Global connections for Kindergarten

I had to share this blog link. To tweet or not to tweet? Tweeting with K makes wonderful sense!  What a wonderful way to expand the kindergarten circle.  And they are loving reading with worldwide friends.  Read more:

http://missnightmutters.blogspot.com/2011/02/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet.html

Don't push, just support

Early reading skills are a moving target!  Within a range of a couple of years, pretty much all children will develop the ability to read and write.  Researchers have found that early reading is not correlated to later school success or higher intelligence.  Late bloomers can be some of the most passionate readers and writers!

Supporting readers where they are on their path seems to be the best technique.  Responsive to all of our developing readers at Parker, Pre K and K-1 teachers use about 1,000 (my highly scientific guesstimate) strategies.  I remember a former Parker student, Kumi, who read the phone book every day in Pre K 3!  He loved picking out the alphabet letters.

New York Times article, Reading At Some Private Schools is Delayed, gives an interesting view about the pressures in New York City schools.  When parents get worried that their emerging readers aren't being advanced quickly enough, they sometimes panic.

When early readers and writers have support and encouragement - they thrive.  And those who take a little longer (and their parents) can take heart.  As a kindergartner told a visitor yesterday, "We can read some of these Valentine hearts, and some we can't.  We're just learning."

Drumming and dancing on Friday

Parenting is a relationship

Susan Engel's book just came out today: Red Flags or Red Herrings, Predicting Who Your Child Will Become.   Susan's positive message is that children are pretty much who they are.  Parents can have an influence in guiding them, but can't make their child into someone they're not.   Here she is on Good Morning America. "Parenting is not a job.  It's a relationship!" 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/doctor-differs-tiger-mom-parenting-technique-12892864

Susan will be at Parker on March 23 as part of our Panel Discussion, Educating for 21st Century Success.

I have read her book and I think every parent can take something useful and reassuring from it.

A full week

A full week at Parker!

Developing mastery

How do kids get really good at something?  Why do they choose to engage and persist with challenging work? Kathleen Cushman went right to the source and asked students for her book Fires in the Mind. 

Today, Parker kids worked hard to master walking in deep snow.  Why?  Because it was totally fun!

What did Punxsatawney Phil see?

Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary, the famous groundhog predicts...

http://www.groundhog.org/