Saturday, March 5, 2011
US Room 407: Igloo's and a snowman with a pot on his head
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| Hit the link to go to their blog to see the full post and all of the pictures! |
US Room 407: Igloo's and a snowman with a pot on his head: "After a false spring (we really did love the 60 and 70 degree weather!) winter came back. Did we get sad? NO. Did we pout..."
The 411: The blue tornado experiment and video
The 411: The blue tornado experiment and video: "Ms. Sarah found a way to make a tornado by using milk (which we added a few drops of blue food coloring to for this video) and water. ..."
The 411: The Amazing Milk Magic Trick
Hit the link below to go to the blog to see how to do this science experiment and to see all of the pictures.
The 411: The Amazing Milk Magic Trick: "Today we did a really cool milk experiment. We video taped it so you could do it at home with your child. It is simple and so mu..."
Blog post from NIEER
Selling our Children’s Birthright
Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:33 AM PST
Is Anybody Listening to Ben, David and Paul?
Anyone interested in our children’s future — and thus that of our nation — should be alarmed at the news coming from state houses and Capitol Hill these days. From Georgia to Iowa to Texas, governors are proposing to cut early childhood education in their efforts to reduce spending and the U.S. House of Representatives has proposed massive cuts to Head Start and education that will no doubt affect many young children and their families. Like Esau who sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew, these political leaders are choosing a small immediate gratification over much larger future rewards, thereby sacrificing our children’s future. Previously I have written in this space why, when it comes to education, austerity is a false cure for what ails our economy. In recent days, three of the most respected minds in the nation have also sounded their concern over looming cuts to education.
This week, Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke urged state and local leaders not to short-change education as they address fiscal problems and zeroed in specifically on early childhood education. “Research increasingly has shown the benefits of early childhood education and efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills for both individuals and the economy as a whole,” he said.
In recent days two of the nation’s preeminent columnists (from opposite sides of the political spectrum) added their voices to the call to spare education from the meat axe approach many politicians are taking to spending. David Brooks, the conservative columnist at The New York Times, said what many politicians have been unwilling to: “Trim from the old to invest in the young. We should adjust pension promises and reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life so we can preserve programs for those who are growing and learning the most. Brooks described governors’ cuts to education as “thoughtless and destructive” and said Republicans in Congress are excusing the elderly while imposing budget cuts that would send early childhood programs off a cliff.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman sounded a similar message in his recent New York Times column titled “Leaving Children Behind.” He zeroed in on Texas where Governor Rick Perry has proposed cuts that would deny an estimated 100,000 at-risk kids access to state pre-K. Krugman points to the abysmal 61.5 percent high school graduation rate in Texas and asks, “What’s supposed to happen when today’s neglected children become tomorrow’s work force?”
I do not for a minute downplay the severity of the fiscal crisis confronting the nation. It is severe. However, it must be addressed in a way that preserves the prospect of our future prosperity.—and that means investing in early childhood education. Doing so requires brand of leadership that seems in short supply these days. During the dark days of 1776, Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense saw the need to pen another pamphlet to encourage the populace to do the right thing in the face of dire threats to the republic. It was titled The American Crisis and in it, Paine wrote that it is surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. Yet, he said, panics are capable of producing “as much good as hurt” because “the mind soon grows through them and acquires a firmer habit than before.” Let’s make sure that habit includes putting productive investments in children’s early education at the top of our list of priorities.
Steve Barnett,
Co-director, NIEER
Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:33 AM PST
Is Anybody Listening to Ben, David and Paul?
Anyone interested in our children’s future — and thus that of our nation — should be alarmed at the news coming from state houses and Capitol Hill these days. From Georgia to Iowa to Texas, governors are proposing to cut early childhood education in their efforts to reduce spending and the U.S. House of Representatives has proposed massive cuts to Head Start and education that will no doubt affect many young children and their families. Like Esau who sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew, these political leaders are choosing a small immediate gratification over much larger future rewards, thereby sacrificing our children’s future. Previously I have written in this space why, when it comes to education, austerity is a false cure for what ails our economy. In recent days, three of the most respected minds in the nation have also sounded their concern over looming cuts to education.
