As I have stated a number of times before, I love working with young children. It is not just a job that I endure to bring bring home money, it is a part of my life. Children can fill me with joy, make me laugh out loud, or make me nuts, but I love being with them. One special thing about children is that they have not yet learned the fine art of being polite. I do not mean saying "please" and "thank you" or covering their cough with their elbow, but the polite little lies that one tells others to make them feel better.
Several weeks ago I attended the wedding of a friend's daughter. I dearly love both the bride and the groom and was thrilled to share their special day. The couple were spending their honeymoon at Disney, and all of the tables were identified with a Disney character. While I was sitting and waiting for the couple to arrive, a young girl who attends our church and is in my Sunday School class came to sit on my lap and chat. When I discovered that the families with young girls had been seated at the "Beauty and the Beast" table, I entertained her by singing a medley from the movie. The girl looked at me partway through my performance and told me, "The teapot sings it better."
Last week the memory verse in my Sunday School class contained the words, "... the skies proclaim His glory". In order to explain the word proclaim to my children (4 years to second grade), I stood on one of the little chairs to make a loud proclamation. One of the girls told me that it is not safe to stand on a chair. While I was explaining that I was careful, one of the boys told me that I should have stood on the gray chair. When I asked why, he told me that it was. "Because that chair is bigger and stronger".
Children make me laugh because they are naturally very funny, but they also keep me grounded. I can't spend much time with a child and have pretensions about myself!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Happy Coffee Day!
Today on the way into work the DJ announced that today is National Coffee Day. (Is there a committee that comes up with themes for the national days, is there a vote, or can anyone declare a day?) She then proceeded to read a list of people who need to drink the most coffee at work. Of course I can't remember them all, and the ones that I do remember are not in the correct order, but the list included financial people, principals, and - at the #1 position - scientists. It seemed like a varied list until I realized that all of these people had fairly sedentary jobs. They probably need coffee to continue to concentrate and to stay awake. The only thing that I would question on the list would be the principals - if I were a principal I would probably be drinking a beverage other than coffee, unless it were Irish coffee.
Most early childhood professionals do not need a steady infusion of coffee since they are usually in motion for most of the day. Today between 7:30 and 11:30, I escorted three children to the bathroom, moved furniture, hauled a broken bookcase out to the dumpster, pruned the bushes that were infringing on the playground, answered four phone calls, admired the gnocchi that the three year old class made, caught up on filing, and danced and sang with some children. No need for coffee since there is no time to doze off.
Most early childhood professionals do not need a steady infusion of coffee since they are usually in motion for most of the day. Today between 7:30 and 11:30, I escorted three children to the bathroom, moved furniture, hauled a broken bookcase out to the dumpster, pruned the bushes that were infringing on the playground, answered four phone calls, admired the gnocchi that the three year old class made, caught up on filing, and danced and sang with some children. No need for coffee since there is no time to doze off.
Evenings, of course, are another story. I would need to IV coffee to stay awake after 9:00 pm. Perhaps we should have National Coffee Night!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Pasta Fagioli
My work days tend to be very long ones. In addition to the commute, as a director I need to stay late if there is a staff shortage, an upset parent, a problem with the plumbing, etc., or if there is more work to do. I often pull into home several hours later than I had planned, with little - if any - plans for dinner. My goal is to have a healthy, delicious, inexpensive meal ready within 20 minutes. Of course, the best laid plans, etc., etc., etc... During the summer I often end up throwing dinner (including vegetables) on the grill. This week, however, the weather was cool, damp, and fall-like. It was a perfect time to pull out a favorite recipe that I have not made since the weather became hot and muggy. A big bowl of Pasta Fagioli is quick, easy, delicious, and loaded with nutrition.
