Regularly scheduled arts events open doors to community education. Concert audiences appreciate informative printed program notes or a presentation offering information about the particular compositions to be performed. Ask your music dealer for assistance with preparation and printing. How about sponsoring a lecture/demonstration on certain pieces or styles of music prior to, or during, a performance? A parent or faculty rhythm band accompanying your school group on an appropriate piece during a concert provides an engaging experience for all. Why not ask an audience member to “conduct” a piece that the performers know and can execute quite well?
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Ideas to Implement
- Put facts that support music education on marquees and community bulletin boards, such as those at banks or grocery stores.
- Put mailers in monthly credit card statements from a local department store, or insert with monthly utility bills.
- Provide recordings of school performance groups to be played when callers are on hold on the school phone system (obtain all required copyright permissions).
- Provide music-related statements on “table tents” for restaurants.
- Have students write letters inviting community members to school music programs; program information can accompany the students’ invitation.
- Stage a “music open house” in which community members are invited to attend regularly scheduled classes.
Broadcast Your Act
Performing Wonders: Kids and the Arts, A Broadcaster Guide to Teaching Children About the Arts offers ideas to help radio or television stations give arts education visibility.
- Special Report: Arts Education. For a special news report or series, interview school officials and teachers to learn how schools use the arts as a learning tool.
- On with the Show. Follow a student music, dance or drama performance through casting and rehearsals to opening night.
- Profile Student Artists. Stations regularly produce “Student Athlete of the Week” features. Why not give the same kind of visibility to student artists?
To Get the Creative Juices Flowing, Consider the Following:
- A performance where a student or history teacher dresses like the composer of the piece and interjects stories of their inspiration or reasons for writing the piece. Students love to see their teachers participate
in these types of activities, plus it involves your faculty directly (thus allowing them to see the benefits of your program firsthand). And it involves student research—an interdisciplinary approach! Your administrators will see you as a real team leader.
- Another performance for children and parents could be an informal rehearsal of a quartet staged to demonstrate the collaborative process and exchange of ideas in bringing music to life. Building value for music also means sharing the process, not just the product!
- Give a presentation on the nature of sound and demonstrate the ways in which the various instruments create their own unique voice. The activities could includeallowing children and parents to “test” each of the instruments. A connection to science!
- Beginner-of-the-Month Awards. Music teachers identify one beginning music student each month who has demonstrated significant effort, improvement or collegiality. A traveling trophy goes to the student’s school for display. The newspaper runs the student’s photo, providing public recognition and increased community awareness. Initially the trophy could be sponsored by the school music dealer.
To assist in recruiting and to help the visual arts and music teachers work together, hold a poster contest each fall and spring. Over a 2–3 week period, students create posters around the theme “Join Band!” or “Join Orchestra!” or “Join Choir!” Teachers select a poster to be displayed in the school. The school music dealer could provide an ice cream party for that student’s class. Later, display all the posters at a local bank. Local TV stations love covering this event!


“The science-based curriculum and hands-on activities have enabled our daughter to learn about colors, light, and states of matter.”
We use a proven curriculum to encourage literacy skills, math problem-solving, social interaction, and the development of attention.
Through simple inquiries, children are introduced to rich vocabulary and higher thinking skills, such as planning, predicting, and drawing inferences.
Our classrooms provide writing, art, block, library, and dramatic play centers with activities that encourage intellectual, physical, and social skills.
Each day a science-based question provides structure for the day’s routine; children will explore activity centers that support the lesson. Activities in the various centers support hand-eye coordination and reading and handwriting skills. Children learn basic math principles by handling real objects and discussing them (as opposed to drill-based learning). Phonemic awareness and writing are woven into the curriculum and, twice a week, a music class emphasizes rhythm, creative movement and singing.
Preschool Tuition Information
8:30am – 2:30pm – Curriculum Hours
Full Time Plus
|Days Per Week|
|6:30 am – 8:30 am – Before School Extended Learning
8:30 am – 2:30 pm – Curriculum Hours
3:00 pm – 6:30 pm – After School Extended Learning
|Full Time – Curriculum hours (any time between 8:30 – 2:30.||$810||$1,060||$1,165||$1,250|
|Full Time Plus (Includes curriculum hours and before and after school extended learning program).||$1,035||$1,360||$1,480||$1,600|
|Please contact our school director with any questions you might have.|
Please fill out a waitlist form and we will contact you when a tour is available.
For easy reference, we have created information sheets for this program.
Printable Information Sheets
Have Further Questions?
Families experience deep comfort knowing they can rely on Kirkland Children's School as an important part of their child's life.
For more information please contact us today. We look forward to meeting you.


The Evidence on How Kids Learn to Read
A recent review explains the complex methods of literacy instruction.
Posted Aug 14, 2019
Reading is an essential life skill that predicts success on many levels later in life. There is clear evidence demonstrating that young people who do not learn to read proficiently are more likely to live in poverty, achieve a lower educational level, and become involved with the criminal justice system.
This means that the early years of elementary school – when kids learn to read Dr. Seuss and progress to Roald Dahl – are critical. Yet among educators, there has long been a debate about the best method for teaching reading. If you’ve got children getting ready to go back to school, it’s a great time to better understand how they will be learning so that you can engage with their educators.
The two main theories of reading instruction are phonics and whole language. Phonics instruction focuses on building reading skills from the ground up by teaching children the sounds letters make and then how to piece those letters together to make words. Whole language emphasizes the meaning of what children are reading instead of the sounds that make up individual words; it encourages them to combine speaking, listening, reading and writing to figure out the words on the page.
For decades, proponents of these two methods have argued over which is the best way to teach children to read. School districts choose one system or another depending on the preferences of the principal or individual teachers.
A recent systematic review published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest explains why both methods are important: Phonics, for early readers and for learning to write, as well as whole language instruction, to help children understand complex meanings.
First, the authors explain, beginning readers need to learn that letters represent sounds. Research demonstrates that virtually all children need help to figure this out, which is where phonics comes in. The most comprehensive analysis of phonics research was conducted by the National Reading Panel convened by the U.S. Congress in the 1990s. The panel conducted a systematic review of 38 studies comparing the success of systematic phonics instruction versus non-systematic phonics instruction or no phonics instruction. They found that children who were taught phonics systematically in kindergarten or first grade were significantly better at decoding, spelling, and comprehending text.
There is also evidence that readers at all levels – even adults – use the decoding processes learned through phonics to read words that are new to them throughout their lives. Just think of the wildly popular Harry Potter books, which introduced an entire set of invented wizarding words, such as “muggle” and “squib,” which readers had never encountered before. People of all ages read those words for the first time by sounding them out.
And yet, the review finds, learning phonics is only a first step in mastering reading. In order to fully understand texts, children can’t sound out every word. They must learn to recognize words automatically so that they can understand their meanings quickly and move onto the next word. The evidence shows that this is a gradual transition: Children start by sounding out most words and then slowly move towards recognizing and understanding more words automatically.
But how do educators teach this larger skill of word recognition? First, research shows it helps if children have a broad vocabulary so that they have heard and know the meaning of many words from an early age. This learning occurs through parents talking to kids on a daily basis, describing and explaining the world around them. And it occurs when adults read aloud to children, which exposes them to even more words and helps them to understand more complex meanings than they can read on their own.
Next, teachers help children memorize “sight words” – common words that are difficult to sound out, such as “the” and “you.” This allows children to read independently, which builds their experience and exposure to printed words.
As readers become more advanced, their knowledge about the world in general is one factor that helps them understand what they are reading. Their brain’s ability to process language quickly and access memory also affects reading comprehension. At this stage, children improve their comprehension skills by summarizing, discussing with peers or adults and, on the whole, taking a deep dive into the meaning of what they are reading.
The take-home message: Learning to read is complicated. And no single method of teaching reading works best. Learning to read requires a broad range of skills including phonics, learning vocabulary, memory and knowledge, and more. Students are most successful when teachers combine different methods to help them read.
Visit Cornell University’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research’s website for more information on our work solving human problems.


Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. (National Curriculum 2014)
We aim to ensure that all pupils:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
- can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions
- develop within their capabilities; not only the mathematics skills and understanding required for later life, but also an enthusiasm and fascination about maths itself.
- increase their confidence in maths so they are able to express themselves and their ideas using the language of maths with assurance.
There is a spiral progression in that pupils will revisit concepts across the year to recap, reinforce and then extend their knowledge, skills and understanding. All teaching groups across a year group cover the same topics, at a similar time, but at the appropriate level.
All staff are committed to raising the standards of numeracy of all our pupils, developing their ability to use numeracy skills effectively in all areas of the curriculum and the skills necessary to cope confidently with the demands of further education, employment and adult life.


