Tools for Building Discipline from the Inside Out

It’s finally finished! 

I’ve been working on an eBook, Parenting with Positive Guidance: Tools for Building Discipline from the Inside Out , and as is the case with a labor of love, it took a little longer than I had expected.  But after months of late nights at the computer, I think it’s done.  And I think it’s well worth the wait.  I hope you will too! 

Here’s an excerpt from one of the chapters:

Dr. Clayton M. Christensen, a distinguished professor at Harvard Business School, and father of five, correlated models for a successful business and models for a successful life in a popular article in the Harvard Business Review, entitled, “How Will You Measure Your Life?” Comparing managing a company to managing a family, he wrote about a model used in business called “Tools of Cooperation”. I’m no business expert myself, but Christensen’s description of what he calls “power tools” (threats, punishment, and coercion) and its correlation from business to family life seems spot-on. He explains that when managers find too much friction between themselves and the members of their business organization, they turn to these “power tools” to essentially strong-arm their associates into complying. He further notes that we as parents often revert to these tactics as well.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, we have a few tools around our house and we’ve probably had more than our fair share of home improvement adventures. And I’ll be the first to say I would much rather hang shingles with a nail gun and an air compressor than sit on my roof top for six months while I tap in tiny nails with a hammer. At first glance, the term “power tool” seems like a superior alternative, but we soon see that stronger and faster doesn’t always translate into better results when working with children. Christensen goes on:

“ But there comes a point during the teen years when power tools no longer work. At that point parents start wishing that they had begun working with their children at a very young age to build a culture at home in which children instinctively behave respectfully toward one another, obey their parents, and choose the right thing to do. Families have cultures, just as companies do.

“Those cultures can be built consciously or evolve inadvertently.

“If you want your kids to have strong self-esteem and confidence that they can solve hard problems, those qualities won’t magically materialize in high school. You have to design them into your family’s culture – and you have to think about this very early on. Like employees, children build self-esteem by doing things that are hard and learning what works.”

The tools I’ve written about here are very simple. They may not be easy, but they are very simple. Too often parents resort to using the “power tools” Christensen spoke of as a type of reactive parenting. They get fast results with these strong tools, but they soon find that these tools eventually dull as children quit responding, or they finally realize that they were using a tool far too forceful for the delicate material they were working with and their child’s self-esteem lies shattered in their wake. If you want to change a child’s immediate actions, the power tools may work. But if you want to influence a child’s heart, you need a toolbox full of simple tools and an intentional positive culture.

Building a Positive Culture
A few years ago, my husband and I built a house. For months we were consumed with drafts of blueprints, lists of subcontractors, and so many paint samples I thought I had gone color-blind. Somewhere in that process a thought struck me. Was I putting as much care and planning into creating our home as I was into creating our house? Just as a house cannot be built by happenstance, a home with a positive culture can not be built without thought and careful planning.

When you first think about creating discipline in the home, you may think of the rules you need to enforce. But to build true discipline, the kind that comes from the inside out, rule-setting is not as important as culture-creating. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have rules, but there’s no way to have a specific rule for every decision your child will make. Those must be based on a broader culture of values. Value statements jointly created that help them define appropriate behavior for themselves. What they can do, not what they can not do.

When you create a culture for your family, you set the tone in your home. You define what your family values, what is expected, and what is hoped for. When there is a strong positive culture in the family, children can better choose for themselves based on what they value, rather than looking at a multiplicity of rules for a loophole. It’s the same principle as Tool #3 – Say What You Need to See. Stating clearly and positively what you want children to do will be more effective than trying to list every rule they shouldn’t break.

So how do you create a positive culture?

Well, you can read more about that soon!  Parenting with Positive Guidance: Tools for Building Discipline from the Inside Out will be available here later this week, with a special discount for my favorite readers.  (That would be you of course!)

I also have to take a few lines of this post to thank my many wonderful friends who have graciously served as editors, reading, tweaking, proofreading, giving feedback, and building confidence.  This project would not have been the same without you and I thank you.  I’m very lucky to have such great friends!

Top photo by Vangelis Thomaidis.

Weekend Reads 11/27/10

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!  If you find some time to sit back and relax this weekend, here are some sites I found interesting this week:

A Thoughtful Guide to Gaining Self-Confidence: Becoming Minimalist  (*I love the beginning quote in this post.  It’s actually been hanging in my kitchen for the past few months!)

