Some would say that there’s never been a better time to be a trainee teacher. The age of evidence based research means that whatever practices we want to adopt in our classroom can be measured against a backdrop of effectiveness, cost and reliability of research (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/) The day we learnt about the EEF teaching and learning toolkit was one of the most useful and exciting days of my training so far. We no longer have to wait for a decade of trial and error before we can evaluate what is effective in our practice, luckily someone has done all the hard work for us.
As a science trainee teacher I feel passionate about literacy in science. Being able to read and comprehend scientific papers as well as communicating our ideas and rationale are crucial to success in any scientific field. So how do we justify the use of reading comprehension activities and collaborative work in a knowledge heavy curriculum? How do we stay motivated to encourage learning behaviours that seem to take the most amount of classroom management to implement? By coming back to the research.
According to the EEF, extensive research puts reading comprehension strategies and collaborative learning amongst the most effective ways to maximise pupil’s progress. Adding an average of 6 and 5 months progress respectively, behind only feedback and metacognition, they also happen to be conveniently cost effective. Knowing about this research can give us the confidence in the classroom to deliver what can be a tricky task to manage.
Last week our school invested in some CPD training based around reading comprehension strategies by Leah Crawford of Thinktalk. The evidence was made clear, using activities in our classrooms that combine reading comprehension with collaborative learning through what she referred to as ‘accountable talk’ is one of the most effective teaching strategies we could adopt. And the good news? It can be used in any subject.
The best thing about knowing this now, as a trainee teacher, is that I have the perfect opportunity to practice these skills whilst receiving regular and helpful feedback. We can use the year to increase our confidence and delivery of the teaching strategies that we know, through research, are most effective. This is even more important when delivering the kind of activities mentioned above, where the right material and delivery are paramount.
Two days after our CPD training I taught a year 10 class about energy changes in reactions. As Leah had told us two days earlier, we learn best through narrative so I set about writing a narrative about a Mr. N, Mr. X and a shop owned by a Su Dings. The story was delightfully indulgent as a narrative with characters such as the warm and charming fellow Mr. X , the cold frosty Mr. N and Su dings (who the pupils later realised had a middle name of Roun), but at the crux of it, it communicated a difficult scientific concept. The pupils had to work out what the story was about by discussing it in groups through accountable talk and feedback. They learnt through this narrative that when we measure temperature change in a reaction, we are measuring the energy released into the surroundings. They learnt about the conservation of energy, but more than that, they learnt to understand what was implied, to dig further than the characters and understand the true meaning of the story. They learnt to look for clues to help them understand and they learnt to share ideas with each other. It was encouragingly positive and the best thing was, as I was being observed on it, I could take some helpful feedback and tweak it for next time.
Putting these techniques into practice hasn’t been easy. Managing the level of challenge as a trainee can feel like walking a tightrope; too much challenge and they can’t access the task and disengage and too little challenge leaves them bored and more likely to go off topic. This is where collaborative learning, when done well, can be such a powerful tool. In fact, I’d argue that knowing how to get the pupils to talk on topic is much more valuable and harder than getting them to work in silence. That’s why this year, rather than just focusing on strategies for getting the class to be quiet, I’ll be dedicating even more time to acquiring the skills to get them talking.
For more information visit:


In the preschool room we want to create a home like environment that children feel confident to explore and learn. We embrace and value each child as an individual with different needs, interests and ways of being. We want to provide a happy, relaxed and secure environment that makes every child feel safe where they can reach their individual potential.
Early childhood is a time for children to simply enjoy themselves, learning about themselves and shaping who they desire to become throughout the process.
The term play is excessively underrated for its potential- in fact through play based practical learning approaches, even us as adults tend to learn a lot more about the world around us and the practical basis of the skill we intend to understand further.
By acknowledging ourselves as a child-led, play based learning curriculum approach we do not mean that children flit between activities with no engagement or substantial ‘learning’ occurring, rather we recognise the prospective of children becoming attuned with what they enjoy and note the potential of interest based learning.
When you are truly interested in something then you try your absolute hardest to know more about this interest, you take on this learning through multiple avenues and immerse yourself in this journey until you feel content with the learning you have gained. We would like to think this is how our curriculum approach pans out for children; interests are at the peak priority of inquiry, where children have the opportunity to work alone, in small groups and in large groups, investigating, hypothesising and exploring the world around them.
Within this, children learn to have their own ideas, have their voices heard, listen to their peers, co-construct new ideas, revisit and reflect on the learning that has occurred and strategies about the future direction of their group inquiries. What a powerful tool for young children to learn at such a tender age. These social skills promote their growth and development on so many levels; these are skills that will encourage them to prosper into the future. One of the most important ways children make sense of their social worlds is through playing with others. A sense of belonging and positive sense of self is developed as children learn to negotiate roles and develop ways to positively interact with others.
Alongside social skills, these project inquiries mould multiple other learning domains. Commonly, literacy and early numeracy skills are challenged through play based inquiries as children share what they already know about the numerical and alphabet systems, whilst also engaging multimodal texts such as imagery. Sometimes as adults it is difficult for us to recognise the tremendous impact imagery has on shaping our brains development and encouraging us to recognise the messages and meaning presented by visual texts.
We believe children learn language and literacy through talking and listening as they interact with adults and other children during meaningful experiences. Language and literacy development is promoted in everyday conversations, books, dramatic play, art, music and movement. We believe children develop written literacy skills through experimentation with making marks that while being supported by adults.
We aim to enhance the children’s physical skills by setting up our environment both indoor and out to challenge children’s growing skills. The environment includes a wide range of activities which encourage the development of large muscles and small muscles movement and co-ordination.
Playing and learning go naturally hand in hand for pre-schoolers, we want to provide opportunities for them to challenge and master their skills while having fun and making friends.
The most important thing to take away from play based learning is to recognise that play is the natural instinct of the child – through play the child’s brain is wired in a natural process, with practical application being the most valuable tool for children’s growth and development.
As theorist Vygotsky (1978) says, “In play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself.”


GEMS Music Hub
What is GEMS Music Hub?
GEMS Music Hub gives students an opportunity to learn to play a variety of musical instruments. The Academy provides students a chance to develop a lifelong appreciation of music and an enthusiasm for learning, all in a nurturing environment with supportive teachers.
Why is music important for your child?
Research findings show that music can increase a child’s ability to learn, especially in reading and Mathematics.
- One report linked the study of music, including the rhythmic, tonal and practical skills it provides, to a superior cognitive performance in reading.
- Neuroscientists also underlined the benefits of an education in music when they discovered that music uses more parts of the brain than most other activities. These are the same areas of the brain which are involved in analytical and mathematical thinking.
- Another study showed that music education can positively impact our physical and mental well-being, including relieving anxiety, promoting relaxation, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and also helping with social development.
While music can increase our ability to learn, the benefits of education in music reach beyond the classroom and academic settings. Music teaches your child to connect with themselves and others. It teaches them how to make decisions and to problem solve. It raises self-esteem and opens doors to dreams and aspirations.
Who should enrol?
We accepts students from Grade 1/Grade 2 and above. Whether your child is preparing for the Trinity/ABRSM music exams, brushing up on musical skills, or learning to play a musical instrument for the very first time, our teachers are committed to helping your child achieve their musical goal.
Which Instruments can my child learn?
- Strings - Violin, Viola, Cello
- Woodwinds - Clarinet, Saxophone, Flute, Oboe, Recorder
- Guitar - acoustic, classical, electric, bass
- Drum kit
- Brass Trumpet, Trombone
For more information, please visit the GEMS Music Hub website.


I heard these words a lot this past weekend.
That’s because the NLS Music Section made its way to the NAfME (National Association for Music Education) conference in Grapevine, TX. While there, I was able to promote our service to music teachers from all over the country—and some future music teachers too!
The refrain I kept hearing over and over was “Wow! What a great service!” Many teachers either discussed theirs or a colleague’s experience teaching music to visually impaired students, or talked about how they wished they had known this program existed a few years ago when they had taught a visually impaired student. Others did not have experience teaching visually impaired students, but were thankful that a resource like the NLS Music Section exists.
One of the more popular resources I had brought along was a re-print of an article from a few years ago called “Resources for Helping Blind Music Students” by Mary A. Smaligo. This article discusses the avenues and options music teachers have to ensure that visually impaired students can access music materials as easily as any sighted student.
Another popular and new resource is our bibliography of method books in braille and large print. Although not available ready to be sent out as of today, if you are interested in this resource we can email you the list for a specific instrument. This publication is great for teachers who would like to see what is available for their students to use.
Many teachers were also interested in the large print music collection, remarking on how big the print is (and how much page turning would be required). I simply replied that our patrons are so happy to be receiving music they can use that they are not focusing on the page turns!
I also was able to correct some misconceptions about what braille music really is. Many teachers assumed it would be a tactile raised graphic of what is on the print page. I explained that music braille is a code—much like print music. Each braille symbol tells the reader something about the music, just like a p for piano and a number sign (#) for a sharp represent a bit of musical information to sighted folks.
Over all, we were able to spread the word to more musicians and teachers about our wonderful (and free!) service. Hopefully we will be talking to some more teachers in the future.


