facts about Azerbaijan while enjoying this FREE interactive general knowledge quiz.
If your kid is enjoying home-schooling, or is in an after-school enrichment program, then this is a fun activity, with reading comprehension benefits for 1st – 5th grade kids.
Kids will enjoy competing against their classmates and friends, to see who scores better, doing this fun and free earth science quiz on Azerbaijan.
As a reading comprehension fun activity for your kids, you can set a timer to encourage kids to do the reading comprehension activity better, while paying better attention to text they read, or you restrict the number of times they can read about the Azerbaijan quiz topic, before they do the actual fun interactive quiz.
Younger kids who cannot yet read or write, such as Pre-K kids, Kindergarten kids or Preschool kids, will benefit from doing this and our other science kids quizzes, as a listening comprehension activity; you read out to them about the topic and then read the Azerbaijan quiz question and answers.
You will select the Azerbaijan quiz answer they think is correct, and at the end you get the Azerbaijan quiz score.
Your child can try again and again, till gets the perfect score faster, as your kids learn to listen more carefully and develop a better memory and attention span!
Enjoyed doing this free general knowledge quiz with answers about Azerbaijan? Check out all our other fun general quizzes in our earth science website for kids. Visit our Easy geography for Kids all about Azerbaijan page. Get lengthy info here.
Cite This Page
You may cut-and-paste the below MLA and APA citation examples:
MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Azerbaijan Quiz – Fun FREE Interactive General Knowledge Quiz with Answers - ." Easy Science for Kids, Oct 2020. Web. 25 Oct 2020. < https://easyscienceforkids.com/azerbaijan-quiz-fun-free-interactive-general-knowledge-quiz-with-answers/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2020). Azerbaijan Quiz – Fun FREE Interactive General Knowledge Quiz with Answers -. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from https://easyscienceforkids.com/azerbaijan-quiz-fun-free-interactive-general-knowledge-quiz-with-answers/
We've recently added
- How To Build a Winogradsky Column and Learn About Soil Science
- Potato Light Bulb Experiment
- How To Use Friction to Pick Up Bottle of Rice
- How To Make Popcorn Dance
- Vinegar and Baking Soda Fire Extinguisher
- Power of Bleach
- Comparing Surface Tension of Liquids with Pennies
- Ice Cream Chemistry
- Using Distillation to Purify Water
- Filter Water with Dirt
- Build a Balloon Barometer
- Build Your Very Own Seismograph
Sponsored Links :


1 Listen to and Sing "Little Bunny"
Listen to the song, "Little Bunny"
Play the video again and sing the song
In this lesson you will
If you have a printer at home, print the Egg Rhythms worksheet.
If you don't have a printer, draw 8 eggs and put a quarter note (ta) or a pair of 8th notes (ti-ti) in each egg.
Use the eggs in a hiding game. If you have a brother or sister or someone in the house to play with take turns hiding the eggs. One of you will hide your eyes. Sing the song while you hide the eggs. Then, the other person sees how many eggs they can find in 1 minute. (or 2)
After playing the game, make rhythms with the eggs. Clap or pat or stamp the rhythm that you've made.
Make a new rhythm and try it a different way.
Compose your own Rhythm using the Interactive Rhythm Composition tool.
Choose Level 1 to start.
You click on the notes or rest to enter them.
Then choose the instrument that you'd like to play them.
Press play, and try performing the new rhythm that you've created.
Try creating new rhythms and playing on new instruments.
Try other levels if you've learned more rhythms at school.
The next song begins with "Apple tree, apple tree."
The notes used go high-high low, high-high low
Singers use the solfa notes so and mi to name these notes.
Sing some so-mi patterns to warm up for the Apple Tree song.
Listen to the Apple Tree song.
Watch how the notes go higher and lower.
Play the song again, and this time, sing along.
If you have a printer at home, print the One Sound or Two worksheet.
If you don't have a printer, make two columns on a piece of paper. Label one column, One Sound.
Label the other column, Two Sounds.
Clap the fruit words. Decide if they have one sound or two.
Write the name of the fruit in the correct column.
Assessment may not be required for your school or district.
Your teacher may ask you to email one of the suggested assessments.
Parents, Teachers and Administration:
Music education is important for children.
Whether in class or at home, keep our children singing, playing, moving, listening and creating music!