Nobel Laureate to Debt Panel: Invest in Early Education : Eye on Early Education

Homemade Discovery Bottles: No Time for Flashcards

Quilted Color Match Game for Tots: Frugal Family Fun

A Christmas Tree Advent Calendar: The Artful Parent

And just because I’m curious, are there any good Black Friday stories out there?  I was talked into my first (and second, and third) door-busting experiences.  I had a fun time with friends, but I don’t think I’m really cut out for the task!  How did you spend Black Friday?

Top photo by Monmart.

Repost: The Winter Games…..Outdoor Ideas for Preschoolers on a Snowy Day!

It has been plenty cold around here, so I thought I’d go back to last year  for a re-post of outdoor winter activities!  Enjoy the holiday weekend!

The best way to learn about winter is to get out and explore it!  Here are some ideas for some fun in the snow!

•  Fill spray bottles or squeeze top bottles (dish soap, Gatorade) with colored water and create designs in the snow.
• Make tracks in the snow using a variety of objects (cars, spoons, shoes).  Play a guessing game to match the tracks to the objects.
• Look for animal tracks.
• Experiment with freezing different sized containers of water outside.  Which freeze fastest?
• Place a small plastic toy in water and let it freeze outside.  Bring it inside and experiment with ways to thaw it out.
• Go Sledding!
• Bring a container of snow inside and let it melt.  Look with a magnifier at the impurities in the resulting water.
• Bring in snow and put it in a pot or electric skillet.  Pour salt on it and watch it melt.  Apply heat and melt completely to water, then boil it.  Collect some of the steam on a lid or dish.  You can talk about the water cycle, phases of matter, as well as the fact that when the water evaporates, the salt is left behind.  (This is a complex concept to really grasp, but children enjoy the activity.  I used it to answer a child’s question as to why the snow leaves “white stuff” on our cars.)
• Build a snowman or snow fort!
• Use the same tools you would use for sand castles to build snow castles.
• Press cookie cutters into the snow to make shapes, or use letter cookie cutters to write a message.  This works best in packed snow.  If you’re worried about cutters disappearing, put the snow in a baby pool or in your sensory table.
• Catch snowflakes on black paper or black felt and examine them with a magnifying glass.

 Outdoor activities promote motor development as well as provide natural earth science experiences.  Bundle up and let the games begin!

For more wintry activities, click here!

Photo by toomas.

It’s Turkey Time!

With Thanksgiving right around the bend, it might be a fun time for a little turkey craft at the kiddie table.  That’s right, I used the word craft.  Remember, there’s a Spectrum of Preschool Arts and Crafts.  There are times when a craft may better fill your objectives, but as I mentioned in last year’s Turkey Time Craft, you have to be sure your craft matches the abilities of your children, that you have the time and extra adult assistance that crafts require, and that you are willing to let go of the final product and let the children own it.

With this year’s activity, you need craft glue, googly eyes (I’m pretty sure that’s the technical term:), brass fasteners, about five colored feathers cut from construction paper, one oval cut from non-sticky brown craft foam (I cut two from one sheet), one circle cut from sticky-back craft foam in a different shade of brown, a yellow triangle out of sticky back foam, and a tear-drop shaped waddle from red sticky-back foam. 

Before starting the project, you might want to read a Thanksgiving story.  I recently enjoyed reading The First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene (followed by this snack activity) and then The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing.  After the second book, we had a great discussion about similarities and differences between the two stories.  Then we got ready to make our turkeys!

We began the turkey craft with a review of shapes.  Then, as I walked through how to build a turkey, I was able to refer to the oval, the circle, the triangle, and even the tear-drop shape.  It’s a great way to emphasize that knowledge of shapes so that the children incorporate that knowledge into the experience. 

So here’s the quick version of the instructions:  Use the oval as the body, the circle as the head, the triangle as the beak, with the tear-drop as the waddle.  Use the glue to attach the eyes.  Next, attach the feathers with the brass fastener.  I swear the first time I did it, I popped right through the foam and all five fasteners, but I’ve yet to repeat that performance!  It seems easiest to go through just the foam first, then the feathers (two or three at a time).  Then fan out the feathers for a complete turkey! 

In addition to incorporating shapes, you can also talk about the colors used in the feathers, as well as counting how many there are.  You could even count by fives, counting all the feathers in your group if your children are at that level.  If you want to add a whole language element, ask the children what they’re thankful for, and write what they say on each of the feathers.