There are lots of useful resources to help children and young people with vision impairment to learn and develop.
Products, toys and games
We offer a great selection of products that have been specially selected by parents, children and play experts for their tactile, sound, educational and visually stimulating play and learning potential.
Children’s newspapers and magazines are free of charge from our Newsagent.
Accessible learning materials
RNIB Bookshare UK education collection (formerly Load2Learn) is a free online resource. It allows educators to download curriculum materials in a range of formats and adapt them to suit personal reading needs, including braille, large print and audio.
Other reading resources
Booktouch from Bookstart aims to get blind and partially sighted babies and toddlers "bookstarted". A Booktouch pack is available free to parents or carers of blind or partially sighted children up to (and including) the age of four. Packs can be accessed via Local Authorities or by asking your Health Visitor about them.
You may be interested in shared reading books. These are standard print books that have been adapted to include braille on clear interleaved sheets or on clear labels which have been stuck to the pages of the book.
Accessible image books are designed to support and encourage the early stages of tactile graphic literacy development and enjoyment.
Calibre Audio Library has a wide choice of full-length books for children and young people available to borrow.
Cue and Review provides national magazines on tape, including five teenage titles with an emphasis on music.
Clear Vision lends tactile books and dual format braille/print and Moon/print books for adults and children to share reading. Titles are suitable for pre-school children and children learning to read. Living Paintings Trust is a unique national charity that helps blind and partially sighted adults and children by offering a free library service. By providing pictures that can be "felt" with audio commentary, Living Paintings enables children who cannot see to enjoy popular children's books. Membership is free - every item in this charity's library is loaned and posted for free.
Bag Books publishes multi-sensory stories for people with profound learning disabilities. The sensory contents invite interaction and the story line encourages the teller to use exaggerated voice tones and timing.
Story Sacks offer a large cloth bag which contains a story book and various props to bring the story to life. They have been developed for use in all childcare settings, but can be particularly useful in animating a story for a child who cannot see the pictures in the book.
Guide Dogs has a growing catalogue of large print books for children and young people up to age 25. Books are tailor-made to suit each eye condition for only the RRP per book.


Hobbies Playing Music D.C. al fine Italian Musical Command Share PINTEREST Email Print Hyacinth Playing Music Playing Piano Tutorials Piano Chords Buying Advice Music Education Playing Guitar Home Recording By Brandy Kraemer Updated March 19, 2019 D.C. al fine, or da capo al fine, means “from the head [beginning] to the end.” D.C. al fine is an indication to repeat from the beginning of the music, and continue until you reach the final barline or a double-barline marked with the word fine. Also Known As: du début jusqu’à la fin (Fr)vom Anfang bis zum Ende (Ger) Pronunciation: dah cah'-poh al fee'-nay More Italian Music Symbols to Know: ▪ marcato: informally referred to as simply an “accent,” a marcato makes a note slightly more pronounced than surrounding notes. ▪ legato or slur: connects two or more different notes. In piano music, the individual notes must be struck, but there should be no audible spaces between them. ▪ dal niente: "from nothing"; to gradually bring notes out of complete silence, or a crescendo that rises slowly from nowhere. ▪ decrescendo: to gradually decrease the volume of the music. A decrescendo is seen in sheet music as a narrowing angle, and is often marked decresc. ▪ delicato: “delicately”; to play with a light touch and an airy feel. ▪ dolcissimo: very sweetly; to play in a particularly delicate manner. Dolcissimo is a superlative of "dolce."


Build foundational skills and conceptual knowledge with this enormous collection of printable math worksheets drafted for students of elementary help with math problems free school, middle school and high school. math activities and print outs via wikisori.com montessori tips for writing a research paper math printables port assignment via montessori materials montessori math materials via montessori album module 4 math homework for kids math by livable learning, hope4 … free montessori math …. choose your grade 4 topic:. fun math worksheets for middle school. math homework for kids these essay feedback online math jokes are proof (get it?) that math can be a great source of humor — and humor, it math homework for kids turns out, might even help with those math skills free math problem solver answers your algebra homework questions with step-by-step explanations. this will take you to the individual page of the worksheet. forget dull and dry research methods assignments lessons that you have to convince reluctant students to complete wholesale clothing business plan oct 07, how to write an essay about my school 2020 · when kids want to laugh, they don’t usually essay feedback online turn to their math books for jokes. 5 samples of complaint letters tips for helping kids with math homework. gates scholarship essays stuck on your math or statistics homework? Take a peak at all the cheap computer paper 3rd grade math worksheets and math games to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, measurement, graphs, shapes, telling time, adding money, fractions, physics online homework and skip counting by 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s, 8s, math homework for kids 9s, 11s, 12s, and other third. easily download and print our 7th grade math worksheets.


How Long Do You Have to Go to College to Be a Teacher?
The minimum education requirement for becoming a teacher is a bachelor's degree, which typically takes four years to earn. Teachers usually take education classes and participate in student teaching, which adds another year to the process.
Aspiring teachers either choose to specialize in education or another specific field of study. Elementary school teachers, who teach all subjects, generally get degrees in elementary education. Secondary school teachers usually get degrees in their area of expertise, or endorsement area. Most teachers participate in a teacher-training program that includes education classes and student teaching. However, people who have graduated with a bachelor's degree and gain work experience in their endorsement area may skip this step, depending on their state's requirements. According to About.com, all teachers must have a license, sometimes called certification, to teach in any public school throughout the United States. There is an exam that students must passed to become certified. Teachers are not always required to be licensed to teach in a private school.


Working With Children Career Pathway
Discover if working with children and teens is for you. Participants benefit from ongoing support, professional development and career internship opportunities from Edmonton Public Schools Human Resource Services, in addition to industry certifications such as First Aid, with CPR/AED, and Mental Health First Aid. Practical and experiential!
Intro to Working with Special Needs
5 high school credits
This course introduces students to the foundational skills required to effectively contribute to learning teams while providing an introduction to children with exceptionalities by examining characteristics of diversity. Students will explore issues pertinent to children and youth with exceptionalities and how it impacts their learning and development. Through a variety of learning activities, students have the opportunity to build on and expand their own communication skills and practice the interpersonal skills needed to work productively in a variety of educational contexts as Educational Assistants, Social Workers, Teachers, Therapists and Coaches. A strong emphasis is placed on experiential learning and self-growth activities. Students will work at an elementary school twice a month to gain practical experience.
Prerequisite: 50% in English 20-2


Mastering the Basic Math Facts in Multiplication and Division: Strategies, Activities & Interventions to Move Students Beyond Memorization
-Susan O'Connell and John SanGiovanni
In today's math classroom, we want children to do more than just memorize math facts. We want them to understand the math facts they are being asked to memorize. Our goal is automaticity and understanding; without both, our children will never build the foundational skills needed to do more complex math. Both the Common Core State Standards and the NCTM Principles and Standards emphasize the importance of understanding the concepts of multiplication and division. Susan O'Connell and John SanGiovanni provide insights into the teaching of basic math facts, including a multitude of instructional strategies, teacher tips, and classroom activities to help students master their facts while strengthening their understanding of numbers, patterns, and properties.
Designed to be easily integrated into your existing math program, Mastering the Basic Math Facts:
- emphasizes the big ideas that provide a focus for math facts instruction
- broadens your repertoire of instructional strategies
- provides dozens of easy-to-implement activities to support varied levels of learners
- stimulates your reflection related to teaching math facts.
Through investigations, discussions, visual models, children's literature, and hands-on explorations, students develop an understanding of the concepts of multiplication and division, and through engaging, interactive practice achieve fluency with basic facts.
Whether you're introducing your students to basic math facts, reviewing facts, or providing intervention for struggling students, this book will provide you with insights and activities to simplify this complex, but critical, component of math teaching.
Extensive online resources include customizable activities, templates, recording sheets, and teacher tools (such as multiplication tables, game templates, and assessment options) to simplify your planning and preparation. Over 450 pages of reproducible forms are included in English and Spanish translation.
A study guide for Professional Learning Communities and book clubs is also included.
Discover more resources for developing mathematical thinking at Heinemann.com/Math
Vendor: Novschor Books


Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz musician and singer-songwriter with a career spanning nearly thirty years. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Holiday was known for her vocal delivery and improvisation skills, which made up for her limited range and lack of formal music education.
After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs around Harlem. After being heard by producer John Hammond, who commended her voice, Holiday was signed to Brunswick Records in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson yielded the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", which would later become a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday booked mainstream success with labels such as Columbia Records and Decca Records. By the late 1940s, however, Holiday was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, Holiday performed a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. However, due to her drug and alcohol problems, her reputation deteriorated.
Billie Holiday ( MG C-161) is the third 10 inch LP album of original material by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released on Clef Records in 1954 (her final album would also be given the same title, prior to being changed to Last Recording instead). The recordings took place in 1952 and 1954. Holiday never entered the recording studio in 1953.
In a 1954 review, Down Beat magazine praises the album, saying:
In 1956, when the 10inch format was phased out, Clef reissued the contents of this album on two different newly released 12inch compilation LPs. Five songs (tracks A1-B1) were added to A Recital By Billie Holiday (MG C-686), and the other three (tracks B2-4) were added to Solitude (MG C-690 ).
A maternal insult (also referred to as a "yo mama" joke) is a reference to a person's mother through the use of phrases such as "your mother" or other regional variants, frequently used to insult the target by way of their mother. Used as an insult, "your mother..." preys on widespread sentiments of filial piety, making the insult particularly and globally offensive. "Your mother" can be combined with most types of insults, although suggestions of promiscuity are particularly common. Insults based on obesity, incest, age, race, poverty, poor hygiene, unattractiveness, or stupidity may also be used.
Compared to other types of insults, "your mother" insults are especially likely to incite violence.
Slang variants such as "yo mama", "yo momma", "yer ma", "ya mum", "your mum" or "your mom" are sometimes used, depending on the local dialect. Insults involving "your mother" are commonly used when playing the dozens.
Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion (such as the old "your mother wears combat boots", which implied that one's mother worked as a prostitute in the military), the phrase "yo mama" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance.