Sometimes we educators get focused on literacy development in young children exclusively in the form of reading, as if print is the only kind of communication between humans. Granted, print is the most venerated form of literacy in our culture. Mastering this literacy skill leads to becoming avid, self-determined, lifelong print readers, writers and learners, and it’s the single-most important goal of formal education. However, the writing and reading forms of literacy is only one of many ways for humans to communicate.
Consider this random subset of other literacies as alternative ways to express feelings, emotions, stories and issues—perhaps more effectively than print.
Now consider every possible pairing and multiple combinations of media. Talk about options!
The point of bringing this entire issue up is that children (and adults) may have undiscovered talents and literacy skills in one or more of these alternate ways of communicating. And we find ourselves in a unique time where we have space in our days to explore new-to-us literacies.
Enter April 2020
Here we are during COVID-19 with kids home all day, every day. While parents can’t be expected to fully replace professional educators, families can guide children to explore and enjoy new means of self-expression.
If you’re an educator who’s providing virtual instruction to your students (and their families), encourage parents to take the lead in experimenting with new ways to communicate. For example, you can suggest that parents provide their children with basic art supplies and then go a step further to capture kids’ imaginations. They can:
- Demonstrate…using the art supplies to create a picture, which, when finished, is presented to the child as a gift. Then have a conversation with the child and talk about the selected subject matter of the picture and how fun it was to create it. When kids observe others taking risks with new media it can be a wonderful learning experience for children AND for the artists.
- Invite…the child to use the art supplies to create something that means something for another family member, and observe her as she proceeds in creating and delivering this new treasure..
- Celebrate & Encourage…the child’s commitment to communicate in a new way and his efforts in creating a message for the selected audience. Focus on the aspect(s) of the artwork that are particularly interesting or even well executed.
- Extend…the opportunity to creatively communicate with others, beyond the immediate family.
This set of simple actions—Demonstrate, Invite, Celebrate & Encourage, Extend—can be applied to all media for sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings.
While this challenging time of pandemic has its restraints, it also provides broad literacy growth opportunities for us all. It’s a great time to encourage self-expression in so many ways.


The Past Exhibitions
The 51th World School Children’s Art Exhibition Republic of China
The exhibition includes paintings by children from 40 countries and Taiwan. Children show their folklore culture and lives via their paintings. These young artists created their paintings confidently, willingly and independently using their keen observation and imagination. Through these paintings, we get to see the innocent inner worlds of these children. True feelings are the most mesmerizing part of creating art because it leaves room for imagination and tugs at your heartstrings.
Focus： This exhibition plays an important role for international cultural and art exchange; it facilitates the understanding of different cultures and is a core concept for art education. Through their paintings, we hope to spread the cultures, histories and backgrounds of various nations through Taiwan and it is worthwhile taking time to appreciate these paintings.


The student should have access to an acoustic piano.
The student will need to acquire a piano tuning hammer (long-handled socket wrench) and a rubber wedge mute.
Are you embarrassed by your own piano because it sounds out of tune? Does your piano have one particular sour note that seems to be in nearly every song you try to play? Did you know that you can fix that sour note yourself without calling an expensive professional? This course demonstrates what causes a piano to sound out of tune, and gives instruction on how to fix it yourself. You will be introduced to the basic principles of an acoustic piano, how the strings can go out of tune, and specifically what you need to do in order to tune that sour note yourself.
Musician, conductor, teacher, farmer, Beatles fan, and statistician
4.5 Instructor Rating
Thomas Daniel is a college band director in Alabama, which is located in the southern United States. He holds a PhD in Music Education from Auburn University, and plays bass guitar, rhythm guitar, and flute. Tom loves to divide his time equally between Beethoven, Bach, The Beatles, and Count Basie.


