Did you know that a lot of what you do in your programs “math wise” comes from the Everyday Mathematics program written and developed at the University of Chicago in the 1980’s? Counting the days of school, making a pattern on the calendar, the 100th day of school, graphing the weather, and mental math are […]
One way we can ensure children are thinking about number in the everyday life of the classroom is to include them anytime you need to distribute materials. Now, I know that it is often easier, quicker, and more error-free to complete some of these tasks on your own, but when you do, it is a […]
After last week’s Manipulative Monday post about international, wooden, play food, my friend Alison (avid reader who doesn’t comment here, but loves to send ideas and comments to my email) asked me what I thought of other types of non-plastic food items for the housekeeping area. To be fair, I hadn’t really thought about it […]
Sometimes, while trolling around the Internet, I come across something that I wish I had written myself . This article from Dr. Joe Mazza’s blog appeared in September on the Edutopia.org website. I often see articles like this, but this one is special because it recognizes the vast spectrum of human diversity we encounter every day in […]
Who says food experiences have to be about sugary, salty, dessert-type foods? I love to make healthy, interesting, and creative foods with children that may also introduce them to new and tasty ingredients. Try and find recipes that most children (even very young children) can manage almost exclusively on their own. Here’s one that is […]
My favorite chef who also writes cookbooks for children is Molly Katzen. She is known for her vegetarian cooking and her wonderful books about food and eating well. I originally got to know her work because I was given one of her children’s cookbooks when Noah was born. That book got a lot of use […]
On Sunday, I opened the paper to an article called “Who Says Math Has to Be Boring?” I am always drawn to articles about education, especially ones with the word math in their titles. It isn’t too long but if you only read one part of it, scroll down to the paragraph entitled Very […]
So, I was a little premature when I told you last Monday that I was going to present all of the wonderful pretend wooden international foods that are available for young children. I only found these three Asian sets (which I think are lovely). You can see that one focuses on sushi, one on grilled […]
Recipes, cooking, and food experiences are the focus of Thursday’s Themes for December 2013. I think this is a good follow-up to November’s Theme of Weighing and Balancing since we definitely don’t want to weigh anything (especially ourselves) during this month of festivity. I recently spent some time observing 2 groups of young children as […]
The Illinois Early Learning Project has just published the Illinois Prevention Initiative Manual for 2013. This was developed for directors and administrators in the continuous improvement of their birth – 3 programs. Take a look!