Pasta Fagioli
1 Large can tomatoes (crushed, sauce, or diced)
1 15 ounce can cannelini or kidney beans
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup small pasta
basil
olive oil
Dice the onion and garlic. Saute in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and beans to the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer. While the tomato mixture is simmering, cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. When the pasta is done, add the pasta to the tomato mixture. If the tomatoes are too thick, add a little pasta water. Add basil to taste, ladle into bowls, and serve with Parmesan cheese.
The recipe is very simple. I like to add a little red wine and/or some shredded spinach. Some people add a little bacon. Hot pepper is good in it. Last time I used Glenn Muir fire roasted tomatoes, which were so good that I need to start roasting roma tomatoes next summer. No matter exactly how you make it, pasta fagoili is full of vitaming, antioxidants, and fiber. It is warm and comforting on a cool night, and is delicious.
One last note - I realize that this is spelled Pasta Fagioli, but it is pronounced "Pasta Fazoole". Enjoy!
Pasta Fagioli
1 Large can tomatoes (crushed, sauce, or diced)
1 15 ounce can cannelini or kidney beans
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup small pasta
basil
olive oil
Dice the onion and garlic. Saute in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and beans to the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer. While the tomato mixture is simmering, cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. When the pasta is done, add the pasta to the tomato mixture. If the tomatoes are too thick, add a little pasta water. Add basil to taste, ladle into bowls, and serve with Parmesan cheese.
The recipe is very simple. I like to add a little red wine and/or some shredded spinach. Some people add a little bacon. Hot pepper is good in it. Last time I used Glenn Muir fire roasted tomatoes, which were so good that I need to start roasting roma tomatoes next summer. No matter exactly how you make it, pasta fagoili is full of vitaming, antioxidants, and fiber. It is warm and comforting on a cool night, and is delicious.
One last note - I realize that this is spelled Pasta Fagioli, but it is pronounced "Pasta Fazoole". Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Are They Nuts?!?
I have a 45 minute commute to work each day. While I am not wild about the drive, and miss working only 10 minutes from my house, I do enjoy having a quiet time to think, plan, pray, and talk to myself. Along the way I sometimes listen to the radio, which can involve singing along with the oldies, trying to remember what Josh Nicols had said about the weather ten minutes earlier, answering the contests, and listening to the interesting bits of news that the DJ reads. Usually I am a calm, happy driver, but some recent news had me yelling most of the way to work.
The news that day was that the SAT scores in reading and math have been dropping almost every year, and in 2010 they hit their lowest point ever. Was I upset? Yes! Was I surprised? No! As an educator, I have been watching and decrying the general dumbing down of America for a number of years. When I was in school, admittedly many years ago, grammar was a separate subject that had dedicated class time and a special grammar book that we used. Any paper that we wrote was graded for grammar and spelling, even if were for a class other than the English class. Now spelling and grammar are optional in many classrooms, since computer programs are supposed to find and correct any errors. I find myself correcting the newscasters when they are reading the news and talking to the newspaper about the poor grammar contained in its articles. (Don't worry - it doesn't talk back!) With the popularity of texting, many people now write as if they were texting. Do they really think that I will respond favorably to an email about an employment opportunity the reads, "i read in the ads that u r looking 4 child care help. can u tell me more about it. thanx."