If you’re searching for ways to address issues caused by English literacy barriers, you are reading the right blog!
The Kaleidoprax Process
The Kaleidoprax Model optimises the process of design thinking. It is important that organisations not just grab at tools and resources to fix a perceived problem or implement self-diagnosed solutions. Rather consider our suggested process using tried and tested resources at the right time and for appropriate milestone moments.
Start with a Language Audit
The Language Audit compiles the Communication Efficiency Map of the organisation. This is a scientific foundation to inform appropriate and efficient solutions.
A Language Audit comprises of two steps:
1. Data Collection
We use our ELSA (English Literacy Skills Assessment) as a standardised data collection tool to determine the literacy- and numeracy skills spread in the organisation.
2. Data Processing
To determine the actual level of English communication skills needed amongst the staff compliment for optimal operations, we analyse job profiles at the various levels. We also evaluate standard operating procedures and company communications for ease of reading and understanding. This exposes the communication themes and frequencies of understanding and meaning in the English work environment.
Data findings lead to informed decisions
From the information gathered in step 1 & 2, we are able to compile a Communication Efficiency Map for the organisation. It will compare the ideal levels with the real skills available and will highlight the gaps and opportunities.
This allows for informed decisions to consider appropriate and efficient solutions.
The best development plan should start with an awareness and language culture change approach. It may include work-contextualised resources as well as optimising formal learning programmes with appropriate language-approach support and tools.
It is however important to understand the needs before devising the plan.
Addressing the issues caused by language barriers in an organisation needs an inter-disciplinary approach. Grabbing at traditional thinking training solutions as the only gap-stopping interventions could result not only in low returns on investment, but also a loss of motivation and self-esteem amongst employees.
Why not plan smart for maximised momentum from development
Zerelde is a South African consultant who finds unique solutions for the challenges experienced by South Africans who are second-language users in the workplace.


Music Education for All
Overseen by Fiona Pendreigh MEC Chair via firstname.lastname@example.org
Music education brings benefits to those involved. Six key drivers will enable as many people as possible to enjoy those benefits:
- The importance of a broad definition of education: experiences which further knowledge, skills, attitudes, values or dispositions
- Recognising the wide range of purposes for which music is made and learned, enabling humans to flourish
- The wide range of learners involved in music education, and the importance of their voices being heard: all ages, from new-borns to centenarians; all conditions, including adults with dementia, children in challenging circumstances
- The wide range of providers of music education: schools, music services, orchestras, opera and ballet companies, private music teachers, community musicians, specialist music organisations, and others
- The importance of a plurality of music that people can identify with
- And an understanding of why music education for all is so important: because music making is a fundamental human right; and because it is a powerful benefit to those taking part.
Music Education for All runs both through and between all of the topics. It sets the tone for the work of all the groups and supports them in working collaboratively.
Music Education for All actively encouraging and promoting musical inclusivity within all groups
Music Education for All challenging and supporting all groups to work collaboratively with each other.
Under its banner of Music Education for All, the Music Education Council will
- Produce discussion documents
- Provide summaries of key documents
- Facilitate further professional dialogue across the sector


The years from birth to age 5 are special years in children’s lives.
During this time, they begin to express their personalities, which can be adorable, hilarious and even embarrassing at times (as nearly every parent or caregiver can attest).
These years are also a crucial time for cognitive, emotional and social development. Early childhood education plays an essential role in fostering children’s development before the age of 5 and prepares them for success for the rest of their academic years and beyond.
If you’re considering enrolling your child in a local preschool, there are several important criteria to look for in the program you choose:
- A defined curriculum
- Structured lesson plans
- A variety of hands-on learning experiences
- Qualified teachers who encourage parental involvement and regular communication
Keep reading to learn how a quality early childhood education can make a difference in your child’s development and future success.
Young children are naturally full of creativity and curiosity to explore the world around them. It’s truly incredible what a child can pick up just through informal play, social interaction and observation.
- Between the ages of 2 and 5, kids start to think and reason
- By age 2, the average child can say about 50 words
- By age 5, most children can say thousands of words, carry on conversations and tell stories
But to gain the foundational skills needed for future academic success, it takes some guidance in a safe, secure, nurturing environment. A positive preschool experience enables your child’s cognitive development to thrive by taking advantage of the years when learning occurs much more quickly.
- According to the widely-adopted Reggio Emilia philosophy of early education, children have the right to teachers and an educational environment that cultivates a lifelong interest in learning.
- The early education classroom should be led by a qualified teacher with the appropriate credentials for providing the quality learning experiences every parent expects.
- Teachers should use a variety of age-appropriate activities that stimulate interest across a range of subjects, from basic reading and math, to science, language, art, music and drama.
Emotional and Social Development
Another benefit of quality early education is that it provides an outlet for young children to express emotions with people outside of the family.
- Between the ages of 2 and 5, children should start learning how to manage their feelings.
- It is important to provide a way for young children to interact with their peers so they can develop all-important social skills.
- From sharing toys to discovering they won’t always get their way in life, playing with other children provides a rich educational experience in and of itself, in addition to lessons taught in the classroom.
Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson pointed out that social-emotional development occurs in stages.
- His research suggests children need to learn from their peers to grow into socially healthy adults.
- The first phase of socialization occurs by ages 1 or 2. The child who is well cared for develops trust, security and an overall optimism for life. Children who suffer abuse are more likely to become insecure and mistrustful of others.
- Ages 3 and 5 are the “play ages,” according to Erikson. This is when children begin to imagine, cooperate with others, lead and follow. The best way to practice these skills is to play with other children who are close in age — both at preschool and through regular playdates.
A quality early education program goes beyond teaching academic skills. It also helps children foster relationships with their peers and trusted adults.
It also maintains open lines of communication and encourages parental involvement in the learning process. At Little Sunshine’s Playhouse & Preschool®, for example, parents receive daily emails, known as Luvnotes™, summarizing their child’s activities each day, along with pictures or videos. KiddieCams™ provide parents with viewing access to any location in the school, from a monitor placed within the school.
After your child returns home from a day at preschool, take some time to just listen. Chances are, you’ll hear stories that communicate important information — their favorite activities, their biggest challenges and how important their friends are to them.
You can learn more about the importance of early childhood education in Part Two of this article, Common Questions About Early Childhood Education.If you’re interested in learning more about the unique Creatively Shine™ curriculum at Little Sunshine’s Playhouse & Preschool®, visit our website to find a location closest to you.


Since the COVID-19 pandemic has altered our daily norms and prompted school closures across the globe, teachers have been required to augment their instructional techniques and convert to remote learning environments.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began its outbreak in the United States, the educational landscape was thrown into a frenzy. Administrators, teachers, parents, and students all had to quickly acclimate to the new age of online learning.
While many of the fundamentals of reading and learning have remained the same over the decades, increased implementation of various technologies and new research has brought fresh perspectives and information. In honor of March is Reading Month, the Journal took…
In today’s digital age, it’s more important than ever to successfully integrate technology into learning. Screens and software-based educational programs have become a crucial tool in helping young learners to stay engaged while acquiring the foundational skills they need.


I Teach Kids How To Draw Cartoons!
My daytime programs and afterschool workshops are great ways to help kids learn to draw and think creatively. I visit elementary and middle schools in southeastern Michigan throughout the school year to instruct and inspire kids in the art of cartooning. Even beginners can get hands-on experience and watch as cartoons are created before their eyes. Students who are introduced to cartooning for a single session will be motivated to continue further on their own, possibly for an entire lifetime. It’s easy, affordable, educational, and fun!
While my afterschool workshop is my most popular program, I’m also available for school assemblies, classroom visits, latch-key sessions, PTO fundraisers, author visits, art clubs, libraries, community centers, scouting groups, private parties, and homeschooling.
To find out how to set up a program, click below:
Why Have Cartooning At School?
- Cartooning encourages creative thinking.
- Cartooning develops artistic expression.
- Cartooning helps improve motor skills.
- Cartooning increases confidence and self-esteem.
- Cartooning supports art education.
- Cartooning allows kids to see instant results.
- Cartooning is simple, quick, and easy.
- Cartooning is quiet and inexpensive.
- Cartooning is fun!