This week, Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke urged state and local leaders not to short-change education as they address fiscal problems and zeroed in specifically on early childhood education. “Research increasingly has shown the benefits of early childhood education and efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills for both individuals and the economy as a whole,” he said.
In recent days two of the nation’s preeminent columnists (from opposite sides of the political spectrum) added their voices to the call to spare education from the meat axe approach many politicians are taking to spending. David Brooks, the conservative columnist at The New York Times, said what many politicians have been unwilling to: “Trim from the old to invest in the young. We should adjust pension promises and reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life so we can preserve programs for those who are growing and learning the most. Brooks described governors’ cuts to education as “thoughtless and destructive” and said Republicans in Congress are excusing the elderly while imposing budget cuts that would send early childhood programs off a cliff.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman sounded a similar message in his recent New York Times column titled “Leaving Children Behind.” He zeroed in on Texas where Governor Rick Perry has proposed cuts that would deny an estimated 100,000 at-risk kids access to state pre-K. Krugman points to the abysmal 61.5 percent high school graduation rate in Texas and asks, “What’s supposed to happen when today’s neglected children become tomorrow’s work force?”
I do not for a minute downplay the severity of the fiscal crisis confronting the nation. It is severe. However, it must be addressed in a way that preserves the prospect of our future prosperity.—and that means investing in early childhood education. Doing so requires brand of leadership that seems in short supply these days. During the dark days of 1776, Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense saw the need to pen another pamphlet to encourage the populace to do the right thing in the face of dire threats to the republic. It was titled The American Crisis and in it, Paine wrote that it is surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. Yet, he said, panics are capable of producing “as much good as hurt” because “the mind soon grows through them and acquires a firmer habit than before.” Let’s make sure that habit includes putting productive investments in children’s early education at the top of our list of priorities.
Steve Barnett,
Co-director, NIEER
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Adding Art into the Curriculum
I wanted to share one of the ways we are trying to work the arts into our curriculum. We are concentrating on the letter "A" and the sound it makes. So we thought we would pick an artist whose name started with the letter "A". Who better than Ansel Adams? We showed the children some pictures of Ansel Adams work. Here are a few of his pictures.
After showing the students the pictures of Ansel Adam's work, we then took them outside with a digital camera and let them look for what they thought would make good subjects for their pictures. They were then given the digital camera and were told to snap away. These are some of the pictures they took. I did use PhotoShop to increase the contrast, crop and make the pictures black and white, but the pictures were taken by the children. I encourage you to give your student's the camera and see the world through their perspective. Don't forget that the camera is a powerful form of artistic expression. I included one or two color pictures they took for the before and after effect.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
going buggy
the other day a student brought in an insect he found at mcdonalds (outside not inside). the class was very excited! as teachers we had to be able to adjust our day away from our lesson plan and take advantage of this wonderful learning opportunity. the insect came to class complete with the bug box (you can tell this little guy catches lots of bugs). the students took time to study the insect closely. the student who brought in the insect was able to be the "teacher" for one of the daily activities. he glowed! he was confident. he was the envy of the classroom. now, as teachers what could we do to make this lesson even richer?
one of our goals is to add more literacy to the class and to make journaling more relevant to the students. so out came the journals and the scientific journey continued. students began drawing what they were seeing. they dictated words and sentences to the teachers. some worked for a long time on their documentation. some where not interested. as early childhood teachers who want to be developmentally appropriate we have to embrace the fact that it is ok that every child is not wowed by insects. but, for many children the chance to take something cool like an insect, and want to write about it, well, that is how a love for literacy starts. when writing is a joy, and not a chore, children develop a desire to write, a desire to participate in the process of scientific discovery, and begin to learn how to research.
so, next time your day takes an unexpected turn, embrace the opportunity. if i had not participated in some wonderful workshops, networked with other creative teachers, and if i had not started reading The Intentional Teacher i don't think i would have been prepared enough ready to enrich this learning opportunity for the children. so, moral of this blog entry, keep learning just like we want our students to do!
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