In addition to just plain laziness and lack of standards, the decline in SAT scores can be directly linked, in my opinion, to the changes in early education. Even though the latest developmental science tells us that children should be allowed time to grow, to play, and to explore before they start formal learning, children are being pushed to do more at younger ages. The problem with this is that children are not ready to learn these things at these ages. Advertisements abound with "Teach Your Baby to Read" ads, and preschools brag that their children are beginning to read, but children at that age are not really reading. They can learn sight words and repeat them back, but they do not have the necessary skills to decode words and understand their meaning. The effect is similar to the trained ponies that used to be on the Ed Sullivan show many years ago - the trainer would call out a number and the horse would paw the ground the appropriate number of times. While the horse was entertaining, and had learned how many times to paw the ground in response to a word from the trainer, the horse obviously had no idea how many "six" or "four" really was. The horse could never count out six apples or four blocks. The same, unfortunately, is true of children who are forced to learn to read before they are ready. To be a successful reader the child must be able to recognize the letters of the alphabet, to know the sounds of words and language, to recognize rhymes, to be able to track from left to right and top to bottom, and to have an adequate vocabulary. These skills are learned by listening to books, both a large variety of books and favorite books that are repeated over and over again, by being exposed to the written word in the environment, and by talking to adults and other children. Much as a surgeon cannot cut into a patient until he understands the location and working of all the body parts, a child cannot make sense of reading unless he has experienced the steps that lead up to reading. Making a child skip the preliminaries will result in children who may be able to memorize words but who will not be able to excel at reading. If reading is difficult or makes no sense, a child will not develop the love of reading that will last for a lifetime.
This is not the ravings of a few eccentric early childhood teachers. Scientific studies have demonstrated time and time again how children learn and have shown that children will not learn well unless they have experienced the basics that are needed to learn. In addition, there is anecdotal evidence - many of the countries whose children score well above ours in reading tests do not begin formal instruction in reading until the children are over six years old. In addition, these children are allowed extra free time during the day to run and stretch, both of which are necessary for intellectual growth and development.
Another difficulty that children are encountering as they are growing and learning is the general political climate. Education has become a hot topic, and everyone has an idea of how children should be taught. While everyone (myself included) has a few horror stories about bad teachers, most of the teachers today are hard working individuals who care about the children in their classes. The government, however, in a bid to look as though they are doing something about the low test scores in this country, has decided to evaluate teachers and children through a series of artificial tests that are not designed to measure the way that children think and learn. These tests, in fact, are often even more biased against the way that boys learn, resulting in lower scores for boys that for girls. Teachers are now forced to teach for a test, rather than to teach for knowledge, for low test scores (even if they are not true measures of a child's learning) put a teacher's career at risk. The government regulates doctors, but would never think of telling a surgeon how to operate on a human heart. The same legislators, however, have no difficulty with telling a teacher how to teach.
So, what is a parent to do? Read - stay current with child development issues. Advocate - speak up for children and their education. Learn - stay in touch with your child's child care center or school and become familiar with their programs. Visit - volunteer, attend meetings, go to school or child care functions. Move - play with your children and encourage them to walk, hike, swim, and dance. It helps to build their brains and keep them healthy (and you, too!). Read - read to your child every day. Have them read to you when they begin to read. Visit the library regularly. Give books for presents. Let the children know that you value reading by reading yourself every day. Although children spend most of their days with caregivers and teachers, it is the parents who have the most influence over children. Let them see that you enjoy and value reading and they will be more likely to become lifelong readers and learners.
The news that day was that the SAT scores in reading and math have been dropping almost every year, and in 2010 they hit their lowest point ever. Was I upset? Yes! Was I surprised? No! As an educator, I have been watching and decrying the general dumbing down of America for a number of years. When I was in school, admittedly many years ago, grammar was a separate subject that had dedicated class time and a special grammar book that we used. Any paper that we wrote was graded for grammar and spelling, even if were for a class other than the English class. Now spelling and grammar are optional in many classrooms, since computer programs are supposed to find and correct any errors. I find myself correcting the newscasters when they are reading the news and talking to the newspaper about the poor grammar contained in its articles. (Don't worry - it doesn't talk back!) With the popularity of texting, many people now write as if they were texting. Do they really think that I will respond favorably to an email about an employment opportunity the reads, "i read in the ads that u r looking 4 child care help. can u tell me more about it. thanx."
