Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Preparing for a Presentation

I've been busy preparing for a presentation at the Early Childhood Association of Florida annual conference in Orlando on Sept 29. My presentation is on connecting activities to Florida educational standards. Today I realized that someone else has a similar presentation title. I'm sure our presentations will be vastly different because the foundation of my presentation is using original activities that I've developed spanning from games, puzzles, and puppetry. One of my goals is to show how to develop activities with use of minimal material made in China. Also, I hope to inspire others to make their own toys and accessories to control quality. More info after returning from the conference.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

School Busing

This post is a comment on school bus drivers, not the topic of busing of children per se. The street where I live has a nice long strip of newly paved road. Apparently, school bus drivers are delighted to use it instead of the nearby dusty dirt roads they were using as a more direct route to the schools. The problem is that they are speeding on streets that seem to be slightly narrow for two-way traffic. All of this brings me to the point that often I feel we select people to care for children who may not have the best interst of children in mind. I'm told that the low pay discourages many better qualified people from applying those jobs. I'm not so sure that's the whole story. I'll more on this topic after attending a childhood conference next week.

Anyway, I've just posted a link to an article concerning dyslexia. I discovered I have dyslexia quite late in life and have been keeping an eye out for new information on that topic.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Interesting Article on Children Understanding Storybook Characters

I just posted a link to an article that highlights a study concerning how children 3-5 internalize characters in storybooks. I've been researching storybooks through the winners of the Caldecott Medal winners as well as recent bestsellers. My interest in storybooks also stems from my use of them as a connection within nearly all of the children activities I've designed. In time I'll have storybook recommendations on the blog.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

After Some Thinking

For quite a while, I've been considering starting a blog that would focus on my strong interest in better educating our young children. Here it is. I plan to make updates on what I see, what I read, and what I think relating to early childhood education. Initially, I plan to only have this blog viewable by invitation only. If the interest points to a greater audience, then I'll expand the view.

I need to explain the title of this blog. The title is developed from Friedrich Froebel, who opened the first kindergarten in Germany on June 28, 1840. According to http://www.froebelweb.org/, Froebel focused on providing toy for "sedentary creative play," "games and dances for healthy activity," and "observing and nurturing plants in a garden for stimulating awareness of the natural world." The title of this blog is taken from Froebel's play objects: Foebelgaben--translated as Froebel's gifts. I am using "gebenlygook"" to represent gifts of various stuff. Be prepared for surprises as the blog grows.