Early Childhood Education

Preschoolers Show An Increase In Behavior Problems When Parents Split Up!

Kristi Starkey — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:16:56 +0000

May 14, 2012

There is an article in the USA Today talking about when parents split up it has the highest impact on preschoolers and manifests as behavior problems. Read full article ”Family-structure changes during early childhood at the preschool period seem to matter more than later changes,” said the study’s co-author Rebecca Ryan of Georgetown, an assistant professor of psychology.

“Ready Or Not, Here I Come” the Future

Jamie Brownlee — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:50:07 +0000

May 10, 2012

“Ready or Not, Here I come” the Future.

This was a title of a poem I wrote years ago. To be honest, I can’t remember what prompted me to write it, but it surely seems fitting now. Friday night I had the privilege to stand on stage and look out at the graduating class of 2012. And I couldn’t be more proud and more inspired. You did it!

Last Wednesday, we held a New Student Orientation for those starting class this summer. I talked about you. About how it all comes down to this moment, when you walk across the stage and take in the spotlight and the applause, for your accomplishment, for what you have done. You inspired a new class. You have inspired me.

“Ready or Not, Here I come” the Future.

I have now been in Virginia at Regent University for 3 full days. I’m not sure how to describe my experience so far, but I’ll try. Fearful, exciting, ready, doubtful, courageous, diversity, knowledge, experts, multi-faceted, exhausting, unified, supported, brick buildings, tall trees, new friends, statistics, SPSS, exegesis, group projects, lots of laughs, too much food, even more coffee, and last, but certainly not least, sleep. No wait, sleep has NOT been part of the experience so far, at least not enough of it.

Journey’s End by Professor Bill Dogterom, Ph.D.

Kristi Starkey — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:03:03 +0000

Journey’s End?

Probably one of the hardest things about teaching, for me at least, is saying good bye at the end of a two or three or four year conversation. In a couple of days folders promising diplomas will be placed in eager hands and the end of a journey will be formally recognized with the beginning of the next.

Each student with a story – rich, profound, deep – part of a much larger story in which their’s has its greatest meaning. Stories that are woven with wonder – deep pain, triumphant joys, long intervals when nothing seemed to be happening erupting in the grace at work under the surface the whole time. Many of them weaving in and out of other stories – friends, professors, staff members, room mates… What a wild tapestry of grace!

And each one with a name – called out by the registrar to the cheers of family and friends, some of whom are standing on their feet in sheer amazement and gratitude that this day has finally arrived. What a difference four years can make! Timid, tentative freshmen have become seasoned, confident seniors. And what is more, they have become more fully themselves, shaped by thinking hard and working hard and playing hard with others on a similar journey.

There is about them a bit of melancholy mixed with the celebration. What will become of friendships promised to last forever, but already straining under the pull of different directions? And what of the new friend just met in the last months who seems more likely to last than those who got them through college? And what of leaving the safety of the “bubble” – of having to get a job – of having to pay the bills – of having to really leave home. Or, not. And unsure of which might be hardest.

And what of the Jesus who has, it seems, grown too? The Sunday School Jesus was laid to rest, replaced by a wild-eyed warrior making life shaping demands, striding on through his-story and inviting His friends to join Him in saving the world – His way. By serving it to death.

And to think. This isn’t harvest. Not yet. Still much work to be done, much life to be lived, much glory to be given.This is the beginning. This is to commence.

Life, Growth, Change, Humility

Jamie Brownlee — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:20:03 +0000

I’m sitting on my patio at home, and I just hung up the phone with my financial aid counselor. Yes, I’m going back to school and attempting to navigate through the application, acceptance, financial aid and registration process. It seems almost surreal that I speak with students regularly about returning to school as an adult and working professional. And now, here I am, on the same adventure. Regent University – Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, emphasis, yet to be determined.

I’m not sure exactly when the anxiety began, with the application? With the acceptance? Or when the Dean emailed the cohort and included the statement, “you need to carve out 25 hours on average each week to do this.” Yes, I think it was that last statement. 25 hours times 52 weeks times 4 years, yes, I’ve done the math. In the SPS Orientation, we talk about becoming a student and pruning activities in life to allow for studies. Definitely easier to talk about than do, but now I’m doing. As I attempt to devise a schedule, I was recommended this site to calculate my time. I knew this day would come, but as I stare at the numbers it is hard to believe it is here.

Monday night I read my classmates introductions online. It was really reassuring to read that they have anxiety too. I suddenly didn’t feel that I was alone on the venture. I am one of so many that returns to school as an adult and must learn to balance, life, work, and school. It was then that I realized I wanted to start this blog so that you can join me in my journey and, I, in yours. Let’s share what we learn, share how we manage it, share prayer requests, share frustrations, and share joys of life, learning, and progress. Life unabridged!

As we begin this chapter of our lives or at least begin walking it together, I leave you with a quote from one of my favorite authors. It reminds me what I am jumping into and encourages me.

Erwin McManus in his book Wide Awake

“Life is not a color-with-in-the-lines project; life is a work of art. You have to keep mixing colors, creating new blends, and seeing things in fresh ways. You must be willing to get paint all over you. Life is about growth. Growth demands change. Change requires humility.”

So…here we go….

Don’t rush – lay a foundation for reading, writing in preschool, By Carol Veravanich

Kristi Starkey — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:16:42 +0000

ASK THE TEACHER
FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

goasktheteacher@yahoo.com

Q. I read with interest your letter about the parents trying to recover the cost of their son’s broken glasses from the parents of the bully who purposely broke them. I had a similar experience when my son was in high school. A boy damaged my son’s car in a bullying type incident. When I contacted the father I quickly discovered that he had the same mentality as his son.