Pre-requisite: Introduction to Foundational Skills and Montana Content Standards. This course falls into the Foundational Skills and the MCS for Elementary Schools pathway. Targeted at teachers for grades 1-5, this course will aid participants in assessing, planning to teach, teaching, and re-assessing phonics and word recognition. Upon completion participants will have a bank of strategy cards and practices to be used immediately in the classroom with students.
Created by Kathi Tiefenthaler, former OPI Title 1 School Support Unit Director.
|Self-paced||3 OPI Renewal Unit||1-5 Teachers|
|User rating: 3.7
"This course reminded me of why I originally got into teaching . . . ." —Teacher, Kalispell, MT


MUSIC MEMORY is a nationally recognized curriculum designed to promote the love and knowledge of classical music through an in-depth study of sixteen great composers, their lives and their music. Students are exposed to a revolutionary learning approach – unique Animated Listening Maps created in a different style and format for each selection that connect the aural experiences to their visual memories. Music selections are thoroughly learned in an engaging and highly effective way. Students explore the music “from the inside out” – they are helped to actively listen to all the elements of music (melody, harmony, form, timbre, dynamics, etc.) that make each music masterpiece different from all others. Our new teaching components deliver the MUSIC MEMORY curriculum using 21st Century technology. Give a Life-Long Gift ... the LOVE of Classical Music!
2020-2021 Music Memory Sampler
See what makes Music Memory Music Maps and Lessons different!
New York City Riverside Symphony
See why symphonies across the country are making Music Memory their #1 music education program!


Of course you can do more than one thing at once. The catch is you can’t do more more than one thing at once that requires concentration. You can walk and chew gum, but you can’t write an email and a report at the same time.
When you’re doing two things at once that are cognitively demanding, what you’re really doing is switching back and forth very quickly from one task to another.
The brain is a pretty smooth operator when it knows what direction to head. Transitioning from one task to another, however, dramatically reduces its horsepower.
There is a mental cost—called a switching cost—to all of this multitasking. But that’s not all it makes deep thinking impossible.
Steven Yantis, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins, says:
In addition to the switch cost, each time you switch away from a task and back again, you have to recall where you were in that task, what you were thinking about. If the tasks are complex, you may well forget some aspect of what you were thinking about before you switched away, which may require you to revisit some aspect of the task you had already solved (for example, you may have to re-read the last paragraph you’d been reading). Deep thinking about a complex topic can become nearly impossible.
Multitasking ensures the brain is operating sub-optimally.
When you try to do two or more cognitively demanding things at once, it’s as if you have a 1000 h.p. motor (your brain) but your throttling only gets you 100 h.p. of output.
There is a difference between the appearance of being busy—busywork—and actually moving the needle. Attempting to do more things may signal to others how busy you are, but if you care about actual results, you need to do fewer things better.
Our most valuable mental habits—things like deep and focused thought—must be learned through concentrated practice. This is a skill we’re starting to lose as more and more of our time gets fragmented away into small and smaller increments thanks to screens. Nicolas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brain, comments on his blog:
Our most valuable mental habits – the habits of deep and focused thought – must be learned, and the way we learn them is by practicing them, regularly and attentively. And that’s what our continuously connected, constantly distracted lives are stealing from us: the encouragement and the opportunity to practice reflection, introspection, and other contemplative modes of thought. Even formal research is increasingly taking the form of “power browsing,” according to a 2008 University College London study, rather than attentive and thorough study.
Patricia Greenfield, a professor of developmental psychology at UCLA, warns that our growing use of screens appears to weaken our “higher-order cognitive processes,” including “abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination.”
Busywork leads to overwork and sub-optimal outputs. Busywork is a psychological signal to others (and ourselves) that we’re needed. That we’re important. After-all, look how busy I am. This delusion is the reason we take on so many things and fail to say no. This delusion keeps us so busy that we’re not learning new things or even getting better at what we already do. This delusion inhibits us from deriving meaning in our work and our lives. This delusion keeps us from understanding how the world works and adapting to the changing reality.
The world is a competitive place. That means we have to learn how to do difficult things — things that other people value, things other people can’t do. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. What we really need to develop is not so much the specific traits that will be valued as much as a system to constantly reinvent ourselves and adapt.
This is the hard part and in an odd way, we need to go backwards to go forward. We need to develop skills we’ve once had and lost: The ability to read better, the ability to make better decisions, the ability to focus, and strategies to make sure we’re not consumed by busywork. These are the skills that will enable us to have quality ideas that other people don’t have. These are the foundational skills that underpin adaptability.


We all want to give our children the skills to make the most of their educations. One basic concept that we can encourage our toddlers to develop is letter recognition. Children who know their ABCs early are at an advantage, and may quickly move onto becoming fluent and critical readers.
My girls are well beyond learning their letters now that they’re 9 and reading at a middle school level. When they were younger, I had a repertoire of alphabet toys and “ABC games”, as a I called them, at my disposal. I think that these, in combination with constant access to age appropriate books, regularly being read to, and observing me read, helped my daughters become the strong and willing readers that they are today.
I don’t believe that toys, in isolation, can teach our children to read, but educational toys have their place alongside literacy experiences shared by parent and child. In my experience, Leapfrog is the leading brand when it comes to toys that help to teach literacy and numeracy skills.
I personally prefer their hands on toys, such as their Fridge Phonics set, to their tablets for getting toddlers excited about the alphabet.
We had a much older version of this toy nearly a decade ago. Its repetitive song of “‘B’ says /b/, ‘B’ says /b/, every letter makes a sound, ‘B’ says /b/” may have driven me a little batty, but my daughters did learn their letters! The letter magnets are interchangeable on the base. Press on the magnet, and it sings to your child the name of the letter. The musical note button sings the Alphabet Song.
I apologize for the vacuum cleaner in the background. Loved that Roomba!
I picked up a cheap set of letter flashcards at our local dollar store and kept them in the car. When we were stuck in traffic, I could hold a card up over my head and show my toddlers a letter. At first, I’d just tell them what the letter was. After a few weeks, they were able to tell me the name of the letters I showed them. Next, I started listing all the words I could think of that started with that letter. As my twins got older, they began to offer up their own words.
As I mentioned in my college campus post, one simple activity involved writing each letter of the alphabet, in both upper and lower case, on a sheet of paper on a clipboard. We went outside or looked through books and magazines, crossing out each letter on the list as we found it.
One way to keep my kids occupied when we were running errands was to assign them each a letter of the alphabet to find. They could last an entire grocery shopping trip, hunting for the first letter of their names or looking for every “E” in sight.
What games do you play with your toddlers to teach them the alphabet?


Threes, Fours & Pre-K
Our preschool uses a thematic based curriculum which bridges learning with social, emotional, language, physical and cognitive development. Our curriculum beautifully incorporates phonics, early literacy development, manual dexterity, mathematics, Science, Spanish, Music, Arts, healthy mind and body along with character and self-esteem building. Our strong academic foundation is designed to nurture the love of learning but never stress a child.
Each classroom has a daily schedule that is consistent and structured but also allows for much needed flexibility. Each classroom is arranged with clearly defined learning centers to help facilitate learning through interacting with others. The daily schedule provides a balance of group activity, child facilitated and teacher guided activity as well as quiet personal time. Each classroom provides a cozy reading corner for group or individual reading and book discovery to help foster the love of reading.
Our small classroom ratios allow for tailor-made activities to meet the individualized needs of each child. Every child is under close observation so teachers can identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. The Hiawatha Day School is committed to partnering with parents to explore creative and successful ways to strengthen problem areas a child may experience. With everyone on board, every child will succeed.
Our cumulative preschool program ensures each child is well prepared for kindergarten. Most of our pre-kindergarteners are reading at a first grade reading level upon entering kindergarten. Our pre-kindergarteners will perform several musicals, skits and speaking programs throughout the school year. We use these special events to help children build self confidence and self esteem. These events also showcase what the children are learning and help keep the family unit involved. Please see our thematic school calendar to see all the wonderful programs planned.
Our Preschool Program Highlights include but are not limited to:
- Build and maintain positive, open relationships with families and children
- Provide consistent and prompt responses to each child’s needs.
- Prepare and maintain a safe, clean, healthy and stimulating environment
- Establish predictable, consistent routines…yet flexible
- Nurture social-emotional growth, socialization and identity
- Foster cognitive development
- Personalize routine
- one on one time with each child
- Promote physical development
- Promote language and communication development and learning
- Guide, love and protect each child.


