Speech and language development products – vote for our favorite

Children with language delays can’t always afford the costly therapy they need for services with a speech pathologist.  However, now they have resources to use at home developed by an expert in the field of speech and language development, Karla Duncan.  Her passion for educating little ones that struggle more than the norm with speech and language development is empowering to me personally and professionally.  Living with a child of my own who has delayed language abilities and seeing so many of my kindergarteners struggle, it is a blessing to see Karla offer such a wonderful product to parents.

As many of you know my company, Wiggle Giggle Learn was a potential finalist for the Yahoo! Seeds for Success empowering woman entrepreneurs grant in April 2008.  Although we weren’t named one of the three finalists we have been watching them closely.  Now the contest is coming to an end and you can support your favorite entrepreneur.

Wiggle Giggle Learn supports Karla Duncan of Head2Toe Publications.  Head2Toe recently unveiled their first product and it is a great learning and teaching tool for parents, caregivers and teachers.  I hope you all will check out her website and vote for Head2Toe to win the Yahoo! Seeds for Success contest that ends very soon.  You can vote once a day and make sure to tell all of your friends.

How to control your child’s interruptions while you are working

Trying to finish work at home but interruptions from little ones continue to get in the way?  Try creating a treasure box for those times when you need uninterrupted time (30 minutes or less for young children). Fill this special box or basket with fun activities that your child can do by himself. Coloring books, crayons and special toys he doesn’t get to play with at any other time will make the treasure box special. Your child will love “plundering” as if he is shopping in a dollar store for new treasures.  Make it clear that the treasure box is for special times and can’t be played with by mom or dad.  It isn’t a time for your child to “show” you his new things.  You must practice using the treasure box a few times and be sure to praise his ability to play independently with the box.  Over time he will begin to associate his treasure box with “helping” mom or dad.

A word of caution – The treasure box only works if it seen as very special, so don’t overuse it or it will stop working.  Now that you have a few tricks up your sleeve, I hope you’re able to meet that deadline.

Why are my kids so bored?

Were we bored during childhood? Without knowing for sure, I would say probably sometimes. But complaining brought only my mom’s hands on the hips and a lifted eyebrow. Then, yet another chore since we were so bored. So what happened in my family? We learned to entertain ourselves, in the yard, in the toy chest and even by building forts with the den furniture. We scouted for lizards and other insects, listened for the sounds of crickets, frogs and birds. We were lucky in one sense because we grew up in the “country” where stranger safety isn’t as prevalent because everybody knows everyone else. I am also fortunate enough to raise my own son in the “country” where you don’t have to worry as much about him roaming in the yard since our yard goes on for miles it seems.

Many parents today can be heard rambling on about their child’s constant whining – “I’m bored! There is nothing to do around here.” What does the parent say, “how can you be bored with all of these toys?” The toys are the exact reason for the boredom. The children have not learned, due probably to toys, how to investigate, explore and create through their imagination. Children will need some guidance and modeling on the part of the parent to engage at an independent level of play for an extended period of time.

Are city children more bored than country children? It would be an interesting investigation to conduct. Or, should moms and dads begin dishing out more chores like we had during our childhood to keep the kids busy?

One thing is for certain, the happiest parents are those who have invested the time early to teach their children how to engage in deep imaginary play. These parents didn’t load the child’s room up with expensive toys but taught the child how to turn everyday objects into exciting tools for play. These are the parents that no longer have to beg their children to play alone for a little while. Early Education is the Key!

South Carolina gets an “A” for world-class learning standards

When looking at your state’s progression toward student competency with 21st century skills, you need to take into account the level at which your state’s standards require students to perform. Many of the state’s touting their top ten status for student performance and graduation rates, also have the lowest level of curriculum standards for their students. Therefore I have to ponder… is it better in this country to live in a state that has the highest level of academic standards (as my state does) or to live in a state that waters down the standards to a sub-standard level and claims to be in the top ten in education for the United States?

Three states—Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Missouri—have established world-class standards in math and reading as the goal for all students. Every other state has established a lower proficiency standard, and some states (for example, Georgia and Tennessee) declare most students proficient even when their performance is miles short of the NAEP standard.

John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, recently wrote the following in the Carolina Journal: Scholars Paul Peterson and Frederick Hess are editors of the journal EducationNext. They’ve just released their latest study of state vs. federal proficiency standards. There is only one straight-A performer on the list: South Carolina. Our neighbors to the south haven’t dumbed down their standards one bit in order to make themselves look better. As for North Carolina, we get a D+. We’re among a small minority of states getting Ds or Fs.

Now this makes me proud to be from South Carolina. It makes me proud to have taught in South Carolina. It makes me happy to know that in South Carolina you aren’t just passed on to the next grade but you earn your way through world-class standards! Hooray for high standards and success for all in our new global society. Times have changed and learning has to change!

Parenting and education – your voices will be heard

If you are a frequent reader of this blog or just a parent with burning questions about your child’s development, I would love to know what interests you.  What questions might you have about early childhood education and schools in America.  Send me a comment or a question and I will begin posting about the issues you want to hear about. 

 

Until then, I will continue on my journey to improve education by sharing a roadmap to educational success with parents who have children birth to age five.  I invite you to visit my website at www.wigglegigglelearn.com and remember that Early Education is the Key!