In addition to just plain laziness and lack of standards, the decline in SAT scores can be directly linked, in my opinion, to the changes in early education. Even though the latest developmental science tells us that children should be allowed time to grow, to play, and to explore before they start formal learning, children are being pushed to do more at younger ages. The problem with this is that children are not ready to learn these things at these ages. Advertisements abound with "Teach Your Baby to Read" ads, and preschools brag that their children are beginning to read, but children at that age are not really reading. They can learn sight words and repeat them back, but they do not have the necessary skills to decode words and understand their meaning. The effect is similar to the trained ponies that used to be on the Ed Sullivan show many years ago - the trainer would call out a number and the horse would paw the ground the appropriate number of times. While the horse was entertaining, and had learned how many times to paw the ground in response to a word from the trainer, the horse obviously had no idea how many "six" or "four" really was. The horse could never count out six apples or four blocks. The same, unfortunately, is true of children who are forced to learn to read before they are ready. To be a successful reader the child must be able to recognize the letters of the alphabet, to know the sounds of words and language, to recognize rhymes, to be able to track from left to right and top to bottom, and to have an adequate vocabulary. These skills are learned by listening to books, both a large variety of books and favorite books that are repeated over and over again, by being exposed to the written word in the environment, and by talking to adults and other children. Much as a surgeon cannot cut into a patient until he understands the location and working of all the body parts, a child cannot make sense of reading unless he has experienced the steps that lead up to reading. Making a child skip the preliminaries will result in children who may be able to memorize words but who will not be able to excel at reading. If reading is difficult or makes no sense, a child will not develop the love of reading that will last for a lifetime.
This is not the ravings of a few eccentric early childhood teachers. Scientific studies have demonstrated time and time again how children learn and have shown that children will not learn well unless they have experienced the basics that are needed to learn. In addition, there is anecdotal evidence - many of the countries whose children score well above ours in reading tests do not begin formal instruction in reading until the children are over six years old. In addition, these children are allowed extra free time during the day to run and stretch, both of which are necessary for intellectual growth and development.
Another difficulty that children are encountering as they are growing and learning is the general political climate. Education has become a hot topic, and everyone has an idea of how children should be taught. While everyone (myself included) has a few horror stories about bad teachers, most of the teachers today are hard working individuals who care about the children in their classes. The government, however, in a bid to look as though they are doing something about the low test scores in this country, has decided to evaluate teachers and children through a series of artificial tests that are not designed to measure the way that children think and learn. These tests, in fact, are often even more biased against the way that boys learn, resulting in lower scores for boys that for girls. Teachers are now forced to teach for a test, rather than to teach for knowledge, for low test scores (even if they are not true measures of a child's learning) put a teacher's career at risk. The government regulates doctors, but would never think of telling a surgeon how to operate on a human heart. The same legislators, however, have no difficulty with telling a teacher how to teach.
So, what is a parent to do? Read - stay current with child development issues. Advocate - speak up for children and their education. Learn - stay in touch with your child's child care center or school and become familiar with their programs. Visit - volunteer, attend meetings, go to school or child care functions. Move - play with your children and encourage them to walk, hike, swim, and dance. It helps to build their brains and keep them healthy (and you, too!). Read - read to your child every day. Have them read to you when they begin to read. Visit the library regularly. Give books for presents. Let the children know that you value reading by reading yourself every day. Although children spend most of their days with caregivers and teachers, it is the parents who have the most influence over children. Let them see that you enjoy and value reading and they will be more likely to become lifelong readers and learners.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Eye See You!
I went to kindergarten many years ago when we only went for a half day and were expected to act like kindergartners, as opposed to today when the children are expected to act like first graders. I don't have many memories of kindergarten - I remember dancing the Mexican Hat Dance (we must have danced it often since I can still hear the music in my head and I can do the steps), we had milk and graham crackers every day, and I didn't like to stand in line next to David Niamond because he wore big, thick socks (David, if for some odd reason you should happen to stumble across this, I am not quite as shallow now, I swear!). I do remember sitting with a red crayon in my hand poised over a paper while I waited for Mrs. Carroll to teach us how to draw a rainbow, but I couldn't wait and colored on my paper before the instructions so that Mrs. Carroll yelled at me (if any of my classmates stumbles across this, I probably haven't changed that much since then). One of the things that I vividly remember is learning right from left.
