Posted on

Q & A with Dana McKinney, KI Green Competition Winner!

Our 1st Place Winner, Dana McKinney (Educator in Jonesboro, AR)

Our 1st Place Winner, Dana McKinney (Educator in Jonesboro, AR) 1.       Have you always had a green approach to teaching your KI Jonesboro class?

Yes, our city of Jonesboro started their recycling program right after my family and I moved here in 1995. We began participating immediately by recycling all #1 & #2 plastics, clear glass, aluminum cans, newspapers & cardboard. I started my KM business a year later and I wanted to continue that same proactive approach there as well.

2. We all know what we should do when it comes to protecting the environment. What inspires you to act rather than to passively accept these overwhelming issues?

I was taught at an early age that I should take care of what I have, take pride in my personal belongings and space, be a good steward of our God given resources, and do my best to make my little corner of the world a little cleaner, healthier, and safer, and better for others. I was raised in the 1970’s & 1980’s when it was common to read the popular slogan “Don’t Be A Litterbug! Keep America Beautiful” on park and street signs.  It was a time when littering was considered an unpatriotic thing to do. Unfortunately, as materialism and wealth have increased in our nation over the next two decades, many citizens became complacent and the overabundance of trash and lack of landfill space became a real concern. It is encouraging to see that the campaign for “going green” is a way to bring the public awareness back to the forefront so Americans will become proactive with their efforts to conserve and recycle.

3.     You said you used digital Kindermusik@Home materials for 5 out of 24 classes! How is that improving your sustainability? Continue reading “Q & A with Dana McKinney, KI Green Competition Winner!”

Posted on

Decrease in Father Involvement in Children’s Reading

Source: Sean McCabe for The Wall Street Journal

It is no secret that parent involvement in early childhood education can be a pivotal factor in a child’s academic success, especially early literacy. In fact, research shows that children’s reading achievement, vocabulary, and comprehension skills improve when their parents read to them.

While the benefits of reading together and modeling the joys of reading may be common knowledge in early literacy circles, a new study published by the UK’s National Literacy Trust shows a widening gap between the reading habits of mothers versus fathers. The National Literacy Trust surveyed 21,000 8- to 16-year-olds from nearly 130 schools in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. One of the revealing trends indicates that fathers’ involvement in reading and literacy is significantly less than mothers and continues to decline.

Highlights of the National Literacy Trust survey Continue reading “Decrease in Father Involvement in Children’s Reading”

Posted on

The signs of a new era in bilingual learning

Parking signs in Tewali. Photo by Andy McCarthy UK

Ofelia García spends a lot of time sitting near the floor. The professor in the Ph.D. programs of Urban Education and of Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York is there observing children who, in her words, “are learning to adapt to the rigors of multi-language communication.”

Ofelia Garcia

“The idea that children are classified (as Limited English Proficient) makes no sense. It’s based on exams and assessments that are completely arbitrary,” García says in a 2009 keynote speech to the National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC).

“It’s a continuum, not a category, over the course of a lifetime. If you think of them as emergent learners, you will never leave behind their languages and their cultures.”

García wrote “Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective”, a massive text on the topic, and is a globally-known speaker and advocate for promoting a translanguaging, an approach to emerging English learners, where speakers switch from one language to another. It’s a bottom/up understanding of the bilingual learning process, García says, instead of top/down.

Until recently, bilingual learners in the United States were studied from a monolingual perspective. In schools, educators approached bilingual education in one of the following ways: Continue reading “The signs of a new era in bilingual learning”

Posted on

Music and the Senses

Kindermusik Classes - Learning Through Music & Our Senses

Happy New Year from Kindermusik International!

What better way to start the new year than to learn through music and our senses. Are you enrolled for classes in January?

Kindermusik Classes - Learning Through Music & Our Senses“Experiences and sensations are learning.  Sensations form the base understanding from which concepts and thinking develop.  Therefore, sensory enriched environments are imperative to learning.”
(Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford)

Multi-sensory learning is like glue for the brain.  According to Carla Hannaford’s work in Smart Moves, multi-sensory learning partnered with a positive emotional experience leads to learning, reasoning, thought.  That’s a Kindermusik class!

Kindermusik Classes use Music, Movement, and our Senses!

Each week in Kindermusik class we are using your child’s senses – eyes, ears, tongue, the skin, etc. – to build a foundation of knowledge.  It has been said that learning does not occur without movement, because the brain is not taking in information from the environment. As a result, your child is moving and learning and thinking and creating new ideas.

Sensory rich environments are also considered one of three major factors that lead to competency in adulthood.  What are the other two factors? Continue reading “Music and the Senses”

Posted on

10 Predictions About the Future of Digital Learning

We think it’s going to look a lot like this: what you see here in this Google Tablet video. A parent and child using a tablet like a book – to inspire imagination, not take it hostage. Like any good super hero cape or a musical instrument, with imagination and practice technology can become a conduit of learning.