And since this is the season for gratitude, I really need to express my gratitude to you, the readers of Not Just Cute.  Thanks for reading, sharing your ideas, offering your support, and challenging me with questions.  Thanks for tweeting, liking, linking, and sharing with your friends.  My life is blessed by you.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Take a Trip: A Song, A Graph, and Safety Talk

If you’re exploring a transportation theme, here’s a fun little ditty about transportation I found years ago.  (I didn’t write down where I found it, so if you know the original author let me know!)  It’s a fun piggy-back song, to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle:

Take a bus or take a train,

Take a boat or take a plane.

Take a bike or take a car,

May be near or may be far.

Take a rocket to the moon,

Just be sure to come back soon.

This is a fun song that the children enjoy and it gets them thinking about the different types of transportation.  I like to write the words up on chart paper and then have a picture to go with a few of the words.  I’ve attached pictures here.   As I’ve said before, I don’t offer these because I think I’m a talented artist, but because they’re done.  (Sometimes done is better than perfect!)

After getting familiar with the song, I’ll often ask the children about the rhyming words in the song.  Then we’ll talk about other words that might rhyme as well.  On another day I may ask about words that start with the same letter and sound (bike, bus, boat).  As the children become more familiar, I may remove the pictures and have them add them above the corresponding words.  Even if the children aren’t “reading” I think it’s valuable for them to make the connections between the written and spoken words and their meanings.

Now if you want to get more bang for your buck (and who doesn’t?), you can also use this song as a springboard for a math activity.  Use a few of the pictures from the song as the base pictures for a graph.  Use the post-it method or unifix cubes to count out one-to-one how many people in your group have used each type of transportation in the song (or just a few if you’re worried about attention).  If you’re working with just one or two children, have them survey people!  Create a sheet with the pictures and have them record hash marks as their respondents answer about the types of transportation they have used.  They could ask people in your own home, or make some phone calls to friends and family!

Graphing with young children not only teaches them that specific skill, but reinforces one-to-one counting (one object to one number), greater than/less than comparisons, and representational thinking.  If you’re currently working on recognizing written numbers, you could cap off your graph with the written numbers of the totals below the pictures.

And last of all, what would a unit on transportation be without a little talk about safety?  This is another activity I picked up years ago.  Place a ball or a marble inside a cup.  Tell the children that this is them inside a car.  “Drive the car around on the floor (making the requisite car noises, of course), and then make a sudden stop (and yes, you have to say, “Errrrrch”).  Thanks to Newton’s law about objects in motion staying in motion, the ball will roll out of the car.  Talk about what that could mean for them.  If they’re in a car and the car stops, they will keep moving and could fall over or even out of the car. 

Now ask who buckles up when they take a trip in the car.  Give the ball some buckles by taping it in.  Drive the car around again and make some sudden stops.  As Newton would explain, that object in motion has now been interrupted by an equal and opposite force.  The ball stays safely in the cup.  Talk with your little ones about the importance of wearing seatbelts so that they can stay safe in their cars.

Singing, literacy, math, science and safety, all in one unit!  Who says preschool is “just cute”?

Weekend Reads 11/20/10

 Here’s a special treat, sent to me from my dad, a faithful newspaper reader!  Let’s Choose Teachers from the Top of the Class.  Thanks, Pops!

In case you didn’t read ALL of the comments from Age Does Matter… Michelle at the Parent Vortex shared these links to interesting articles on ADHD and society by Peter Gray:
ADHD and the School: The Problem of Assessing Normalcy in an Abnormal Environment.
The “ADHD Personality”: It’s Cognitive, Biological, and Evolutionary Foundations.

Kara at SimpleKids wrote about Advent Activities and the notion of moving from counting the days to making the days count.  Wonderful ideas to get you started!

For those looking for less reading and more activities, try:

Tracing and Painting Shapes from the Artful Parent
Indian Corn Bubble Wrap Print Making from Pink and Green Mama
A link to a list of links from Nurture Store: Pre-School Science Ideas
And a little Turkey Love: 10 Thanksgiving Turkey Treats for Kids

Top photo by Craig Goodwin.

 

Travel Mix: Math You Can Eat!

 Who doesn’t enjoy a good snack to take on the road?  Here’s a snack activity that fits well in the transportation unit, that not only fills rumbling bellies, but also reinforces math concepts!

