Spanish and Latin American Studies
Explore Spanish culture and study literature and media to develop skills in oral communication, grammar, and composition.
DISCOVERING SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
Spanish is one of the world's most common languages. It is the first language of Spain, Mexico, most of South America and a large part of the population of the United States and the Caribbean. It is becoming an increasingly important language in global trade and commerce.
The Romance Language Department offers both majors and honours programs in Spanish, as well as DELE in Spanish. The department is comprised of dynamic and devoted faculty responsible for delivering an ambitious program. Due to its association with Hispanic worlds, all having immeasurable intellectual and artistic impacts on the development of Western culture and humanism, the Romance Languages Department has a pivotal role to play in a liberal arts curriculum.
An introductory course for beginners leads to advanced courses in grammar, conversation and composition, translation, and Spanish and Latin American literature.
YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN STUDYING SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES IF...
- You want to increase your language proficiency or become bilingual
- You want to learn about another culture
- You want to become a global citizen
CRITICAL AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Students studying Spanish at St. Thomas will be fostered as global citizens through exposure to the diversity Hispanic cultures through literature, cultural media, cinema, and art. The strong focus that our program places on the acquisition of advanced and superior levels of second-language literacy development (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) result in an increased awareness of the crucial role communication skills—oral and written—play in developing and expressing complex ideas and arguments. Courses in Spanish provide students with skills in oral communication, grammar, composition, translation, literature, and cultural studies.
Students may choose to complement their language studies at St. Thomas with programs offered in Latin America or Spain. Most importantly, students are made acutely aware of issues and questions that challenge humanity in different global cultures and regions. Students become less ethnocentric, more tolerant and gain an appreciation of alternate sociocultural practices, attitudes, and beliefs.
CAREERS AND GRADUATE PATHWAYS
Students who graduate from the Spanish program are well poised to become highly successful professionals in all levels of education in Canada and abroad, the civil service and government, translation and interpretation, law, national and international business, national and international agencies/organizations, the RCMP, diplomacy, tourism, hospitality industry, journalism, communications, and the publishing industry.
RELATED AREAS OF STUDY
Students who are interested in Spanish are often also attracted to learning more about cultures and societies unlike their own. Their degree is often complemented by studies in Anthropology, History, English, Philosophy, Communications, Journalism, Political Science, and Sociology.


In many situations, learners with limited literacy in their native language must study with other students with more educational background and literacy experience in high-beginning and intermediate ESL classes. The obstacles to effective learning persist at these levels, but most textbooks they receive assume a certain level of literacy, and use complex print to teach primarily language acquisition. In addition, instructional approaches can often privilege print literacy skills over oral language strengths.
This discussion will explore the issues of working with those with limited literacy and preferences for learning through the oral modes. How can strong oral skills be used to promote literacy? Are there promising methods for focusing on literacy development for learners with limited print literacy? And how do teachers plan lessons when a class has vastly different prior experience with formal schooling and different strengths across literacy and oral language skills?
The guest facilitator is an educator who has done research on the relationship between oracy and literacy among immigrants and refugees with limited formal schooling.
Martha Bigelow is an Associate Professor in the Second Languages and Cultures Program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. She has 13 years of ESL/EFL classroom experience teaching adult students in adult basic education, community college, ESP, and university settings. She has ten years of experience as a foreign and second language teacher educator. Her research focuses on the areas of second language acquisition, literacy development, and the sociopolitical factors that influence those processes. Specifically, she is interested in how first and second language print literacy promotes the acquisition of second language oral skills in teens and young adults. She has studied how English language learners (ages 16-28) with low print literacy make use of oral feedback, and has examined the strengths and challenges that older students with limited formal schooling and low literacy bring to oral language development in English. She has also studied the Somali and English literacy skills of young Somali women (ages 17-21) who are newcomers to the United States and have had limited formal schooling. She has explored how school and community-based oral- and print-based literacy they value and use has the potential to add to what teachers and researchers know about building vocational and academic literacy. Dr. Bigelow has an MA from the University of New Hampshire in Language and Linguistics and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University in Applied Linguistics.
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Toddler Program 24 – 36 month
Our Toddler Program is designed for 24 – 36 month old children. Toddlers are introduced to age appropriate materials and they are invited to make choices from a variety of activities designed to support their growth and needs. With toddlers, we focus on the development of basic trust while supporting their emerging sense of self. Independence and order are encouraged, and self-confidence is enhanced through social and learning experiences. Music, movement, toilet-training, art, worship, circle time, choices and outdoor/gymnasium play are all part of the daily routine for toddlers at A Joyful Noise.
From birth through three years of age, young children are characterized by the ability to learn ‘unconsciously’. Our teachers are aware of the developmental needs of toddlers and we provide activities designed to support the learning of sequence & ordering, basic language concepts and fine motor control.
Order & Sequence Development
Sequence and order are important in establishing a sense of routine, developing more advanced organizational skills, and even in developing reading skills (for example: reading and word formation is done left to right). We use activities that help toddlers develop a sense of sequence and order such as “stacking cups” which is an activity involving size comparison and arrangement by size. Snack is also presented in such a way as to incorporate order and sequence. New toddlers begin a few steps at a time, with the teacher offering only as much help as is necessary, encouraging independence.
Language is extremely important to toddlers; it helps them build a link to their environment and the people around them. Toddlers want to know the names of everything and, for this reason; we include many concrete and abstract language activities throughout their classrooms.
When introducing language to toddlers, teachers use the ‘three period lesson’. At first, teachers simply name objects for the child. Later, teachers ask the child to show us the previously named object. And finally, teachers ask the child “What is this?” In addition to the above technique, we also place a strong emphasis on conversation, songs, rhymes, poetry and books to help develop language skill.
Fine Motor Development
Development of fine motor skill is another area of emphasis in the toddler classroom. Puzzles are a great tool to help children learn how to manipulate objects and we have a large selection available so children always have something new to try as their interests change. In addition to puzzles, many practical life activities are promoted in this development area such as learning to control scissors and learning to hold writing utensils in the “pincer grasp.”
Gross Motor Development
AJNP has a large gymnasium, a smaller indoor play room, an outside playground, walking trails and sports fields to encourage even our youngest student’s large motor skill development. With tumbling mats, riding push toys, small basketball hoops, swings, a small climbing wall and exceptional teachers, each child will find his/her favorite activities and strengthen the toddler’s natural propensity to active learning.
The significance of social and emotional development is seen in every area of a child’s life. A child will have a strong foundation for later development if he or she can manage personal feelings, understand others’ feelings and needs, and interact positively with others. Differences in social and emotional development result from a child’s inborn temperament, cultural influences, disabilities, behaviors modeled by adults, the level of security felt in a child’s relationships with adults, and the opportunities provided for social interaction. At AJNP we foster each child’s natural temperament while building trusting relationships. Offering consistent care, gentle guidance, plenty of opportunity to socialize with peers and the freedom to work independently is AJNP’s formula for a successful introduction to school.
A Joyful Noise offers young children a safe, nurturing environment with trusted teachers who respect each child. We partner with parents to give children as much support and positive growth as possible during their first school experience and it is our sincere hope that your child finds joy in their growing independence and a life-long love of learning. Contact us today to schedule a visit!


