Are you looking for some excitement to make the summer fly by? You look at the gazillion camp ads and wonder what children will gain from these experiences. You ask yourself if this camp will help children with their self-confidence or master new skills, make new friends and better yet… keep these new friends
The summer adventure day camp for post kindergarteners through age 12 will open June 3rd at the Iliff Preschool, Kindergarten, and School-Age Summer Camp in SE Denver. Our adventure day camp staff is dedicated to helping children have a fun summer break whether learning about the natural world, exploring an artistic side or practicing
When given choices during child-directed play, children are learning key skills like self-regulation, empathy, creativity, imagination, and problem solving. Why is it then, that in America we have lost a joyfulkindergarten experience and replaced it with academically driven, teacher-directed instruction? Researchers at the University of Virginia, led by the education-policy researcher, Daphna Bassok, found
“Kindergarten is indeed the new first grade,” declares Erika Christakis in an Atlantic Monthly article, “The New Preschool is Crushing Kids.” She explains that “children who would once have used the kindergarten year as a gentle transition into school are in some cases being held back before they’ve had a chance to start… Now that kindergarten
An article in The Atlantic proclaims that “most American kids don’t spend large chunks of their day catching salamanders and poking sticks into piles of fox poop. In a nation moving toward greater standardization of its public-education system, programs centered around getting kids outside to explore aren’t normal. The article’s author, Conor Williams, goes
"At the heart of education are two questions: What kind of people do we want to be? What kind of world do we want to live in?" write Ann Pelo and Margie Carter in their important new book, From Teaching to Thinking "Our answers to these questions help us answer a third question: What
Writing in the book, Cultivating Curriculum in Early Childhood Organizations, Carol B. Hillman discusses the “intangibles” we want to provide for children in “the child care centers around the world, the nursery schools, the public schools and the home care settings.” She asks, “What is it we want young children to know beyond the
When given choices during child-directed play, children are learning key skills like self-regulation, empathy, creativity, imagination, and problem solving. Why is it then, that in America we have lost a joyful kindergarten experience and replaced it with academically driven, teacher-directed instruction? Researchers at the University of Virginia, led by the education-policy researcher, Daphna Bassok,
Educator Rae Pica debunked the notion that—academically and athletically—earlier is better for children. Regarding academics Pica writes, "Kindergarten, according to a study from the University of Virginia, has become 'the new first grade.' And, based on my observations, preschool has clearly become the new kindergarten. All of this is happening despite the abundance of research
“Kids have changed.” Over the last years we have heard this statement repeatedly from educators, parents, and the media. But have children really changed? In reality, it is society, parents, and schools that have changed. These changes have transformed the way our children play, interact, and learn. This has created issues beyond poor behavior. “The
