Toothbrushing in early childhood

Read the NYTimes article here. I found the tone of the article annoying (gee, golly, my child/classroom is afflicted by the government by encouraging good oral hygiene) but the message exciting. I was thrilled to here that Massachusetts (which, let's face it, I'm not happy with right now) is taking a leadership role in requiring toothbrushing in early care centers, preschools and PreK. I thought the article didn't emphasize the horrifying stat that 1 in 4 Mass. kindergarteners has dental disease. When I was in Head Start, we brushed teeth everyday and while it might have been logistically not my favorite activity, my students LOVED it.

I've considered tooth brushing at my school now, but the day seems so rushed. I feel inspired to order us a toothbrushing kit for next school year. In a parent teacher conference this year, I've had several depressing conversations trying to convince parents that actually baby teeth do matter to the health of their future adult teeth, and that pulling out bad teeth isn't the only solutions dentists can offer (to a parent who is afraid). I can do something in my classroom....and let's be real, I'm sure my dentist would be happier, too, if I was brushing an additional time during the school day.

Play, then Eat; Shift May Bring Gains at School

I loved this article. I always love when simple, common sense policy seems to be spreading in American public schools. It's easy to feel defeat....but take that, obesity epidemic, take that no-recess principals! The norm: lunch, then recess. The solution: recess, then lunch. Kids eat healthier, lose less instruction time, feel better about themselves, etc. In my classroom we go outside (or gross motor play inside) directly before eating--I also find my kids work up more of an appetite for trying new foods!

Disappointing words from Rhee

I feel disappointed by Michelle Rhee, the DC school chancellor's words (read more here). Rhee's become the educational reform movement's main girl and the source of hope for many. I'd like to be confident in her leadership, I'd like to know what she says means something for children. This article points to some disappointing accusations she's making against the fired teachers. I'd like to believe that this is the case--many fired teachers needed to be pushed out. However, I know of several teachers who were the exact opposite--excited, motivated, working hard. She would be better served by throwing excuses around and working to motivate the teachers currently in place.

Scary data about technology and kids

I found this article to be accurate and frightening. Check it out for yourself here. The article points to what else is loosing out--free play, exercise, reading, imaginative scenarios and play with siblings, neighbors and parents. Here are some recent quotes from some of my students while journaling: "This is a movie about chipmunks. This is the boy chipmunk, he loves one of the boy chipmunks." "This is the movie the Princess and The Frog, the princess kisses the frog and then there are two frogs" "This is showing how many lives I have because I keep getting killed" (refering to a video game) "This town isn't big enough for the both of us" (to other student!) "This is my light saber" (using a fork). I don't find any of this particularly distressing--they can use their imaginations, they can retell stories. What is scary is these are the richest and most frequent forms of communication--with their peers, with their drawing, with their imagination.

What can we as educators do to better address the use of technology with families? How can we provide very real alternatives to busy parents? What are legitimate competitors to interested children?

Hilarious article

* Hilarious, must-read article: The Onion never lets you down. Here, academics debate whether the relationship between a horse and caterpillar was exploited for a children's book. Read it here.

Eating snacks?

* The obsession with snack time? Read the NYTimes article here where the author argues that adults are far to co-dependent and obsessed with ensuring children have constant snacks available for possibly hungry children. I loved this article, because parents are often horrified to find we don't serve snack during our school day. Several other classrooms do a handful of goldfish, for instance. We serve breakfast (which for children who eat breakfast at home, is a snack) between 9:00-9:30 and eat lunch at 12:30. We have a busy morning, no activities we would want to cut short for our children--morning meeting, hour of centers, story, outdoor, bathroom twice. In the afternoon, our students either go to aftercare, where they get a snack or home, where they could get a snack. We find our students eat more of their lunch and learn to try different foods at breakfast snack. We don't mean to deny anyone--we don't want our children do truly be hungry! We find the complaint time is in the 30 minutes before lunch when we are walking back from the playground to wash hands and eat--sort of a good time to be hungry! We find our students adjust in a few weeks (just as they do to being away from home, bathroom schedule, etc).

Support Donorschoose.org!

I have been lucky enough to have several projects funded on donorschoose.org. If you haven't ever gone on, try it--you can find any classroom you like? Hhm, "East Coast city" "Prek" "charter" = look, you could have given money to me! What do you want to give? A rug? Books? FIND IT ALL HERE.

New Year's must-read article roundup

1. This is an amazing, while hard-to-read, article. Check it out here. This really tracks the case of child abuse in American courts--this child's case was actually first taken up by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (!) Really important and interesting development in the history of child abuse prevention and prosecution in America.

2. This article opens a discussion I'm not really interested in having. The author does a great job of laying out the reasons for government funding of child care: women are more likely to work and it will actually help make the US more competitive with other countries.

3. Newberry Medal award winner (chapter book, a bit outside my field)....read more here.

4.