“To learn more about Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and the Greenway in Boston that bears her name, and to see an animated digital storybook version of Rose’s Garden, go to http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org”
Tag Archives: kids
Story Time!
I hope you liked this one! Gosh I bet you are all missing your grandmas (grandpas too)…maybe you could give them a call or do a video chat…
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Daily Story day 5
Please visit The Vermont Book Shop for more titles!
Again, thank you to Pippin Properties for allowing me to read and record this story, and Peter H. Reynolds for being willing to share his work.
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Daily Story…day 4
The Vermont Book Shop is a great place to find more stories by Ashley Wolff!
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Daily Story…day 3
Ashley Wolff graciously allowed me to record and share this story with all of you. You can find her books at The Vermont Bookshop!
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Stuck at home…so here’s a story!
I hope you enjoyed it! Check back for another story tomorrow!
And visit The Vermont Book Shop to purchase your own copy!
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Empathy and How to Cultivate It: My notes from listening to Michele Borba
Michele Borba was one of the keynote speakers at a conference I attended this week. She is passionate, dynamic, and empowering. If you ever have the chance to hear her speak, do it!
Anyway, so much info so I’m just going to make a list of highlights that I wrote down, and hopefully you are able to glean some key information from it. Any statistics or definitions came from her presentation and can be found in her book or on her website. She talked so fast, it was tough to note sources. My thoughts will be added in italics.
- 1 in 5 teens will have a mental health disorder wow!
- “Unless parents realize it (empathy) can be cultivated, it will become dormant” parents, guardians, caregivers…and it can be cultivated at ANY age
- Around the year 2000, empathy decreased 40%. Lack of empathy creates exclusion and polarization which is what we are already seeing in society, and if you think it’s no coincidence that this coincided with the smart phone and screens everywhere, you’re not alone
- The average middle school kid is more comfortable texting than talking to another person
- Some easy and specific suggestions and her list of habits to use: face to face contact, read picture books to your kids that have a moral dilemma, weave in the 9 essential empathy habits listed here:
for more detailed information, I encourage you to buy her book Unselfie - “Empathy is transformational. Empathy is a teaching tool” it doesn’t cost a dime and can change the culture of the classroom
- 66% of kids say we (adults) are too plugged in.
- A person learns new skills best by doing it, seeing it modeled, not by telling it.
- “You change the culture with the trickle down effect” she told a powerful story about a teen who changed the culture at his school just by holding the door open in the morning and greeting everyone
- “Look for the Helpers” Fred Rogers. She says a statement like this, “Galvanizes the good. Share the good with kids everyday.”
- “What would’ve made the difference?” She responds by sharing lyrics to the Cheers tv show theme song and what happened next was moving beyond words
In closing, you can make a difference.
More to come from the workshop she did following this presentation!
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Kids and their Questions!
So I’m attending the VAEYC conference once again, and our keynote was about the power of questions. Dr. Lindsey Godwin from the Appreciative Inquiry Center, an internationally renowned speaker and author, shared her work and perspective on questions.
Did you ever notice that we, as adults, often get annoyed by kids asking us questions? We are busy, and it takes time and energy to stop and explain things, and quite honestly, why is it important to answer a “silly” question that isn’t important to us?
Well, it’s valuable to respond so to encourage more questions. Why on earth would we want to do that? To cultivate creative thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, and open minds! Dr. Godwin states, “As children, we get messages from adults that they want answers, not questions.” And she’s right, we are always asking kids to tell us things, when we should really invite them to find their own answers by asking more questions.
Dr. Godwin has two lessons for us to take back to our classrooms:
1. Inquiry is intervention. Inquiry leads to change. Our questions set the stage for what we find, they determine what we pay attention to, and ultimately the direction of what comes next, whether it is curriculum plans and activities, or your next fundraiser or parent meeting. Inquiry has the power to inform and shape opportunities for all of us.
2. What we ask about “grows”. If you ask a question based on a deficit, that will be the focus. Instead, shift focus from your biggest challenge to your most unique assets to “magnify and learn from moments of highest engagement and enthusiasm.”