I don't recall that I had know that there was such a thing as left and right before that class. I do believe that left-handed children learn the difference more easily because people often remark that the child is left-handed. No one ever says, "Look at that girl - she is right handed". I do remember Mrs. Carroll standing in front of the class and explaining left and right as she was facing us and as she was facing away from us. I was very excited about my new knowledge and came home from school to tell my mother all about what I had learned. I very proudly showed her which hand was my right hand. I then showed her how when I turned around my other hand became my right hand. My mother then proceeded to teach me my right from my left. (I still have difficulty, but it seems to be a legacy from my father's family. People used to ask us if we meant a left or a Lund left!).
I don't recall that I had know that there was such a thing as left and right before that class. I do believe that left-handed children learn the difference more easily because people often remark that the child is left-handed. No one ever says, "Look at that girl - she is right handed". I do remember Mrs. Carroll standing in front of the class and explaining left and right as she was facing us and as she was facing away from us. I was very excited about my new knowledge and came home from school to tell my mother all about what I had learned. I very proudly showed her which hand was my right hand. I then showed her how when I turned around my other hand became my right hand. My mother then proceeded to teach me my right from my left. (I still have difficulty, but it seems to be a legacy from my father's family. People used to ask us if we meant a left or a Lund left!).
Part of my trouble - aside from the Lund heritage - was that I had to absorb a complicated subject the first time that I was introduced to the subject. Even the vocabulary - left and right - was new to me. It is often beneficial if a child is introduced to a new concept in small steps. Several days ago I had to relieve the four year old teacher for a few minutes while her children were finishing their snack. She asked me to keep an eye on them, so I sat at the table, leaned down to stare at them, and asked if they wanted me to use my left or my right. Someone said "left" so I shut my right eye and stared at them with my left. After a few minutes, someone yelled, "Right", so I opened my right eye and closed my left. The continued having me switch eyes, going faster and faster until the room was flashing in front of me. (This might have been fun in the sixties!) Fortunately, the teacher came back and relieved me before my brain exploded. I did not teach the children right from left, but I did introduce them to the concept. Hopefully, this will help them to build an understanding so that they do not think that their hands change when they turn around (unless one of their greatgrandparents was related to my daddy!).
Monday, September 5, 2011
Are They Ready?
This is the time of the year that most child care directors dread - the week before school. The children are excited because most of them will be moving to new rooms, prospective parents are calling all day to arrange for tours of the center (doesn't anyone plan ahead?), and the school age children are getting antsy about the return to school (they really are happier when they are in school). On top of that there are new attendance lists to make, bus schedules to type out (if the schools let us know the bus numbers and times since there are only two days to go!), and staff vacations to cover. Of all of the end of summer rituals, the most daunting is the onslaught of child care parents who want to find a preschool for their children so that they can be "ready for kindergarten".
I am sure that what I do is familiar to many directors. I point out the our preschool program is included at no extra cost. I explain that the children are not doing ditto sheets or gluing together precut pieces of construction paper because our program is based on the latest research about how children learn and how brains grow. I list the teacher's educational and practical qualifications. I talk about the children who have graduated from our program and their success in school. I explain why the things that the parents see in the room are being done. At the end of this, the parent invariably asks, "Yes, but he needs to be ready for school", and I mentally bang my head on the nearest wall.