First assemble your travel mix snack ingredients.  There are so many ways to go with this!  I usually look for a cereal, salty, sweet, and fruity combination, but this is certainly a flexible recipe!  So I might go with chocolate Chex, pretzel goldfish, Craisins, and Reeses Pieces.  Or maybe some Cheerios, pretzels, Teddy Grahams, almonds, and dry apricots.  Or maybe I’d get rice Chex, pretzel sticks, raisins, marshmallows and peanut butter chips.  You just have to tailor it based on what you have available, dietary considerations, and purpose.  But the great thing is, since they’re making it themselves, you don’t have to worry too much about what everybody likes!

Gather your ingredients and a few bowls or baggies.  Have the children create their own travel mix from the ingredients, leaving out anything they don’t like.  But they don’t just dump in the ingredients willy-nilly.  That’s where the math comes in! 

You can go about this exercise in a variety of ways, depending upon your objectives and the ingredients you’re working with.  You may want to focus on one number, like 12.  Have your children count out 12 of each ingredient to add to their mix.  This gives them plenty of meaningful, yet repetitious practice counting to 12, and gives you an opportunity to observe not just whether or not they can count to 12, but also whether they are rote counting (shoveling M&Ms in as they count out loud) or using 1-to-1 ratio (counting one M&M for each number). 

You could assign measuring scoops to each ingredient and a number card to indicate how many scoops of each item goes into the mix.  This provides for a great discussion of measurement and measurement tools, while also encouraging number recognition and 1-to-1 counting as well.

You could also turn it into a game for your older children.  Using a deck of number cards, each child draws a card and decides which item to count into her mix.  So if she draws a 7 she may choose to count in 7 pretzels.  Play as many rounds as you like, until everyone has a chance to create a full travel mix.  This method gives more practice for number recognition on a wider range, as well as 1-to-1 counting again, and a little greater than less than comparison.  It also gives your child the opportunity to use some logic and planning as they consider which ingredients they want more or less of.  Some children may even discover the principle of addition as they consider that 3 marshmallows followed by 9 marshmallows means they now have 12 marshmallows!

Tailor your method to the developmental level of the children you love and teach.  Whichever way you go about it, building a travel mix is a tasty way to incorporate basic math concepts with real meaning. 

Top photo by darko d.

Age Does Matter: Your Questions Answered by Dr. Marcy Guddemi

 

On the first of this month, I wrote a post about The Gesell Institute of Human Development and their recent study, asserting that the progression of healthy child development has not changed over the past 70 years, in spite of the fact that our expectations of them have.  (You can read the full post here.)

Dr. Marcy Guddemi, Executive Director of the institute, agreed to answer your questions in regards to that post and the study itself.  Several people had similar questions, so I took the comments and created a list of composite questions, which Dr. Guddemi has so kindly answered.  (My personal favorite response is #6.  Just in case you were wondering.) 

 1.”I am especially concerned about the young children who speak home languages other than English. If English-speaking children are being rushed and pushed by developmentally inappropriate methods and content, then what chance do dual language learners have to jump in and catch up? When you consider that as many as 25% of preschool age children in this country may be DLLs, the difference between what they need in preschool and what they are getting is a service gap of great significance. I believe that as the level of diversity grows, the need to return to developmentally appropriate practices becomes even more critical.” – Karen Nemeth

How could you connect this study to the application of DAP and meeting the needs of children who are dual language learners?

Our study clearly shows where a child is on that developmental pathway that all children proceed on as he/she learns and grows—thus leading the teacher to be able to personalize and adapt the curriculum to meet the developmental needs of that child. 

2. “Are there any connections you can see between your findings regarding DAP and after-school over scheduling?” – Emily @ Random Recycling

 There is no clear connection, but if afterschool over-scheduling is more of the same inappropriate things we see in our classrooms, we must stand back and stop this craziness.  Children need time to play spontaneously for large uninterrupted blocks of time (45-90 minutes) without a teacher or an adult directing their every move.

3.  “I have a question; Is there any ongoing research in regards to pushing kids developmental to enter school earlier and earlier and the high rate of ADHD diagnosis?” -Mona

I believe there is a clear relationship between over diagnosing ADHD and children being expected to perform tasks that they are not ready for developmentally.  We will have to look for more research in this area, but I do remember seeing a study just recently on this topic. (*For those who are interested, you may want to read these articles here, and here and consider the increasing expectations for these young children.) 

4. “How does the Gesell research compare to research done in other countries that widely embrace a play-based early childhood curriculum? How does the U.S. match up in things like crime rate and test scores?” – Sarah 

I believe our research support what other countries are doing—waiting until age 7 to start formal instruction of reading!  Other countries do a better job at respecting the unique needs of the child under age 8.