Learn how to create sound effects for video games
Ever wondered how the sound of horse hooves were created in TV or film? Or how the sound of a creaking door opened at just the right time was made? All the sounds you hear in films, TV and video games are created by foley artists, who reproduce everyday (and not so everyday!) sound effects.
This set of workshops will explore the world of a foley artist – from sound creation and recording, through to sound manipulation. Each participant will create their own library of sounds and apply them to an existing video game on the Scratch platform.
This is a 5-session program, running April 17 thru May 15 (NEW DATES), (5 Saturdays), from 10am-1pm, on Zoom.
Designed for ages 14-17. There are 10 spaces available, to allow for maximum interaction and collaboration within the cohort.
There is no cost for this pilot program, thanks to support from The Hamber Foundation.
The workshops have been designed to be effectively facilitated via Zoom, and to maximise accessibility, through utilising equipment that is either commonly found in homes (such as found objects for sound making, mobile phones for audio recording) and open source software.
During the course of the the workshops, participants will develop the following skills:
● Identifying sound-making objects (obvious and the non-obvious)
● Audio recording techniques using mobile phone apps
● Audio editing techniques using open source software
● Performance and presentation skills
● Critical analysis skills through evaluation of their work and their peers
Each session has “online” and “offline” elements that allow for both face to face, on zoom, and practical creative tasks away from the computer.
1. Introduction, Tech Setup, and Recording Test-run
- Microphones and recording “studio” setup
- Recording audio on a mobile (android/ios apps)
- Recording test run: participants record one each of (for example) an alien laugh, creaky door, car tyres on snow, and sneakers walking in a gym.
2. Foley Artist
- Choose instruments, including found objects and electronic devices
- Design techniques to make and control sound, including non-conventional
- Practice and rehearse, then present to the group
3. Analyzing game audio
- Listen and compare game sounds in Scratch
- Participants choose a game from Scratch to recreate the sound effects
- Make notes: sounds and instruments, storyboarding sound timeline
4. Recording Session
- Demonstration of performance to video playback
- Participants play the game visuals/video and record the performance
- Audio editing with Audacity software – cut/clip, fade in/out, reverb etc
5. Performance and feedback
- Audio editing check-in, problem solving/assistance
- Each participant presents their work
- Constructive and encouraging feedback
About Beau Stocker
Beau’s international teaching experience fuels a wide-ranging approach to music education. His passion for music performance and research guides his abilities to inspire.
With over thirty years of music performance experience, my expertise spans a wide variety of styles. I hold a PhD in music performance from the University of York, England, which focused on the creation, editing and manipulation of sounds – skills which are essential for a foley artist. In addition, I regularly use a variety of electronic instruments and audio software in both my compositions and performances.
My career as an educator has run in tandem with my music performance. I have extensive experience of both classroom and one-to-one teaching. I have developed and facilitated sound recording and performance workshops for university students at universities in England and Canada.
Over the last year, I have successfully adapted to a new way of working, pivoting to online teaching and performing. Through this experience I have developed a whole new skill-set, evolving effective methods of teaching music theory and practice online, and maintaining safeguarding procedures.
Special thanks to:


Activities and resources for parents of young children
Children are always fascinated by science. Here are some of our favorite fun science experiments for kids.
Bouncy Egg Experiment
Ice Cream in a Bag Experiment
Oobleck Recipe: Liquid or Solid?
How To Make A Homemade Lava Lamp
25+ Totally Awesome Science Fair Project Ideas For Kids
DIY Rocket Launcher
Fizzy Olympic Rings
Science Experiment: Jesus Washes Our Sins Away
Indoor Activity For Toddlers - Fizzing Snowflakes
Free the Frozen Pokemon: Experiment with Melting Ice
Rainbow Ice Tunnels
Gross Science Experiments
How do Arctic Animals Stay Warm in Icy Water?
Silly Putty Melting Jack-O-Lantern
Simple Science Experiment for Kids: Why are there craters on the moon?
The Kitchen Lab: Using Vegetables and Fruit in Scientific Experiments
Gift Idea: Science Kit for Kids (with free printables)
Make Your Own Solar Oven
Build a Hovercraft
Make Your Own Compass
Can You Blow Up a Balloon in a Bottle?
Fireworks in a Jar
Free eBook: Fascinating Science for Kids
What puts out a fire?
Invent Your Own Indoor Kite
Invent Your Own Bubble Wands from Kitchen Tools
Invent Your Own Cake!
The "Why do we need sunscreen?" Experiment
Make Your Own Tornado
Green Fizzy Fun
Will it slide?
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I just love the title for this session!
TUESDAY @ 2:15pm: iPods, Guitar Hero, And YouTube. Oh, My!
This session was given by Samuel Holland and Kristin Yost.
Sam Holland began by talking about the world of the student and the world of the teacher (represented by two big circles on the powerpoint slide). Our responsibility as teachers is to move our world towards theirs until they intersect, so learning can take place.
One important method of intersecting the student’s world is through technology. The average teenager spends about 36 hours a week using technology. Students are now beginning to spend more time online than they do watching TV. The top activity they spend time doing is messaging – and second is downloading music (this is where we come in!).
Reasons teachers give for not utilizing technology with their students:
- Costs too much
- Too complicated
- Detracts from real learning
Sam Holland asked his students: “What’s on your iPod?” and shared some interview-type videos with us containing their responses. The results? Students are eclectic in their music choices. They have many different genres. They have access to everything – so we as teachers can turn this into a resource.
Ask your students what they have on their iPods. Recommend some great performers and pieces.
Kristin Yost demonstrated how she uses GarageBand (a Mac software – you can download Audacity for free if you are a PC user) to record the RH and then the LH of a pop song for the student to practice with at home. She believes in the importance of pop music in the students lives as well as classical. GarageBand allows you to add a fun percussion loop to the track, which not only sounds great but helps them feel the beat and stay in time. You can even speak into the recording to give instructions/reminders to the student about practicing. GarageBand makes it easy to share the file via email, YouTube, cd, flashdrive, or sync straight to an iPod.
YouTube.com contains tons of great videos of famous performers. It’s an incredible resource that should not be overlooked. It’s completely free, and you can send students to watch videos of the greats like Rubinstein, or of Rachmaninoff playing his own music, etc. Using YouTube, the boundaries between the past and present are broken!
YouTube can also be used to put up videos of your students playing their pieces, so they can share them with their friends and family on facebook. Note: ALWAYS get written permission from the parent/student before posting their videos online. You can also ask students to post videos of themselves practicing, and you can leave a comment with feedback between lessons.
Although Guitar Hero is no longer sold, it is worth mentioning breifly. Guitar Hero is a video game that allows the player to “play” versions of pop songs on a guitar controller. What is the pedagogy of a game such as this?
- Awareness of pulse
- Rhythmic motor skills
- Relaxed musical energy
- Self-directed learning
Besides – what student wouldn’t find it cool that their teacher has Guitar Hero available to play in the waiting room!
The iPad (as well as the iPod Touch) allows you to download apps (some free, some $0.99 or more) for music education. Breifly, some of the music apps include:
- Music flashclass (allows you to customize flashcards for you students to work on on-the-go)
- Forscore (a music reader for iPad only)
- Music Reader (another music reader for iPad only)
- Virtuoso (a keyboard to play)
- Nota (drills scales, chords, flashcards of note names, etc.)
These are just a few ways teachers can utilize technology to not only connect to the student’s world, but also to promote learning in ways that were never before possible!


One of the first steps in literacy development for young readers is to provide them with Guided Reading Activities that provide successful and enjoyable literacy experiences.
Utilizing Franklin Delano Roosevelt & Scuttles The Squirrel Tangle with a Swell Smell FUN and FRIENDLY guided activities you can facilitate the development of your young child’s early reading accomplishments by extending their guided reading experience success.
Time for children to talk about their reading and writing is perhaps one of the most underused, yet easy-to-implement, elements for learning. It provides measurable benefits in comprehension, motivation, and even language competence. The task of switching between writing, speaking, reading, and listening helps children make connections between, and thus solidify, the skills they use in each. Use these Guided Activities as a tool for conversation and discussions with your child!
Bright Kids’ Guided Activities offer many high-frequency words and illustrations that provide direct support for meaning, word solving, and language structure. Watch as your child’s literacy skills improves while having FUN enjoying these activities!
Your child will benefit from daily opportunities for practise in applying their reading, writing, spelling knowledge and story discussion. Conversation improves comprehension. Such literary conversation helps children to analyze, comment, and compare—in short, to think about what they’ve read. Through these experiences and their growing familiarity with texts such as simple recounts, stories, spelling and printing – they develop an understanding of the story, vocabulary and language structure; and of the communicative possibilities of images and sounds.
Applying BRIGHT KIDS guided activities your children will learn to construct words and sentences and to combine words, images, and sounds to express personal thoughts and feelings. They will be able to communicate ideas and information in a number of oral and written forms.
READING + GUIDED READING ACTIVITIES = GOOD READERS!
Parents and teachers can use their downloads with any PC or Mac, SmartBoard, Whiteboard, projection system allowing you the freedom to enrich your child’s reading experience with the technology you are using at home or in the classroom.


This course seeks to posit the role of digital media within the broader context of digital practice and to examine the generative capacities of the medium to design and communicate ideas in the virtual realm. The goal of the course is to establish a core visual literacy in digital media by considering work across a range of disciplines, including: photography, film, lighting design, synthetic imaging and animation. The course will examine the construction and representation of environments through the integration of form, light, material, color, atmosphere and photography. Investigations will vary in scale from one to one virtual simulations of materials and details, to interior and architectural scales, through to urban and landscape scales. This course is aimed at developing foundational skills in still image development with extensive development of topics in lighting design and analysis, material exploration and prototyping, site modeling and scene population, through to photography, compositing and post production. Although the emphasis will be on still image development, there will be extensive use of animation, serialized imagery and iterative workflows to develop dynamic representations of the built environment across a range of perceptual models.
Software will be based on a Rhino modeling workflow, with scene management, population, and rendering development in 3dsmax and Vray, and a post-production workflow based on After Effects and Photoshop. Weekly lectures, workshops and assignments will be organized around a series of intensive autonomous investigations in representational themes which will provide the point of departure for the development of a personal visual language. Evaluation will be based on project content, proficiency in the media and class participation.
This course or VIS-02224 may be taken to fulfill the Digital Media Requirement for third semester MArch students.


Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
"Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory."
"Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children"
Article 13 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:
"Primary education shall be compulsory and available free for all."
"The States parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents ... to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, ..."
Article 18 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
"The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents ... to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.”
"States Parties recognize the of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free for all"…
"No part of [articles 28 and 29] shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions…";
Article 10 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women
UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education
European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Protocol 1, Article 2:
"No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.";
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment N.11 (on article 14 plans of action for primary education)
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment N.13 (on article 13 the right to education).


Setting high standards
We have high expectations of our students and our teachers.
Classroom teachers work in learning teams. They collect data from student work and analyse it to identify gaps in student knowledge and skills.
Each team uses this evidence to refine its teaching methods and develop consistent strategies to lift student achievement. And each team evaluates its work to make sure its strategies are succeeding.
We focus on equipping our students with excellent literacy and numeracy skills. Specialist literacy and numeracy coaches work with our classroom teachers and students to provide them with extra expertise and help.
Student progress in learning is rigorously measured by teachers through a variety of assessments. These include national and state mandated assessments such as NAPLAN, individual and classroom assessments, student performances, portfolios and exhibitions.
If students have a developmental problem and need a specialist, we immediately refer them to our speech pathologist, doctor or other health, student welfare or family specialists available on site.
Our state-of-the art-facilities provide new and inspiring ways for children to learn.


Across our district, our young readers participate in reading workshop, read-alouds, shared reading, explicit phonics instruction, small groups, guided reading, independent reading, and book clubs. Our goal is to create lifelong readers who are confident and independent. Students in all of our classrooms have access to a wide variety of choices of high quality children’s literature and have the opportunity to read a wide range of topics, authors, and genres. During reading workshop, students are taught explicit strategies to apply to their independent reading.
As part of reading workshop, students curate a variety of resources using digital tools to gather and share information, and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
Third Grade Reading Workshop
Third graders are the kind of readers who read and have conversations about longer and more challenging texts. Students in third grade often read with a notebook or sticky notes in hand, keeping track of their thoughts, ideas, and questions. Often they meet in clubs or small groups to study books closely and/or conduct research on a variety of topics.
Examples of third grade units of study include:
Building a Reading Life: Third graders practice applying multiple strategies to choose “just right” books, build up their reading volume and stamina, and understand the books they read.
Mystery: Foundational Skills in Disguise: Third graders choose a series of mystery books to read and discuss, as well as learn strategies to solve trickier unfamiliar words in books they choose to read.
Reading to Learn: Third graders read nonfiction books to study topics of their choice.
Character Studies: Third graders study characters in their books closely, to study character change, lessons that characters learn, and generalizable themes.
Research Clubs: Third graders read nonfiction books to study topics in partnerships, small groups, or clubs.
Note that units will vary from classroom to classroom.
Helping Outside of School
Popular third grade books and authors: Ivy and Bean, Upside Down Magic, Geronimo Stilton, Ricky Ricotta, Stink, Reina Telgemeier,


I came across the article “Increased academic rigor in kindergarten questioned” in the “Early Childhood Learning, Child Care, and CCR&R Professionals and Forum” in LinkedIn. Its US centric, but raised some interesting points. Fundamentally it says that even 5 and 6 year olds can be taught to write their first sentences, and it does seem to set them ahead for later years.
Some expressed the opinion that play was better as it was more creative than writing (which I guess is a more technical skill) – but it does indicate that teaching your children while very young (when kept in balance overall with other activities) is definitely worthwhile academically.
When I think about it, my 3 year old boy can recognize around 50 names of engines from the Thomas the tank engine series, so the idea of writing simple sentences in by 5 or 6 feels quite realistic. There certainly do seem to be different camps of people with some saying “start them as early as possible” and others saying “it does not matter – in a few years they will all be at the same level anyway”. From what I have seen however, the former camp seems to have more evidence to back it up.


Having some maths skills under your belt goes a long way at uni. Whether it’s interpreting basic numbers and statistics, or doing advanced algebra, you’re likely to run into subjects that need numeracy knowledge. You can become better at maths with these six foolproof tips that can save anyone from getting lost in numbers!
Understand the problem
Before rushing into a solution, re-read the problem a couple of times to pick out key pieces of information. Try putting the problem into your own words or make key information stand out by circling or underlining key words in the question.
Draw a diagram
Professional mathematicians use diagrams to solve area, perimeter or trigonometry problems. So you can too! Diagrams don’t have to be pretty, but they should be neat and have all the important information needed to solve the problem.
Does your lower-case letter b look like the number six, or your letter x look like a multiply sign? You should be able to read what you’ve written, so when you go back hunting for possible errors or revise for assessments, you know what you’ve written! Don’t forget that someone else will be marking your work too, so they need to be able to read and understand what you’ve done as well!
Write out each step in a separate line to reach a solution and reduce errors. Each line should be neatly set out to show you understand the problem and how you solved the task. There’s also a good chance you’ll pick up some marks in an assignment or exam just by showing the correct method, even if your final answer is wrong!
Check your work
Make an estimate to check whether your calculations make sense. If the question asked you to share $100 between five people and your answer was $200, this wouldn’t be right as you didn’t have that much money to start with!
Know your calculator
Save time by getting familiar with how your calculator works. You’ll want to know any functions relevant to what you’re studying, how to set it to the correct mode and be able to switch modes if you need to. If you’re unsure, ask your lecturer to talk you through these processes.
Contact the ALLaN team if you want to improve your numeracy skills. You can book an appointment, workshop or just have a quick chat. They’re available by phone, Skype and in person, in the evenings and on weekends.


Play Different Residency
- A campaign against bullying through music education.
ABOUT PLAY DIFFERENT
In this one of a kind residency program, WindSync uses music and poetry to enhance and develop a school-wide appreciation of Play Different Project’s core: tolerance and friendship. Participating classrooms work with WindSync to write poems which explore the value of individual and cultural differences as well as the creation of peaceful learning environments. The poems are excerpted as lyrics to compose a school anthem which WindSync sets to music. In the final assembly, students, faculty, staff, and parents join together in singing an original song written for and by the students as a symbol of unity through art and diversity.
Grade levels: 5th (preferred) with 3rd - 5th in final assembly
Length: 2 weeks
School Commitment: curriculum guide provided for teachers to prep students, 3 classroom visits, 1 assembly program
To schedule this performance at your school click here
For financial assistance click here
The program utilizes our trademark, theatrical style of musical storytelling to teach kids how to identify bullying and appropriate, proactive strategies for responding. WindSync works onsite and remotely with each school in various creative classes such as writing, music, and art to encourage student expression and reflection.


Introduction to Numbers
Addition and Subtraction
Multiplication and Division
Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
Shape, Space and Measure
Students will be guided through their programme at a pace that suits their learning needs. Key areas are revised and developed in gradual steps, embedding and growing students' understanding to ensure confidence and success.
Our Maths programmes teach how to consolidate and combine skills through a unique building structure.
Students develop their numeracy skills - addition, subtraction, multiplication, division - and learn to apply those skills to areas such as fractions, decimals and percentages.
We also cover other areas of the curriculum such as algebra, shape, space and measure and handling data.
Our maths programme develops key skills with a range of materials ideal for learners in whether primary and secondary.
Each student will experience creative, structured and effective tutoring using a range of assessment criteria.
Our creative learning intervention helps children to excel academically, be confident in the classroom, thrive in exams and perform diligently in school and beyond.


Theme Based and Creative
Aunt Sharon believes love, nurturing, fun and inspiration support a child's natural curiosity and desire to learn; thereby, creating the best possible learning environment for children at all ability levels.
She encourages all of the children to have fun everyday while they explore and discover the world around them. Aunt Sharon’s hands on activities and learning centers encourage the children to explore singing, dancing, music, painting, movement, imagination, dramatic play and the technical skills of math, science, language and literacy.
Aunt Sharon uses a combination of early childhood learning best practices to develop the child holistically.
Aunt Sharon’s hybrid curriculum:
- Themed Based Curriculum :: for technical skill development, themes vary month to month; however, each theme is relevant to a child’s development.
- Creative Curriculum:: for social, emotional, cognitive and physical development, activities require active thinking, movement and experimenting.


