Every Kid Needs a Champion - Rita Pierson

Perfect video to help teachers keep on keeping on during this homestretch!
Some of my favorite parts:

• 1:00 the value and importance of human connections
• 2:20 evoking Stephen Covey
• 2:55 on apologizing to kids and their response
• 3:30 we are chosen to be together for the year
• 3:38 "I was some body when I came, I will be a better somebody when I leave (this class)"
• 4:30 on grading: a +2 instead of a -18

and the rest - about the legacy of relationships . . . "we are born to make a difference."

Resources for Traumatic Events

In light of recent events in our city and our town, here are a couple of helpful resources:

• Helping Children Cope in Unsettling Times from NASP (National Association of School Psychologists)
• Tips for Talking with and Helping Children and Youth Cope after a Disaster or Traumatic Events from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration)

Playing

People ask what I do all day.  Well, apart from thinking together with parents, teachers, and children, I spend time playing with kids.  We play cards during lunch groups, we play singing games during guidance lessons, we dig in the mini tupperware sandbox while contemplating the complexities of friendships.  Much of the work we do together is done through playing together.  Sometimes it's role-playing to gain understanding of social dynamics or practice how to assert oneself.  Sometimes it's learning cooperation over competition in a group game.  Something about talking at kids - it's not being very effective.

As we approach April vacation, I hope we all take the time to play together - a lot; play-dates at the park, Apples-to-Apples after dinner as a family, a l-o-n-g game of monopoly through the week.  

From Taking Play Seriously by Robin Marantz Henig (Published February 17th, 2008):

"Scientists who study play, in animals and humans alike, are developing a consensus view that play is something more than a way for restless kids to work off steam; more than a way for chubby kids to burn off calories; more than a frivolous luxury. Play, in their view, is a central part of neurological growth and development — one important way that children build complex, skilled, responsive, socially adept and cognitively flexible brains."

So - what are we waiting for?  Let's go play!

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

In a few short months, our oldest will be at college. The memories of those ordinary days sustain me now as I prepare for the imminent separation. So if your child asks you to play this morning, please ignore the phone and the to-do list, get on the ground and enter his/her world for a while. Those are the moments I cherish as I wait for the thud upstairs to signal that the teenagers are up~

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Design Thinking

I love the LED lamp design challenge at Nueva School in Hillsborough, California described in What Does ‘Design Thinking’ Look Like in School? | MindShift. I have wondered about asking students to observe and identify social problems in school and help craft solutions for them. We need better problem identifiers and solvers to run this world when we are old!

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Coding is Learning How to Think

We don't teach programming at our elementary school yet. I hope we do someday. Being able to break down thought processes and manipulate the pieces is crucial for problem solving, project managing, etc. I remember my daughter learning a little HTML because she wanted to design something on NeoPets; that hobby developed her thinking and enhanced her confidence. Wouldn't it be great if we could expose our children to a little computational thinking? Any good April vacation or summer camps out there?

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Acts of Kindness

Toddler Approved!: 25 Acts of Kindness {as a mom}

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