5. Can you talk a bit more about “splinter skills”?  How do performance and proficiency differ?  If children seem to “rise to the occasion” why shouldn’t we capitalize on that? 

The problem with splinter skills or “performances” is that it is not REAL learning.  Real learning happens when brain cells are connected to build meaning for the child.  When a child memorizes a splinter skill with no  brain connection, it is quickly forgotten—like cramming for a test!  What a waste of time for the child when they could be developing real meaning that will stay with them and also be the foundation for more and more difficult and challenging learning!

6. What is your response to people who reject your study, saying their children did learn to read at 4 and have been successful ever since? 

Some children do learn to read at 4.  But not all children CAN learn to read at four.  Walking is another example.  Some children learn to walk at  9 mo but no one can teach all 9 mo old babies to walk!!  Our research supports that fact that we must respect developmental differences.  Early walkers are not better walkers than later walkers, and research shows us that early readers have no advantage over later readers by the end of third grade.  Each child is different!  Gesell Institute wants each child to be respected and supported in the type of learning that is right for where the child is developmentally.

7. (This was a continual theme in questions that were asked and discussions that were had.)   How do you balance what you know is right for kids with what you know will be expected of them? I know many parents choosing preschools struggle because they know that the play-based preschool is the most appropriate choice, but they also realize the frustration their children will face in kindergarten.  It’s tempting to find those “preparatory” type preschools in the hopes of mitigating the kindergarten frustration.  Likewise, preschool teachers who are well-versed in DAP, who know what will be expected of their students the following year, struggle with deciding whether or not to introduce concepts they don’t feel are age-appropriate, hoping to keep their students from struggling the following year.  What can be done?  What can we do as parents and as teachers if we don’t agree with the push-down curriculum, but it is in full force in our children’s schools? 

We need to be strong advocates for our children!  We need to demand appropriate curriculum and policy in our public and private schools.  Parents need to be active participants in the PTA’s, meet with the principal,  speak and write letters to their legislators.  Visit your child’s classroom and spend the whole day there.  Know the facts.  Knowledge is power.  Do not allow your child to become merely a test score.  Also bombard the principals, etc. with research papers!  The Alliance for Childhood’s “Crisis in the Kindergarten” is an excellent example.  (Summary and recommendations here.)

Thank you so much to Dr. Marcy Guddemi for agreeing to field our questions.  And thank you also to all for your input and interest.  Let’s keep this conversation going!

Top photo by Aron Kremer.

DAP: What Does it Mean to Use Developmentally Appropriate Practice?

It’s occurred to me that I’ve used the term DAP a lot around here lately, and that it’s a term that warrants a full discussion in itself.   This is a term you can take an entire series of courses on, but here’s my best attempt to get you the basics — quick and dirty!  I’m hoping this will serve as a reference point for more discussions!

DAP, or Developmentally Appropriate Practice, encompasses a wider set of beliefs and practices, which are professed by many experts in the field of early education and child development to be “best practice” for teaching young children, from birth to 8.  According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), DAP encourages teachers to make choices about education based on sound knowledge of child development and learning processes while taking into account individual differences and needs, as well as social and cultural constructs.  Sounds like a reasonable expectation right?

  What this means, is that teachers need to be free to make decisions based on what children need developmentally (generalized by age and stage), individually, and culturally to make the most of their educational experiences.  This implies highly trained teachers with an appropriate amount of autonomy.  You can’t very well create a one-size-fits-all approach, implement it across the board, and call it DAP because the entire philosophy implies an attention not only to general developmental levels, but those of individuals as well.

According to Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp, authors of Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice, teachers who practice DAP meet learners where they are (not necessarily where they should be) and take into consideration all the developmental areas of the whole child (physical, emotional, social, cognitive).  They provide learning opportunities that are challenging yet achievable, working within the ZPD.  And they recognize learners as individuals, with different needs, backgrounds, and stores of experiences.  More succinctly, they state:

“Developmentally appropriate practice refers to teaching decisions that vary with and adapt to the age, experience, interests, and abilities of individual children within a given age range.” (pg7)

DAP is a way of teaching that focuses on how children learn best.  And it’s something that policymakers would do well to become more aware of.  Ignoring DAP in an effort to “get ahead” is generally counterproductive because it ignores the way children are naturally wired to develop.  It replaces in-born motivation and inquisitiveness with mandates no 5-year-old can understand or care about.  Considering DAP while creating policy, curriculum, and individual learning environments yields the best results because it is based on what is known through research and observation and recognized widely in the field of early education as best teaching practices.  It is built from what we know about how kids learn.