Read Aloud Program
Our Read Aloud Program promotes early literacy and learning for San Francisco Bay Area children aged 0-5. Although we’re located in one of the wealthiest regions in the world, too many of our children face significant barriers to literacy success—barriers such as homelessness, food insecurity, and lack of financial resources—and enter school significantly less prepared to learn to read than their peers.
Since 1998, the Read Aloud Program has worked to address this need by collaborating with local service providers, early childhood educators, nurse home visitors, community health workers, and parenting coaches to support parents in reading aloud to their very young children. Our Program bolsters children’s literacy development through age-appropriate books, skill-building, and best practices during a critical stage of brain development.
We offer a series of workshops, free of charge, for Bay Area service providers who want to integrate more early literacy development skills and tools into their work with families with young children. Our workshop series includes curriculum, peer networking, presentations by local experts, and free access to dozens of new, culturally relevant books to support children aged 5 and younger. Families that receive free books from us often report that these are the first books that their children—or household—have ever owned.
How to get involved
We are able to offer this program thanks to the active involvement of community partners, book distributors, and donors. There are a number of ways to get involved:
- Family-serving organizations: Become a member of the Read Aloud Program to access our free curriculum, peer networking, and curated books for the families you serve. Eligible members represent Bay Area organizations and work directly with families of children 0-5 from marginalized and/or at-risk communities.
- Early childhood development experts: Volunteer to present at an upcoming workshop to promote your knowledge and resources among service providers who work with hundreds of families around the Bay Area.
- Book publishers and distributors: Donate free or discounted, age-appropriate books to our program and receive acknowledgment on our website and social media.
- Donors: Consider giving a grant or donation to keep this program going!
If you have questions or would like to get involved, please contact the Read Aloud Program Director for more information.


KEY STAGE 3 - YEARS 7 TO 9
At Key Stage 3, many children may be struggling to adapt to a new school, new classmates and new subjects. Before children get underway with the GCSE syllabus at Key Stage 4, most parents will want to ensure the necessary foundations for GCSE success are in place.
Pressure-free tutoring at Key Stage 3 can help boost confidence and progress if children are having difficulties, and help ensure secondary school is an enjoyable experience with positive outcomes. At 3Rs Tuition, we have experienced English, maths and science tutors. We also offer tuition in history, geography and many other subjects.
During the pre-teens and early teens, we understand the stresses and anxieties many children feel. Our tutors aim to provide pressure-free, patient tuition at a pace set by the pupil. Through enjoyable tuition, our KS3 tutors will help your child develop the skills and understanding that will set them up for success in their GCSEs and beyond.
English tutors or maths tutors are most in demand at this stage, as extra support for literacy or numeracy skills at this stage can give make a tremendous difference.
Key stage 3/4 – Progress 8
The way each child’s progress is to be measured is changing. A new system called Progress 8 is being introduced. Progress 8 aims to capture the progress a pupil makes from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school. It is a type of value added measure, which means that pupils’ results are compared to the actual achievements of other pupils with the same prior attainment. Schools do not have to share this information with parents although in practise, most will.


Here’s a thought experiment for you (h/t to Dan Meyer for the sports analogy).
Imagine you start learning the game of basketball by learning how to shoot free throws. At no point are you told what the point of shooting free throws is, or how being a good free throw shooter will help you play the game of basketball, or even that there is a game of basketball. Worse, you are occasionally asked to shoot as many free throws you can in a minute, and then judged against your classmates based on your performance.
You are at some point asked to start practicing all of your free throws blindfolded, possibly after unsuccessfully learning how to shoot free throws earlier. If you are lucky, your coach tells you how many free throws you sank, and how many you missed. You finally have some understanding that free throws are important in basketball after years of not having a clue why you were practicing them but no matter how many times you practice, you never seem to get better at free throws.
By way of analogy, this is almost exactly how addition and multiplication facts are taught to students. They spend the earliest years learning addition and multiplication facts with only a superficial explanation of how these facts might be useful later, and most do not learn how addition and multiplication fit into mathematics as a whole and they certainly never get to experience "the game."
In their later grades, their teacher (although lacking the time to give students feedback on their "basic skills") expects students to work on their higher level mathematics without a calculator or any aid of any kind for their foundational numeracy skills. The premise behind these calculator-less classrooms is that students will likely forget their addition and multiplication facts if they get to use a calculator, and so the use of a calculator is banned. Unfortunately, in most of these classes, very little time is spent reteaching addition and/or multiplication facts, and almost no feedback is given to students as to whether they have even done their addition and/or multiplication correctly, so if you are a student who never understood addition or multiplication in the first place, this further practice without support is unlikely to be useful.
If you are going to ban students from using calculators in your class for basic arithmetic operations, then you must at least take the blindfolds off of your students and help them improve their arithmetic skills. On the other hand, I prefer not to ban tools, but instead find ways that these tools are used productively (and unproductively) and change my teaching to compensate.


I love technology. Usually, I am early in adopting new forms as they are introduced. So of course, when I think about technology in schools, my first thought is “YES! That would be wonderful!” Then, after a little more reflection, I start to think about the vast number of youth in the United States whose families cannot afford many new technologies. Often in today’s society, both parents work a job, sometimes two, just to make ends meet. So how could they possible afford the technology that schools would require at home in order for students to successfully embrace more ICTs in their daily learning lives?
The articles for class this week really supported my blog thoughts for music education on September 12. I do agree with utilizing ICTs in the schools and teaching the students through interactive communication. However, reflecting on the economics of information and digital inequality that we discussed in class a couple weeks ago, I wanted to take a closer look at the numbers to see if ICTs are really advantageous for schools. According to this short article with visual maps, (July 2015) income, education, race, and residence location all contribute toward the barriers to access. US Digital Inequality
The Council of Economic Advisers Brief in July 2015 demonstrates a definite association between home internet use and median income in 2013.
In addition to an income divide, geography also contributes to the digital inequality. Since income affects where people live, the geographic divide is especially evident in rural areas or large cities. In Western rural areas, no access may be due to lack of infrastructure, but in the South, areas such as tribal lands cannot monetarily support home internet use (Council, 2015). In urban cities, the income divide is reflected in the home use of the internet, as seen in the Council of Economic Advisers chart.
The same locations that reflect limited home internet use also house the schools that struggle with financial support, usually in the poorest sections of a city. The Greenlining Institute (2009) noted that digital inequality creates additional social inequality, which results in a perpetual cycle of inequality for low-income families. So how would ICTs in the school benefit these students?
Not only is it important to offer access to computers and internet use within the schools, but also in the local public libraries. Grants and other forms of funding are extremely important to these institutions in order to build the needed infrastructure. However, as schools integrate ICTs, a vital consideration is compatibility with mobile phone technology. The Greenlining Institute notes that cell phones are increasingly important devices for employment opportunities – both for job searches and to be accessible for employers (2009). Likewise smartphones could fill a gap for students, especially in high school, by giving them tools to access technology.
If students do not learn technological skills in school, they remain disadvantaged as they enter the work force. Thus, when schools consider integration of ICTs in their lesson plans, teachers should consider the best means for their students to access the information and implement the technology accordingly. Look for appropriate funding within the school system. Check with the local libraries for accessibility by the students. Find out if smartphone access is prevalent within the student body. If these conditions can be verified, ICTs in schools would be of benefit to all students. Accessibility is key to learning new technologies and breaking the cycle of inequality.
Council of Economic Advisers. (2015). Mapping the digital divide. Council of Economic Advisers Issue Brief, July 2015. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/wh_digital_divide_issue_brief.pdf.
The Greenlining Institute. ( 2009). Digital inequality: Information poverty in the information age. The Greenlining Institute: A Multiethnic Public Policy Research and Advocacy Institute. Retrieved from http://greenlining.org/issues/telecommunications-technology/2009/digital-inequality/.


