Hmmm… guess I’ll file this one under: Another reason I’m glad my daughter is attending half-day kindergarten this fall. In addition to not having to take a nap on the classroom floor (though, part of me would have enjoyed being a fly on the wall when my anti-nap drama queen went up against a woman who had 18 other five year olds to cajole into remaining silent for an hour), my daughter will also be skipping lunchtime in the school cafeteria. Subsequently, I will not have to deal with the same situation parents of a Connecticut kindergartener were forced to … Continue reading →

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Wal-Mart has already started stocking its back-to-school supplies. So long beach towels and sun chairs. The area, where just last week, I picked up a mini cooler for my daughter’s summer soccer camp is now filled with pencils, pens, paper and shiny new scissors. The new arrangement was met by more than just a few sighs from the parent-shoppers I passed. If Wal-Mart’s back-to-school displays are disconcerting for them, imagine how it must feel for students and parents in Southern California. Thanks to a clerical error, kids at Dickson Elementary in Chino and … Continue reading →

It’s one thing to play hookey and get caught, but finagling a way to get the President of the United States to write your teacher a note excusing your absence, now that’s something to tell your kids about. Not only can 10-year-old Kennedy Corpus tell her future children about the day she skipped the last day of school to try to get a glimpse of President Barack Obama, she can show them the personal note he scribbled pardoning her truancy. The shy girl from Green Bay, Wisconsin made history yesterday when she attended a presidential town hall meeting with her … Continue reading →

In previous blogs, I have discussed learning centers, tips for learning centers, and how to creating learning centers. In my classroom, there are two types of centers. The first, the learning centers that I have previously discussed I normally call directed centers. These centers are teacher directed. Although the students work independently, the teacher gives directions and plans a desired outcome for the students to achieve. The second type of centers is known as free centers. The teacher does not direct free centers. There is no planed outcome or desired task for the student to accomplishment during this time. Free … Continue reading →

Can children enjoy books even before they can read? Of course they can! It’s no secret that children absolutely love books. They love being read to and love looking at the pictures even more. But what if they didn’t know how to read? What if the book you were reading did not have any pictures? Are children still interested? As parents and as teachers, we are often guilty of only reading picture books or grade-level books to our children. What we often seem to forget is that children’s comprehension level is generally much higher than their actual reading level. In … Continue reading →

After-school programs are popping up all over the place. In years past, local Boys and Girls Clubs or the YMCA offered most of these programs. Now, more and more schools are opting to offer these programs. The programs that are offered by local schools are often run differently than those offered by the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA. The key is who is funding the program and what their requirements are. The main concept behind programs run by the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA is to keep children off the streets thus keeping them safe. Social … Continue reading →