The goal of music education at Swift School is to learn music through experiencing music. As per state and national standards of music, students learn musical concepts by engaging with the artistic processes of Creating, Performing, and Responding, in addition to making connections with other subjects of study and real world applications.
In the Lower Division (grades 1-5), students participate in General Music. Choral music is incorporated into the program for these grades. Students learn songs and chants from around the world. They participate through moving, chanting, singing, listening to music and playing classroom instruments. Students learn rhythm through Orff rhythmic syllable words and pitch/notes through solfege syllables and Curwen hand signs. They learn to read notes on a musical staff and also improvise and compose musical ideas.
The Middle Division builds upon the musical experiences students had in the Lower Division program. Sixth grade focuses on the Orff approach. Students learn more advanced pieces from the Orff repertoire. Students also learn repertoire from folk, jazz, and popular genres. They learn additional music forms and compose and improvise new sections for the pieces they are learning. Seventh and 8th grade students engage with music through Sound Explorations. Students explore the Creating, Performing, and Responding artistic processes using everyday objects and musical instruments. As a result of Sound Explorations, students experience and learn rhythm, melody, and harmony more in-depth. All Middle Division students also engage with choral repertoire, to further develop their vocal technique and reading skills.


Greta is a working artist and is currently attending school for art education. This is her first semester working with Art Sphere. Her goal is to inspire her students to learn about the world through art, and express themselves freely.
Wednesday at Cohocksink Recreation center, Greta’s class celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday by recreating one of his characters. This lesson taught the students about one of the most famous authors and how he teaches people lessons that he feels are important through his drawings. Greta’s class ranges from kindergarten-5th grade.
Materials included: paper, colored markers, and crayons.
To start off the lesson Greta demonstrated the shapes step by step in order to create the body of the character. After every step she would walk around and see the students progress. Once the body was created the students were able to decorate as they liked.


Developmental Benefits of Art
Motor Skills: Many of the motions involved in making art, such as holding a paintbrush or scribbling with a crayon, are essential to the growth of fine motor skills in young children. Developmental milestones around age three should include drawing a circle and beginning to use safety scissors. Around age four, children may be able to draw a square and begin cutting straight lines with scissors. Many preschool programmes emphasise the use of scissors because it develops the dexterity children will need for writing.
Language Development: For very young children, making art—or just talking about it—provides opportunities to learn words for colours, shapes and actions. When toddlers are as young as a year old, parents can do simple activities such as crumpling up paper and calling it a “ball.” By primary school, students can use descriptive words to discuss their own creations or to talk about what feelings are elicited when they see different styles of artwork.
Decision Making: Art education strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The experience of making decisions and choices in the course of creating art carries over into other parts of life.
Visual Learning: Drawing, sculpting with clay and threading beads on a string all develop visual-spatial skills, which are more important than ever. Even toddlers know how to operate a smart phone or tablet, which means that even before they can read, kids are taking in visual information. This information consists of cues that we get from pictures or three-dimensional objects from digital media, books and television.
Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticise, and use visual information, and how to make choices based on it. Knowledge about the visual arts, such as graphic symbolism, is especially important in helping kids become smart consumers and navigate a world filled with marketing logos.
Inventiveness: When children are encouraged to express themselves and take risks in creating art, they develop a sense of innovation that will be important in their adult lives.
Cultural Awareness: As we live in an increasingly diverse society, the images of different groups in the media may also present mixed messages. Teaching children to recognise the choices an artist or designer makes in portraying a subject helps kids understand the concept that what they see may be someone’s interpretation of reality.
Improved Academic Performance: Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievement. Young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day on three days each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognised for academic achievement, to participate in a maths and science expo or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.


Our first unit is titled Artists Collect & Synthesize. It's all about... well, collecting stuff and synthesizing stuff. Artists collect all sorts of things from junk that they find on the beach to expensive things they buy. All of it can be used for art and many artists do just that.
We looked art artists that do exactly that like Andy Goldsworthy, Tara Donovan, and Mae Chevrette to name a few. But before we did all that, the students took part in a one day challenge.
First, before they even knew what the unit was titled, I asked them to go out around the school and find stuff. They could look inside, outside, wherever, but fill a bag with stuff. After introducing the unit, I challenged them to spend one day creating something out of the stuff they collected. Here are some of the results.
Art of South B
Artwork by students at
Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) is a student-directed art education pedagogy that directs students to think and work as artists.
Making Artists picks up where The Open Art Room left off, covering issues and situations choice teachers encounter as they design their program.
The Open Art Room provides a student-centered approach to art instruction that is inspirational, practical, and classroom-tested.
Click Here to read the March SchoolArts Article, Student-Directed Answers to Five Frequently Ask Questions
Click Here to Read the April SchoolArts Magazine Article Tracking Student Progress with the Burn Book!
Click Here to Read the February SchoolArts Article, Build A Dynamic Art Program with Modular Teaching!
Art Teacher : Ian Sands


Resources › For Educators Typical and Not "Normal" The Preferred Name for Children Without Disabilities Share Flipboard Email Print Huntstock/Disability Images/Getty Images For Educators Special Education Applied Behavior Analysis Behavior Management Lesson Plans Math Strategies Reading & Writing Social Skills Inclusion Strategies Individual Education Plans Becoming A Teacher Assessments & Tests Elementary Education Secondary Education Teaching Homeschooling By Jerry Webster Special Education Expert M.Ed., Special Education, West Chester University B.A., Elementary Education, University of Pittsburgh Jerry Webster, M.Ed., has over twenty years of experience teaching in special education classrooms. He holds a post-baccalaureate certificate from Penn State's Educating Individuals with Autism program. our editorial process Jerry Webster Updated February 23, 2019 "Typical," or "Typically Developing" is the most appropriate way to describe children who are not receiving special education services. "Normal" is frankly offensive since it implies that a special education child is "abnormal." It also implies that there is a single norm for children. Instead, it is preferred to refer to children without disabilities as "typical" because they have the behavior, intellectual ability and functional skills we would "typically" see in children of their age. How Mental Disability Used to be Defined At one time, the only measure of whether a child was disabled was how he or she performed on a measure of Intelligence, known as an "IQ Test." Describing the intellectual disability of a child was defined by the number of IQ points below the mean of 100 a child would fall. 20 points was "mildly retarded," 40 Points was "severely retarded." Now, a child is to be considered disabled if her or she fails to respond to intervention, or RTI. Instead of performance on an intelligence test, the child's disability is defined by his or her difficulty with grade appropriate academic material. How to Define "Typical" A "Typical" child would perform within a standard deviation of the mean of all children's performance. In other words, the distance on either side of the mean that represents the largest part of the "curve" of the population. We also can benchmark the social behavior of "typical" children as well. The ability to talk in complete sentences, the ability to initiation and maintain conversational exchange are behaviors, behaviors for which speech language pathologists have created norms. Oppositional defiant behavior can also be compared to the behavior expected of a child of the same age without disruptive or aggressive behavior. Finally, there are functional skills which children "typically" acquire at certain ages, such as dressing themselves, feeding themselves and typing their own shoes. These can also be bench marked for typical children. At what age, does a child child tie his or her shoes? At what age does a child typically cut his or her own food, using both hemispheres. "Typical" is especially appropriate when comparing a typically developing child with a child on the autism spectrum. Children with autism spectrum disorders have a great many language, social, physical and cognitive deficits. In many cases they are related to developmental delays that children with autism experience. It is often in contrast to "typically developing children" that we can best describe the needs of special education children. These students are sometimes referred to as "Regular Education Students" or "General Education Students." Example of How to Use the Word Ms. Johnson looks for as many opportunities as possible for her students with severe cognitive challenges to engage their typical peers. Typical children encouraged the children with disabilities while at the same time modeling age appropriate behavior.


