I was blown away when I read an article that was published on CNSNews.com a few weeks ago about a $500 million Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge endorsed by President Obama. In the article, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made this statement…. “You really need to look at the range of…
Tag: schools
If Skills & Subjects Are Different, Why Do Schools Treat Them the Same?
There’s a big difference between history and math, and it’s not just a difference between stories and numbers. There’s also a big difference between reading and science or geography. Reading and math are skills. Think of them as analogous to learning to talk or how to ride a bike. Almost all kids learn how to…
Raising Curious Kids
Most people say they value curiosity, especially parents. Parents want their children to be curious, creative and imaginative. But, if we look at what most adults view as “appropriate” outlets for children’s behavior and learning, are those qualities really valued? Here are five qualities almost all curious kids possess: inquisitiveness, imagination, inventiveness, messiness, and fearlessness. …
Why Lesson Plans Don’t Work
When I was a teacher I was required to keep lesson plans-detailed lesson plans that outlined every page we would read, every writing assignment I’d give to the kids and every new vocabulary word we’d learn that week. In theory, this seems smart, right? It’s a good thing to plan ahead for what you want…
Instead of Preschool: Why We Opted Out Part 2
Last week I started a post on why parents choose to place their children in preschool. I’ve written about the first two most popular reasons: a place for children to learn socialization, and a way to get used to school rules and procedures. Today I’ll discuss two more popular reasons young children are placed in…
Instead of Preschool: Why We Opted Out Part 1
I recently read a report that said 64% of children age 4 nationwide attend some type of preschool program. Where I live it seems the percentage might even be higher. Besides a few friends who plan on homeschooling when their children are older, I don’t know of a single parent who chose to have her…
A Daily Dose of Adventure
Did you wake up today knowing you were going to go somewhere different, see something new, or do something that you’ve never done before? Or did you follow your same routine, talking to the same people, doing the same work, and reading the same things? Now, I’m a firm believer that you can’t get through…
The Vacation of a Lifetime
Summer vacation. When you were younger it meant a time to relax, play, swim, dig in the dirt, hang with friends, stay up late reading all night, and eating popsicles until your stomach hurt. If you grew up going to school, odds are when you heard that last school bell ring at the end of…