Our faculty understands that it is critical to intervene as early as possible when children have reading, writing, and math challenges. It is critical to identify the individual needs of each student and provide diagnostic and prescriptive lessons that ensure success. Providing proper instruction when a child is young reshapes learning pathways during a period of powerful brain “neuroplasticity,” when significant changes in brain structure are much easier to attain. Providing a strong foundation of learning necessary is critical when we are building a path for academic success in middle and high school. Dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder that is characterized by a difficulty learning both written and oral language. This will certainly affect a child’s progress in reading and written expression, but it may also affect learning in other content areas. Often, students who have dyslexia have difficulties with executive functioning, ADHD and have other challenges such as dyscalculia or dysgraphia. They may experience problems with auditory processing, working memory and general processing speed. These challenges can affect all aspects of a child’s school experience. The Laurel School of Princeton offers an integrative, engaging curriculum that enables our students to develop the confidence to learn and excel.
Reading Class is provided in homogeneous groups of no more than five students for one hour daily. Instruction is data driven and assessment is frequent to ensure that students can achieve progress as quickly as they are able. Students are instructed in building decoding, reading fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, spelling and proofreading skills. Multisensory structured language instruction is provided by certified teachers using programs including Wilson Reading, Orton Gillingham, Reading Success (David Kilpatrick) and a variety of other materials designed to support reading success.
Language Arts Class is provided daily and students are grouped by homeroom class to investigate and build knowledge that increases reading comprehension, vocabulary and written expression. Students begin learning the structure of text, specifically narrative and expository text structures. Through close reading and other reading comprehension activities, students explore advanced literature that builds skill in identifying key information, elements of fiction and nonfiction. Teachers provide direct instruction using literature that is advanced and age appropriate despite the fact that some students may not be able to independently decode the text. Students develop an understanding of advanced sentence structure, knowledge of advanced vocabulary and learn to use text evidence in class discussions and written compositions about their reading.
Students build foundational skills in written expression during Language Arts class. Learning begins with an understanding of sentence structure. Students are taught basic grammar in a multisensory way. They progress to more complex paragraph structure and longer writing pieces, learning to use text evidence and more detail as they advance. Teachers instruct classes using programs including Project Read® Story Form® and Report Form®, Project Read Literature Connection®, Lindamood-Bell® Visualizing and Verbalizing®, Developing Metacognitive Skills and other well respected programs.
Math in Focus (Singapore Math), Reflex Math, i-Ready
STEM aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (This approach focuses crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas)
Music, Theater, Visual Arts, Health, Physical Education, Technology
Social Studies/Skills Class


Viruses: The Smallest Microbe on Earth
The average life expectancy in Ancient Rome was from 25-30 years.
Carnivorous Plants – Plants That Eat…
The longest conflict in the human history was between the Romans and Persians. Their wars lasted about 721 years.
Photosynthesis: How Plants Make Food…
The Romans used urine to wash clothes and whiten their teeth.
The Colosseum is one of the most famous buildings left by the ancient Romans. It is a huge amphitheater in the center of Rome.
The Roman Empire was formed in circa 27 BC by Augustus after the assassination of Julius Caesar. It was one of the biggest civilizations in the human history. During the first 150 years of imperial rule, Rome reached the height of its power. Ancient Rome was its Power Center. The Romans adapted the ancient Greek culture but they used the Roman law. They divided the day into 24 hours but the length of hours varied. There were 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Daylight hours were longer in summers as compared to in winters.
The tunic and toga were two general types of clothing popularly worn by ancient Romans.
The Roman army was really powerful. They could march up to 40 kilometers in a day.
Declan, Tobin.Facts for Kids about Ancient Rome. Easy Science for Kids, May 2018. Web. 26 May 2018. .
Things You Cannot See: Microscopic Life
Tobin, Declan. (2018).Facts for Kids about Ancient Rome. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from
The Statue of Liberty was inspired by Roman Pagan goddess Libertas.
Flamingo tongues were considered a delicacy in Ancient Rome.
The Roman Empire occupied just 12% of the entire worlds population, even at its peak.
The Disease Fighters Germs and Bacteria
Roman gladiators rarely fought to the death or against animals.
You may cut-and-paste the below MLA and APA citation examples:
Their regular diet consisted of common staple food like wheat, posca, bread etc.
Copyright © 2018 All Rights Reserved
Pollination and Fertilization of Plants
Romans built aqueducts, a system of channels and bridges that transported water for public baths and toilets.


- Skills to develop:Kids in 3rd grade will review and practice place value numeracy skills involving three digital numbers. Identifying the value of a number in three digits helps kids quickly identify how to read bigger numbers.
- Game Overview:The Space Dog Game is a time-limited game of multiple choices with one or sometimes two correct answers.
https://www.turacogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/space-dog.jpg 153 220 turacogame https://www.turacogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Turacogames-300x135.png turacogame2018-07-08 13:07:312019-01-04 20:09:31Hundreds, tens, units, place value math game for 3rd Grade
This third grade math game helps kids develop skills in identifying the value of three digital numbers. It helps answer the question – What is the value of numbers in the hundreds, tens and units places?
Place value is at the base of almost every math operation. It is key for understanding addition involving regrouping and subtraction with borrowing in more advanced operations. Hundreds, Tens, Units Place Value Game gives students the chance to identify each place by highlighting a certain numeral in a given place, and then asking the student to name the value of the numeral based on whether it’s in the hundreds, tens or units place. The game also has questions using more critical thinking skills and place value practice by placing numbers in random order and asking students to order them from the least to the greatest. This calls for students to be able to look at the hundreds place then to the tens to place numbers correctly. After each question is answered correctly the following screen will show a dog in space being able to catch a bone. If an answer is incorrect, a meteor will hit the bone instead, or a spaceship will beam the bone up. This game is great for learning center practice or for extra practice at home. Read Less
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AS Course Outline
Why study Biology?
AS Biology will give you an exciting insight into the contemporary world of biology. It covers the key concepts of biology and the development of practical skills are integrated throughout the course. Theoretical knowledge and the focus on current practical techniques will support your development as a future scientist.
You will recognise a great deal of GCSE science in AS Biology, but the course concentrates more on the workings of the body's natural building-blocks: the cells. It explores how the whole body is a complex set of interacting cells and that the workings of the cells are driven by the activity of molecules inside them.
The OCR AS specification gives you the opportunity to explore these and other issues, beginning as it does with a study of the lives of microscopic cells and the implications of disease, before moving on to a review of living biodiversity in all its brilliance.
What degree courses will Biology enable me to study at university?
A Level Biology is often studied with other science-based subjects and can lead to the following degree courses: Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, Dentistry, Dietetics, Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, Forensic Science, Geology, and of course the Medical Sciences; including Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Sports Science, and Veterinary Science.
A-level biology is based on developing a rich subject knowledge in additional to developing practical, literary and numeracy skills, Furthermore, biology is a subject that demands students develop ways of articulating complex ideas in prose concisely and without ambiguity. Therefore, the skills acquired by studying Biology would be of great benefit in a variety of careers, such as journalism, finance, law, and many more.
What do I need for the course?
|Biology (OCR) Summary of Content at AS|
Module 1 - Development of Practical skills, which continues into A-level.
Module 2 - Foundations in Biology - including biological molecules, cell structure, enzymes, cell division and specialisation
Module 3 - Exchange and Transport - including the gas exchange systems of mammals, fish and insects and transport systems of plants and animals.
Module 4 - Biodiversity, Evolution and Disease - including conservation, classification and natural selection, then disease transmission and immunity in animal and plants.
Structure of the Course
This course will be taught for 5x 1hour lessons per week. Homework will be set at the end of each lesson. Depending on the topic, some weeks will include lessons devoted to practical work. Mock exams take place each month, in addition to formative weekly tests.
A Level Biology for OCR A Year 1 and AS LOCKE Oxford University press ISBN-13: 978-0198351917
Suggested reading prior to the course
Head Start to A-level Biology by CGP
This book is the ideal way to bridge the gap between GCSE and A-Level Biology.
New Scientist magazine (available from most newsagents)
Reading popular science in the media will inspire students and allow them to link their learning to the real world and latest developments in the field.
The Selfish Gene 40th Anniversary edition. By Richard Dawkins
For students with particular interest in Evolution and genetics.
Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are By Robert Plomin
For students with a particular interested in the link between genetics and psychology.
Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life By Edward O. Wilson
For students particularly interested in biodiversity, ecology, climate change and broader environmental issues and conservation biology.
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor By Adam kay
Essential reading for students considering a career path in medicine.
©2021 Copyright Albemarle Independent College


Not many people know this, but the power of music training can prove to be all-encompassing, and it can have numerous cognitive benefits for anyone choosing to indulge in it. The cognitive benefits of music training can help you experience many major positive changes in your mind and body.
For many, music study is intrinsically rewarding, and music learning is an end in itself. However, active engagement with music has enduring cognitive benefits, such as concentration, memory, self-discipline, and confidence (Rentfrow & Levitin, 2019). The cognitive benefits of music education extend from early childhood to old age.
Here Are 5 Cognitive Benefits Of Music Training
Formal music practice involves several cognitively challenging elements (e.g., long periods of controlled attention, keeping musical passages in working memory). For example, a study showed that increased reliance upon sustained attention was attributed to boosts in working memory in persons over 60 who received piano training (six months) compared to those who did not receive piano training (Lesiuk et al., 2018).
Music training enhances impulse control. Impulse control is saying no to that third alcoholic drink or eating healthy foods even though the unhealthy ones are tempting. People high on a measure of self-control have better outcomes in various aspects of life (e.g., academic, coping skills, and meaningful relationships with others).
Evidence shows that musical training is a powerful intervention that could help children mature emotionally and intellectually. A research study (Fasano et al., 2019) showed that even an intense and brief period of orchestral music training (10 lessons over three months) had a positive impact on inhibitory control in school-age children.
Empathy enables people to recognize the emotional and mental states of others and to respond to these with appropriate emotions. During music listening and performance, we perceive the emotional and psychological content in music. Listening to music that contains reflective, thoughtful, and gentle attributes may increase empathy and improve reflective functioning (Greenberg et al., 2016).
Learning an instrument is one of the best ways to build one’s confidence, and high self-confidence is associated with a positive self-image. And when people’s self-esteem is enhanced, they are more likely to live a healthier lifestyle (Creech, 2019).
5. Protection Against Age-Related Decline
Neural plasticity is a biological foundation of the learning brain. New connections are made in our brains when we learn. Neural plasticity is what keeps us young.
The brain is like a block of clay that can be molded into its environment. And the brain is at its most plastic during the first few years of life. Fortunately, some of the neural plasticity is with us throughout our lifespans, even in our older years. Making music mostly as a leisure activity provides a buffer against cognitive impairment (Schneider et al. 2018).