This is how we accelerate the positive changes that we need to grow and learn, and ultimately how we grow the curious minds of the youngest members of our communities.
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What’s the big deal with play?
So I’m attending my annual conference and I finally have time to write. Sorry it’s been so long, though thankfully I have lots of renewed energy tonight so let’s talk about play. It’s such a popular word in early education these days, but what are they all talking about? Isn’t just about kids using toys?
No it’s not, it’s much much more. It’s the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky. It’s the method by which children are living their lives, their anchor, their work. The definition of play in our field is usually described in a paragraph with so many terms and variations. The common threads are enjoyment, participation and engagement.
Different types of play occur throughout a child’s development. There’s no schedule or order, no wrong or right, though some patterns exist. There are natural shifts in the kind of play as children’s environment, community, and minds take shape.
- Solitary: a child plays alone
- Parallel: a child plays alongside another child without interaction
- Cooperative: children interact as they work toward a goal
- Symbolic: a child uses one object to represent another
- Sociodramatic: pretend play in which a child takes on a role
- Games with rules: children follow guidelines dictated by an established game
- Mature: a child will dive deeply into their play, staying with it for an extended period of time
Please keep in mind that each type of play serves a purpose, and has its own value. For example, a child who pretends a ball is an apple will later be better equipped to visually represent quantity. A child taking on a role is learning to self-regulate, practicing self-control.
I’m interested in hearing what children say when asked, “what is play?” You probably wouldn’t hear words like problem-solving, achievement, creativity, imagination, identity, or persistence. But if you observe carefully, you’ll see these qualities and more. And they make for amazing adults; adults which will one day take care of us, our planet, and the children to come. So next time you think play might just be a simple word with little meaning, think of all that is gained from it.
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“Don’t make a scene.”
Ever heard yourself say these words to your child in public? Ever heard someone else say them? You know what happens, it’s like a green light for a power struggle. It’s like your child wants to make you even madder so you’ll give in. They push and push until you just can’t take the staring and humiliation anymore. And you give in, and it happens again the next time and the next time. You feel like your child is some sort of manipulative genius, right?
I’ve been there, and I’m sure so have many of you. Guess what? Your child is not trying to manipulate you. There is no secret desire to embarrass you. So what gives? You’re at the grocery store with your three year old child, and you pick up a container of strawberries and place it in your cart. “Not that one! I want that one over there.” You stand firm and ask what the difference could be, they look the same to you. “That is the one we need. Put this one back, I like that one .” It’s just a container of fruit, no big deal.
Now, this is a verbal child, and that makes a huge difference in how this could play out. But the bottom line is the same: do not worry about the other folks in the store judging your response. You are the parent (or guardian or grandparent…), and you need to approach each situation as you see fit. If your child doesn’t agree with your decision, react as you would had no one been observing. Children expect consistency and predictability from the adults in their lives, and that goes for every situation (I know I use these words often but they are just so true).
And some of those power struggles are the child’s way of checking in just to make sure all the rules are still the same. My 9 year old will ask for something, I’ll say no, and he’ll say, “can’t blame me for trying.” If our young children could say this to us, wouldn’t it be so much easier?
And let’s remember that all of us have either been there, or will be there at some point in our child’s life. I remember walking my child into preschool in his pajamas with only one shoe on one time. He was crying and whining, and all I could think was : “I’m so embarrassed. I’m an early educator in this community and my kid is acting like this?” Guess what? His teacher reminded me that the other parents were probably just relieved it wasn’t their child that day. She reminded me to take a breath, and be the parent that I had been just 10 minutes before when I told my child, “if you won’t get dressed, that’s your choice, but you still have to go to school.” I stood by that decision, and was so glad I did, despite the perceived judgement.
It’s sometimes those moments that our children learn the most from us. So next time you’re on the edge of a public power struggle with your child , remember: you are still the parent you were before the scene began, and you’re not alone.
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JenniferCyrFamilyChildCare 