Pennsylvania hasn’t seen the last of legislative proposals written in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Lawmakers have started a bipartisan push to bring child abuse awareness into the lesson plans of the state’s schools.
School districts wouldn’t have to teach children how to recognize child abuse and protect themselves from it, but they would have the option, under a state House proposal.
Adding something to the elementary education curriculum that raises awareness about abuse could help the children who are being preyed upon, says Rep. Mauree Gingrich, who is sponsoring the measure.
“Most children don’t possess the skills to verbalize what’s happening to them and they truly fear that no one will understand them or believe them,” said Gingrich, R-Lebanon. “The best defense that we can provide our children is knowledge.”
The state Department of Education would create model curricula for kindergarten through eighth grade.
School districts could use that, or create their own lesson plans. Parents would be able to review the abuse awareness curriculum, and even pull their kids out of class if they don’t approve of the material.


This course is designed to help students become critical readers who confidently engage and interact with what they read. College reading is more substantial and more sophisticated than high school reading or personal reading. Students required to take this course must earn a grade of S (Satisfactory) before taking ENG-131.
Goals, Topics, and Objectives
This course will prepare students to read at a level that will enable success in all content area college-level courses.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate academic vocabulary growth through observed usage.
Integrate a variety of reading comprehension strategies including, but not limited to, connecting, questioning, predicting, and summarizing.
Discriminate between topics, main ideas, supporting details within various patterns of organization in authentic fiction and non-fiction sources.
Analyze and create notes from textbook reading that demonstrate active reading and comprehension.
Paraphrase and summarize text using academic English.
Analyze text for author’s message, audience, purpose, and tone.
Recognize and evaluate credible sources, and/or explain and defend sources to show appropriate use.
Assessment and Requirements
Assessment of academic achievement may include, but not be limited to, quizzes, tests, timed readings, group projects, individual projects and portfolio reviews. Students must achieve 75% in the class to pass (S).
Requirements: * Students must actively participate in class to demonstrate reading comprehension.
Students must complete a regular schedule of readings from the course text and handouts.
Students practice reading strategies throughout the course. Instructors may choose to assess student practice through journals, homework, portfolios, or other ongoing coursework.
Students must receive some orientation to academic success resources on campus including The Writing Center, The Learning Lab, the Library, and Assisted Learning Services.
Students must attend at least one conference with their instructors.
While instructors may use letter or numerical grades to assess course work, the final grade assigned in English 093 must be S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). The grade of S shall be given if students successfully complete 75% of the course work.
In addition, instructors are highly encouraged to: Create a supportive, empowering environment in their classrooms in order to invite students into college culture; Use non-prescriptive, collaborative, and encouraging assessments including discussions, journals, and portfolios; Welcome and support the diverse identities, backgrounds, and academic experiences of our students as essential foundations for college community.
The curricular committee that oversees this course maintains a list of approved texts.