I realize that most of this is driven by fear. Parents who are inundated with advertising and bad news about the future are afraid that their child will be the one to fail because he was not properly prepared. I realize that directors are driven by fears of declining enrollment if they do not have a program that meets parent expectations, even though these expectations are not necessarily based on fact. Teachers are worried about parents who question them about the hows and whys of the things that are included in their program. It is so tempting to fall back into the old ditto sheet and teacher prepared "cookie cutter" projects to avoid all of this. To this I would say, take a deep breath, hold fast to your beliefs, and keep learning. You cannot defend your program if you cannot back it up with anecdotal and scientific evidence. Have examples of things that the children have done ready for parents to see. Have copies of articles by respected authorities in the field for parents to read. Ensure that your staff knows the reasons why their program runs the way that it does. Ask some of your current parents who now have children in public school if prospective parents can contact them for a reference. Most of all remember that this is a big, scary world and parents are genuinely concerned about obtaining the best for their children. Even if you are giving them a mental eye-roll, their questions are rising out of concern, not out of a desire to make your day long.
A few weeks ago the four year old class (most of whom will be starting "big school" in the fall) held their annual lemonade stand. The children sell cookies and lemonade that they have made and give the proceeds to a charity. This year the proceeds will go towards a memorial to Mrs. Macomber, a beloved teacher who passed away this summer. The children made the cookies and lemonade (reading, science, math, social skills, and muscle development), made the signs (literacy, art, fine muscle development), greeted customers and took their orders (social skills), and -with a little help form their teacher - took the money and made change. These children made a large sign with the items that were being sold and the prices and decorated it with drawings of lemons and glasses of lemonade. The only help that they received from the teacher was some prompting in spelling. In addition, they gave the adults who had helped them (the cook baked the cookies and I shopped for the ingredients) a ticket for a free treat or lemonade as a thank you. Are these children ready for kindergarten?
Of course they are!
I am sure that what I do is familiar to many directors. I point out the our preschool program is included at no extra cost. I explain that the children are not doing ditto sheets or gluing together precut pieces of construction paper because our program is based on the latest research about how children learn and how brains grow. I list the teacher's educational and practical qualifications. I talk about the children who have graduated from our program and their success in school. I explain why the things that the parents see in the room are being done. At the end of this, the parent invariably asks, "Yes, but he needs to be ready for school", and I mentally bang my head on the nearest wall.
I realize that most of this is driven by fear. Parents who are inundated with advertising and bad news about the future are afraid that their child will be the one to fail because he was not properly prepared. I realize that directors are driven by fears of declining enrollment if they do not have a program that meets parent expectations, even though these expectations are not necessarily based on fact. Teachers are worried about parents who question them about the hows and whys of the things that are included in their program. It is so tempting to fall back into the old ditto sheet and teacher prepared "cookie cutter" projects to avoid all of this. To this I would say, take a deep breath, hold fast to your beliefs, and keep learning. You cannot defend your program if you cannot back it up with anecdotal and scientific evidence. Have examples of things that the children have done ready for parents to see. Have copies of articles by respected authorities in the field for parents to read. Ensure that your staff knows the reasons why their program runs the way that it does. Ask some of your current parents who now have children in public school if prospective parents can contact them for a reference. Most of all remember that this is a big, scary world and parents are genuinely concerned about obtaining the best for their children. Even if you are giving them a mental eye-roll, their questions are rising out of concern, not out of a desire to make your day long.
A few weeks ago the four year old class (most of whom will be starting "big school" in the fall) held their annual lemonade stand. The children sell cookies and lemonade that they have made and give the proceeds to a charity. This year the proceeds will go towards a memorial to Mrs. Macomber, a beloved teacher who passed away this summer. The children made the cookies and lemonade (reading, science, math, social skills, and muscle development), made the signs (literacy, art, fine muscle development), greeted customers and took their orders (social skills), and -with a little help form their teacher - took the money and made change. These children made a large sign with the items that were being sold and the prices and decorated it with drawings of lemons and glasses of lemonade. The only help that they received from the teacher was some prompting in spelling. In addition, they gave the adults who had helped them (the cook baked the cookies and I shopped for the ingredients) a ticket for a free treat or lemonade as a thank you. Are these children ready for kindergarten?
Of course they are!
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