So how do kids learn best? 

Again from Copple and Bredekamp’s book, children need:

• Relationships with responsive adults
• Active, hands-on involvement
• Meaningful experiences
• Opportunities to construct their understanding of the world (a process supported by the three previous constructs)



So what would you see in a DAP learning environment? 

Teaching would take place in a variety of formats.  It’s woven into every aspect of the environment from procedures and environment, to experiences, activities, and even moments of direct instruction.  In Copple and Bredekamp’s book, they outline four learning formats where teachers can implement a variety of teaching strategies.  They are:

• Large groups
• Small groups
• Play and engagement in learning centers
• Daily routines

Each format provides a different opportunity for teaching, learning, and discovering together.  Within the variety of teaching formats, strategies, and particular activities, practitioners of DAP promote the health and development of the whole child, not just the aspects measured on the standardized tests.  Copple and Bredekamp, as well as NAEYC, promote attention to:

• social-emotional development
• language development
• literacy development
• mathematics
• technology and scientific inquiry and knowledge
• understanding ourselves and our communities
• creative expression and appreciation for the arts
• physical development and physical skills

These areas of development are interrelated and many are often supported with the same activity.  For example, painting at the easel may promote physical development (motor skills), creative expression and appreciation for the arts, social-emotional development (if painting to express feelings), and language development (if discussing the painting with a thoughtful teacher).  So as you can see, the notion that a developmentally appropriate approach can be pitted against an “academic” approach is really nonsensical.  The method of DAP certainly yields academic understandings, but the method of instruction may take on a different (and I would say more appropriate and effective) form.

What it Boils Down To

In case I haven’t bombarded you with enough bullet lists, here are the basic principles of child development that guide the decisions of practitioners of DAP, outlined by NAEYC and paraphrased by me from their position statement (linked below).  If  all educators – teachers and parents alike – and all policymakers would agree to these precepts, I would be a very happy girl, and our children would reap all the benefits.  These tenets are based on the intentionality that is central to DAP.  That teachers are intentional in their teaching, making decisions based on these researched and practiced beliefs is the central premise for DAP:

1. All domains of child development (social, emotional, physical, cognitive) are important and interrelated.
2. Many aspects of child development follow a consistent documented progression, with later skills and proficiencies building upon the others already acquired.
3. Rates of development vary from child to child and even vary between domains of development within the individual child.
4. Development and learning takes place within the dynamic interaction of both biological maturation and personal experience.
5. Early experiences have profound effects, and there are optimal periods for certain types of learning and development.
6. Development builds towards greater complexity, self-regulation, and representational thinking capabilities.
7. Children learn best within caring and positive relationships with adults and peers.
8. Development and learning occur in and are  influenced by society and culture.
9. Children are always seeking to understand the world around them. They learn in a variety of ways and therefore a variety of teaching methods and learning experiences should be offered to reach those different learning styles.
10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as social, language, and cognitive development.
11. Development and learning are advanced when children are challenged just above their competency and when they have many opportunities to practice new skills.
12. Children’s experiences shape their motivation and approach to learning (persistence, initiative, flexibility) and these dispositions in turn influence their learning and development.

(You can read more about each statement in the NAEYC’s position statement linked below.)

What is your view and/or experience with developmentally appropriate practice?  How does it shape the way you approach the education and development of the children you love and teach?

For More Information:

NAEYC: DAP Frequently Asked Questions

NAEYC: 2009 DAP Position Statement

Top photo by Anissa Thompson.

Center photo by Horton Group.

Weekend Reads 11-13-10

Here’s a smattering of great posts that got me thinking this week:

Kat at Inspired to Action inspired me with How to Be  a Rockstar with 30 minutes and a Pink Tablecloth.  A great reminder that simple things can make a big difference for our kids!  And Kat must be on to something, because I tagged her guest post, Giving Your Children the Best Day at Steady Mom before realizing it was the same author!

As a mom to 3 boys this post got my attention: Boys and Reading: Tips to Make Reading Boy Friendly

If you’re looking for great activities, check out:

 Paper Roll Puppets at No Time for Flashcards.  Simple and so fun!

Erin at Laugh Paint Create had a brilliant idea for using foam shapes and glue sticks to make stampers!  Check out her Falling Leaves  art activity.

I love this active spin on the Gratitude Jar from Valerie at Frugal Family Fun.

A quick and easy open-ended sorting activity from the Activity Mom.

What got you thinking this week?

Top photo by Mike Munchel.