I originally wrote this piece for the Scandinavian auction house Lauritz.com‘s blog, and wanted to share it with CulturePeel.com readers interested in modern design.
For most Americans, encounters with Apple’s iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad don’t immediately conjure up thoughts of Germany. And yet the mastermind behind Apple’s iconic designs, British-born industrial designer Jonathan Ive, is quite open about the profound influence German industrial designer Dieter Rams has had on his work.
Place the iPod next to one of Rams’ 50s and 60s product designs for Braun, and it’s easy to see why. Rams’ 10 principles for good design, which include innovation, the ability to help us understand a product, and the key “good design is as little design is possible” permeate Apple products to the core.
And Apple is just one example. German designers’ focus on simplicity, intelligence and innovation has held great appeal for Modernism-loving Americans for decades.
It started with Bauhaus. Founded in Germany by architect Walter Grotius in 1919, the hugely influential school sought to bring all art forms together, reconciling unique craftsmanship with mass production.
Under Nazi pressure, the school closed in 1933. It was a tragedy for the creative minds associated with the school – but for the United States, it meant the arrival of a wave of Bauhaus teachers and students who would influence American art and architecture, as well as its graphic, interior and industrial design.
Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Bauhaus school’s last architect-director, were among the émigrés. Rohe, whose work the Nazis had rejected as not being German enough, quickly made a name for himself in the US. He became head of the Department of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and introduced the influential Second Chicago School, with a new way of designing skyscrapers like his IBM Plaza in Chicago. Rohe’s famous Barcelona chair, created for the German Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona Exposition, also became a favorite in America.
A few more items from Bauhaus’ American portfolio: Rohe’s 1951 Farnsworth House outside Chicago and Gropius’ 1938 Boston-area home impacted the work of such leading American architects as Philip Johnson, who designed the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Hungarian-born Bauhaus student and teacher Marcel Breuer, designed the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Artist Josef Albers greatly influenced art education.
And today? True, German design does not get the instant look of recognition enjoyed by its Scandinavian or Italian counterparts (the German Design Council attributes this to Germany’s marketing mechanism). But contemporary German designers’ passion for reinventing everyday items resonates across the Atlantic.
In 2010, Konstantin Grcic’s work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago; his MYTO chair got The New York Times’ attention for its inventive, ultra-eco-friendly design. Both Grcic’s and fellow German designer Werner Aisslinger’s work is now part of the prestigious MoMA collection (as are Dieter Rams’ Braun designs).
German-born multi-disciplinary artist Timothy Schreiber, winner of three red dot design awards, is represented by the Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia. And Elisa Strozyk, (who won the 2010 German Design Award for Newcomers for her hybrid parquet floor/fabric designs) is attracting attention with her experimental work.


Newswise — Yes, parents. There is someone who can help.
As another school year starts, parents and caregivers of school-age children face the realities of schooling during a pandemic. Maybe their children are back in school full time, but with masking and sanitation guidelines that are an integral part of every day. Or maybe they’re fully online, playing whack-a-mole with technological issues. Maybe it’s somewhere in between. But no matter the situation, kids still act like kids and the stress and uncertainty of school can tax the entire family’s emotional, physical and mental strength.
So, I repeat: There is help.
The Behavior Response Support Team (BRST, pronounced “burst), a joint project of the University of Utah’s Department of Educational Psychology and the Granite School District, provides daily tips and teaches skills for managing kids’ behavior amid remote learning, in-person learning and general pandemic conditions. The animated videos, featuring avatars representing diverse children and families, are provided in seven languages and on five social media platforms.
“We think of these videos as foundational skills caregivers can use to help their children,” says Aaron Fischer, Dee Endowed Professor of School Psychology and BRST co-director. “I’d love for people to thrive. That’s our goal, but just to be able to get through all of this, during COVID-19, is key, and hopefully some of these skills get people there.”
Find an introductory video here. Content is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, French and Arabic.


In the jazz world, much of the discrimination against women was discrete—much went unsaid, and many women, even those with great talent, were simply ignored. The orchestral scene was a bit more overt about discrimination towards women. Perhaps it was America’s long-standing traditions with European orchestral models that prolonged this discrimination, but it wasn’t until the 21st century that real progress was made with women joining professional orchestras. Antiquated Victorian ideals as well deluded ideas of a woman’s physical limitations to playing musical instruments professionally fueled this discrimination. As quoted from Gustave Kerker in the Musical Standard journal in 1904:
Nature never intended the fair sex to become cornetists, trombonists, and players of wind instruments. In the first place they are not strong enough to play them as well as men; they lack the lip and lung power to hold notes which deficiency makes them always play out of tune…Another point against them is that women cannot possibly play brass instruments and look pretty, an why should they spoil their good looks?
Sexual discrimination is still a major issue in the orchestral scene as well as the music conservatories that train musicians. While this news may be disheartening, the fact that awareness has been raised, research is being conducted, and women are taking advantage of musical opportunities now more than ever are all signs that progress is being made.
In conclusion, it was a matter of American traditions and culture that shaped women’s roles in music. The fact that women were excluded from mainstream musical scenes forced women to unite and form new, all-women groups. The United States military was rooted in service and duty—women’s involvement in military bands mirrored these ideas and helped to shape the band tradition in America as well as music education. Popular music like the Blues sparked the formation of America’s true art form: jazz. Singers like Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith sang of the hardships that African American females faced and gave the American public a needed dose of stark reality. All-women jazz groups like the Ingenues and the Harlem Playgirls, though perceived as “novelty” acts, allowed women to engage in professional music careers in jazz—careers that would become more prominent in the future. While sexual discrimination in the orchestral music scene has been the most prevalent and is still at a state today that requires attention, changes are being made in the right direction for female musicians. American conductor Leopold Stokowski said, “What a poof economy it is to take it for granted that women are not ready to enter the world of art, are not capable of becoming fluent channels for the expression of genius…We are sacrificing accomplishment to tradition.”
So, let us form new traditions for women in the American music scene! I have really enjoyed this research and have realized that there is so much out there on this subject. I plan on researching these topics more this summer– after I finish Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants, of course. Ladies and gents, read this– it is hilarious. (and may supply me with a few blog posts!) Oh, and also check out this handout from Lin Foulk’s site– the quotations will surely enrage you 🙂
Gustave Kerker, “Opinions of Some New York Leaders on Women as Orchestral Players,” Musical Standard, Vol. 21 (April 2, 1904).


Yoga can benefit children and teenagers in many ways, but since it’s not taught in schools very often they rarely see the benefits. While it’s fantastic as a form of exercise for adults, there are specific ways that it benefits youth between the ages of 5 and 11. Encouraging the practice of yoga early by teaching it in schools at this age, children will find a tremendous amount of ways that yoga physically and emotionally nourishes them.
Here are a few things you’ll notice that yoga provides if taught in schools early:
Yoga Builds Healthy Self-Esteem
Working through the process of learning yoga and discovering physical limits can be frustrating, especially for children. Yoga helps to teach them integral qualities like patience and perseverance. Children have to learn to move their bodies into the posture being taught, using only guidance and demonstration from the teacher. Mastering a posture gives them self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
Yoga Enhances Concentration and Focus
The practice of yoga helps a child clear their mind of other thoughts, which is important at an early age. They learn focus while they work on a particular pose or on staying balanced. This passive method of learning focus innately helps children perform better in school. This kind of integrated learning is helpful because it’s not just another form of school – it’s a full-body activity that just feels fun, but on a secondary level, they’re learning.
Yoga Begins the Process of Self-Awareness
For children of school age, yoga starts building a strong framework of motor skill development along with emotional balance that is often not yet developed. The practice of yoga helps kids develop coping skills when dealing with stress, anger and frustration – all feelings often found in school. In the long term these skills help reduce the feelings of fear and helplessness in social situations, reduce anxiety about test-taking and reduce disciplinary issues in children who show signs of Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder.
Yoga Reduces Obesity
Being active through practicing yoga helps children build healthy habits of physical fitness and, through the learned self-awareness, helps to establish an understanding of the effects of diet on health at an early age. Studies have shown that children who have a regular yoga practice make better food choices and are more physically active than children who do not participate in yoga.
It doesn’t take much to start a child on a healthy path in life. Introducing yoga early in schools is a great way to develop strong, healthy, balanced adults.


Background and Context
The Friendship School is a school fittingly named for its mission: friendly relations between towns, families and educators; a fertile ground in which a diverse group of children can learn and grow.
LEARN is a Regional Educational Service Center that provides educational options and specialized programming to communities throughout southeastern Connecticut. For the development of the Friendship School, the team at LEARN developed consensus between the Town of Waterford and City of New London on a program for a Early Childhood Learning for 3-5 year olds. Concurrently, Waterford was in the process evaluating sites for a new community center. With a search underway for both, stakeholders decided to collaborate on a co-location study – presenting opportunities to create a mutual benefit and multi-generational learning and interaction. JCJ Architecture was retained to undertake site assessment, planning and design for both facilities. Following an evaluation process, a 53 acre parcel with an existing manufacturing building – constrained on the west by the High School, to the east by a housing complex, to the south by wetlands and to the north by Route 156 – was recommended by JCJ and selected by the Owner.
With limited buildable area and drawing inspiration from the active and historic coastal location, the team set to developing a compact floor plan and to combine the two programs into one building.
The team developed a nautilus-shaped plan for the Friendship School. With curving corridors that act as dynamic circulation spines – connecting classrooms and major program areas – the process of wayfinding is part of an exploratory interaction. Twenty-seven classrooms are grouped into nine triads, each containing pairs of Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten classrooms, faculty offices, and shared toileting facilities. Each uniquely shaped classroom contain dedicated zones for gross motor skills, dramatic play, arts and crafts, and quiet work; each zone is finished, equipped and furnished to suit the needs, preferences, and scale of the child. Inclusion of children with identified special needs occurs in every classroom, with related services taking place within the school with typically developing peers. The dynamic learning environment includes core spaces - media center, cafeteria, and arts room – are supplemented by a health center, administrative areas, an informal outdoor learning area and soft-surface playscape.
The Friendship School’s features, layout, coloration and abundant daylight cleverly support a fundamental goal of providing children with stimulating, comfortable, and developmentally appropriate environments. The school was designed to support brain-based learning, promote the four basic environmental needs of children for Movement, Comfort, Competence, and Control.
The team proposed a unique fast track strategy to reuse the existing building. By starting construction during the winter months - building the new school inside the existing structure – the team captured valuable time without being exposed to the weather. Portions of the existing column grid were retained, including in the cafeteria which features exposed structure from the original building.
The Waterford Community Center and Friendship School are linked physically through a corridor and visually through views from the Community Center out into the school’s outdoor play area
Though the Town of Waterford did not pursue LEED certification, the project was designed to follow the parameters of green design. Application of sustainable design principles includes solar orientation, high efficiency motors, low-e glazing, motion controlled lighting, heat recovery systems, and linoleum flooring. Adaptive re-use of an existing warehouse building accommodated nearly half of the school’s total building area and the facility’s compact footprint maintains more than 45 acres of the existing site. Using pre-finished metal panels and brick, as well as aluminum windows and curtain walls, minimized the need for ongoing maintenance. Interior selections included economical but durable materials. Abundant natural lighting – from skylights and clerestory windows – also allows for a meaningful reduction of energy costs.


