Monday, September 28, 2009

Florida Association for the Education of Children 54th Annual Conference

I attended the conference in Orlando, FL from September 25-27, 2009. The first impression I had was that the traffic from NW Florida to Orlando was much lighter this year than two years ago. Moreover, the traffic along International Drive in Orlando was significantly lighter. I'm certain all of this is a reflection of the depressed economy.

I was selected to lead a round-table discussion on September 27 with the subject: Creating Arts and Science Foundations in Early Childhood Education.






To highlight points in my presentation, I took samples of my handmade learning support pieces to show how original wood-crafted products can be used within the curriculum to help satisfy state and national requirements in educating 3-5 year olds. I hid objects in boxes and requested attendees guess what was in each box. Among the topics I touched on were geometry (general and fractal), numerals and the alphabet on different shapes (cubes, disks, etc.) and of different textures. One of my objects showed how preschool and kindergarten students can be exposed to physics concepts--in this case Newton's Laws of Motion in a fun and inviting way. Also, I included a nesting box, which demonstrated how it can be used to have students guess what is inside the final small size in the series while at the same time allowing students reveal their knowledge of plants, animals, the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors though their guesses. I was delighted to see everyone engaged and excited about the possibility of trying to replicate some of the strategies I used in designing the activities.

Two of my goals in making handcrafted learning objects are (1) to have each piece look inviting and (2) to have each piece feel smooth and warm to the touch. The feedback from the attendees reflected these goals were met with the pieces I brought to the conference. I particularly appreciated the feedback toward one object that would allow me make a change to add a new dimension to the learning experience of students.

I would like to thank members of the Florida Association for the Education of Young Children (a recent name change from the Early Childhood Association of Florida) for selecting me to share my ideas with attendees. Also, I must show appreciation to the educators who attended my presentation and provided insightful comments.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

It's About Control

I'm just returning from the 54th Conference of the Florida Association for Education of Young Children in Orlando, FL where I lead a round table discussion. I'll have much more detailed information about the conference in another posting. In any case, I'm feeling pretty good about some of my comments from the conference since some of it is supported by an article (Can the Right Kinds of Play Teach Self Control) in the New York Time Magazine (September 27, 2009). For example, earlier today I remarked, while referring to young children activities, to table mates at the conference that I thought young children need to feel as if they are controlling something. The Times Magazine article expands on the idea of students exhibiting self control.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Interesting...Very...Interesting


Each weekend I check in with CSPAN Book TV to listen and view authors of nonfiction talking about their books. Today I caught an interview of Jonathan Kozol--identified as an education activist-- who among other books wrote Death at an Early Age (1967), a National Book Award winner. Thinking that it would be interesting to read the book, I searched Google Book Search to find the nearest library that had a copy of the book. To my surprise only three locations were indicated:

1. Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC
2. Blackfoot Public Library in Blackfoot, ID
3. City of Cape Town Library in Cape Town, South Africa


Thursday, September 10, 2009

How Britian Is Attempting to Protect Its Children...

From BBC News: "Parents who regularly drive children for sports or social clubs will have to undergo criminal record checks or face fines of up to £5,000 under new rules."

This thinking is in line with that of Marci Hamilton’s, the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (2008). I watched Marci Hamilton give a talk on CSPAN’s BookNotes months ago wherein she indicated that as much as 80 percent of abuse on children are carried out by people the children know.

The BBC article goes on to indicate that critics of the measure are indicating that volunteers will be driven away from helping. My reaction is that maybe those volunteers who are driven away are the ones who should not be around children in the first place.