This is a sample Article from The Recorder which is the quarterly journal of the OMEA.
ADVOCACY RETREAT – Part 1
Advocating for Under-Represented Voices in the Music Classroom
Editor’s Note: this is the first in a multi-part series of short articles which were generated by the participants at our Advocacy Retreat last fall.
As we work to advocate for quality music programs, it’s also extremely important for us to consider who these programs traditionally fail to serve. At the recent OMEA Advocacy Retreat (Orillia, October 2019), the following were identified as groups that might be underrepresented in our conventional music programs:
- Urban students
- Indigenous, Metis and Inuit students
- Low income students
- Black students
- Students of colour
- LGBTQ+ students
- Students for whom English is a second language
- Racialized students
- Disabled students
- Students with learning differences
- Students from rural communities
- Students without previous music instruction
- Students who transfer between schools mid-year or mid-semester
- Students who borrow school instruments
- Students who are new to Canada
This is not an exhaustive list, but it is representative of many voices we feel aren’t heard as loudly in our classrooms. Importantly, this is also a list of groups that are generally underrepresented in the teaching profession, and in the music teaching profession in Ontario.
What steps can we take to reach out to these student groups, and to make our classrooms more welcoming for all learners? There is much work being done on this topic across the province, but here are just a few strategies:
- Including Student Voice in our programs. This can include student-directed performance goals, performing groups, jamming, improvising, composition, student-selected repertoire, student choice in research projects and more.
- Performing diverse repertoire. Music can open doorways to understanding for our students and ourselves. With a clear focus on authentic performance and avoiding appropriation, we can use the piece we play to expand our students’ horizons, knowledge, and understanding of cultural/historical topics.
- Using the principles of UDL. Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, ensures that classrooms are inclusive spaces and that materials are accessible for all. A quick Google search produces a number of resources that can be applied to the music classroom to make our spaces truly safe and accessible for all learners.
- Use social justice. Many of today’s youth are intimately connected to social justice causes in their communities. From studying protest music to having students write environmental songs, we can use social justice to make our classrooms more inclusive and more progressive places.
Acknowledge relationships of privilege and power, and work to combat them. The work of anti-racism can be awkward and painful, forcing us to confront the privileges we’ve had in our experience of the world. But if we cannot acknowledge the fact that music education, and education in general, remains a world dominated by white folks, cis folks, middle and upper class folks, university-educated folks, neurotypical folks, and others who benefit from privilege, then we cannot work to break down the barriers. Owning our privilege openly, and indeed with our students, can go a long way to building a new path forward to inclusion.


Best Fun Facts Video for Kids
Be captivated watching a great selected and really simple to understand Fun Facts easy science for kids video:
Why Watch this Fun Facts Video
Watch this cool video and find out about 27 fun facts about random fun things. You will find out how the game mini golf actually started because women weren’t supposed to raise the golf club above their shoulder, how green dyed goat hair was used for grass on mini golf greens, learn how the word LEGO came from the Danish words that means “play well”, how the first roller coasters were Russian ice coasters, how the first roller coaster built was on Coney Island and it only travelled 6mph, how 2001 studies show that roller coasters are actually safer than your lawn chair, how the original rules of kickball were crazy because there were 30 players with no pitcher, and a lot more fun and interesting facts.
Watch this useful Fun Facts for kids video and easily enhance all your kids’s curiosity about Fun Facts.
This Fun Facts video is enjoyable to watch for your children, from those kids engaged in early learning programs for Kindergarten children, till grammar school, obviously together with preschoolers kids and adult supervised educational programs.
Begin to enrich your understanding our readily available cost-free educational videos for kids, personally selected by our private assistant editor. These videos are a whopping collection of science for kids videos available on our science kids website. Have a look at numerous more convincing and instructional albeit fun science facts on our complimentary science site about comparable topics, and download and print out our numerous COST-FREE fun worksheets, online interactive science trivia quiz game and free games for kids to play online.
Enjoyed our Fun Facts video? Go over extended additional info regarding Fun Facts.
Cite This Page
You may cut-and-paste the below MLA and APA citation examples:
MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Best Fun Facts Video for Kids - ." Easy Science for Kids, Oct 2020. Web. 22 Oct 2020. < https://easyscienceforkids.com/best-fun-facts-video-for-kids/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2020). Best Fun Facts Video for Kids -. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from https://easyscienceforkids.com/best-fun-facts-video-for-kids/
We've recently added
- How To Build a Winogradsky Column and Learn About Soil Science
- Potato Light Bulb Experiment
- How To Use Friction to Pick Up Bottle of Rice
- How To Make Popcorn Dance
- Vinegar and Baking Soda Fire Extinguisher
- Power of Bleach
- Comparing Surface Tension of Liquids with Pennies
- Ice Cream Chemistry
- Using Distillation to Purify Water
- Filter Water with Dirt
- Build a Balloon Barometer
- Build Your Very Own Seismograph