Welcome to the Lincoln Public School Music home page. Lincoln Public Schools offers a comprehensive preK-12 music curriculum. This curriculum provides experiences through continuous and systematic instruction in areas of music congruent with the music section outlined in the Nebraska Fine Arts Standards and National Core Arts Standards.
The mission of music education in Lincoln Public Schools is to enrich the lives of all students through the experiences of creating, performing, and responding to music.
The comprehensive, sequential study of music in Lincoln Public Schools will be taught by highly qualified music educators in order to:
- Life long learners in music
- Performers of music
- Consumers of music
- Listeners and critical thinkers of music
- Innovators in music
- Individual creativity
- Musical literacy
- Cooperative learning
- The discovery of intrinsic and aesthetic values of music
- An enjoyment of music
- Ways to recognize, celebrate, and preserve cultural heritages and backgrounds
Guiding values supporting vision of music education in Lincoln Public Schools:


Kindergarten-Zoom Into the Body
1st Grade-Design a Paintbrush
2nd Grade-Dear Santa 2
The students created a video letter using Photo Booth to tell Santa (or someone who may purchase a gift for them) what they want, need, would wear, would read, and a wish for someone else. Completed videos were uploaded to Google Classroom.
3rd Grade-Inventory of Traits
We began a new unit about the variation of traits. The students learned about inherited traits and took a Google Form survey of their own traits. After the class completed the survey, each student viewed the spreadsheet of responses and created a graph to show the variation in our class of a selected trait.
4th Grade-Catch Up on Code
The students were given time to work through the stages and lessons in Code.org that were started in previous lessons.
5th Grade-Minecraft Hour of Code
Students made the connection between our Minecraft engineering unit and the coding learned in the last unit by working through Minecraft Hour of Code. They also completed a Google Form survey about the Minecraft engineering experience. They were overwhelmingly in favor of the Minecraft Animal Pen activity.
Welcome to the STEAM Studio Blog for Jamestown Upper & Lower Elementary Schools in Hudsonville, MI. Here you will find the latest projects and concepts we've been working on in class.
comes to Hudsonville with 17 years of teaching information and technology skills to elementary students. After earning a BA in Elementary Education at the University of Northern Iowa and a Master’s degree from the University of Iowa in 2000, she drew a circle on the map and chose Southwest Michigan.


BY J. FREEMAN KING
Even though American Sign Language (ASL) and English are totally diverse languages in that one, ASL, is a visual language and English, in its spoken form, is an auditory language, their manner of acquisition is strikingly similar, in that the brain readily encodes both a visual language and an auditory language in like fashion. Certainly, deaf children are born with a predisposition to learn language, whether it be visual , spoken, or a combination of both—the goal being to provide for the basic human right to communicate deeply and meaningfully with others and to develop age-appropriate language skills.
However, a number of myths have developed regarding the relationship of the two languages. In fact, these misconceptions are so prevalent among society and professionals that they might be considered folk-myths. Following are some of the myths and the facts for rebuttal:
myth The learning of American Sign Language (ASL) will either prohibit or inhibit the learning of speech.
fact The learning of American Sign Language can assist deaf children in learning to speak, as well as to write in English. Research has shown that fluency in ASL positively influences speech development and the development of English literacy in deaf students. With or without assistive listening devices, the deaf child is primarily a visual learner. Therefore, it is logical and pedagogically sound to play to the child’s strength, vision, and not to his/her weakness, hearing.
myth Learning both American Sign Language and spoken English will confuse the child.
fact Studies have shown that learning American Sign Language will actually help the deaf child learn spoken English and develop literacy in written English. Research conducted in the Visual Language Laboratory at Gallaudet University indicates that deaf children whose first language is ASL achieve higher levels of English competency, due to the carry-over effect of a visually accessible language.
myth Deaf children should learn to speak first, because speech is an indicator of academic success. They can learn ASL later when they are adults.
fact A bilingual approach utilizing both American Sign Language (visual language) and English (spoken language) prevents language deprivation. Research indicates that deaf children who are immersed in both ASL and English achieve language milestones on time and on track with language and literacy development. Contrary to popular belief, a bilingual approach (both ASL and English) does not impede successful language learning; in fact, it has the opposite effect. Studies show that early exposure to multiple languages ensures optimal linguistic and cognitive development. Limiting or prohibiting exposure to one language with the aim for improving the acquisition of another is unwarranted, as both languages will support the other’s language development.
myth The deaf child will be socially deprived if they learn American Sign Language.
fact American Sign Language fosters optimized social interactions for deaf children because there is no language confusion or delay associated with its use. The establishment of accessible and complete early communication with parents, siblings, and extended family members is vital to developing cognitive abilities, the acquisition of world knowledge, communicating fully with the surrounding world, and one’s personal identity. It is through an accessible and complete language that children develop social, emotional, and cognitive abilities that are critical to timely development in all areas.
myth American Sign Language is not actually a real language.
fact American Sign Language is a natural language with its own grammar, idioms, and figurative allusions that are independent of English. ASL, like all languages, has naturally developed over time among a community of users and is acquired through an ordinary course of language acquisition by children exposed to it. ASL is grammatically organized according to principles found in all other human languages, but exhibits independent patterns of organization based on vision. In fact, ASL is the third most popular language offered on university campuses throughout the United States.
myth American Sign Language should not be used in the educational environment as it will detract from the learning of academic subjects and will impede the development of literacy in English.
fact The use of American Sign Language in the educational setting embodies the use to two languages, ASL and English, as well as two cultures, the hearing culture and the Deaf culture. Goals include: 1) using a visual language to increase knowledge of content information; 2) developing transfer strategies from ASL to English in order to enhance information gain; and, 3) developing a strong metalinguistic awareness of English and how it is used in different settings. Literacy in English can be achieved by first providing the child opportunities to acquire a visual language (ASL), and then bridging from this language to the written form of English.•
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
J. Freeman King is affiliated with Utah State University.


Resources › For Educators State Unit Study - California Series of Unit Studies for each of the 50 states. Share Flipboard Email Print Graphic Maps For Educators Homeschooling Geography Spelling Becoming A Teacher Assessments & Tests Elementary Education Secondary Education Special Education Teaching By Beverly Hernandez Homeschooling Expert Beverly Hernandez is a veteran homeschooler and the former administrator of a large independent study program. our editorial process Beverly Hernandez Updated July 06, 2017 These state unit studies are designed to help children learn the geography of the United States and learn factual information about every state. These studies are great for children in the public and private education system as well as homeschooled children. Print the United States Map and color each state as you study it. Keep map at the front of your notebook for use with each state. Print the State Information Sheet and fill in the information as you find it. Print the California State Map and fill in the state capital, large cities and state attractions that you find. Answer the following questions on lined paper in complete sentences. State Capital What is the capital?State Flag Who designed the flag?State Flower Where did the scientific name come from?State Bird How is this bird easily recognized?State Tree What is the average trunk diameter?State Song Who wrote the state song?State Seal What river is the miner working by? Here's a great picture of the state seal.State Animal How tall do these animals grow?State Marine Mammal How big do these whales grow?State Reptile What are the eating habits of this reptile?State Fish When did this fish become the official fish?State InsectWhat is the wingspan of this insect?State MineralWhat is the foundation of the economic history of California?State RockWhat is the coloring of this rock?State Motto What does this Greek word mean? California Printable Pages - Learn more about California with these printable worksheets and coloring pages. California Word Search - Find the California state symbols and other related words. Did You Know... List two interesting facts. California Landmarks - The state of California has designated nearly 1100 sites as California State Historical Landmarks. This site has pictures of many of them. Your Idea Becomes a Law - Learn how a bill becomes law in the State of California. San Diego Natural History Museum - Explore the activities at the Kid's Habitat. Energy Quest - Energy education from the California Energy Commission. Main Squeeze - Learn about the California orange industry. The California Gold Rush - Learn all about the California Gold Rush with this online student booklet. Odd California Law: It used to be illegal to peel an orange in a hotel room.