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Key Stage 3 is now delivered using GCSE assessment criteria to allow students to become confident of expectations and grading criteria. Projects are divided into four sections of, developmental work in the style of several studied Artists, experimentation with a range of mediums to create observational drawings, generating ideas for a final response (Intentions) and their final piece. Students are then given forecast grades for GCSE based on the work produced.
Students begin their Art education at Perryfield’s with a project working in the style of an industry campaigner. Students start with an introduction to fundamental skills focusing on drawing, shading, proportion of the human figure and drawing movement. The theme of climate change runs throughout this project linking cross curricular education and the arts to portray an important message. Students finally produce a campaign placard inspired by the likes of Keith Haring.
This project allows students to work in the style of a Graffiti Artist and introduces key skills such as colour theory and symbolism, watercolour painting, shading to add dimension. Work will be inspired by the likes of Kandinsky and Banksy, learning about typeface and colour selection. The final outcome is to design a hoody using key skills developed in lessons and exploring the student’s personality to express their thoughts, views and opinions on their personal environment.
Student’s will work in the style of a Graphic Designer by completing a client brief to the last detail. Key Skills for this project include idea generation (mind mapping) understanding brand identity concepts, packaging designs and
advertising strategies. Group activities play an important role in this project to generate ideas and to present ideas
to a wider audience. Students will learn about a products USP (unique Selling Point) to help build a successful
This project explores the role of an Editorial Designer focusing on portraiture as its running theme. Key skills gained from this project include, pencil shading, Collage skills, Learning about Maori culture and tattoo design, composition skills and magazine layouts. Students will be inspired by the likes of Jereon Teanun, Chellefelt and understand the importance of Pop Art and its place in society today. Student’s will produce a magazine front cover inspired by the artists and experimentation with a successful layout incorporating magazine composition skills.
Creative thinking and imagination plays an important role in this project which allows students to see the creative jobs that come from a basic doodle to developing into character design. Key skills gained from this project include, Pencil shading, grid technique, watercolour and gouache painting, pen drawings and 3D card relief. Student’s will
look at the likes of Buff Monster and YouTube artist Vexx. Students are encouraged to see characters in everyday
objects such as food items to create a series of monster doodles. Their final piece will be to create an A3 mural
design following a client brief for a cupcake shop or an ice cream parlour incorporating all of the above key skills.
Year 9 solely focus their art lessons on this project to create a surreal room design. Student’s look at famous interior designers to showcase the spaces designers create other than home design. This project enables students to look at career choices in the design industry that requires creative thinking and planning skills. The theme of the project links Surrealism and room design. Key skills learnt in this project include, Fine liner and water drawings, Grid
technique, crayon shading and room proportion. Planning and brief requirements run throughout this project and need to be met to complete a successful room design.


Easy Rainbow Skittles Science Experiment
This Easy skittles rainbow science experiment is a great science project idea for school or home. All you need is 3 ingredients: water, skittles + a plate!
Dancing Rice Experiment | An Entertaining and Simple Project
Dancing rice experiment for kids. Make rice dance like magic in this super simple kitchen science experiment from Green Kid Crafts...
How to Make a Tornado in a Jar: Fun Science for Kids!
I love science, I love hands on learning, and I love learning about the weather! Check out this cool, simple science experiment: how to make a tornado!
Gummy Bear Science Lab
Please make sure you always have the most recent version of my products, I update my products all the time! I am a science teacher who is still in the classroom and every time I use one of my lesson plans, I think of new things to add! Please make sure you always have my latest version. Here's how:
Striped Celery Experiment » Grade Onederful
One of the first ones we’ll do is called Striped Celery. This is the experiment that shows the kids how plant stems and tree trunks carry water from the roots up to the leaves and ... Read more
Apple Volcanoes Science Experiment
Baking soda and vinegar experiments are huge at our house! I'm constantly out of one or the other and have to keep a stash hidden from my little scientists. They love to watch the chemical
Paper Plate Santa Claus
Kids will love cutting, sticking, painting and curling to create an adorable Paper Plate Santa Claus with a lushious curly paper beard!
15 Kids Winter Crafts
When the days are long and dark you need something fun and creative. Here are 15 Kids Winter Crafts you can make to keep the kiddos busy.
Native American Headband | Kids' Crafts | Fun Craft Ideas
Make an easy Native American headband out of paper and some feathers. Our craft instructions include making a Native American headband with and without a template.


If you have a little one who is fascinated with colors and fireworks, this simple experiment is for you (and your child). The idea for this experiment originally came from Action Pack. You most likely have everything you already need in your cupboard for these fireworks in a jar: oil, water, and food coloring! If you haven’t already, be sure to download my FREE Fascinating Science for Kids eBook with this experiment and 14 equally-engaging others!
1. Fill your jar 3/4 of the way full with warm water.
2. In a separate bowl, mix a 3-4 tablespoons of oil and several drops of different colors of food coloring (I used 4 drops of each color: red, yellow, blue, and green).
3. Use a fork to gently mix the oil and food coloring together.
4. Gently pour the oil mixture into the jar.
5. Watch what happens—the food coloring will slowly sink out of the oil and into the water. When this happens, it will expand and begin to mix with the other colors.
The Science Behind It:
Food coloring dissolves in water but not in oil. Because the oil is less dense than the water, it will float at the top. The colored droplets will begin to sink because they are heavier than the oil. Once they sink into the water, they will begin dissolving into the water (which looks like a tiny explosion).
Download your free Science eBook with this idea and many others by clicking below and entering your e-mail address. You’ll immediately receive an e-mail that will have the link to the eBook! If you would rather not be an e-mail subscriber, “like” us on Facebook and then send us a private message to claim your FREE eBook.


In the earliest years, the Language Arts program focuses on the communication skills children need to express themselves. In the process of communicating with others, the children increase their vocabularies and their sentences become more complex. As their facility with language becomes more sophisticated, they are able to experience the satisfaction of the give and- take of conversations. The need to communicate leads children to recognize that letters make up words and that words express ideas. From this recognition comes the eagerness to practice the decoding skills necessary for becoming an independent reader. As visual and auditory discrimination skills develop, City and Country children are introduced to the symbol system through a mix of phonics instruction and whole-language-based techniques inspired by trips, block work, and other everyday activities.


School of Music
Master of Arts in Music Education (MA)
Aural Skills, Ear Training, Harmonic Dictation, Audiation, Voice-leading
Education | Music
Dunmire, Caroline E., "Audiating and Vocalizing Voice-Leading in Seventh Chords: Harmonic Recognition in Freshman Ear-Training Courses" (2019). Masters Theses. 592.
Harmonic dictation is one of the most challenging topics in the aural skills curriculum. Consequently, researchers have identified sub-skills associated with success in ear-training. Among these are development of audiation skills, understanding of functional harmonic progression, and scale degree resolution. The PASS Method teaches chord quality through a four-step process of playing, audiating, singing, and solving the voice-leading paths in common tonal resolutions. This method was examined in a quantitative study of 52 freshman ear-training students in which a control group studied seventh chords through the traditional, Arpeggiated Method and an experimental group used the PASS Method. The experimental group performed better than the control on the whole, and the PASS Method was particularly effective for chordal instrumentalists.