Research Question. In what ways will providing a specific set of phonemic awareness activities such as sound blending, segmenting, and rhyming help my kindergarten students understand an early component to reading?
Research Activities. This study explores the effectiveness of phonemic awareness lessons focused on sound blending, segmenting, and rhyming to teach early literacy skills. Activities included fun, motivational lessons designed to teach students about sounds and word construction in an oral, small-group setting. Context. This study engaged three students from a self-contained kindergarten classroom at a public, suburban elementary school. The focus students were English language learners, with two speaking primarily Chinese and one speaking primarily Arabic at home. The students spanned ability levels but all needed help in phonemic awareness. One student was on an individual education plan. Method and data. The intervention covered a three-month study. A six-week lesson period utilized interaction with manipulatives, visuals, and kinesthetics that orally incorporated sound blending, segmenting, and rhyming. Students worked in a small group on individual questions and were asked to help each other out when they had trouble. Data sets influencing preliminary research design included preliminary data from a writer's workshop, parent survey, and observation notes. Baseline and post-intervention data sets included a student interview, an initial sound fluency assessment, a sound recognition assessment, and a segmentation assessment. Results. Results showed significant improvement in phonemic awareness over the course of the study. Focus students advanced in all three areas of segmenting, blending, and rhyming when comparing baseline and post-intervention data. Students also improved valuable skills in behavior, ability to follow directions, and teamwork. In addition to segmenting, blending, and rhyming, students improved in other areas of English literacy as well. One student improved from not speaking English at all to being able to speak English with relative comfort. The other two students improved dramatically in pronunciation of phonemes.
|Commitee:||Leonard-Fortes, Michelle, Merino, Barbara J.|
|School:||University of California, Davis|
|School Location:||United States -- California|
|Source:||MAI 48/01M, Masters Abstracts International|
|Subjects:||Bilingual education, Elementary education|
|Keywords:||English language learners, Kindergarten, Phoneme blending, Phoneme rhyming, Phoneme segmentation, Phonemic awareness|
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Early Years Literacy Development.
Updated: Nov 15, 2019
Do you have a favourite memory of reading stories before bed when you were a child? I do! One of my favourites was 'Goldilocks and the three bears by: Robert Southey"my siblings and I would ask for it routinely every night, I'm sure my mother knew it by heart! The story of Goldilocks and the three bears teaches the story reader (or listener!) that you should never do a job in a hurry, without much thought or preparation otherwise the big bad wolf would surely get you! Not only does reading books with your children engage them in incredible adventures but it stimulates their imaginations and causes their love for books to grow. So I encourage you to add book reading and interacting into your child's daily routine.
Here are some tips on getting your child to participate in pre-school literacy skill development:
1. Teach your child about the job of an author and illustrator.
2. Teach them how to turn the pages as to not tear them.
3. Use your index finger to follow underneath the words as you read them.
4. Ask them to read the story to you using their imaginations and the pictures for reference.
5. Enjoy and celebrate books and encourage your child to respect them and care for them in a proper manner.


If your child is having a hard time with handwriting, scissors, coloring in the lines, or other fine motor academic skills, it might be a good time for checking your child’s writing readiness skills, to make sure they’re mature.
CLICK HERE to learn more about how the brain matures, and why missing foundational skills can make learning difficult for your child.
Often if a child is having trouble writing, you will see the following problems:
- Can’t pick up coins or puzzle pieces. Can’t use tweezers. Fumbles a bit.
- Can’t hold a pencil correctly– awkward grasp
- Has a difficult time controlling pencils or crayons. Can’t color inside lines or draw circles or triangles
- Hand hurts if draws or writes
- Poor hand-eye coordination
- Messy or slow handwriting
- Can’t recognize letters if you draw them on their back.
- Dyslexia: poor letter recognition and memory
- Uses alternate feet to walk down stairs, swings alternate arm forward when skipping
- Able to cross over the midline easily
What are the Pre-Writing Skills?
We’ve used many different resources to help our children strengthen pre-writing and writing skills. We’re going to link to some of them here. Each of these websites has great information. This website has a great overview of pre-writing skills and how to develop them.
- Holding pencil correctly
- Pushing the correct amount to make the pencil/pen move.
- Hand and Finger Strength
- Hand eye coordination. Can reach out and touch what they mean to touch.
- Bilateral Integration: using the two hands to do different things as the same time. Can use knife and fork, scissors, zippers.
- Strength and dexterity of the fingers separate from the thumb. Can do different things with different fingers. Point finger. Poke. Rest side of hand on table and make circles with finger.
- Keeping letters and numbers on a straight line.
- Spaces between words and letters.
Foundational Skills are Important
Pre-writing skills are tied to the important foundational skills that we describe in this post. Please take a look. The foundational skills develop on top of one another, and if your child is missing lower-level foundational skills, you’ll need to help them develop those before they can master handwriting.
Every child eventually develops foundational skills. It can take longer for some, however, and you can help with exercises at home.
The best way to deal with missing or immature pre-writing skills is to have your child looked at by a pediatric occupational therapist. The occupational therapist will give your child a full evaluation during the first visit, and will then develop a plan to help your child’s brain develop through physical exercises.
For more information, you can go to our Big Checklist and answer the questions for motor skills. You can visit an occupational therapist and just go to one appointment, if that’s all you can afford. Then you can pay the OT to give you advice on what to do first. Some OTs will work with you in this fashion.
OT websites Have Exercises for Home
There are several OT websites that give great advice and have booklets and videos. Here are two of our favorites:
OT Mom is the website we’ve been following for the longest time. OT Mom is Tracey leRoux, a homeschooling mom and OT from South Africa. Her site is full of great, pragmatic ideas, resources, like her ebooks, which help teach you how to help your child develop specific skills, and all sorts of other instructions.
OT Toolbox is a website for OTs, parents, and teachers. It’s full of instructions, and also sells tools and resources. One of our favorite articles is 31 days of occupational therapy with free materials.


Music education can be enhanced by the use of digital tools, which can be employed as part of overall classroom teaching and home learning for students. Music lessons have long benefited from digital technology, whether through MIDI players and keyboards or through software like Sibelius.
However, what is the music classroom like today, and what are some of the key benefits to teaching music the digital way?
Moreover, what are some of the methods and tools that can be applied to digital music teaching, and what are some potential challenges?
The clearest appeal of teaching music using digital technology derives from how the subject needs to be keeping track with the online software and equipment that is easily accessible to students. Not making use of compositional software and programs like Garage Band means that teachers aren’t engaging with the kind of media that students are now familiar with.
Any students with musical talent should expect the same level of technological awareness from their music education, which can help structure and increase communication around learning practical skills and moving on to become Karaoke Champs.
In many ways, music provides an ideal subject for schools to make use of recording and mixing technology, with students able to combine traditional instruments and composition training with an awareness of how to use digital mixing and online music distribution to improve and get their work out to more people.
The use of proper equipment during the recordings such as microphones is an aspect that should not be neglected while going digital. For some excellent equipment take a look at snowball microphone reviews before purchasing the same.
Organizations like the Technology Institute for Music Educators provides more guidelines, in this context, for how different technologies can be adapted by teachers.
Discussing the spread of digital technologies into the music classroom, Jonathan Strange makes the argument that schools need to adapt to ‘digital natives’ used to easily creating and sharing music through YouTube and other social networks; these experiences need to be brought into the classroom, and more emphasis should be placed from primary school on viewing ICT and musical education as closely linked.
Software like Sibelius, Cubase, and Audacity can be used to enhance teaching and can be combined with lessons that teach students about music copyright, and how the music industry has changed with online file sharing and production.
At the same time, however, it’s important for teachers to recognize some of the drawbacks associated with using digital technology to help teach music. On the one hand, more technology means more opportunities to engage students with creating their own music, while also allowing them to go into much more detail in terms of understanding production techniques.
However, being able to make this education consistent across students of different abilities is problematic, whether as the result of students not having comparable technology at home, or not taking the time to learn musical theory.
Indeed, while digital technology can help students to produce and edit music more easily, there remains a question over whether this experimentation is able to deliver core curriculum values for composition, performance, and mastery of individual instruments.
Schools that do not have the resources to buy software and introduce digital learning aids to the classroom similarly face the problem of being able to remain relevant. It’s unfortunate, but giving students the kind of high-quality technology needed to make the most of digital music can mean having to weigh up the cost of new software and hardware against actual improvements in results.
About the author
Chris is a technology professional who has recently made the switch from the boardroom to the classroom – he’s a passionate tech advocate and is currently showing everyone the advantages it can have on education from direct learning to Easter exam revision.


What is a developmental delay?
Developmental delay refers to a child’s significant and ongoing lag in meeting developmental milestones in any or all of the following areas: cognitive development, social and emotional development, speech and language development, fine motor skill development, and gross motor skill development.
What causes developmental delay?
There is no single cause for developmental delay, but there are genetic and environmental factors that increase the risk of developmental delay in a child. Children with a genetic or chromosomal abnormality (like Down Syndrome) are at an increased risk for developmental delay. Environmental risks for developmental delay include: exposure to toxins (e.g. drugs and alcohol) or infections (e.g. measles, HIV) passed from mother to child during pregnancy; prematurity; severe poverty; maternal depression; and poor nutrition.
How do I know if my child is developmentally delayed?
If your child does not meet developmental milestones within the appropriate, expected time frame, do not assume that he is developmentally delayed. You should, however, consult your child’s doctor to insure that no concerns or issues are overlooked or ignored. A full evaluation completed by a professional is necessary to determining if a true delay exists.
How can I help treat my child’s condition?
Treatment for developmental delay is dependent upon the areas in which a child is experiencing delays. For example, a physical therapist would work with a child with gross motor delay; an occupational therapist would work with a child experiencing fine motor skills delay and/or deficits in sensory processing; and a speech-language pathologist would work with a child displaying delays in speech, language, oral motor skills, and/or feeding difficulties. Other professionals who may be involved in treating a child with developmental delays include a nutritionist, audiologist, psychologist, developmental therapist, education specialist, neuropsychologist and/or licensed professional counselor.
Our Approach at North Shore Pediatric Therapy
At North Shore Pediatric Therapy, our therapists work with children with developmental delays using a multisensory approach to provide the child with experiences which help improve his fine and gross motor skills, speech and language skills, oral motor skills, social skills, behavior, sensory processing skills, feeding skills, attention, and any other difficulties that are hindering his ability to fully succeed socially, academically and personally.