Which makes this one of the most exciting times in the history of education publishing. So as we hang up our 2013 paper calendars and look forward, we have some ideas about about how a few things might unfold in this new era of digital learning. We’d love to hear what some of these ideas might inspire for you, too.

Happy New Year.

1. Someday, musicians will be physicians. Inspired by by the story of cello-prodigy turned street musician Nathaniel Ayers, classical musician Robert Gupta started a non-profit organization, Street Symphony, to bring healing and a sense of community to people suffering with mental illnesses in the streets and jails of Los Angeles. In this TEDTalks video, he talks about the non-profit organization, the various parallels between medicine and music.

2. Parents will still read print books to their children. Even as studies show improved test scores with tablets over textbooks, studies also show that children and adults can better retain information they read in books. It has something to do with “The Importance of Physical Locations and Human Memory.” Online, readers tend to scroll through information and lose a sense of “where” they read something. Whereas print readers tend to “know” information from a book better because they can remember where they read it on the page. If you’re looking for a few good print book ideas, we’d like to recommend these great books. Continue reading “10 Predictions About the Future of Digital Learning”

Posted on

Lisa Jackson’s Outstanding Environmental Achievement

Last Thursday, Lisa P. Jackson announced her resignation as the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, staking a revolutionary role in environmental history. She also proved, regretfully, that the number one obstacle to successful environmental protection is opposition from an industry-backed, bipartisan government. Despite opposition from Republicans in Congress, and at times the Obama Administration, Lisa was an E.P.A. Administrator of many significant firsts, such as: Continue reading “Lisa Jackson’s Outstanding Environmental Achievement”

Posted on

12 musical books for early literacy teachers and parents

We agree with Lloyd Moss: “It’s music that we all adore.” At Kindermusik International, we love music for music’s sake and for its ability to touch the hearts, souls, and minds of young children and families. Music can support early language development, increase phonemic awareness, and even profoundly impact children with special needs.

So make a resolution to gather your children together—whether at home or in the classroom—for musical story times that will support early literacy development and their love of music! Below you will find some of our favorite musical stories, including a Caldecott Winner, Reading Rainbow selections, audio story, and even a book written by a Kindermusik educator.

12 musical books to support early literacy and language development

Posted on

Preschoolers count their way to math success

Preparing children to be successful in math during elementary school begins long before that first day of Kindergarten. New research shows that both reciting and counting (assigning numerical values to objects) should be emphasized in a preschool or daycare curriculum to lay the groundwork for understanding more challenging math concepts in elementary school. In fact, the study implies that being able to count objects up to 20 in chronological order predicts success in first grade.

Preschoolers’ counting abilities and first-grade math abilities

Louis Manfra, PhD reviewed the reciting and counting abilities of 3,000 at-risk students in preschool and then later in first grade. Manfra found that the students with the highest math scores in first grade could also recite and count to 20 while in preschool. Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of the at-risk students could count and recite to 20.

“Counting gives children stronger foundations when they start school,” Manfra said in a press release. “The skills children have when they start kindergarten affect their trajectories through early elementary school; therefore, it’s important that children start with as many skills as possible.” Continue reading “Preschoolers count their way to math success”

Posted on

A few of the helpers …

Parents and Kindermusik Educators share ways they found to be “people who are helping” in the aftermath of the Newtown Elementary School tragedy.

The parent: “We can’t undo this. But we can dig in and help.”
Emily Lampish

The parent, photographer and blogger turned her frustration towards finding ways to help. And she wraps up a few ways in this blog post, “broken.” Suggestions include donation links to the Newton Memorial Fund and the Connecticut United Way, tips to help children grieve, and a link to send a message of love and support to grieving families.

broken

The expert: “Using a caring and matter-of-fact face and voice, adults can help kids by making true statements that contain a positive message. ”
Irene van der Zande

In this article, Irene gives parents and educators phrases that both acknowledge the truth the work being done to keep children safe. For example, “I am sad that this happened, and we are all going to work on ways to be safe everywhere.” If a child asks a tough question, and you don’t know the answer, say “I don’t know.” The fine line is learning to help young people to express their feelings without making them take care of your feelings.

Helping Children Regain Emotional Safety

The advocate: School Shootings: The Conversation You Need to Have With Your Kids
parents.com

A list of simple questions that starts with “What have you heard?” “What are your friends saying?” and finally, “How can we help these families?”

Parents.com

The parent who needs help, right now: “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother”
Liza Long

The writer, musician, Steinway lover, and single mother of four journals the chilling challenges of raising a lovable, intelligent, and sometimes violent child.

“I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am Jason Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.”

Thinking the Unthinkable

The Kindermusik Educator: “Music is a balm”
Helen Peterson

Kindermusik Educator Helen Peterson sent an email to her families with a few tips to help parents and their children. “Remember to take care of yourselves by being in conversation with other adults, and help those you know who may be struggling.”

mindsonmusic.kindermusik.com

And finally, a note to our Kindermusik Educators around the world who are opening their classrooms to families seeking comfort: There are more resources and information you can share with your families – or use to help yourself – posted to the Teacher’s Lounge.

Sign in to the Teacher’s Lounge