Are you an animal person? I am! When I was teaching second grade, I had two ferrets donated to our class. I was so excited! But before they could be introduced to my students, they got fleas. I kept them at my house until they were flea-free. Unfortunately, during that time they developed some very [...]
Filed under: Early Childhood, School Age | Tagged: children, classroom pets, early childhood, kids, pets, preschool, school, teachers | 4 Comments »
Continuing the three-part series on “Teacher as Model and Mentor: Ever Teaching, Ever Learning, Ever Changing,” 4C’s Janine Rigg gives us “Ever Changing”: Change can be scary, and it can be intimidating. Change may require diving head-first into the abyss of the unknown, trying to get back to the surface as quickly as possible. But [...]
Filed under: Best Practice, Directors & Administrators, Early Childhood, School Age | Tagged: children, early childhood education, teachers, teaching | Leave a Comment »
I just had the pleasure of spending some time at the beach with my kids. I truly enjoyed watching them run in and out of the waves, jump into the swimming pool and play games that needed nothing electronic! For the first day or two, I sat idly by watching their fun and listening to [...]
Filed under: Early Childhood, Family Child Care, Infants and Toddlers, Preschool, School Age | Tagged: children, early childhood education, learning, parenting, play, preschool, teachers | 2 Comments »
I recently took my daughter to the zoo for an overnight field trip. My daughter, Maggie, is 9-years-old and in third grade. As I was leaving Maggie at the zoo in the care of her teacher and other parents, it struck me how this experience is just like what parents of young children go through [...]
Filed under: Best Practice, Directors & Administrators, Early Childhood, Family Child Care, Infants and Toddlers, Preschool, School Age | Tagged: children, early childhood education, early learning, parents, transitions | Leave a Comment »
In my position at 4C, I work primarily with school-age programs. In my blogs, I strive to address all ages. However, today’s topic focuses on dispelling 5 common myths about school-age programs. Myth #1: The children are only here for 3 hours, so there’s no need to do lesson plans. It’s important for staff to be [...]
Filed under: Best Practice, School Age | Tagged: afterschool, children, education | 2 Comments »
When faced with an epidemic, adults mobilize! We gather information, brainstorm possible solutions, confer with experts. We hear daily that there is an epidemic of obesity facing the United States, but what are we doing about it? The media tells us of the problems caused by overweight and obesity. Doctors tell us we need to [...]
Filed under: Early Childhood, Family Child Care, Preschool, School Age | Tagged: childhood obesity, children, healthy foods, healthy lifestyle, preschool, teachers | Leave a Comment »
How do you define a “children’s” movie? Perhaps it’s one that is based on a well-known story. Perhaps it’s one with lots of music and colors. Perhaps it’s simply one that’s rated G or PG. But what do those ratings really mean? According to the MPAA, a G rated film “contains nothing in theme, language, [...]
Filed under: Early Childhood, School Age | Tagged: children's movies, kids, movies, parents, school, teachers | 2 Comments »
Do you know what ICE is? I’m not talking about what you put in your drink to keep it cool. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. I have several contacts in my cell phone, namely my husband, my sister and my father, who are designated as ICE contacts if something were ever to happen [...]
Filed under: Best Practice, Early Childhood, Family Child Care, Infants and Toddlers, Preschool, School Age | Tagged: early childhood, emergency preparedness, school, teachers | 3 Comments »
Since the beginning of 2011, I have experimented with being a vegetarian. I call it my “vegexperiment.” I just wanted to see how important meat was to me. Originally, it was going to be only for the month of January, but I have since extended it to February. I’m even keeping a blog chronicling the [...]
Filed under: School Age | Tagged: children, dietary restrictions, healthy foods, school, snacks | Leave a Comment »