You’ve come to the right place if you are looking for the best Winter Science Activities and Experiments for kids. Fun, hands-on learning science activities will have children exploring snow, making slime recipes, creating crystal snowflake ornaments, learning about winter animals and more. Your kids will love these winter science experiments!
Science Experiments for Preschoolers
25+ Winter Science Activities for Kids
Winter science activities and experiments for preschool, kindergarten and beyond.
When the temperature drops and the season has changed, it’s a great time to incorporate different types of science activities into your day. Using winter themes makes learning and enjoying science experiments and activities so much more exciting.
Kindergarten Science Experiments
During the winter season, it’s important to create homemade bird feeders for your neighborhood birds so that they can get to a meal regardless of the weather conditions.
affiliate links can be found on this page at no cost to you.
Science Activities for Kids
Ice Science Experiment: Can You Get Ice To Burn? from schoolingamonkey.com
Winter Science Investigation: Why We Salt The Roads In The Winter from rainydaymum.co.uk
Insta Snow Science Experiments from coffeecupsandcrayons.com
Christmas Science Experiment For Kids from kcedventures.com
Painted Ice Lanterns from willowday.net
Winter Density Jar Science Experiment For Kids from lemonlimeadventures.com
Fascinating Frozen Bubbles from firefliesandmudpies.com
Hot Cocoa And Marshmallows Melting Snowman Activity For Winter from artscrackers.com
How Arctic Animals Stay Warm In Icy Water from icanteachmychild.com
Learn About Hot And Cold Temperature Science Experiments For Kids from alittlepinchofperfect.com
Crystallized Icicle Ornaments With Borax from happyhooligans.ca
Icy Snowman Winter Sensory Play And Science Experiment from fantasticfunandlearning.com
Winter Science Experiment: How Much Water Is In Snow? from kcedventures.com
Snowy Winter Volcano Science Experiment For Kids from lifeovercs.com
Instant Ice Winter Science Experiment from livingwellmom.com
Hot Chocolate Surprise Winter Science For Kids from fantasticfunandlearning.com
Frozen Excavations from lemonlimeadventures.com
Erupting Snowballs Winter Science Activity from wunder-mom.com
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Matisse Inspired Pins
Creating art helps students integrate knowledge and experience.
Lesson Plan Ideas
Learning Objectives for Grades: 3rd – 5th
Developed by: Rachel Heisler University of Minnesota Duluth, Art Education Major, under the direction of Brenda Deterling, K-5 Art Teacher, Congdon Park Elementary & Lincoln Piedmont Elementary, Duluth, Minnesota
- Investigate the works of Henri Matisse.
- Learn the differences of geometric and organic shapes by creating a collage.
- Create sculptural art from a 2D project (Transfer ideas from 2D to 3D).
- Explore various materials to create wearable art, combining soft and hard materials–contrasts of textures.
- Explore Elements of Visual Art: line, shape, color, form and texture.
Discuss Henri Matisse’s work and his use of organic and geometric shapes.
Using 8″ x 8″ white paper as their background have each child create a collage by cutting out geometric and organic shapes from Fadeless® Assorted Art Paper. Shapes should overlap and go off the page to create an interesting composition. Glue shapes in place with white glue.
Looking at the collage, cut out three shapes from Pacon® Peacock® 40 point Display Board. First draw the shapes and cut with scissors.
Using Pacon® Plast’r Craft®, cover board shapes. First cut the Plast’r Craft® a little larger than the shape you’re covering, dip in water and squeeze out excess. Then cover shape, smoothing Plast’r Craft® as you go. Let dry overnight.
Using the collage as inspiration, paint plastered shapes with acrylic paint. Each shape has to be a different color.
After paint dries, assemble by stacking shapes in an interesting way. With the teachers help, hot glue pieces together.
Pick out feathers, beads, or glitter to embellish your pin! With teacher’s help, hot glue items on.
Decide how the pin should hang when clipped on to something and hot glue a pin-back with teacher’s help. Let pin dry while glue sets.
- Matte collages with black paper to make the colors pop!
- Let Plast’r Craft® dry overnight.
- Have extra helping hands when hot gluing!
- Glue pin back high on the back so it will hang nicely!


In March, the National Education Policy Center published a policy statement claiming that policymakers “should realize there is no settled science of reading” and should avoid “prescriptions that will tie the hands of professional educators.”
But the science of reading is not a new trend—it is, in fact, well-established. We know young readers need to learn a code that is a human invention. In order to read, they must apply that code fluently when translating symbols into sounds, and those sounds into words.
For some, learning to break the code may happen rather easily; however, for many, it will not happen without explicit and systematic instruction. Greater attention to teaching teachers how best to deploy this key pillar of reading instruction will support their success and, most importantly, the success of their students.
Teachers are professionals and want their students to be readers. For all students to read well, teachers must know how to support them to manipulate the sounds of spoken words and connect sounds with letters.
Teachers must explicitly teach them how to say sounds, blend them to read words and how to map the sounds with the letters and patterns to spell them. Reading and spelling for all students will not happen merely by exposing them to literature and encouraging them to guess at words. Further, most children learn to read along a common trajectory, and teachers must know that trajectory well enough to identify children who do not make progress and address their challenges.
Phonics Need Not Be Kill-and-Drill to Be Effective
I do not believe that teachers should spend all day helping students learn to break the code. Of course, they need to conduct engaging read-alouds. Of course, they need to help children develop fluency, vocabulary and background knowledge. Of course, students need to spend time reading books of interest. Reading is more than phonics and understanding how to connect sounds with letters. Reading is about making meaning.
But phonological awareness—recognizing the sounds of spoken words—and phonics are needed foundations to make meaning. Without explicit, systematic instruction in these foundational skills, too many children in my home state, Tennessee, and in the nation, will continue to struggle.
Whose responsibility is it to make the science of reading a reality in schools? I believe it is a responsibility for all. That requires all of us—universities, teachers and parents—to speak the same language and work in concert. Unfortunately, for too long we have worked in a fragmented, uncoordinated way. Now, that must change.
Tennessee Is Showing Us How To Get Everyone on the Same Page
Universities must take responsibility for ensuring their teacher graduates know the science of reading and are ready to teach it. They must ensure their graduates know how to differentiate instruction to support all learners, and how to address all components of reading. Schools and district leaders must expect their teachers to apply the science of reading in their classrooms and provide them with high-quality materials, coaching and professional development.
On the ground, teachers can communicate with parents to help them understand how their children are learning the code of written English as part of the larger project of learning to make meaning from written text. Teachers can share activities to try at home—like dialogic reading, where a parent and child discuss a book while the parent reads the story aloud.
My state, Tennessee, has taken some bold initial steps to get all these education stakeholders on the same page regarding how reading is taught. Governor Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn recently announced clear expectations that our state will finally put to work the “science of reading”—the practices of teaching systematic phonics that research has repeatedly shown benefit early readers. Leaders here are setting clear expectations for universities, districts and teachers.
Next comes promoting collaborations between universities, districts and individual schools, and directing funding purposely to support those partnerships. We need to collaborate and communicate to support our children to reach their full potential. If we want equity in education and citizens who are critical thinkers, we need to support them in becoming readers and writers.


There is much evidence that poverty, and the chronic stress it creates, hinders the development of young brains. However, new research finds one important aspect of neural functioning is gradually strengthened when underprivileged children engage in a challenging but fun activity: Music lessons.
A newly published study of six- to nine-year-olds living in gang-infested areas of Los Angeles finds those who spent two years participating in a free music-instruction program processed the sound of certain syllables more rapidly than their peers with less musical training.
"This research demonstrates that community music programs can literally remodel children’s brains in a way that improves sound processing, which could lead to better learning and language skills."
“This research demonstrates that community music programs can literally remodel children’s brains in a way that improves sound processing, which could lead to better learning and language skills,” reports lead author Nina Kraus of Northwestern University. Her study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Kraus and her colleagues followed 44 children for three years. All were students in the Los Angeles public schools; all lived in designated gang-reduction zones.
At the beginning of the first year, 18 students enrolled in the music-training program conducted by the Harmony Project. After six months or so of introductory musicianship classes (one-hour sessions twice weekly in which they learned fundamental skills), they moved on to group instrumental instruction.
Another 26 students had these lessons deferred for one year, starting their instruction at the beginning of year two.
At the end of each school year, all participants took part in neurophysiological testing, in which researchers determined how quickly their brains processed the distinction between the sounds “ba” and “ga.”
“Children with two years of training showed a marked improvement in the neural differentiation of the syllables,” Kraus and her colleagues report. “Across both groups, more music training was associated with larger enhancements in neural function.”
“This suggests that music training transferred to non-music listening settings to influence automatic auditory processing,” they add. “These improvements were in processes that are important for everyday communication.”
“Previous investigations have revealed that, as groups, children who are better readers, and children who hear better in noise, show stronger neural distinctions of these same syllables. These findings therefore provide support for the efficacy of community and co-curricular music program to engender improvements in nervous system function.”
Importantly, the researchers found this particular benefit of music education doesn’t kick in until after two full years of training. A few lessons won’t do it.
The good news, however, is that you don’t have to enjoy the privileges of wealth, or even middle-class status, for music training to make a difference.
It all adds to the mass of evidence—see here, here, and here—that music training impacts young brains in ways that go far beyond aesthetic appreciation. As Kraus and her colleagues put it: “Our findings support efforts to reintegrate music into public schooling as an important complement to science, technology, math, and reading instruction.”
Is anybody listening?


