Author Archives: kateak

http://www.naeyc.org/blogs/creating-classroom-community  

I’ve been thinking about democracy lately. I’ve been questioning it. Not because I don’t believe in the freedom and power of the people. But because this particularly ugly Presidential race has people so polarized, and I’ve never felt so baffled … Continue reading →

As children acquire language skills, they also begin to experiment with different ways of communicating. Exposure to new vocabulary allows them more precision and power in expressing their opinions and ideas. Our classroom study of new vocabulary words began organically. … Continue reading →

  As the year progresses, each child in my classroom begins to develop his or her own signature drawing style. There comes a time about midyear when I can look at a drawing and know exactly which child created it. … Continue reading →

Recently, I was rushing at the last minute to pick up tickets to a ballet performance. When I arrived at the theater minutes before the show was scheduled to begin, I was stopped by a long line. I waited, growing … Continue reading →

Sometimes people assume early education is about …crafts. The word makes me shudder. Crafts. Groan. Early ed is about so much more. Crafting is cute, but in my classroom, we do real work. Last year, my class expressed an interest … Continue reading →

This summer I spent a lot of time reading about the impact of play on children’s development. Current research cites examples of how play positively correlates with language and literacy skills; how it exercises children’s executive functioning (the part of … Continue reading →

There is something utterly ludicrous about a grown adult channeling a puppet. And yet, in the past few years, I have been using three hand puppets in the classroom. One is a light skinned girl with long brown braids. Another … Continue reading →

I continued this year to work on teaching mindfulness to my students. This year’s class had different dynamics than the previous year. We had several special needs students and a very inclusive group of children that allowed me to concentrate … Continue reading →

Mindfulness is a hot topic in education these days. There are scores of research that can now unequivocally demonstrate the actual benefit of mindfulness in children’s ability to be present in learning. There are even organizations cropping up that will … Continue reading →