Even the police officer I reported it to admitted that filing a complaint will likely escalate the problem rather than cure it. The bottom line is, in most cases involving bullying, the parents are just as bad as the kids. Where do you think they learned these behaviors? Good luck to those parents on collecting that money.

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A. You are describing the adage: the apple does not fall far from the tree. It really is true. Many letters like yours came in about this situation. Other parents tried all sorts of methods to get bullies and parents of bullies to pay for things broken or stolen. Some were successful, but most were not.

Q. Thank you so much for your articles on teaching young children to read. Now I know how to approach reading to my preschool daughter. Can you name some books for kindergartens with short, easy phonetic stories? I hope I can get her started reading on her own. She has homework now and then from her preschool teacher which involves mostly writing her numbers and the alphabet. She has a problem with spacing her numbers, and letters. Are there books for her to practice how to space them?

A. I was happy to see a question like this after talking about the beginning steps to teaching children to read. Timing is everything with the process, and I really think certain things should come before others.

In preschool, children should not be pushed to write. Kids can learn to recognize their letters and numbers. Preschoolers can learn their sounds and how to count objects. This is just what I think preschoolers should be doing. They need to learn a lot more than this before kindergarten.

After a child can sit comfortably in a group, sing and dance, get along well with peers, pump their legs on a swing, stand on one foot with balance, hop, jump, skip, gallop, and throw and catch a large and small ball, then I might start handwriting. Handwriting in preschool should consist of lots of finger painting, time with Playdough, a ton of coloring, and simple line tracing (not necessarily letter tracing either, but shapes and paths would be first). A child with this foundation would be fine to start kindergarten. I think kindergarten is the time when formal handwriting with proper letter strokes should begin.

Visit scholastic to find simple phonetic book packs to begin reading and sounding, and Lakeshore has plenty of preschool books on tracing lines and connecting dots that would be fun for your child. Coloring books and sidewalk chalk are also great, and the dollar store usually has plenty of those.

Contact the writer at goasktheteacher@yahoo.com.

Implications of Brain Research For Early Childhood Programs

Vanguard University — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:43:01 +0000

Pam Schiller offers these strategies for early childhood programs to take advantage what we now know about brain development:

Emotions enhance memory.
Events that are accompanied by intense emotion are more easily recalled.
Use laughter, stories, and music when introducing new information. For example, if you are teaching a lesson on farm animals, start by singing “Old MacDonald Had A Farm.”

The more connections made between new information and existing patterns in the brain, the greater the chances of moving information from working-memory to long-term memory.
Offer many different opportunities for gathering and processing information. For example, when studying zoo animals, you might want to take a field trip, read a book, shape animals from clay, classify the animals, make up zoo stories, and so on. You get the picture.

Novelty can boost memory.
Our bodies release chemicals when under stress. Positive stress increases adrenaline, negative stress increases cortisol. Both chemicals act as memory fixatives. Novelty creates positive stress, because when a situation is different from existing patterns the learner is challenged.

Teach a lesson outside. Switch places with another teacher one day. Work puzzles upside down. Change your room arrangement. A typical preschool classroom is a good example of novelty because we change activities frequently.

Effective Preschool Leads Children Down the Right Path

Vanguard University — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:03:08 +0000

Early learning experiences influence later school success, according to the latest report from a longitudinal study in the U.K. following children from the age of 3. At age 14, children who had attended high-quality preschools had better outcomes in math, science, and social-emotional measures than their peers. These long-lasting benefits of preschool were most evident when students went from high-quality early learning opportunities to attending secondary schools with low or medium academic effectiveness. The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education project (EPPE/EPPSE), commissioned by the U.K. Department of Education, has been following 3,000 children since 1997 and found evidence of an achievement gap based on socio-economic differences as early as age 3.

Bedtime Math For Children?

Kristi Starkey — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:21:27 +0000

March 28, 2012

USA Today wrote an article about a new non-profit called ‘Bedtime Math” that sends out daily emails with suggested math problems for “wee ones” (preschoolers who count on fingers), little kids and big kids. Mike Shaughnessy, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics states that lacking is math is a “cultural disease”…”it’s socially acceptable, almost like a merit badge, to put out there in a social situation, ‘Oh yeah, i was never good in math.’ Shaughnessy goes on to say that this thought process gets passed on to the next generation. Read complete article here.

Vanguard University Hosts Association of Christian Schools International Conference

Kristi Starkey — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:40:47 +0000

Intentionally Cultivating Potential

God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

As an early educator, God daily gives us many opportunities to develop the potential of each child in our classroom for a very specific time in his or her life, not only for this year but a potential that can last for eternity. How do we accomplish this God sized mission?

Early Education Conference: March 24, 2012
Pre-Conference Leadership Workshop: Friday, March 23, 2012

Plan now to join other early education professionals for a day of networking, equipping, and supporting other EE professionals.

Click here for more information

Visit Vanguard University At The CAEYC Conference in San Diego March 16-18

Kristi Starkey — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:59:13 +0000

Vanguard University Early Childhood Education will have a booth at the CAEYC Annual Conference. This year’s conference will take place at the Town and Country Resort & Conference Center located in the Heart of San Diego.

Click the link for more information CAEYC

Visit the Vanguard Booth and speak with our early education counselors. Pick up a candy treat and spin our wheel to win a prize. See you there!