This study was done with older children, but I feel it applies
to young children as well. In fact, I believe music is even
more important for the younger learners!
Extended music education increases quality of school life
Recent research reveals measurable benefits of having a few extra hours of music education every week.
Recent research, published in the journal Music Education Research, reveals measurable benefits of having a few extra hours of music education every week.
In a comparative survey of nearly one thousand pupils across ten schools in Finland, Päivi-Sisko Eerola and Tuomas Eerola, doctoral students at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, measured and compared the quality of school life for students with and without extended music classes at Year 3 and Year 6 (ages 9 and 12 years old).
Their research uncovered significant differences between the two groups, with those who experienced longer music lessons rating the quality of school life higher in a majority of factors, particularly in areas related to general satisfaction about the school and a sense of achievement and opportunity for students.
Student satisfaction is not a trivial issue, Eerola warns, since it is linked with teachers’ work satisfaction and their number of absent days due to sickness (Ervasti et al. 2012): ‘If financial losses and absences of teachers can be reduced with more music at school we would certainly hear about it afterwards.’
- Päivi-Sisko Eerola, Tuomas Eerola. Extended music education enhances the quality of school life. Music Education Research, 2013; 1 DOI:10.1080/14613808.2013.829428


18. MUSICAL EDUCATION AND “THE TONE-DEAF”: Either Ideally, or Not at All!
A few videos in which my 3 year old students play several challenging pieces from sheet music with both hands were placed onto our website. What response did I receive from my colleagues? A bunch of irate reviews! They were indignant: the children didn’t have “proper hand positioning,” had rhythm and tempo inconsistencies, didn’t articulate the phrasing artistically and did not follow the dynamics. But please tell me, why should any of these things be relevant to a three year old!? Toddlers that haven’t learned to speak clearly yet are able to read sheet music and play on the piano using all ten fingers of both hands. Not only that, but they feel confident and comfortable doing this, as if they’re playing with their toys! It appears that the educators and professionals didn’t understand exactly what they were seeing.
In order to learn to walk and run, at first the child crawls and falls, and it doesn’t occur to anyone to criticize him for it. Where do teachers get the idea that in the very first steps the student must move with the grace of a ballet dancer? Where did this completely unnatural notion about the development of skills come from? In their opinion, kids don’t have the right to develop a skill gradually, but must be born with a complete understanding of sheet music and rounded hands. And if a three-year-old toddler can’t follow the rhythm and phrase, they think that he is being taught incorrectly! Either he needs to play ideally, or not at all!
What is the result of such a frame of mind? The overwhelming majority of children do not play at all. I’d already decided: so what if my toddlers can’t play ideally? What’s more important is that many of them can play, and with enjoyment. And once they develop their coordination, the language of music will become as accessible to them as their own thoughts.
It later turned out that my colleagues couldn’t have reacted differently. Digging around in the history of the development of the art of music, I discovered that music pedagogy is one of the oldest and most dogmatic relics of the past. At the time, live performance of music was an important part of peoples’ recreational activities. Every self-respecting person hoped to attain at least some type of music education, and to learn to play some type of music instrument. During those faraway times, a person that couldn’t play anything was simply considered to be uneducated! Music geniuses were the measure of success in music education. Little Beethoven was tormented as a child just because he couldn’t be the “second Mozart”; he received merciless spankings when he made mistakes!
Half a century has passed, and the world has long since changed, but music education remains as it was. People have progressed to automobiles, contrived a worldwide satellite network, cyber space, and global business. In the schools, computer programs and games have long been used as aids in teaching. Yet, music education has remained as the prim and proper old lady, persistently nagging, “Practice makes perfect!” and waving her cane at the student’s hands.
This is how I gained a serious interest in the influence of musical art on technical progress, and especially the role of pedagogy in this process. The dear, conservative manners of general music education gradually showed me its real face, which is seriously threatening the development of all musical art.


The purpose of this action research project was to determine if combining phonics and memorized vocabulary words into the reading instruction for Tier 2 students would increase fluency speed. For six weeks the researcher introduced Dolch sight words according to grade level to Tier 2 students. This was done in addition to the typical phonics instruction done in the general education classroom and Tier 2 resource room. At the beginning of each week students were given a list of 20 new vocabulary words. Throughout the week, students were asked to use these words in sentences, find them in books, and practice them using sensory activities, such as sand and shaving cream writing. Data was collected through quantitative testing done weekly to show students’ increase in memorized vocabulary. It was also done through quantitative testing using the Curriculum Based Measure and STAR Reading tests.


TWO YEAR OLDS
Fostering a child's limitless curiosity and the natural desire to push boundaries.
When your child is all over the place, they're discovering their world. Toddlers learn best in safe, loving places where they can explore the world around them as they know it. During their time with us your child will learn to count, discover writing and music, and start building toward following simple instructions in large and small groups. Each day is packed with carefully designed activities structured around six main development areas including: language and literacy development, executive function, social and emotional development, physical development and wellness, cognitive development, and creative expression. Our two year old program has four main goals and 21 objectives for your child to master before entering our Preschool program. These goals include learning about herself and others, mastering gross motor movements, learning about the world, and learning to communicate. The objectives are a way for our teachers to monitor your child’s development and include managing emotions, using personal care skills, showing a basic understanding of cause and effect, engaging in pretend play, participating in conversation, and experimenting with drawing and writing.


COVID-19 Reading Comprehension Guidance: Tips for Parents and Caregivers
This resource provides tips and guidance for parents and caregivers to foster reading comprehension skills at home. The guidance is intended to be adapted by education practitioners into a format that would be relevant for parents/caregivers in a given context. The resource includes names of the particular reading comprehension strategies in this version for practitioners, but these may be simplified or eliminated in the version used by parents.
This guidance should be adapted to the needs of the context, which may include but is not limited to:
- Translating and (possibly) simplifying the language and/or reducing the number of examples
- Adding illustrations and/or changing the format to be more parent-friendly
- Converting the essence of the guidance into short audio skits that could be played over the radio and/or distributed via SMS


If your child attends preschool or day care, then you might agree that the most important thing about this place is actually not the physical place, but the people. Your child can attend the Taj Mahal of child care centers, but if they do not feel loved and valued and truly known by a consistent, gentle and wise educator – then the rest doesn’t really matter. While Georgetown Hill has a people-centered approach to early childhood education, we recognize the central role that the physical environment can hold.
The physical space is a crucial piece of the quality child care picture. A purposefully-designed classroom is perhaps second only to the human being who is setting up each day! At Georgetown Hill, we have transformed our classroom environments over the last two years.
While we always have had plenty of developmentally appropriate “stuff,” organized centers, and a print-rich environment to support early literacy, we have been reflecting on how our physical environment represents our priorities when it comes to teaching young children.
Moreover, we have been learning about new research in brain development, the rise in sensory issues, and how we can maximize each unique child’s learning and engagement. Our take-aways from this reflection is that the space matters; children are highly impacted by their classroom space, and, if designed thoughtfully enough, the environment can truly be, as the Italian educators of Reggio Emilia describe – the third teacher (the parent and the classroom teacher are the first and second!).
Our new-and-improved classrooms boast a neutral color palette and natural materials and textures.
Did you know that reds, yellows and oranges are known to overstimulate young brains and create nervousness and feelings of unsettledness?
We have learned this through experience! In contrast, neutral colors and soft blues and greens create feelings of calm and safeness. It is only from this peaceful mental state that we can listen, learn and develop healthy relationships. There is a fine line between decoration and distraction!
Second, our curriculum encourages children to celebrate and take care of each other and the natural world, so our teachers bring colors and elements of the outside in, whenever possible.
Finally, we have refined our thinking about the phrase “print-rich-environment.” For us, this means that we value early literacy in everything we do. Our “print-rich environment” is not walls splattered with alphabet posters and site words and print with no meaning to our children. For us, an environment that values literacy development is filled with quality books in every center (you might find architecture books in our block play area or cookbooks in our kitchen area), experiences with all different forms of fiction and non-fiction, fine motor development to encourage writing for purpose, lots of singing to teach rhyme and rhythm – and much, much more.


