Do you know what your candidate's plan for PK is?
Barack Obama has a full plan for the education system that includes PK-12. Although I am an advocate for Obama, I am more an advocate for everyone to ensure they really get to know the candidates before they make their own decision. Research the candidates and what their own plans are. If you are interested, below you will find Barack Obama's memo/plan for Early Childhood (PK) and a link to his full education plan (PK-12).
"Expand Early Childhood Education: Research shows that many low-income children do not enter kindergarten ready to learn. In fact, half of low-income children start school up to two years behind their peers in preschool skills, and these early achievement gaps continue throughout elementary school. Barack Obama supports increasing funding for the Head Start program to provide preschool children with critically important learning skills, and supports the necessary role of parental involvement in the success of Head Start."
http://obama.3cdn.net/a8dfc36246b3dcc3cb_iem6bxpgh.pdf
Early education is important! EC Smart is a communication board for educators, parents and professionals to discuss all that is related to the field.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
The ABC's of DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice)
Over the next few months I will be working on some support documents focusing on what the EC field calls--Developmentally Appropriate Practice.
For families and teachers alike, DAP is a hot topic and one that has been for quite some time since its formal conception by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in the 1980s. It is a standard used by teachers, administrators and families may have heard this term used in reference to the quality of programming and/or curricula being used in their child's early childhood classroom.
DAP is often misinterpreted and misunderstood and I'd like to create some support documents summarizing and analyzing the research and information on this topic for future discussions.
If you have any comments or would like to suggest a discussion on one aspect of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, please let me know!
For families and teachers alike, DAP is a hot topic and one that has been for quite some time since its formal conception by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in the 1980s. It is a standard used by teachers, administrators and families may have heard this term used in reference to the quality of programming and/or curricula being used in their child's early childhood classroom.
DAP is often misinterpreted and misunderstood and I'd like to create some support documents summarizing and analyzing the research and information on this topic for future discussions.
If you have any comments or would like to suggest a discussion on one aspect of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, please let me know!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Guidance Matters. Swearing and Words That Hurt
http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200711/pdf/BTJGuidance.pdf
Dan Gartrell does a great job talking about one of those "sticky" situations that we have ALL been in....We don't want to discourage the communication taking place, but geez does it have to be that/those word(s).
Parents-isn't it funny that they always seem to pick up those words of all things?
Gartrell gives us some great examples of children's use of and response to these words and both's impact on children...
Share your experiences and how you've responded in the past to inappropriate language use in the classroom or at home.
Dan Gartrell does a great job talking about one of those "sticky" situations that we have ALL been in....We don't want to discourage the communication taking place, but geez does it have to be that/those word(s).
Parents-isn't it funny that they always seem to pick up those words of all things?
Gartrell gives us some great examples of children's use of and response to these words and both's impact on children...
Share your experiences and how you've responded in the past to inappropriate language use in the classroom or at home.
New NAEYC Publication: Teaching Young Children
http://tyc.naeyc.org/
If you attended NAEYC's national conference in Chicago, you might have picked up a free copy of this new publication.
What are your thoughts? Is it all you wanted it to be?
Definetly not to go unnoticed, Nancy P. Jones' article, "Big Jobs" highlighted some the great opportunities that children often miss out on (to be able to do larger projects, chores or tasks) because the adults/teachers don't either think the children can handle the situation or they don't want to be bothered in the mess or management of such a task. She offers great direction on how to provide children with large tasks such as using real tools, doing chores in the classroom, etc. These opportunities allow children to build leadership skills, confidence and take ownership in classroom activities/projects.
Other sections of the magazine were great, but I felt it was too "watered down" for my use. I often wondered as I read the magazine if it was tailored more towards the newer or less experience teacher.
By no means am I worried that NAEYC is leaving teachers with a "mailbox" magazine....but I'm looking forward to seeing how TYC matures into a more thorough resource providing teachers with ideas tying theory and research to classroom activities and featuring those who are doing a great job demonstrating this.
-M.
If you attended NAEYC's national conference in Chicago, you might have picked up a free copy of this new publication.
What are your thoughts? Is it all you wanted it to be?
Definetly not to go unnoticed, Nancy P. Jones' article, "Big Jobs" highlighted some the great opportunities that children often miss out on (to be able to do larger projects, chores or tasks) because the adults/teachers don't either think the children can handle the situation or they don't want to be bothered in the mess or management of such a task. She offers great direction on how to provide children with large tasks such as using real tools, doing chores in the classroom, etc. These opportunities allow children to build leadership skills, confidence and take ownership in classroom activities/projects.
Other sections of the magazine were great, but I felt it was too "watered down" for my use. I often wondered as I read the magazine if it was tailored more towards the newer or less experience teacher.
By no means am I worried that NAEYC is leaving teachers with a "mailbox" magazine....but I'm looking forward to seeing how TYC matures into a more thorough resource providing teachers with ideas tying theory and research to classroom activities and featuring those who are doing a great job demonstrating this.
-M.
Top 10 Pre-K Questions: What Families Need to Know about High Quality Preschool
http://nieer.org/docs/index.php?DocID=189
What else do you think should be on this list? Or...what do you think can be removed?
I have my own thoughts--share yours!
-M.
What else do you think should be on this list? Or...what do you think can be removed?
I have my own thoughts--share yours!
-M.
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-B)
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED498793
For those of you interested, I have posted a link to the first findings of the ECLS-B as published by the National Center for Education Statistics. I can't wait to hear your responses/reactions!
-M.
For those of you interested, I have posted a link to the first findings of the ECLS-B as published by the National Center for Education Statistics. I can't wait to hear your responses/reactions!
-M.
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