Early Years Narrative Training
BHT Early Education and Training's Early Years Narrative approach is about modelling signs, showing colour coded symbols and saying words. This support children’s Understanding, Auditory memory, Sequencing and Literacy development.
The main focus of this training is how we use the narrative structure in our daily conversations and how we do this without thinking about it, but we use a framework to structure what we are telling people. This helps us to sequence our thoughts and make sense to others.
This is a half day training session for practitioners working with children aged 3-5 years in the setting.
Once practitioners are trained then it is designed to be delivered as a small group intervention for children :
With speech & language difficulties
Who are shy or reluctant
With social communication difficulties
With attention & listening difficulties
Learning English as a second language
Who are verbally able but who need their skills extending towards early literacy
Please contact us for cost details.


There are 193 impact bonds across the world. Evidence is building that outcomes contracts deliver measurable impact.
New education outcomes initiatives are due to launch in 2020 that will address employment skills, computing skills, and math matriculation for school leavers, as well as improving provision and standards of early childhood education in South America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Educate Girls launched the first Development Impact Bond in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district in September 2015. Rajasthan has particularly acute educational challenges. 1 in 10 girls ages 11-14 in the state are not enrolled in school, and less than a quarter of rural children in Grade 3 can read a Grade 2-level paragraph or solve a subtraction problem.
The program was measured against two outcomes: learning gains of boys and girls in grades 3-5 and enrollment of out-of-school girls.
Results at the end of the three-year program showed impressive results:
116% of the final enrollment target achieved
160% of the final learning target achieved
In the final year, learning levels for students in program schools grew 79% more than their peers in other schools – almost the difference of an entire additional year of instruction.
The success of the program led to Educate Girls being named the first “Audacious Project” recipient in Asia. Using funding from the project – a massive philanthropic effort launched by TED – Educate Girls will expand to 35,000 villages across India, working to enroll the 1.6 million girls who are currently out of school.
Colombia Youth Employment Initiative
The unemployment rate in Colombia remains high at 9% and is even higher among vulnerable populations, such as young people and women, who are more likely to work in Colombia’s large informal sector. The armed conflict in Colombia has exacerbated labor market inequalities.
The first Colombian Social Impact Bond was launched in 2017 in Bogotá, Cali, and Pereira to provide sustained employment for vulnerable youth and in particular individuals internally displaced because of armed conflict. Results released after two years of implementation showed that:
899 people were placed in formal jobs (117% of 766 expected outcome beneficiaries)
677 people were retained in their jobs for three months (88% of 766 expected outcome beneficiaries)
309 people were retained in their jobs for six months (60% of 514 expected outcome beneficiaries)
Quality Education in India
The US $11 million Quality Education India Development Impact Bond has reported a 30% increase in the number of children achieving its benchmark learning outcomes in its first year of activity. The four-year program aims to improve numeracy and literacy outcomes for children aged 5-11 across 600 schools in Delhi and Gujarat.
It is funding the delivery of teaching enhancement programs to 600 schools, reaching more than 100,000 students aged 5–11. Based on an independent evaluation of more than 12,000 students, the program has resulted in almost a third more students achieving basic literacy and numeracy skills, and 40% of the target schools demonstrating significantly higher improvements in proficiency.
Uzbekistan Early Childhood Education Social Impact Bond
The World Bank recently launched the selection process for an Impact Bond to increase access to and improve the quality of early childhood education in preschools for children aged 3-7 across Uzbekistan.
The $4.85 million grant provided by the Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA) is complemented by and is a component of the World Bank’s Promoting Early Childhood Development Project financed through a $59.5 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA), with an additional grant of $9.5 million from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
The project aims to increase enrollment to at least 40% of children aged 3-7 in local preschools. Currently, only 29% of preschool-aged children are enrolled in school.