Hobbies Playing Music Exciting and Innovative Lesson Plans That Pair Music and Math Curriculum Suggestions for Pre-K to High School Students Share PINTEREST Email Print JGI/Jamie Grill / Getty Images Playing Music Music Education Music Lessons Basics Music History Music Theory Playing Guitar Playing Piano Home Recording By Espie Estrella Espie Estrella is a lyricist, songwriter, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. our editorial process Espie Estrella Updated April 09, 2018 Teaching methods that incorporate more than one of the senses have higher rates of success and permanence with students. From birth, you rely heavily on all of your senses to process information when learning. Engaging more than one sense when teaching allows more cognitive connections and associations to be made with a concept. It is for this reason that incorporating music with a math lesson can be a very successful way of teaching a math concept. How Music Connects With Math Learning to play a musical instrument relies on understanding fractions and ratios as these concepts relate to beats, rhythm, and keeping time. Patterns are inherent in musical melodies. Learning patterns are important as a foundational lesson in music as it is in mathematics from the preschool through high school levels. Review some suggested lesson plans for ideas on how you can lead your students to music and math in an integrated way. Hokey Pokey with Shapes (Preschool to Kindergarten) This activity helps young children learn different shapes (polygons) using the Hokey-Pokey song. With simple felt cut-outs or improvising with paper cut-outs, your class will giggle their way to recognizing popular (and not so popular) shapes in no time. Counting Fingerplays and Rhymes (Preschool to Kindergarten) With a number of songs, like "The Ants Go Marching," "There Were 10 in the Bed," and "One Potato, Two Potato," you can incorporate fingerplays and hand gestures while singing along to teach math-related concepts. Popular Math Jingle (Kindergarten) Teach your students the "Ten Tens Are a Hundred" song with these simple lyrics and audio clip. With the help of this little jingle, you can teach students to skip counting by 10s. Skip Counting and Other Math Songs (Kindergarten to Grade 4) There are a number of skip counting songs like "Count By 2s, Animal Groove," and "Hip-Hop Jive Count by 5s," as well as more advanced topics like learning multiplication tables with a song like "Shake Up the Tables." Patterns in Music and Math (Kindergarten to Grade 4) Your students can learn how to solve mathematical and musical problems by identifying patterns in number and notation. To get this lesson plan, you have to sign up for a free TeacherVision account. Create a Clapping Symphony (Grade 3 to High School) In this activity, students will create a symphony of claps. No instrument required. Children will learn a lesson about note values and how fractions are applied in music. Connect With Music (Grade 6 to High School) This lesson plan experiment uses music, multimedia, and technology to teach pitch, sound frequencies and how to measure sound waves. Students will apply their knowledge by constructing their own panpipes. Math Dance (Grade 1 to High School) Based on the book "Math Dance by Karl Schaffer and Erik Stern," learn through a 10-minute TEDx talk how "math dancing" can help you incorporate movement into teaching math. Schaffer and Stern, in their popular performance, "Two Guys Dancing About Math," revealed the connections between mathematics and dance. This dance has been performed nationally more than 500 times.


- Qualification:Cambridge Primary
- Author(s):Cherri Moseley, Janet Rees
- Available from: March 2016
Cambridge Primary Mathematics is a flexible and engaging course written for the Cambridge Primary Maths Curriculum.
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Cambridge Primary Starters are complementary activity books which are specially designed as preparatory activity books before children embark on the Cambridge Primary curriculum at Grade 1. The Starters provide a range of activities which will help children acquire the vital numeracy skills they will need for primary school, such as numbers, counting, identifying shapes and comparing sizes and quantities. They include discreet activity guidance for teacher or parent as they support their child in completing the activities.
Specially designed preparatory activity books to prepare children for the Cambridge Primary Mathematics Curriculum in Grade 1.
A range of activities to help children acquire the vital numeracy skills they will need for primary school.
Include discreet activity guidance for the teacher or parent as they support their child in completing the activities.
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Now that we have our brilliant night sky, time to fill it up with space words, images and letters! We are starting the letter ‘A.’
‘A’ is for Alien!!!!
I love him so much, we made three more. And stuck them on Mars as… drumroll please… Martians. No brainer.
A is for asteroid…
We simply used paint sponges for the asteroids since they are craggy looking.
C rolled the sponges in paint and we glued them to a letter ‘A’ made from construction paper. Easy!
Inspired by this incredible 3-D paper crafting, we simplified the concept and made an astronaut in the shape of the letter ‘A.’
And we did so while watching the moon landing on YouTube which Crowley got the biggest kick out of!
TODDLER TAKE AWAYS
- Letter recognition
- Reading foundation
- Creative Development
- Increased awareness of Space, science and history of space exploration.
- Sensory work
- Fine motor skill development
- New vocabulary!
More Space adventures tomorrow!


If you’re living in Portugal with children, here is a guide to education in Portugal.
Educational departments in Portugal
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education are jointly responsible for the country’s education system. They’re supported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity in providing pre-school education.
In Portugal, you can opt either for a state school (generally free) or a private school.
If you opt for a private school, you can confirm whether it is certified by the Ministry of Education (primary and secondary education), the Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education (for higher education), or the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity / Institute of Social Security (for pre-school education).
Preschool education in Portugal
Defined as the first stage of basic education in the lifelong learning process.
Pre-school education for children between the ages of three and five is still optional. Kindergartens are run by a variety of state organizations, charitable institutions, private schools, cooperatives, and unions.
Compulsory schooling: basic education
Basic education (ensino básico) is compulsory and free for everyone. It is intended for children aged between six and fifteen. Pupils who complete this schooling receive a certificate of basic education.
This level of teaching extends over nine years and comprises three cycles:
- The first cycle lasts for four years. This is taught by one teacher (who may be assisted by others in specialized areas). Emphasis is placed on the integrated development of studies and activities and the teaching of a foreign language may begin;
- The second cycle, lasting two years, covers interdisciplinary areas of basic education;
- The third cycle lasts for three years. It is structured as a set of disciplines or groups of disciplines, incorporating various elements of vocational training. Classes are taught by a single teacher per subject or multidisciplinary educational field.
Basic education is intended to provide a common general training that:
- allows pupils to develop interests, aptitudes, and skills and grow as individuals, in accordance with values of social solidarity;
- allows pupils to acquire and master basic knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, forming the basis for further general or vocational studies;
- encourages the development of values, attitudes, and practices that help to instill a sense of civic responsibility and willingness to participate in democracy.
Post-compulsory schooling: secondary education
Secondary education is a cycle of specific studies and includes various courses intended principally to prepare young people to go on to higher education or to enter the labor market. It spans three years, corresponding to school years 10, 11, and 12.
The options offered by the Portuguese educational system following school year 9 are diversified both in standard education and in other forms of education. They can take the form of scientific-humanities, specialized artistic, technological or vocational training courses, and are provided by secondary schools and vocational schools.
Standard secondary education comprises:
- General courses – intended mainly for persons aiming to obtain secondary-level training with a view to continuing their studies in higher education;
- Technological courses – intended mainly for persons aiming to obtain intermediate vocational training so they can enter the labor market.
General courses lead to the diploma de ensino secundário (diploma of secondary education). Technological courses lead to a Level three vocational qualification certificate in addition to this diploma.
Year 10 vocational courses are an alternative secondary-level educational and training path for young people aged 15 who have completed their compulsory education and intend to go on to obtain a vocational qualification immediately afterward. These courses last one year, lead to a Level Two vocational qualification certificate, and are equivalent to school year 10.
Finding a school in Portugal
To find the most suitable school, contact one of the schools in the area where you live or the Direcção Regional de Educação (Regional Education Authority).
The final date for enrolment is normally 15 July (confirm this with the school you choose, as dates may vary).
There is no final date for enrolment for pupils coming from a foreign school during the school year. You should contact the governing bodies of the school for further information.
Any pupils registered in the state school system between pre-school and year 9 whose mother tongue is not Portuguese are entitled to additional one-on-one language support outside their normal classes, should they need it.
Specialized artistic education
Specialized art education courses are provided by secondary schools. They provide artistic training for those hoping to continue their studies and prepare for a career in the visual arts, dance, and music, and encourage individual and group art activities.
International schools in Portugal
You can find English-speaking international schools in Portugal, especially in primary and secondary education. These schools are mostly found in the Greater Lisbon area and the Algarve. For further information on the location of schools, see our Portugal International school listings.


Concept: Challenging the Undergraduate
There are Higher Instrumental Popular Music Education (HIPME) teachers and instrumental teachers more widely, who have excellent knowledge of educational theory and, alongside conventional repertoire, apply a range of pedagogical theories. There are also examples of teachers who use a range of learning methods, without being conscious of what approach is being employed. There are also examples of those who do neither.
The material in this book sets out to narrow the gap between theory and practice and the gap between those who discuss educational theory and the dynamic performers who deliver instrumental tuition. It is offered to benefit the experience of instrumental studies, as a resource for students and teachers and to those wishing to explore new approaches and the variety of ways in which we learn.
Concept: Challenging the Undergraduate – The Movie


Reception Welcome to Reception class! We are just at the beginning of our journey at Harden Primary school and have lots to look forward to! We will make the most of every opportunity to find out more about the world around us, make new friends and explore new activities, as well as develop our literacy and numeracy skills. We also have a strong focus on developing every individual as a learner and a friend, working hard to enhance social skills and help children to engage with school life fully. The Reception class is taught by Mrs Bott & Mrs Ruddock and are supported by Nursery Nurse Mrs Leetham. Mrs Bott Mrs Ruddock Mrs Leetham Class Teacher Teacher & Assistant Head KS1 Nursery Nurse Useful Information PE Days PE days change every half term to allow each year group to take advantage of the specialist coaches we bring in. Book Change Days; This information is now specified on your child’s home journal Phonics and Number Phonics: Phonics is taught daily to the children using a variety of games and activities. They are also encouraged to apply the skills taught when working and playing independently. To support your child at home it would be fantastic if you encourage them to apply their phonics when they read and write at home too. Activities you can do to help include: – Playing eye spy (with letter sounds not names) – Sharing stories and non-fiction books with your child, encouraging them to help you to read some parts and discussing the book with them. – Using magnetic letters on the fridge and challenging children to spell words whilst you are cooking tea etc. – Allowing children to help contribute to the shopping list. – Spotting letters and common words when out and about. – Writing labels for Lego models that they build. – Practicing spotting and spelling the high frequency and tricky words for each phonic phase (these are in your child’s purple book) Number: The Early Learning Goal for number states: Children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing. To support your child in achieving this goal ideas include: – Spotting numbers in the environment, on doors, number plates, road signs, supermarket aisles – Playing hop scotch but sometime starting with numbers 11-20 – Playing games such as snakes and ladders and dominoes – Playing shops at home and practicing reading price labels, counting out the correct number of pennies to buy one or two items. – Singing number rhymes. Please also remember to email any exciting WOW moments about your child to the Reception team – email@example.com Reception News Reception News Reception Curriculum Letter Sept202016th September 2020Reception Forms Sorry but there are currently no forms available.