© 2004 GIA.
Click here to download the 2020 Supplement to First Steps in Music.
Over the past year, a committee formed by the Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) developed a set of standards for evaluating repertoire associated with the curriculum. With their guidance, we have removed several songs that were deemed to be harmful, derogatory, or disrespectful in regard to their histories or context. We have also added a number of new songs and rhymes from a variety of world cultures. The above link details these revisions for the curriculum book and the supplemental folk song collections.
Circle games are one of the principal joys of childhood, especially when played with a group of friends outdoors. From “The Farmer in the Dell” to “London Bridge,” these games encourage social skills, cognitive development, creativity, language development, motor skills, and of course music skills. Learning has never been so much fun!
Because they are easy to learn and fun to play, circle games are a wonderful way to engage children, while at the same time planting seeds of musical sensitivity and imagination. This special book, for the first time, collects the most cherished of these songs and games (some in danger of being lost or forgotten), enabling your family to carry on the tradition of laughter and learning that circle games have inspired for generations!
John M. Feierabend, PhD, has spent decades compiling songs and rhymes from the memories of the American people in hopes that these treasures will be preserved for future generations. He is a leading authority on child development in music and movement and served as Professor and Chair of the Music Education Department of the Hartt School of the University of Hartford.


There are two parts to today’s activity. First you’re going to discover how meringue is made. Can you believe it starts out as egg whites and sugar?? Do you know why egg yolk isn’t used to make meringue just the white?
Once you’ve made delicious meringue pieces, you’re going to build delicious meringue, cream and strawberry towers.
Did you know egg whites are 90% water? and about 10% protein.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. Some amino acids are are attracted to water while others are repelled. When you whisk the egg white mixture you add air to it. The amino acids which are repelled by water attach to the air. The more you whisk or beat the mixture the more amino acid covered bubbles you create, making the mixture fluff up. The sugar acts as a stabiliser helping the amino acids bond together.
Question: Why don’t you use egg yolk in meringue?
Egg yolks contain fat which interferes with how the proteins arrange themselves, stopping the mixture fluffing up.
4 egg whites
200g caster sugar
Bowl – not plastic as these tend to retain oils which might interfere with the mixture
How to make Meringue
- Pre-heat the oven to 110 degrees, gas mark 1.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment
- Put the egg whites in a bowl and whisk slowly at first then faster as they expand. Once you get stiff peaks the egg whites are ready.
- Add the sugar slowly a few tablespoons at a time and whisk after each sugar addition
- Place 2 heaped tablespoons of mixture onto the baking parchment, leave a gap and then repeat until all your mixture is used up.
- Place in the oven for about an hour and leave to cool.
First build towers using just meringue. Look carefully at the shape and size of each one to try to build a stable structure.
Another idea is to use whipped cream and strawberries to stick it together! Can you measure how tall your biggest tower is?
Once you’re finished you’ve got a lovely dessert to eat!
More easy kitchen science for kids
Find out why popping candy pops or build an edible DNA model with this fun collection of candy science experiments.
Learn about changes of state by making your own slushy drinks.
Do you know what causes the Maillard Reaction?


One of the most talked about debates in modern education is that of whole language versus phonics. Faith Lutheran School has taken a stand on the phonics side of this debate. We have done so simply because it is the best thing to do for our children. If you are interested in the research regarding phonetic instruction, please visit Spalding Education International for more information.
To understand the importance of phonetic instruction, it is helpful to examine the differences between phonetic instruction and whole language instruction. The pure whole language approach teaches children to recognize words in their entirety. On the contrary, the phonetic method teaches rules that pertain to combinations of letters and their corresponding sounds. Whole language instruction befits languages such as Chinese and Ancient Egyptian where every word is represented by a character. These pictorial languages can only be learned by association with a word to a character. English, on the other hand, is comprised of letters with assigned sounds. These letters combine according to a set of rules to form our words.
Children can and sometimes do learn certain words in English from a visual cue – the idea behind whole language teaching. For example, three-year-old children may recognize their names even though they do not know how the letters function. Instead, they know what their names “look like.” These situations are rarely taught. Instead, they occur naturally as children encounter words repeatedly in their environment. This process of learning takes an extended period of time, and the quantity of words children learn is limited by this time and exposure. This method of teaching makes the students reliant on the teacher to bring words into the environment and shuts out words possibly omitted by the teacher. In contrast, when a teacher presents the phonetic rules to children, the children can use those rules to tackle any word.
Opponents of phonics instruction argue that English, although based on letter combinations, does not consistently follow a set of phonetic rules. To explain this misconception, it is necessary to look at the nature of the English language. English is a Germanic language with strong Latin influences. Both Germanic languages and Latin languages operate according to phonetic rules. The misconception that English does not follow phonetic rules comes from the wrong application of German phonetic rules to English words with Latin roots and vice versa. This misapplication is a result of watered down phonics programs which actually do more harm than good to young readers. A thorough, comprehensive phonics program teaches students when and how to apply phonetic rules and, therefore, is consistent and reliable. Here again, we see the students able to rely on their own knowledge rather than what has been spoon fed.
Children with a strong grasp of phonetic rules can apply them to new words they encounter as they read. This independence frees the children to read with a greater confidence and, therefore, more enjoyment. Our end goal is then met. Children learn not only how to read, but they learn to love reading. The Christian worldview then points us back to the original purpose for reading – God’s Word.


ERIC Number: ED473094
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2002
The "Write" Way: Mathematics Journal Prompts for Grades 3-4.
Dougherty, Barbara J.
This book introduces journal-writing prompts in mathematics for grades 3-4. Content prompts, attitudinal or affective prompts, and process prompts are presented. Each of the content prompts relates or connects topics within and outside of mathematics, targeting important or meaningful concepts and skills. The content prompts also provide situations that focus on areas in which students often have misunderstandings or misconceptions. Attitudinal or affective prompts focus on students' feelings about themselves as mathematicians and students of mathematics. The responses to the process prompts can give insight into students' preferences for problem-solving strategies and how they learn or remember. (KHR)
Descriptors: Attitudes, Concept Formation, Educational Change, Elementary Education, Grade 3, Grade 4, Humanistic Education, Learning Processes, Mathematics Education, Problem Solving, Teaching Methods, Writing Across the Curriculum
The Hawaii Algebra Learning Project, Curriculum Research and Development Group, 1776 University Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96822-2463. e-mail: email@example.com; Web site: http://www.hawaii.edu/crdg.
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners; Teachers
Authoring Institution: Hawaii Univ., Honolulu. Curriculum Research and Development Group.
Note: For other books in this series, see SE 067 230-235.


Student Teacher Resources
"Creating the City" Urban Art Education
with Dr. Herman, Antonia Darder and Pepon Osorio panel discussion (below).
Home Rebuilding in New Orleans
Service Learning in Rome
This page offers resources to support your field experiences observing and student teaching.
A cross-cultural, global examination of philosophical and aesthetic issues in art, focusing on the relationship of contemporary art to a wide range of cultures, social issues, education, and 21st century visual production.
Global artists presentation assignment and rubric
Technology in Art Education
Integration of technology in the art classroom for Art Education majors. This is a lab based course focused on developing strategies for utilizing and teaching a range of art making skills through technology. New additions to this course for pre-service teachers include teaching through technology using a range of platforms for synchronous and asynchronous learning.
(Sample syllabus forthcoming.)
Honors Art Appreciation
This course provides a conceptual approach to discovering visual arts throughout human history. Students will be exposed to an overview of major eras and movements in Western and Non-Western Art. Students will be introduced to the practice of aesthetics in the visual arts, contemporary issues in interpreting and classifying art, and contemporary themes in artistic practice.
Education Pedagogy: Elementary instruction in art education
Child development theory and creativity are examined in relation to contemporary practice in the elementary art classroom. This course is designed to provide a foundation in curriculum design and teaching practice for future teachers working in elementary school contexts. The goal of the course is for students to understand principles and instructional strategies for engaging in meaningful, inclusive, and culturally responsive curriculum that is balanced across the disciplines of art. To achieve this, four overlapping features of teaching—the personal, the pedagogical, the curricular, and the professional—are addressed through a range of creative projects, readings, in-class activities, field work, and written reflection.
Assistant Project Director
Developing and conducting launch events for a new Master of Arts degree in Urban Art Education Studies in Dallas for the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design. Duties include establishing an online presence through the CVAD website and social media, orchestrating family art activities, establishing and enhancing community contacts, and organizing undergraduate students volunteering for the event, Spring 2016
IB Film Festival Founder and Co-Coordinator
District wide film program for International Baccalaureate high schools for Arlington ISD, promoting understanding of arthouse films, film making, and international perspectives, 2009-2013
IB Project World Founder and Co-Coordinator
International travel and service experiences for International Baccalaureate and other high school students. Duties include selecting and developing itineraries and educational content, preparing students, guiding and teaching while traveling. 2009-present.
Youth Mission Trip to New Orleans, TeamEffort Youth Missions
Working with teens to rebuild an elderly man’s home that has been uninhabitable since Hurricane Katrina, July 2013
IB Project World Service Learning, Rome, Italy
Traveled with high school students to Rome where we participated in three service projects. The first was working in a kitchen and serving lunch to 400 homeless people. We spent another afternoon caring for injured birds and turtles at a sanctuary in the Borghese Gardens. The final project was working with the Gruppo Archeologico team to uncover a lost portion of the Appian Way south of Rome. This archaeology project brought experiential learning to a new level for all of us. March 2011
Habitat for Humanity volunteer
New Orleans, LA, several dates 2006-2008