Yemen Worksheet – FREE Hidden Words in Sentences Puzzle
All About Yemen Worksheet – Get our interesting FREE Hidden Words in Sentences Puzzle.
Our FREE worksheet on Yemen comes with a find-the-hidden words game as well as a find the missing words game for kids.
This fun printable science worksheet all about Yemen is FREE to download and print at no cost and you can use the activity sheet as many times as you wish at home or in school!
The FREE hidden words in sentences puzzle on Yemen is a fun and an easy way to get your child’s attention during a science enrichment class, homeschooling, distant learning lessons, regular school science classes or while taking part in early learning activities.
This FREE Yemen hidden words puzzle is perfect for Grammar school kids from Grades 1 to 5. However, Kindergarten kids as well as Preschoolers will also benefit from this fun worksheet on Yemen.
Kids will enjoy to learn fun facts about Yemen with this activity sheet while playing the word search puzzle.
Your children will enjoy to learn fun facts all about Yemen while playing the word seek game.
Grammar school kids from 1st Grade to 5th Grade can use our Yemen activity sheet as a reading comprehension exercise.
Your kids shall learn very well about Yemen since they will probably need to read and re-read the facts about Yemen to find the missing words. This exercise will not only enhance their science knowledge, but also improves the ability to remember what they read and also betters their reading skills.
Preschool kids and Kindergarten kids who haven’t learned to read can benefit from this free fun facts Yemen worksheet as a fun listening comprehension tool.
Parents can read the fun facts about Yemen. Next, they ask the kids to remember what are the missing words. And then, kids learn to recognize words and find them in the Yemen hidden words puzzle.
Parents homeschooling their kids can use our Yemen worksheet to spend quality time educating their kids about Yemen.
Teachers and private tutors are free to use our FREE Yemen worksheet to supplement regular science classes at school and interest children in learning all about Yemen. Especially powerful is for you to utilize our free Geography worksheet for children on Yemen together with the free interactive online quiz with score on Yemen.
Our Fun Science Website offers many FREE printable fun Geography worksheets for kids and hidden-missing-word search games. Download and use our fun science word puzzles to make learning science fun for your children!
What do you know about Yemen? How many people live in Yemen? What is the official language used in Yemen? What is the history of this country?
Learn more fun facts about Yemen by downloading our free fun Yemen worksheet for children!
FREE Fun Facts About Yemen Worksheet for Kids
[sociallocker]Download the FREE Yemen word find puzzle for kids.[/sociallocker]
Cite This Page
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MLA Style Citation
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APA Style Citation
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Football-playing robots trained to walk using real infant walking paths scored more goals and won more games than robots trained to walk in straight lines, circles or squares
— By Tanya Petersen, Frontiers science writer
In the first study of its kind, researchers investigating motor skill development used walking paths generated by infants to train simulated football (soccer)-playing robots. In a simulated tournament, they found that the more varied the infant walking, the better the robot team’s performance. Published in Frontiers in Neurorobotics, the findings suggest that variety is important in the development of adaptive and proficient motor skills. The research also demonstrates the potential of using infant behavior to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The study tested robots in simulated games. In the first tournament, researchers compared the performance of a simulated robot football team trained on infants’ natural paths to that of teams trained on less varied, geometric paths like straight lines, circles and squares. Across 1,000 head-to-head simulated soccer matches, the infant-trained team consistently won.
In the second tournament, robot teams trained on different clusters of real infant walking paths were compared. The researchers found that the team trained with the most varied combination of path shape, step direction, number of steps and number of starts and stops outperformed teams trained with less varied paths.
“Infants must learn how to generate and interpret new information as they move through a dynamic world. But how? Walking is tremendously creative. No step is ever repeated in the same way. Infants run around a lot, often seemingly with no clear goal or destination in mind. Although this is typically considered a reflection of immaturity, infants’ naturally varied training regime may, in fact, be beneficial for learning to walk.”
Ossmy and Hoch say the research has relevance for clinicians and physical therapists wanting to train functional, adaptive motor skills like walking. Equally interesting is that observations of infant behavior could also inform research on Artificial Intelligence.
“Our findings support a growing body of literature that suggests that infants’ developmental training may constitute an ordered curriculum that facilitates learning and generalization. With advances in technology and data science that make collecting, storing, and analyzing large-scale datasets tractable, quantifying infants’ natural training input has become increasingly possible.”
The researchers caution that in the current study it was not possible to know which specific aspects of variable walking helped the infant trained robotics team outscore all other trained teams. Future studies along these lines may provide important insights to what makes everyday walking experience so beneficial.
They are now using similar methods to investigate the relationship between different training courses and how varying the penalty for error, for example falling, affects learning. Ossmy and Hoch say they see a large opportunity for further work.
“Developmental science is notoriously slow and stands to benefit from the speed and control of AI simulation. AI is notoriously data hungry and developmental researchers have begun to amass large corpora of data about infants — nature’s fastest most flexible learning machines. We hope that our new data will spur advancements in both developmental science and AI.”
Original article: Variety Wins: Soccer-Playing Robots and Infant Walking
REPUBLISHING GUIDELINES: Open access and sharing research is part of Frontiers’ mission. Unless otherwise noted, you can republish articles posted in the Frontiers news blog — as long as you include a link back to the original research. Selling the articles is not allowed.


Three degrees that specialize in childhood development
If you’re interested in childhood development, there are many different career paths to explore.
The most immediate and interactive path is through education. An elementary education degree offers a wide range of potential levels at which you can assist in childhood development. If you’re interested in teaching early childhood, pre-school, kindergarten, or elementary, there are courses available for you to specialize and direct your education towards your choice of degree. You can choose the grade level and content or the subject matter you want to pursue. All college and universities require years of study as well as practical application by means of classroom experience.
Another important degree for childhood development is childhood psychology. Through this degree, you can impact the most important stages of childhood development, whether it’s counseling for trauma or assisting children who have learning and/or behavioral problems. You aren’t likely going to be interacting with the same children on a daily basis like a classroom teacher, but you will play a vital role in the development of children.
A third important degree/field for specializing in childhood development is social work. While the field itself is not necessarily focused on children, applying the degree to a potential career with an organization like child protective services will give you the experience of helping children who find themselves in challenging living situations. You will a have very important impact on the lives of children in unfortunate and perhaps dangerous situation and can have vital effect on changing their lives for the better.


bulb is a web based platform where students and educators can curate, create, share, and showcase their smarts. The main goal of the service is to provide a space where students and teachers can evaluate the meaningful works they have created, and to showcase their highlights by bringing in all forms of multimedia. It’s an excellent resource and offers some great features that aren’t typically seen in other digital portfolio providers. Let’s take a look!
This review might be a little out of the vein of what we typically focus on here at the EdTech Roundup, but as a piano and percussion instructor for nearly 20 years, I have a deep-rooted passion for the incorporation of music and fine arts into K-12 education. I strongly believe that music education can be both a powerful and empowering component of a student’s education and I believe it’s a shame that so many schools have moved away from music requirements and integration.
Therefore, I’m always incredibly happy to see products like Cantata Learning’s new story books which incorporate music and movement in engaging and enjoyable ways. Let’s take a look!
Flipgrid is a new K-12 resource that is designed to promote open discussion between all students within your classroom. Teachers post topics, videos, or links for discussions and students respond to the prompt and to each other with short video reflections. It’s a wonderful resource, and Flipgrid offers a free plan as well for those who want to give it a try.
On the student side, FlipGrid is available as both an iOS and Android app, and teachers can login through any browser as well. Let’s take a look!
sciNote is a new resource that is designed to help scientists organize, store, and share data as well as collaborate on experiments. It’s an excellent resource for those working in the field, but it also holds a great deal of potential for use in high school science classrooms. There are multiple possibilities for differentiation and collaboration, plus, it’s a completely free resource. Let’s take a look!
ThinkCERCA: Standards-aligned Close Reading and Academic Writing Lessons for English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math (Updated)
ThinkCERCA is an online platform that focuses on strengthening close reading and argumentative writing skills across the curriculum. They offer lessons in ELA, the sciences, social studies, and math. This cross-curricular focus allows for teachers and schools to build a common language around literacy throughout grade levels and subject areas. It’s a wonderful resource, so let’s check it out!
Frontier is a new online resource that is designed to provide students with differentiated research and writing projects over a large variety of topics. The resource aims to gives students a choice as to which topic they’re interested in researching and writing about, and also asks students to make real-world connections through both topic and assessment options.
Frontier is available on any web enabled device and is currently available for free until March 31st. Let’s take a look!
Here you can find the Round Up's collection of in-depth reviews on the latest programs, apps, websites, and more.
Check out our featured review | ClassroomAPP: A Complete, K-12 Digital Platform for Online and In-Person Classrooms