The goal of the Music Department is to develop skilled and knowledgeable musicians who think creatively. Our curriculum is designed to provide students with a broad and comprehensive background in music and the opportunity to pursue their own musical interests in greater depth. The development of technical and interpretive skills is informed by a liberal arts approach. We teach creative musicians to analyze evidence, integrate knowledge from diverse fields, make judgments, and create new knowledge. We are also committed to teaching students to communicate effectively, reflect thoughtfully on their own work, and show respect for others. These abilities prepare our students for lives as musicians, creative thinkers, and responsible members of society.
Music Department Program Goals
The Muhlenberg College Music Department curriculum is divided into core and upper-level courses in music theory and composition, music history, and performance studies; ensembles, and culminating experiences designed to meet the needs of each individual student participating in the music program. The core curriculum provides students with foundational skills, knowledge of the discipline of music, and introduces students to the process of analytical and creative thinking.
The inter-connectedness of music theory, composition, music history, and performance is emphasized in all core curriculum courses. Upper-level courses offer greater depth in specific areas of study through which students refine and expand their skills and knowledge as well their analytical and creative abilities.
Our ensembles provide opportunities for students to integrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they have developed in their classes. As group activities, ensembles teach students teamwork, presentation skills, self-confidence, listening skills, and respect for others.
Finally, students participate in a wide range of culminating experiences (senior recitals, research papers and presentations, composition portfolios, reflection papers) designed to integrate their undergraduate work and prepare them for life after graduation.


The Site of the Trial: Dayton, Tennessee
It's springtime in Dayton, Tennessee, population around 6,000. The annual strawberry festival, with its parades and street vendors, gives the town a festive air. Eloise Reed takes a visitor on a tour of the town. "It looks so strange when I think back to those years," she says. "There's not a building on this street that was here in 1925. Every one of them is either gone or been replaced."
She stops at a small plaque on an open grassy area. "This is the spot where Robinson's Drugstore stood, right next to the big Aqua Hotel. This is the place where, around the table in Robinson's Drugstore, the Scopes trial originated."
Nestled in the Tennessee River valley between Chattanooga and Knoxville, Dayton was founded after the Civil War. In 1880 it was only a village of 200. But when the Southern Railway line came through the valley, Dayton grew quickly. The Dayton Coal and Iron Company employed hundreds of people, and by the turn of the century the town was fueled by both industry and agriculture.
Then, in 1913, the Coal and Iron Company went bankrupt. People left Dayton to find work elsewhere. By 1925 hard times had come to Dayton. Dayton's population dwindled from 3,000 to 1,800. But according to historian Edward Larson, Dayton refused to give up. "Local civic leaders began courting new industry. They opened a new high school when many Tennessee towns still offered only elementary education. And they dreamed and schemed of making their town more than just another farming community."
That dreaming and scheming finally paid off when a group of businessmen decided to indict one of their own teachers with his consent for violating a new anti-evolution law. Supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, they hoped the trial of John Scopes would be a shot in the arm for Dayton. Eloise Reed was just 14 years old at the time, but she remembers how the grownups felt. "They expected people to come in and spend some money. And help advertise our town."
Continuing our tour, Reed points out the former site of Dayton's biggest hotel — the Aqua. During the Scopes trial the town was so crowded that hotel had to turn people away. Many of the reporters and attorneys stayed at the homes of local residents, who escaped the sweltering July heat in the cool sanctuary of the hills during the trial. It was so hot in town that newspaper columnist H. L. Mencken described Dayton as having "the atmosphere of a blast furnace."
Though the Scopes trial didn't significantly boost the local economy, it did put Dayton on the map. People came from all over the world to see the courthouse where the famous trial took place. In 1960, Dayton celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Scopes trial with the premiere of a Hollywood film, Inherit the Wind. Director Stanley Kramer invited the whole town to see the film at the local drive-in. This fictionalized account of the trial portrayed the town of Dayton as a hotbed of religious fanatics so threatened by evolution that they arrested one of their own teachers, put him in jail, and threw rocks at his window while he waited to go on trial.
Undaunted by this negative portrayal, members of the chamber of commerce used the anniversary celebration to advertise their community. In a fold-out brochure with an aerial photo of Dayton on its cover, they listed the town's vital statistics: a population of 5,000, an annual average temperature of 60 degrees, and a total of 13 churches, representing Protestant and Roman Catholic faiths.
Dayton was especially proud of the fundamentalist college in the hills above town — named for prosecutor William Jennings Bryan, who died just five days after the Scopes trial ended. Today Bryan College has an enrollment of 500 students from 30 states and 10 foreign countries.
Every year Bryan College and the town of Dayton sponsor a re-enactment of the Scopes trial in the courthouse where the real event took place. Outside the red brick building Eloise Reed stops and points to a shady area where the most sensational event of the trial unfolded before a crowd of 2,000.
"I sat right here," she says, "in front of a platform where Clarence Darrow called William Jennings Bryan as his witness. From my point of view, Darrow made a monkey out of himself. Bryan held on to his belief in the Bible. They said sassy things to one another. I would have liked to have gotten up there and kicked Darrow because I thought he was being so unfair."
She takes one last look before walking across the lawn to her car. "It turned out to be the best show in town," she says. "And I got to see it!"


When you actually get to look at the succession of chords in a song, it can be pretty intimidating when you see the inversions come up. Chord inversions are something that seems to be really intimidating for most beginner guitar players.
And there are a lot of guitar players who just shrug off the learning of chord inversions just because they think that it is difficult to learn and that they will be able to become really successful guitar players without even learning these inversions.
What you might not know is that the chord inversions could be something that you really need to learn for you to be able to get the exact chord that would fit the song.Continue reading Chord Inversions
Playing instruments is really like riding a bike. Playing an instrument is a physical, highly demanding, and coordinated activity. Nothing in playing instruments is neater than being able to get a hold of an older instrument and trying to make music out of it.
One of the most important things when playing instruments is when you have just enough skill to be able to produce the music that you want. People who play instruments don’t understand why people who don’t play think its difficult, because it really isn’t.
Your child explores the world of music through singing, playing instruments, moving, and listening. Students in the early stages of music education learn by doing. Persons with almost any disability have ability when it comes to music.
Experiencing music involves the creation of the following: playing instruments, dancing and singing. Creating, responding to and performing music are the fundamental music processes. Student’s experiences music through playing instruments, song and listening which makes playing music enjoyable and spontaneous. Continue reading Start Playing Instruments
Music courses are a great way to learn about virtually any area of music; history, theory, and musical instrument instruction –you name it and somewhere music courses specialize in it. Though generally found through colleges, universities or high school programs, music courses are also offered via one-on-one instruction with a private teacher or community-based workshops.
Some churches even offer music courses as a complement to their choirs; the music courses may be offered to the general public, but they’re often geared toward the choir members and congregation.
In the last few years, however, a new dimension to learning music has appeared in the form of the internet – the world wide web. Now instead of being limited to classroom courses, students are free to create their own schedules and learn at their own pace. A quick search on Google or Yahoo will turn up online courses in:
-Chord PianoContinue reading Do You Really Need College to Learn To Play Music?


In order to help students find connections to the Core Knowledge curriculum and the principles of Discipline-Based Art Education, the author uses narrative and visual storytelling in the form of altered books to make meaning and relate the lives of students to the art content. The author uses methods of action research to plan a curriculum intervention, work with the students to create their visual stories, reflect on his instruction along with student learning, and collect students' responses through surveys. The author also gathers data through the students' journals and artworks. Through the project the author is able to give students choices and help them turn their learning environment into art practice. Ultimately, the author improves and develops his teaching practice as a result of this project.
College and Department
Fine Arts and Communications; Visual Arts
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Proud, Keven Dell, "Visual Storybooks: Connecting the Lives of Students to Core Knowledge" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 3386.
visual storytelling, Core Knowledge, making meaning, connections, narrative, action research, student choice, art practice, relate to students, altered books