Creativity has been identified as one of the most important skills for the 21st century (Soffel, 2016).
As a Visual Arts teacher, I’ve always been interested in creativity. A couple of years ago, I decided to dig deeper into my own understanding of the creative thinking cycle so that I could apply that understanding to the teaching and learning in my classroom. Among the first things that struck me were the similarities between the creative thinking cycle, the inquiry cycle and the design thinking cycle. (See figure 1)
At the time I started digging deeper into the creative thinking cycle, my Visual Arts classroom operated in ways that were very similar to traditional Visual Arts classrooms around the world. I researched and came up with a project that focused on some important learning outcomes and that fit within a unit that I was teaching. I presented a lesson or series of lessons with the goal of having the students produce some artwork that was similar in style or theme to what we were discussing in the lesson. Often, I wanted to make some display out of the artwork.
The more I researched about creative thinking, the more I began to question how my own students were experiencing the creative thinking cycle in my classroom. If I was the person coming up with the idea for the projects, choosing the materials, scaffolding the steps to create something, helping them sort out mistakes and challenges so that we would end up with a collection of work that was worthy of a nice display in the hallway, then how much creative thinking were my students experiencing?
Just as I was having these questions and realizations, I found out about an approach to the Visual Arts that focuses on students taking responsibility for their own thinking and learning (agency), students expressing their own ideas (voice), and students making their own choices about what to make and how to make it (choice). This approach is called Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB).
TAB was first developed through the groundbreaking work of Katherine Douglas and other Visual Arts teachers in Massachusetts classrooms starting in the early 1970s. It’s an understatement to say that these teachers were ahead of their time in relation to their approaches that centered on student choice in the classroom.
Teaching for Artistic Behavior has a three-sentence curriculum (Douglas & Jaquith, 2018):
- What do artists do?
- The child is the artist.
- The art room is the child’s studio.
The curriculum might sound simplistic, but the ramifications in the application of it are profound. Here are just a few thoughts about how this three-sentence curriculum impacts student thinking, learning and behavior.
What do artists do?
- Make observations about the world around them
- Synthesize those observations and make connections to other things they know
- Envision how they could express their observations and connections
- Experiment and choose materials to realize their vision
- Create works that have personal meaning
- Make mistakes and persist to find solutions to problems
- Reflect on their progress by talking about it and making judgements about their own work
- Share their work with others
- Connect with other artists and people in the art world
The child is the artist.
- Makes their own decisions about the work they want to make, using available materials.
- Decides which materials to use.
- Drives their own project (deciding when to start and when to stop).
The art room is the child’s studio.
The art room…
- Is a shared creative space.
- Is set up in such a way that the child can manage their own supplies, tools, workspace and cleanup.
The more I read about TAB, the more convinced I was that this approach would provide my students with the opportunities that they needed in order to fully experience the creative thinking cycle. In a future post, I’ll outline how I implemented TAB into our PYP Visual Arts classroom.
In the meantime, if you are interested to know more about Teaching for Artistic Behavior, I encourage you to take a look at the following resources:
Douglas, K. M. & Jaquith, D. B. (2018). Engaging learners through artmaking: Choice-based art education in the classroom.Second Edition. New York: Teachers College Press.
Soffel, Jenny (2016 March 10). What are the 21st-century skills every student needs? Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/03/21st-century-skills-future-jobs-students/.
The curriculum might sound simplistic, but the ramifications in the application of it are profound.


Bears class can be the first solo experience for many children, therefore the primary focus of the ECEs is to provide a nurturing sense of well being and belonging as they build trust and relationship with your child. As the children engage with materials, play, and interact with their peers and other adults, they are supported in creating their own class community. Through the development of self regulation, cooperation, empathy, language, and communication skills, the Bears learn how to navigate friendship and expressing their own wants and needs.
The Bears’ daily program provides many opportunities for the children to build self-confidence and independence in foundational skills as they move through basic routines including group time, clean up, dressing, snack time, and toileting. Bears will have indoor and outdoor (rain or shine) play opportunities. Our program offers exploration of art materials, dramatic play, sensory experiences, blocks, puzzles, language and literature, music, and circle time, as well as a fantastic space for outdoor gross motor and exploration of nature.


Take a few moments to enjoy the coolest chosen and really easy to understand Oxygen Facts science for kids video:
Oxygen Facts Video Contents
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There is no secret about it: art makes for an exciting learning environment. Art projects are the first introduction to education for young children. Now, with advancements in art education and the creativity of culture, schools are finding additional benefits to these activities. Art serves as a connector that unifies students and strengthens schools.
Even though art programs have been cut in recent years, teachers and administrators are using classrooms as catalysts for creativity. One example of this is how teachers use hands-on projects to promote learning traditional subject matters. In addition, entire schools are coming together to celebrate the artwork of these non-traditional settings.
As a result, art is becoming the ultimate educator. Even without art classes and proper funding, faculties are using creativity to excite students and promote learning.
Teachers Take Charge of Creativity in the Classroom
More than ever, teachers are picking up the slack for consequences of limited funding. Many educators can be found encouraging students to showcase creativity in the classroom. Using art to inform students about other subject areas is proving to be effective and productive. In the end, students learn in memorable ways and create something they are proud to show off. They are expressing their education, making classroom walls the new chalkboards.
Schools Connect Students in Creative Ways
Administrators are encouraging teachers to make art a part of learning. They are celebrating this by coming up with creative ways to showcase art in every classroom. Some are using murals to display art from all students. This encourages community involvement; different age groups learn to appreciate the artwork of other students, both younger and older. More so, collecting all artwork allows students and teachers to feel invested in schoolwide projects. Likewise, it provides a great backdrop for the learning environment.
Art is a powerful tool for education. It can enhance the atmosphere of learning in any school. When teachers and administrators partner together, they can overcome obstacles of inadequate funding that impacts art education. This unifies a school and inspires student communities.
Read more Segmation blog posts about Art Education:
Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)


Music Together Education Fund
Music Together Education Fund
Established by Music Together LLC in 2015, the Music Together Education Fund’s mission is to enhance the lives of children, families, and communities through the power of music. The Fund is guided by the principles of Music Together founder, Kenneth K. Guilmartin—that music-making is fundamental to human development and that opportunities to make music should be available to everyone. The Music Together Education Fund supports projects, initiatives, and research devoted to supporting music development in early childhood, in particular those that serve at-risk populations who would not normally be able to access early music experiences.
In partnership with 501c3 organizations and early learning centers and schools around the country, Music Together has seen the power of early childhood music to improve outcomes among at-risk populations. In creating the Music Together Education Fund, Music Together hopes to work with compatible organizations to provide access to high-quality early childhood music education to as many children as possible regardless of background or life circumstance.
About Music Together
Music Together® is an internationally recognized music and movement program for children birth through age seven and their parents or primary caregivers. First available to the public in 1987, it pioneered the concept of a research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum that emphasizes and facilitates the involvement of primary caregivers.
Music Together helps children learn to “speak” the language of music, and thus achieve basic music competence, by encouraging the actual experiencing of music rather than the passive learning of concepts or information about music. By encouraging family participation and spontaneous music activity occurring within the context of daily life, Music Together helps families, caregivers, and early childhood professionals rediscover the pleasure and educational value of informal music experiences.
The program’s approach is grounded in important early learning theories and uniquely applies key education principles, including developmentally appropriate practice, participatory learning, and play, to early music and movement learning.
In addition to programs for families, schools, and children with special needs, new applications of the Music Together program model and curriculum are continually being developed, along with various types of research being conducted.
Contributions to the Music Together Education Fund can be made by check, payable to the Princeton Area Community Foundation with “Music Together” in the memo line, and mailed to the Princeton Area Community Foundation 15, Princess Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 or online here (please click on “support a specific fund and add “Music Together in the comments section).
For more information or support, please contact:
Jeffrey M. Vega
President & CEO
Email Jeffrey M. Vega