Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Fan Favorites - June 2016



It's Hard for Them, Too
When they push us to the edge of our limits, let’s try to remember that we’re doing the same thing to them.




Change the Conversation for Your Daughter
"When my daughter wears her molecular orbital dress or rocket dress, adults communicate with her differently. Instead of calling her a princess or cute, the conversation expands to rockets and then my daughter talks about the moon and Jupiter. With her molecular orbital dress, she tells them that C represents carbon and she's made out of carbon and it forms bonds. Sure, she doesn't have the best grasp of any of this, but she's 3 and learning. And adults treat her more than a cute little thing which in turn strengthens her confidence."




Why Disney Princesses and "Princess Culture" is Bad for Girls, Now There's Proof
Princesses are a big part of my preschooler's life. Despite my personal feelings about the matter, I try to maintain an open dialog with her about her ideas and I focus on long-term goals re: our relationship. I want her to bring her ideas to me no matter how different they are from my own.

"Overall, the “Pretty as a Princess” study makes good use of social science methods. It validates long-standing concerns about princess culture while suggesting some positive effects for boys. It also brings much-needed attention to the importance of talking critically with kids about the media they enjoy. If we’re careless in our approach, we might unwittingly reinforce the media’s harmful messages. But if we’re careful, we can help our children become resilient — and that’s useful knowledge."


It's Here!
Ada Twist, Scientist

Evidence of Learning

Father's Day by Eric Carle


How to Boost Executive Function in children
Dear Parent – I see that you’re frustrated. And I see that your child is too. You wish your child would just listen, follow through and complete their schoolwork; stop getting so distracted and stop over-reacting when things don’t go their way.


What if I told you that what appears to be a behavior issue; something worthy of a time-out, lecture, loss of privilege or other such punishment, might actually be a cognitive issue, requiring quite a different response?


Put Down the Pitchforks
"To the mother and father who went for a walk on vacation for the last time with their little boy yesterday, I am deeply sorry that you had to experience the worst kind of tragedy possible, an accident. I grieve with you. Your baby was my baby. Your son was my son. I have nothing but love for you, love to help you get though the pain yesterday, today, and for what is gonna seem like a thousand tomorrows. I wrap my thoughts and prayers around your aching heart and soul. May the God of this universe in some miraculous way bring peace to you and your family.
That is what you say. That. And just That.
Stop the blaming.
Stop the shaming.
In their darkest hours, can we please just love other parents. Please?"


24 Books for Preschool Engineers
A list sorted into a handful of useful categories:
Trucks, Tools & Machines, Child-sized Engineers, Thinking Outside the Box, Big Ideas, and Mechanically Interesting Books

Girl Who Wore Hot Dog Costume to Princess Week is Our New Role MOdel
"In a world full of princesses, dare to be a hot dog."

Ready to Learn

Five-Year-Olds "Falling Behind"
"They are telling parents and teachers that children are "falling behind" despite the fact that every single legitimate study ever done finds that there are no long term advantages to being an early reader, just as there are no long term advantages to being early talkers or walkers. In fact, many studies have found that when formal literacy instruction begins too early, like at 5, children grow up to be less motivated readers and less capable of comprehending what they've read. That's right, if anything, this "school readiness" fear-mongering may well turn out to be outright malpractice.
But the worst thing, the unforgivable thing, is the cruelty of the assertion that five-year-olds are "falling behind.""


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