Introduction to Health Occupations
Introduction to Health Occupations gives students exposure to different health career areas and develops fundamental skills used in the health sciences career cluster. This core course is designed to give an overview of the therapeutic, diagnostic, research and development, and support systems of the health care industry. This course also focuses on careers in biotechnology, which is the application of technology to biological processes for industrial, agricultural, and medical purposes, including genetic engineering. This introductory course provides exploration, discusses ethical and legal responsibilities, and builds foundational skills needed in these occupations. Instructional strategies may include lab projects, simulations, and cooperative ventures between school and community.
Medical Terminology will provide an introduction to medical terms used in multiple health occupations career pathways. Course instruction will provide a system for building a basic structure of medical terms. Pronouncing, spelling, defining terms and common medical abbreviations included. Recommended for students interested in any form of medical careers and for students in grades 11-12. This course will receive advanced credit at Southeast Community College which can also transfer to other postsecondary programs.
Fundamentals of Health Careers
This semester class enables students to learn, discuss, and perform basic patient care needed in a skilled medical facility in multiple health career pathways. Students will demonstrate and assess their interests and abilities to handle the college-level coursework as well as the physical and emotional challenges of patient health care. The course is taught by a registered nurse and includes 50% classroom instruction at a designated school site (may not be your home school) and 50% off-site lab time at SCC or skilled medical facility to be arranged by the instructor.
Students will provide their own transportation and will be flexible in scheduling some arranged off-site lab time. Prerequisites to this course include successful completion of either Intro to Health Occupations or Anatomy and Physiology and excellent attendance and work habits. Seniors have priority for this course. Juniors may be selected as space allows and would be placed on waiting list for their senior year. This course will be taught by a registered nurse from SCC and all off-site lab arrangements will be done by SCC. Students will also earn credit at SCC for this course and be qualified to earn their CNA certification from the State Health Department upon satisfactory completion. These CNA credentials transfer to many other health occupations programs throughout the state and nation. Enrollments will be limited.


A brain-based learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read.
This toolkit helps parents and educators learn about dyslexia and how to support the literacy development of students with dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a brain-based learning disability that specifically impairs a person’s ability to read.
Studies report fundamental differences in brain development and activation patterns between individuals with dyslexia and those without.
The characteristics of dyslexia legislation.
Breaking down the truth about Dyslexia.
Signs of typical reading development and possible indicators of risk for dyslexia.
Expert: Nadine Gaab Ph.D.
Expert: Guinevere Eden Ph.D.
Expert: Jack Fletcher, Ph.D.
This paper aims to provide an overview and some insight into what is known about screening for dyslexia. Section I provides a brief overview of “what is dyslexia” and the importance of screening for dyslexia risk. In Section II of this paper, we discuss the neurological and behavioral aspects relevant to dyslexia as well as the emerging research in both areas. Section III provides a robust presentation of viewpoints and considerations for best practices in behavioral screening.
The research reported here is funded by awards to the National Center on Improving Literacy from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, in partnership with the Office of Special Education Programs (Award #: S283D160003). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of OESE, OSEP, or the U.S. Department of Education. Copyright © 2020 National Center on Improving Literacy. https://improvingliterarcy.org


Many perceive what is happening in the present – with us, in our society, with the planet –as bizarre and surreal. And as a result, some of us appear to be gradually losing our faith in human reason. What we consider a phenomenon of our time is something one group of artists already experienced around a century ago, and which they made their calling card: Surrealism.
The SCHIRN SHORTCUTS are a new moving-picture format for art education. The concept of the Shortcuts starts out with the question as to where artistic phenomena or styles come from and how they develop. The implementation takes place via a sophisticated form of visual storytelling. The main focus of the narrative format lies on the derivation of the context or the subject of an exhibition, be it historical, aesthetic, social or related to the material concerned.
The SCHIRN SHORTCUT is the shortest way to acquire new knowledge about art. Let's get started!


Early Childhood Education (ECE) refers to the first 8 years of a child’s life. It is a sensitive phase where children first learn essential, critical, social, and emotional skills.
What is the significance of early childhood education?
Research in neuroscience confirms that the rate of development of the human mind is more rapid during 0-8 years than at any other age. Up-to 85% of the brain’s development is complete by the time a child attains six years of age. ECE acts as the groundwork that continues to grow throughout a child’s education.
Focusing on ECE results in better learning and retention of foundational skills that are needed for life. Quality ECE is also good for the country’s economy as it increases graduation rates and helps create a quality workforce.
Early Childhood Education In India And Why It’s Important.
Where does Indian Stand in ECE?
According to the world bank report (October 2019), India is facing “learning poverty”. It means being unable to read and understand the short age-appropriate text by age 10. As per the report, 55% of children in India at the late primary age are not proficient in reading. 2% of primary school-aged children are out of school. 54% of primary school students do not achieve the minimum proficiency level. However, India is 3.5 percentage points better than the average South Asian region.
How can we improve the current situation?
Government’s Initiatives: The government of India aims to strengthen the investment in ECCE (Early Child Care and Education) to give all young children, (particularly children from socio‑economically disadvantaged groups), access to quality education.
The New National Education Policy will develop a National Curriculum and Pedagogical Framework for ECCE. It will consist of two parts, a sub-framework for 0-3-year-olds and another sub-framework for 3-8-year-olds.
The overall goal of providing high-quality ECE will be achieved through:
- Stand-alone anganwadis
- Anganwadis co-located with primary schools.
- Stand-alone pre-schools.
- Pre-schools covering at least age 5 to 6 years co-located with primary schools.
Teacher Training for ECE: The government of India will dedicate resources to prepare an initial cadre of high-quality ECE teachers by giving them a special certification program and/or a one‑year diploma covering early numeracy, literacy, and other relevant aspects. Teacher vacancies will be filled at the earliest in disadvantaged areas, areas with large pupil-to-teacher ratios, and areas with high illiteracy rates. Local teachers or those familiar with local languages will be given priority.
Role of EdTech: One cannot ignore the role of Education Technology in boosting the quality of early education. Edtech can bring in more products and cover more areas by charting pathways for scale and building an ecosystem.
The size of the opportunity in numbers:
- 1.5 million schools
- 216 million school-going children
- 10 million teachers.
Technology can provide the right tools for parents, teachers, and pre-schools to facilitate efficient ECE. For example, Disney BYJU’S Early Learn app is designed to make early learning fun, engaging, and effective. This app is crafted for children aged between 6-8 years. The app emphasizes on ‘learn-by-doing’ by providing hands on practice for kids.
Another example is WhiteHat Jr, they have introduced live coding courses starting for kids from the 1st grade. Through coding kids can learn logic, convergent and divergent thinking, and creative expressionism. It can also help in bridging the gap between children’s skills and the requirements of the new world.
EdTechs can offer their expertise and technology capabilities to the government in providing better quality of ECE and facilitate attaining foundational literacy and numeracy for all children. We have to achieve this mission by 2025.


The Importance of Language and Literacy for Children in Daycare – Part 2
The Importance of Language and Literacy for Children in Daycare – Part 2 by Susie Beghin
Language and Literacy is key part of the 4 Pillars of Learning at Alpha’s Discovery Kids Preschool and Daycare, with locations in Mississauga and Oakville. This month, we will continue to examine Language and Literacy for children in daycare and provide tips on how parents can incorporate the curriculum in their own homes.
How to Foster a Love of Reading
The benefits of phonological learning in preschoolers is widely accepted by educators and child development experts. As part of our Language and Literacy Program, we utilize the highly successful Jolly Phonics literacy program. We focus on first learning letter sounds, not names, and rather than following the traditionally accepted alphabet sequence, we start with the most common letter sounds. The first ones we concentrate on are S A T, the common letter sounds in the English language. We sing songs to help develop association with the letter sounds, and then progress through the rest of the alphabet in a similar fashion. Once the sense of the letter sounds is developed, we learn the letter names. This approach encourages early reading in a fun way, and early reading helps develop literacy skills.
There are several ways we approach reading in the daycare and preschool environment. There are two types of reading activity: Interactive Reading and Dialogic Reading. Interactive Reading itself then takes two approaches. The first approach is the traditional storyteller format—an adult or older child reads to a child or group of children. The children listen and observe, but do not actively participate in the storytelling itself. In the second approach, the adult prompts the child or children with questions like “What do you think will happen next?” The children are encouraged to fully participate in the storytelling experience by asking questions, or making statements related to the narrative and their understanding of it. This type of reading encourages reading comprehension, projection, big picture thinking, and creativity.
Dialogic Reading, on the other hand, puts the child in charge or the narrative. The child tells the story to an adult or other children, either by reading or reciting from memory, or creates a story entirely their own by interpreting the pictures in a book in their own way. This creative interpretation puts the child in charge, encourages creativity, and develops language and vocabulary skills. This approach requires a lot of patience as the child will tell the story in their own way and we should refrain from correcting them as they tell the story.
Children’s Choice is Best
When reading we let the children choose the books they want to hear or read, because if the book is not interesting to them, they won’t engage. Reading won’t be fun, it will be a chore, or worse, a punishment. If a child is starting to read on their own, we let them go at their own pace, not rushing them along. When they make a mistake on a word, a correction is gently made to help them remember for next time, but it does not become the focus of the activity.
These are just some of the ways we incorporate Language and Literacy skills in our classrooms to help your children thrive. Stay tuned for our next blog post, where we will provide you with ways you can continue and enhance your child’s Language and Literacy development at home. If you want further information about our 4 Pillars of Learning click on the Curriculum page.
Thanks for reading The Importance of Language and Literacy for Children in Daycare – Part 2


