For Your Binder
Stop Trying to Make Kids “Ready” for Kindergarten
Another opportunity to (re)consider what we mean by readiness. #DAP #pushdown #play #teaching #learning
Early Academic Training Produces Long-Term Harm Research reveals potential risks of academic preschools and kindergartens
Louder for the people in the back! #DAP #play #teaching #learning
Neuromythologies: Separating science from speculation
Although neuromyths might have some truth to them, careful reading of the original research often demonstrates that the findings have been misinterpreted, simplified or are based exclusively on animal studies with limited implications for humans. This link will hop you to a chapter from Understanding the Brain: Towards a New Learning Science (2002) which specifically address 3 of the (now identified 6) myths. #teaching #learning
The Tennessee Pre-K Debate: Spinach Vs. Easter Grass
Another great article from when the preliminary Vanderbilt Study data was released (2015). The quote that caught everyone'e eye: "It's like saying spinach is really good for you," Farran says, "but we can't afford spinach. But here, I've got this Easter grass. Maybe that will be just as good."
Ouch. #DAP #play #learning #teaching #Vanderbilt #Tennessee
A Plot to Zap the Nap
Childhood naps are neat. Without them, little people grow up to become airhead administrators. #pushdown #play #DAP #teaching #learning
Less-structured time in children's daily lives predicts self-directed executive functioning
While I would (re)(para)phrase the findings of this report to say: when children have the time to make choices as to how they spend their time, there is evidence of higher levels of executive function skills, I was not on the research team. But that's my non-scientific take-away all the same! #teaching #learning #DAP #play
Red Paint in the Hair
An oldie but a goodie about messy play and art! #art #play #DAP #creativity #teaching #learning #parenting
Getting Pre-K Right: The Iceberg Model for Early Developmental Competencies
This article was written by the lead researcher in what is simply referred to now as "The #Vanderbilt Study" - in it she reminds us that greater focus on academics for three and four year olds is not the solution. Her metaphor of an iceberg is a powerful visual; the tip of the iceberg are things we can see (read: measure) like ABCs and 123s, but what is below the surface? What has actually made these other things visible? Curiosity, persistence, self-control... and when are those skills developed? When children #play !!!!! #Tennessee #DAP #teaching #learning #environment #pushdown
Implicit bias: The problem and how to interrupt it. Plus, the beads test
It's not just what is said, it is what is unsaid. Maybe conduct the bead test at your next staff meeting?!? #implicitbias #teaching
Children's Hideouts- Shelters (Dens): A creation archetype
Did you have the hidden power of knowing about a "secret spot"? #dens #forts #outside #play
Are mixed-grade classes any better or worse for learning?
Age is not always an accurate predictor of a child's actual development. #DAP #learning #teaching #mixedages
Analyzing Children's Art
This link provides two excerpts from Rhoda Kellogg's book, Analyzing Children's Art as well as six related resources, also by Kellogg. #art #creativity #scribbling