Best Daycare
1. Core Education & Fine Arts Jr. Kindergarten, 160-10811 No. 4 Rd., www.cefa.ca
2. With Our Own Two Hands, 3871 Moncton St., www.withourowntwohands.ca
3. Bowling Green Road Children’s Centre, 110-6100 Bowling Green Rd., www.richmondchildcare.org/locations/
Nice - thanks for voting!
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Tuesday 22 May 2012
The Right Way to Teach Math
Re-posted from Exchange Everyday.......
May 21, 2012
In his article, "Math in Early Childhood," which forms the basis for the Exchange Out of the Box Training Kit by the same name, Francis Wardle talks about the right way and the wrong way to teach math to preschoolers...
"Studies show that children who play with unit blocks in early childhood do better in algebra in middle school. But it’s important to note that the outcome of playing in the block area is not demonstrated until middle school! Math standards during the early years will automatically focus on low level, rote skills: memorization, repetition, and adult views of math knowledge. What makes this most destructive is that young children are operating within Piaget’s preoperational stage, which means they cannot think logically. Thus, bureaucrats creating standards and assessment often include things that children this age simply cannot even do....
"Math knowledge and dispositions are not created in a vacuum. Math is about manipulating things: objects, shapes, concepts, and relationships; reproducing and documenting the world; and constructing, building, and estimating. The Reggio Emilia philosophy and the Project Approach understand this clearly. Thus, we must provide a myriad of opportunities for young children to have direct, concrete experiences in the real world. What is the value of discussing the speed of light if you don’t understand light? Seeing snow accumulate day after day is a real way to understanding increase in quantity. Carrying a large boulder teaches about mass; swinging on a rope about force, angles, and speed. Field trips, extensive classroom projects, exploration in nature, extensive use of the playground, observing the weather, etc., must all be central to our math curricula."
May 21, 2012
"Studies show that children who play with unit blocks in early childhood do better in algebra in middle school. But it’s important to note that the outcome of playing in the block area is not demonstrated until middle school! Math standards during the early years will automatically focus on low level, rote skills: memorization, repetition, and adult views of math knowledge. What makes this most destructive is that young children are operating within Piaget’s preoperational stage, which means they cannot think logically. Thus, bureaucrats creating standards and assessment often include things that children this age simply cannot even do....
"Math knowledge and dispositions are not created in a vacuum. Math is about manipulating things: objects, shapes, concepts, and relationships; reproducing and documenting the world; and constructing, building, and estimating. The Reggio Emilia philosophy and the Project Approach understand this clearly. Thus, we must provide a myriad of opportunities for young children to have direct, concrete experiences in the real world. What is the value of discussing the speed of light if you don’t understand light? Seeing snow accumulate day after day is a real way to understanding increase in quantity. Carrying a large boulder teaches about mass; swinging on a rope about force, angles, and speed. Field trips, extensive classroom projects, exploration in nature, extensive use of the playground, observing the weather, etc., must all be central to our math curricula."
Wednesday 16 May 2012
Screen Time - Exchange Everyday Article
Young Children and Screen Time
May 16, 2012
"It is clear that today’s young children are being raised in a media-saturated environment, dramatically more so than in their parents’ generation. Although many parents and early childhood educators grew up after President Reagan de-regulated television in 1984, they need to be aware of the effects of that saturation for today’s young children, even though scientists are still learning about the full scope of those effects.
"It is also clear that young children’s intense involvement in screen media has adverse effects on their growth and health. We in early care and education have a responsibility, in the best interests of the child, to wean them from excessive dependence on screen media, especially while they are with us and in our care. We also need to be able and willing to work with parents to help them to make informed media choices for their families.
"All of the authorities cited in this article are agreed that children under two should be exposed to screen media as little as possible, and that child care is a place for their relationships and concrete explorations of the world around them, not for the children or caregivers’ screen media experiences. Passive screen media in child care should be very limited, based partly on the likelihood of the children’s excessive exposure at home and the danger that a sedentary media habit can lead to obesity, sleep problems, and other health difficulties. Although some authorities are more enchanted with interactive screen media than others, there is a widespread feeling that there should be limits on total daily media exposure, and much stronger limits on exposure while in child care, for children between 2 and 5 years of age.
"Violence, sex, and commercials on screen media available to young children should be discouraged, according to the health authorities. Others recommend that children need time away from media to develop more fully their own imagination and capacity to play.
"We in child care have a responsibility to reach out to parents and community leaders, to convince them to make their lives more child-friendly and less media-saturated. We all need to go outside and play."
May 16, 2012
Time is the coin of your
life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it
will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
-Carl Sandburg
A wide variety of organizations, including
the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association for the
Education of Young Children, and the White House Let's Move Initiative,
have developed position papers on the extent to which children should
be exposed to and engaged in watching television and computer screens
. Long time friend of Exchange, John Surr, has written and excellent summary of these reports recommendations, "Too Many Channels? Sifting through the Recommendations on Screen Media and Technology." Surr concludes:-Carl Sandburg
"It is clear that today’s young children are being raised in a media-saturated environment, dramatically more so than in their parents’ generation. Although many parents and early childhood educators grew up after President Reagan de-regulated television in 1984, they need to be aware of the effects of that saturation for today’s young children, even though scientists are still learning about the full scope of those effects.
"It is also clear that young children’s intense involvement in screen media has adverse effects on their growth and health. We in early care and education have a responsibility, in the best interests of the child, to wean them from excessive dependence on screen media, especially while they are with us and in our care. We also need to be able and willing to work with parents to help them to make informed media choices for their families.
"All of the authorities cited in this article are agreed that children under two should be exposed to screen media as little as possible, and that child care is a place for their relationships and concrete explorations of the world around them, not for the children or caregivers’ screen media experiences. Passive screen media in child care should be very limited, based partly on the likelihood of the children’s excessive exposure at home and the danger that a sedentary media habit can lead to obesity, sleep problems, and other health difficulties. Although some authorities are more enchanted with interactive screen media than others, there is a widespread feeling that there should be limits on total daily media exposure, and much stronger limits on exposure while in child care, for children between 2 and 5 years of age.
"Violence, sex, and commercials on screen media available to young children should be discouraged, according to the health authorities. Others recommend that children need time away from media to develop more fully their own imagination and capacity to play.
"We in child care have a responsibility to reach out to parents and community leaders, to convince them to make their lives more child-friendly and less media-saturated. We all need to go outside and play."
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