Are you also spending too much time trying find resources for art, STEAM, and creative things? Perhaps like me, your school has closed for the rest of the year and you’re trying to sort out how to get good content to kids without losing your mind?
Sharing is caring. I believe when teachers share resources, it leaves more time to focus on the teaching.
I work hard to credit others when appropriate, and I never post materials made by others without their permission. I also believe in morals and karma, so try hard not to sell my materials to others. If you post a freebie to your own site, a credit with a link to original source is appreciated. If you post a purchased resource from my TPT (or any other TPT), you’re really breaking the teacher code of role modeling ethical digital citizenship, and you should stop.
I know some teachers make absolute bank, but I’m not one of them. I’m one of the ones just trying to recoup some of hundreds I personally spend keeping my Title 1 elementary Art and STEAM programs flourishing.
Classroom Visuals and Resources are on this page as you scroll down. Click the pink buttons to take you to Substitute Lesson Resources, Art Resources, and STEAM Resources.
(NOTE: I’ve been updating my website this month (May 2020), so check back for more soon)
Creative Substitute Lesson Resources
Art Education Resources
STEAM Education Resources
Classroom Labels in English and Spanish
I made these to support my bilingual and English Language Learners in the art room. They are FREE because I used a free border and took pictures from Google.
Art Table Labels in 8 Colors
There are two series right now that you can mix and match, and they are FREE because I don’t own rights to famous artworks, but these are fair educational use. The links will take you to my TPT page, but they are 100% free.
Makey Makey For the Classroom
Tips and My Process K-6 (pdf) Tips for Teaching Circuits and Makey Makey
Emergency Substitute Lesson Plans
Let’s face it, the average sub is not prepared to deal with the art room. I even prep my kids when I know I’m going to be at conferences, so they know what to do in case the sub is really clueless. While I rarely need a sick day (knock on wood!), I have these as my emergency lessons.
1st and 2nd: Roll a Creature Coming Soon
3rd and 4th: Roll a Picasso Portrait RollaPicassoPortrait
Handouts and Resources
Drawing Faces: Eyes, Noses, Mouths Coming Soon
Drawing Like Picasso: Eyes, Noses, and Mouths Coming Soon
Japanese Anime Drawing Resources: Made by Meredith Cosier and MaryJo McCoy AnimeWorksheetMcCoyCosier
Clay Coil Techniques: CoilTechniquesWorksheet
Video Game Design as Education Resources
VCU Currentlab Website: Modules to Share: I work as a Curriculum Developer with Luke Meeken and the Director, Dr. Ryan Patton
However, like all things, this page is ongoing as I update and collect. So check back on this page soon, and hopefully I’ll have more stuff on it.


Back to basics
Books and the library center
Books and related library center activities are the keystone of language and literacy development. The library center—also called the book center or language center—encourages and supports children as they decode squiggles and lines into meaningful print. The library is a place for discovery and investigation, discussion and evaluation, curiosity and satisfaction.
Use these guidelines as you set up and maintain your classroom library.
Building and managing the library
Position the library in a quiet, well-lit area of the classroom. Make the space cozy with low shelves, a rug, comfortable chairs, and floor pillows. Make sure there is enough room for children to browse through the shelves while making selections.
Display books neatly and attractively. Consider grouping fiction and nonfiction books separately, shelving books alphabetically, or arranging them by topic to make selection easier and to introduce proper library classification.
Rotate books regularly. Give children access to books you own and those you borrow from a library. For your ease and efficiency, consider tagging classroom books with short strips of colored tape at the bottom of the book’s spine (blue tape for books about animals, orange for books about families, for example). Help children learn to identify categories and help them distinguish between borrowed books from the library and those that are always available in your classroom. Include books that complement a current project or unit of study, and those that focus on a topic of particular interest to the children.
Teach children how to care for books. Encourage children to wash hands before handling books, turn the pages gently, and store books properly in their designated places. Model the best way to hold a book so that the spine isn’t damaged and the pages aren’t torn or folded.
Share books with enthusiasm. If you sound as though reading is a chore, children will regard it as such. On the other hand, let the text speak with its own voice; non-fiction sounds different from poetry. Save over-the-top dramatic reading for the stage.
Make sure your library includes books that depict a variety of cultures and ethnic groups in positive ways.
Collect and share a variety of literacy materials including books, magazines, recorded books, maps, and charts. Provide developmentally appropriate writing tools—lined paper, pencils, markers, colored pencils, and notepads—at a desk with child-sized chairs.
Check books often for needed repairs. Remove damaged books until repairs are made.
If you are beginning to build a classroom library, ask a children’s librarian to recommend books to buy. Look for books that have been awarded the Caldecott Medal for exceptional illustrations. Maintain a list of desired books and make the list available to families who want to buy and donate new books (to celebrate their child’s birthday or other special event, for example) or who might spot bargains at a local bookstore or garage sale.
Basic books for classroom libraries
Both fiction and nonfiction books will make your library center rich and satisfying. The most basic early care and education library includes these
Nonfiction concept books that give children information about the real world. Strive for books with photographs or realistic illustrations rather than cartoons, and make sure the text is accurate and vocabulary accessible to the children.
Poetry books that help children hear and repeat rhymes. Include a collection of Mother Goose rhymes and books that invite children to recite along with your reading.
Wordless books that allow children to make up a story that corresponds to the book’s pictures. These books build vocabulary, language fluency, and logic.
Predictable books that encourage children to repeat sequences and anticipate story action.
Picture books with text appropriate to the ages and developmental levels of the children in the group. Make sure to include class favorites as well as new publications. Pay attention both to the text style and the illustrations to make sure there is variety.
Longer chapter books that encourage older children to relax and imagine as you read aloud. When you read a chapter a day, you encourage children to remember and recap the story’s action and to look forward to the continuing adventure.
Science magazines with accurate text and informative pictures and labeled illustrations.
A basic picture dictionary like Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary that includes charts, maps, pronunciation guides, and labeled illustrations (designed for children 6 to 9 years) or the Scholastic First Picture Dictionary that includes labeled illustrations organized by category like the city, the body, and nature (designed for children 3 to 5 years).


Facts About Snakes Video for Kids
This video reveals a lot of interesting facts about snakes.
Snakes are reptiles and can be easily found across the world.
Fast facts: –
- Snakes are carnivores (meat eater) reptiles.
- Snake’s scales are made up of Keratin.
- The biggest snake is reticulated python. It can grow up to 32 feet.
- The thread snake is the smallest snake.
- They do not have eyelids.
- These reptiles cannot bite or chew their food so they have to swallow it whole at once.
- They can eat prey bigger than their head because of their flexible jaws.
- They have internal ears not external ones.
- Vine snakes have binocular vision.
- They can be easily found on any continent except Antarctica.
- Snakes, used in performances, respond to the movement not the sound.
- The Hognose, Grass snake and the Spitting Cobra will fake death when threatened. They flip into their backs, open their mouths and let their tongue flop out.
- There are more than 2800 species of snakes can be found all over the world.
- Generally, they have a very special skin type, smooth but dry.
- They shed their skin a number of times in a year.
- They have good smelling power but they use their tongue for that.
- Pythons kill their prey by wrapping around it and suffocating.
- Some sea snakes can breathe through their skin which allows them to stay underwater for a longer time.
- Anacondas are large but non-venomous snakes, mostly found in South America. They can reach up to 16 feet. They are thickest.
Cite This Page
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MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Fun snake facts for kids ." Easy Science for Kids, Oct 2020. Web. 24 Oct 2020. < https://easyscienceforkids.com/facts-about-snakes-video-for-kids-2/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2020). Fun snake facts for kids. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from https://easyscienceforkids.com/facts-about-snakes-video-for-kids-2/
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